Kirk
SLC,#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, April 13, 2006
I recently saw this complaint on your site. I was not aware it was posted and even though it is nearly 5 years later I wanted to respond. I have gone back through the paperwork and I also spoke to Ryan on April 11, 2006 by telephone. Occasionally we take in trade, high mileage vehicles that we offer for sale on an as-is basis. In these cases the cars are not checked out except for a basic safety inspection. They are not certified cars. They are sold at wholesale prices and the buyer assumes all risk for any problems with the car. The buyer also signs a Buyers Guide that clearly states in very large letters AS IS NO WARRANTY followed by this disclaimer in bold type YOU WILL PAY ALL COSTS FOR ANY REPAIRS The dealer assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle. This was such a vehicle and Ryan signed this document. When I spoke with him on April 6, 2006 he again acknowledged that he knew the car was as is at the time of purchase but he contends that the salesperson told him the car had a strong engine at the time of sale. There are a few discrepancies in the timeline he describes in his letter so I want to restate the timeline surrounding this purchase. 1) May 25, 2001. The 1995 Subaru Legacy was sold as is. Mileage 109,887. 2) May 30th Mileage 110,060 Replaced left rear wheel bearing, oil seals, adjust belts Cost $347.18. 3) June 8th Mileage 110,372 Replaced temperature sensor cost $103.19 4) Sept 7th Mileage 114,813 Replaced 2 front axles, CVJ & DOJ Boots Cost $457.74 5) Nov 30th Mileage 117,305 Front crank pulley wobbling, it was tightened. 6) Dec 20th 2001 Ryan mailed the letter to the dealership. Based on the timeline it looks as if the wheel bearing was bad at the time of sale and the temp sensor was on the way out although the check engine light did not show the problem until June 8th. The car was driven 4,926 miles before the axles and boots were replaced, and 7,418 miles before the crank pulley issue. The timeline would indicate that these were not problems at the time of sale. I have no paperwork indicating there was a major engine problem. We did replace a fan belt on the car for a different owner in September 2003 at 146,880 miles. One other discrepancy in his letter concerns the book value of the vehicle. NADA book value for this car in May 2001 was as follows: Trade In $7425 less $1200 for high mileage for a net of $6225. Retail $9225 less $1200 for high mileage for a net of $8025. Ryan paid $6183 plus tax and license for the car which is just under wholesale value not retail as he stated. After the letter was received our sales manager contacted Ryan and offered to trade him into a different car. He felt that the only option for him was a full refund. Because of the 7 months that had passed since he purchased the car we could not accommodate his request. In my telephone conversation with him he told me that shortly after he declined our offer to trade, he sold the car. Ryan was not lied to or deceived in any way. He was aware of the potential risks that come with an older high mileage car. Kirk Nate Wade Subaru
Eric
Bedford,#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, June 27, 2003
If you have a solid complaint about a company, filing with the Better Business Bureau won't really get you anywhere. They'll file your complaint and you'll most likely never hear anything further about it. You're better off writing a detailed complaint to the Attorney General. The AG is required to forward the complaint to the dealership and the dealership is then required to respond in a timely fashion. Whether it'll do anything for you depends, but the BBB surely won't. Hey, whatcha got to lose?