NOTE:
IF YOU'RE A CONSUMER RESEARCHING THE SHARPEST RIDES - READ THIS FIRST.(You can thank me later :)
Several months ago I purchased what I thought - was a pretty sweet ride. I went to The Sharpest Rides in Englewood, CO in hopes to find a great looking daddy car that was not only safe for my 6 mo. old to ride in, but a great looking ride for a new family man.
:: THE TEST DRIVE ::
The first red flag that should have caught my eye was the fact that the salesman (Lanny Smith AKA Mr. Zippy?) had to put coolant into the engine before letting me take the car on a test drive. I'd like to think that I am a very trustworthy person so I believed the guy when they told me they just forgot to fill it up after a quick tank swap. - My fault for being ignorent. The rest of the test drive went ok except the sales person made it clear I shouldn't go too far. Red Flag #2?
:: THE DRIVE HOME ::
Not 100 feet from leaving The Sharpest Rides car lot, the check engine light went on. This is where the fun begins and in my opinion the scamming and bull s#*t.
The owner (Kevin Sharp) seemed more than happy to take care of the issues. He invited me back in and promised the problem would be taken care of.
I took him up on his offer and had the car re-evaluated. The first issue according to the shop manager, Raymundo Ortiz assured me the check engine light was due to something very small... Perhaps someone forgot to clear it? He scheduled some more time for me to come back in within the next week.
I drove home and was a bit surprised when a light flashed "Slow Down, Pull To Side of Road, Coolant Very Low," I thought - wtf? I pulled the car over, popped the hood and the car was in fact correct, there was very little coolant.
Here's a quick summary of what happend next: The car went to the Sharpest Rides shop at least 7 additional times. Each time the car came back it was in worse shape then when I originally dropped it off. To date I have a Check Engine Light on, Break Maintenance Required Light, Light Adjustment Failure Light, a fumbling transmission and several problems - the issues keep stacking up.
Here's why you should probably avoid these guys:
1.) They will tell you one thing and do another.
2.) They run a border line chop shop (Verified by a Mechanic)
3.) 95% of the cars I did a CARFAX on came from the Auction (People looking to dump junk rides)
4.) They will lie to you as they did me
Here's a few very sad facts to note:
The folks at the Colorado Emissions Shop saw that I purchased the car from The Sharpest Rides and ran up to me, shook my hand and said "I'm sorry." They said they fail a lot of cars from this dealer weekly. One of the guys who worked there said his brother purchased a slick looking ride that turned out to be a complete joke & junker.
I called Tom Martino, he hooked me up with a Private Auto Investigator who said he was checking out a ride for a client at The Sharpest Rides who had it's vin scrapped off of it.
I feel pretty bad for all of those nice mothers who don't know much about cars who are shopping the lot with their daughters for their first car. If you are that mom, I'd recommend you turn away - fast. I'm being dead serious with you. Learn from my loss and save yourself the headache. Fight the urge of a nice looking car because they are only trouble. Period.
Final Thoughts:
The owner said he was going to trade me out of the car. He even let me test drive another vehicle. The second I stepped into this other vehicle I noticed the check engine light was on, the engine was clicking like hell etc... That's when I said - I'd like my money back ($11,000 CASH) and will fight these guys in court until decision day and will be sure to let you all know about it.
I stand behind my claim. All Show, No Go. These cars are junk.