56 Auto Sales

NEVER BUY FROM THIS PLACEI saw a sprinter van on [redacted] and made the journey to London ohio to look at itWhen I arrived, the van was in the SERVICE DEPARTMENTThe mechanic was doing something with the battery compartmentI asked the sales rep, he stated "we are just checking everything out and cleaning it up" I test drove the van and heard a rubbing noiseI took it back and told the salesman I was very interested but I needed to know what the noise wasHe had his mechanic drive and take it back to the service departmentThe diagnosis was that the emergency brake was catchingEasy fixSo I bought itOn the way from London to Columbus, the oil light came on, the rubbing got worseI took it to a garageIt was never the emergency brake, it was stuck calipersthe brakes, rotors and calipers all needed replacing: $The battery won't hold a full charge (explains why the mechanic was in the battery compartment, recharging the battery so that it would work long enough for someone to buy it) $Bad tire, was actually flat by the time I got to Columbus, luckily it is a [redacted] The oil light was caused by the oil being overfilledThe sales representative is now saying that "sorry, you purchased it as is and it was NEVER in our service department, we just got it in, didn't check it out and sold it as is" now even if you were to believe himwhat kind of car lot that has a huge service department doesn't check the vehicles out before selling? When contacting the ownerhe hung upAnyway, obviously, avoid this place!

Thank you for the timely response I did not have the car checked out by an independent mechanic prior to purchase The saleslady assured me that the car had passed a safety check I purchased it Sept20, The first problem happened while I was driving to family Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day Luckily my daughter needed to use the washroom so we pulled over As we pulled over the ball joint failed and the tire went at an odd angle (I had just been going highway speeds) Luckily I was able to get it fixed and return home One week after Thanksgiving I was pulled out of work, when the lower ball joint went out and pulled part of the transmission out also (I have included receipts for the repairs so that you can see the timeline.) Luckily when this (passenger front) ball joint went out I was pulling into a driveway My plan is to get it towed tomorrow and have it repaired I then hope to sell the car or trade it in I would like some sort of compensation or recognition from Auto Sales that they sold me an unsafe car I could have hurt my child, myself, or someone else This whole car / case could have been a completely different and tragic story, and Auto Sales (I feel) needs to acknowledge that and make some sort of attempt to "make thing right."

In response to Claim# *** Submitted by *** ***:Mrs*** has many different complaints in her statementI will address each in order that she liststhem.1) "Three days after we brought it home the engine was making noise and *** *** diagnosed itas a bad alternator"The Alternator is
a charging componentIt will not cause the engine tomake noiseIf the engine was actually a problem when *** *** scanned it there would havebeen multiple codes and red flags popping up.2) When it was brought to Auto Sales at that time the Alternator was holding a chargeTherewas corrosion on the battery terminals and was decided that was a logical place to startThecustomer elected to do it himself.3) "The following day it started to leak something clear" If the leak was oil it would have beenobvious, if it were Antifreeze it would be Green or Yellow and have an odorWhen the customermentioned a leak, and brought it to 56, we found no sign of leakingWe raised the vehicle andinspected itWe also changed the oil fllter to make sure it was sealed and made sure the drainplug was tightThese are the most common areas for leaks that do not show a trailIf the leakwas coming from the engine itself there would be obvious patters of oil trails.4) "The following week Cole Calls me" This is weeks after the first concern and during that periodof time the vehicle started and ran fineAlthough it was a bad alternator as in the first concern,It was obvious an intermittent problemAfter it was brought to the alternator was replacedwith no chargeMrs*** was not called the next morning because the part was ordered andinstalled, it was just flxedShe was also never presented with an estimate or ask to payAs perthe l*** conversation it was very one sided, related to the comment in the previous sentence"She was very upset".5) "The truck has leaked since day 3" if the vehicle continues to leak so much that it is noticeableon the driveway, after months, The ***' should have brought it back or notified Nothingwas ever saidAlso the vehicle has been driven a total of miles in that month timeIf itreally was leaking to the extent claimed driving it that much would have compromisedsomething.6) "Mr*** said the truck was not running right and took it to a garage"The first garage said itwas a clogged DPS filterThis expert opinion must be discarded completely because there is nota DPS filter on the truckA simple look under the truck will clearly show this The second opinionthat the rings were fried can only be diagnosed with a compression testIf this were the case, areceipt and maybe a power balance test can be provided by the diagnosing service center.7) "We took it to another place to confirm" it is impossible to confirm the DPS is clogged because itis not thereAgain there is no way to test the rings without a compression test.8) 'The Vehicle is currently at since they wanted to look at itOur diagnosis is a cracked piston.There is a definite noise coming from the engine internally.9) "Spoke with Dave and he was willing to help" The flrst estimate they received was $11,000.56Auto Sales offered to do it for $6000, almost 1/the first estimateThe engine replacement willcost much more than $6000, the engine itself is almost $The labor operation calls for 32hours and there are many additional expenses with gaskets, hoses, connectors, fluids, andmiscellaneous hardwareAuto Sales will also be absorbing a large expense with this offer.10) "Dave also put the blame on a Ford Dealer" As a practice Auto Sales send Diesel Trucks out tothe respective Franchise dealer for a quick diagnosis of the vehicle integrityFord Trucks havethe engine scanned because of historic problems with DieselsThis particular truck had GPmonitor test, power balance test, and a relative compression test doneAll passed and noproblem foundThe only codes found were #glow plug and brake switchBoth were replacedby the dealer and receipt and documentation can be provided.Rebuttal statement from Auto Sales:Auto Sales tries to verify the integrity of the vehicles sold before offering them for saleProperrepresentation and service is our goalAuto Sales retails over vehicles a year and has been inbusiness for over yearsOur record speaks for itself, only Revdex.com complaints in thatperiod of timeWe do however retail pre-owned vehicles that can malfunction at any timeAutoSales is never opposed to helping customers with problems.In the case of the ***' truck there are many things not being mentionedAt the time of purchase Mr.*** did want to test drive the vehicleHis wording was "Show me where to sign"Mr*** andother family members also posted very favorable comments on Facebook over the next few days andobviously the vehicle was preforming like it should haveThe beginning of February Mr*** postedthe truck for sale on *** *** in Columbus"For sale by owner Power Stroke Lifted Crew CabL*** Bed - $This was $more than he paidThe selling price Mr*** paid for the truckmust have been favorable for him if he is comfortable asking more than he paid from the dealerMr.***' description of the truck in the ad read "Looks brand new Motor and everything is in pristineshape, must see to appreciate(Copy of ad in included) Mrs*** contests the vehicle has been aproblem since day 1, however Mr*** has documented the exact oppositeMrs***' very firstcomment in the complaint is days after we bought the truck the engine was making nolsemonthlater Mr*** posts "It's pristine"Mrs*** also mentioned "The truck had everything under the sunwr*** with it and took complete advantage of them" by his posts Mr*** obviously didn't see itthe same way or if he was under the same assumption, he was going to take advantage of a privatebuyer and not disclose Mrs***' point of view or problems if there really was anyMrs***complains that Auto Sales said it was a stock vehicle, however Mr*** posts that the truck is"Lifted", and admittlng he knew it had been alteredMrs*** also mentioned the truck has leakedsince day Nowhere in the complaint is the mention about having to add any type of fluld or checkinglevels of fluidAfter driving the truck for months and miles if there was a leak as substantial asclaimed, something would have been detrimentally low and is the owners' responsibility to check dipsticks and fluid levels at the time of delivery Mr*** also signed an agreement on the vehicle,stating his acknowledgement the vehicle was being sold with no expresses or implied warranties(Copyenclosed)In Closing Auto Sales has helped and offered to continue to help the ***'Mrs*** claims andstatements are not entirely accurateThe evidence trying to tie an engine failure to a preexistingcondition are unfounded.David L***Owner Auto sales

NEVER BUY FROM THIS PLACE. I saw a sprinter van on [redacted] and made the journey to London ohio to look at it. When I arrived, the van was in the SERVICE DEPARTMENT. The mechanic was doing something with the battery compartment. I asked the sales rep, he stated "we are just checking everything out and cleaning it up" .... I test drove the van and heard a rubbing noise. I took it back and told the salesman I was very interested but I needed to know what the noise was. He had his mechanic drive and take it back to the service department. The diagnosis was that the emergency brake was catching. Easy fix. So I bought it. On the way from London to Columbus, the oil light came on, the rubbing got worse. I took it to a garage. It was never the emergency brake, it was stuck calipers... the brakes, rotors and calipers all needed replacing: $1400. The battery won't hold a full charge (explains why the mechanic was in the battery compartment, recharging the battery so that it would work long enough for someone to buy it) $180. Bad tire, was actually flat by the time I got to Columbus, luckily it is a [redacted]. The oil light was caused by the oil being overfilled.
The sales representative is now saying that "sorry, you purchased it as is and it was NEVER in our service department, we just got it in, didn't check it out and sold it as is" .... now even if you were to believe him... what kind of car lot that has a huge service department doesn't check the vehicles out before selling? When contacting the owner.... he hung up. Anyway, obviously, avoid this place!

Thank you for the timely response.  I did not have the car checked out by an independent mechanic prior to purchase.  The saleslady assured me that the car had passed a safety check.  I purchased it Sept. 20, 2013.  The first problem happened while I was driving to family...

Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day.  Luckily my daughter needed to use the washroom so we pulled over.  As we pulled over the ball joint failed and the tire went at an odd angle.  (I had just been going highway speeds).  Luckily I was able to get it fixed and return home.  One week after Thanksgiving I was pulled out of work, when the lower ball joint went out and pulled part of the transmission out also.  (I have included receipts for the repairs so that you can see the timeline.)  Luckily when this (passenger front) ball joint went out I was pulling into a driveway.  My plan is to get it towed tomorrow and have it repaired.  I then hope to sell the car or trade it in.  I would like some sort of compensation or recognition from 56 Auto Sales that they sold me an unsafe car.  I could have hurt my child, myself, or someone else.  This whole car / case could have been a completely different and tragic story, and 56 Auto Sales (I feel) needs to acknowledge that and make some sort of attempt to "make thing right."

As per the clients complaint of a faulty ball joint:  When a vehicle is taken into our dealership they are given a safety check out. If the ball joint is not visibly defective they are not arbitrarily replaced.  A worn ball joint can make the steering feel either too loose or too tight depending on how the ball joint and socket are wearing. If the ball joint and socket are wearing out together, the ball joint will become smaller while the size of gap in the socket will increase. This will increase the tolerance in the joint and make steering feel loose or sloppy. However, a worn ball joint can also cause tight steering, making it hard to turn the car quickly and feel like the car is losing power steering. The client drove the car for a month and did not raise any concern. Also, A ball joint will make loud noises as it begins to wear. These noises can start as minor clicks that are felt in the steering wheel  but gradually increase to loud thumps and clunks as the damage to the ball joint gets worse. The noise can be especially noticeable when the weight of the car shifts to and from the wheel with the bad ball joint--such as when the car drives over a pothole. Again the client drove the vehicle for a month and did not raise a concern. It would be understandable that if the ball joint was defective that our service techs might not have had any indication on the safety drive if the client drove the vehicle for a month and did not have any signs.  After the incident happened with the upper ball joints the client did not tow the vehicle to our repair facility. If they would have the likelihood of our participation of the repairs would have been much greater. Our company policy is that if we are participating in an after sale repair it must be done at our service facility to guarantee the repair is justified and not overcharged. The timing of the complaint is also a problem. The incident occurred at the end of November and our dealership was not notified until the beginning of April. On the second note concerning the lower ball joint failing a week later. If the upper ball joint was replace a week earlier, the mechanic that replaced it would have had to physically look at and touch the lower ball joint at that time. Either the mechanic neglected the lower ball joint or there was no evidence there was a problem.  At 56 Auto Sales we inspect our vehicles before sale. There is absolutely no possible way to make every used vehicle as good as a new vehicle. We can only fix and replace what can be identified at the time of service.