Complaint Review: S&J Auto Sales - Aberdeen Mississippi

Where do I begin? I purchased a vehicle from this auto lot on 12/12/2012. I drove the vehicle from Aberdeen, MS to Pontotoc, MS. The next day drove the vehicle from Pontotoc, MS to Tupelo, MS. The vehicle put me down in Tupelo. I didn't have the vehicle a full 24 hour period. I had the vehicle towed from Tupelo to my home in Pontotoc the same evening, at my expense.

I contacted the dealer the next morning and explained that the car broke down and it probably needed an alternator. My husband took the battery to O'Reilly Auto to have it tested and
charged. The battery charged fine so he put the battery back on the vehicle, started it up, and moved it from one side of my front yard to the other before it quit. After this, I spoke to the owner of S&J Auto, Steve, and he insisted that it was only the battery. He agreed to have the battery replaced and told me and my husband to drive all the way from Pontotoc to Amory to get a battery replacement from NAPA Auto. With no other choice at that point, we drive to Amory in a borrowed
vehicle and get the battery. Once we made it home, we put the battery on the vehicle and decide to take it for a ride. We get less than 1/4 of a mile down the road when the battery light comes on. We immediately turn around and park the vehicle back in the yard.

We contact the owner again the next day and he tells us that we can drive the vehicle back to
Aberdeen and they will fix it. However, if it so happens to break down on the way there, like I'm certain it would have, we would be responsible for a $75 towing fee. He also informed my husband that there was no other vehicle he could put us in. I consider the option for a while and decide to call back and try to work something else out because there was no way I was going to chance driving that vehicle over there and being out of even more money.

After myself, my husband, and Steve were convinced that it was the alternator, I suggested to him that I have a reputable guy (Bost Rebuilder's) rebuild the alternator and put it back on. He said that would work. I asked if he could knock it off mypayments or reimburse us. He said fine, whichever would be okay. So we set out to get the vehicle in running condition. The alternator was
rebuilt or brushes and bearings were replaced for $45. We get the alternator back on and to my utter surprise, the vehicle doesn't start! Not to mention, there's a spark plug holding the alternator up to begin with. For days, we're without the vehicle trying to decide the best course of action. We finally decide to have it towed to a certified mechanic behind my house. It's around Christmas so he's not able to get to it right away.

He finally looks at it after Christmas and lets me know that the wrong alternator is on the vehicle and it needs a few other things just to get it started. He fixes the vehicle with my permission and we have it out of the shop the next day. During this time, S&J Auto was on a Christmas vacation so there was no way to contact them. When they're back in the office, I contact them and let
them know what's going on and tell them I will fax over the invoices for repairs. I also include in this conversation that Steve said it was okay to take the repair costs off of our vehicle payments. Everything's okay. I fax over the invoices and don't hear anything from them until January 21st.

Two people are at my door repossessing the vehicle. I'm completely outraged because nobody said anything. They could've even turned the vehicle off and given me some type of heads up, but no. I
call the lot the next morning to inquire about the vehicle. The lady informs me that I haven't made a payment in 6 weeks (which was 5 weeks at the time) and I should've gotten their shop to repair the vehicle. I speak to Steve once again and he says the same thing, except that he never told me that he would deduct repair costs from the payments. He says that he told me that he would reimburse me for repair costs. He ended the call by saying he "would still reimburse me", which I have
recorded. I've been to the auto lot twice and haven't received any money. They offered $94 after saying that I owed over $600 for the vehicle and repossession fees. I refused it because he told me that he would reimburse me for repairs and I spent more than $94 on repairs.

Now, they're saying that part of my $288 for repairs is being applied to what I owe for having the vehicle for under 4 weeks. How absurd! They claim to have repossessed the vehicle because I wasn't making payments and we didn't have a deal to take repair costs off of payments. Suddenly, when it's convenient for them, they want to deduct my repair costs from payments and give me a portion of the money I spent in repairs on a vehicle no longer in my possession! I was told I would get a call back from one of the salespeople, I'm still waiting on that call 3 days later. $288 is only a small portion of what me and my family are out of for this inconvenience, but that's all I asked for. I believe it's only fair and in good faith to live up to your word and reimburse me my money.