American Dream Auto Sales

Customer’s Statement of the Problem: I purchased a used vehicle along with a warranty. Immediately after purchase the vehicle had problems. Some repairs were made but truly never fixed the issue. I thought the warranty was in effect until my last conversation with the owner of the dealership. He...

informed me that the repairs that were made to the truck he paid for on his credit card. This made me think that I was charged for a warranty I never had and two that the vehicle was fixed to his terms and not to what would have been covered under the warranty. The first repair found sludge in the engine but the engine was not dismantled to remove all of the sludge and I have been fixing the vehicle even after the warranty has ended.    I purchased a used vehicle along with a warranty. This is true. Please see attachments “extended.warranty.contract” and “carfax.” Immediately after purchase the vehicle had problems. Some repairs were made but truly never fixed the issue. I was not yet employed here at American Dream Auto Sales so I unable to verify nor deny this statement. I did speak with my Manager, Ed, who has been the Manager of American Dream Auto Sales since the day it opened. Ed states that Mr. [redacted] did bring to our attention that there was a problem with the vehicle and that we took action to remedy the problem by having the vehicle worked on. I thought the warranty was in effect until my last conversation with the owner of the dealership. The Warranty period was from the date Mr. [redacted] purchased the vehicle for a period of 12 months as stated on the Warranty Contract signed by Mr. [redacted]. Please see attachment “extended.warranty.contract.” He informed me that the repairs that were made to the truck he paid for on his credit card. This made me think that I was charged for a warranty I never had and two that the vehicle was fixed to his terms and not to what would have been covered under the warranty. It is true the repair was paid for with a credit card. A claim was placed with the Extended Warranty Company but the claim was denied by the Extended Warranty Company. Though it was not our responsibility, as a gesture of good faith, American Dream Auto Sales paid out of its own pocket to have that Repair done for Mr. [redacted]. This made me think that I was charged for a warranty I never had and two that the vehicle was fixed to his terms and not to what would have been covered under the warranty. He did purchase the Warranty as per the Warranty Contract and it was in fact active for the period stated on the Warranty Contract. I feel confident in making this statement to you because I took the liberty of calling the Warranty Company today on 07/11/17 at the number provided on the Warranty Contract and spoke with a gentleman by the name of Lynn who said the Warranty was in fact in place and active for that time period. You will also see that the Warranty shows up on the Carfax as well. Please see attachments “extended.warranty.contract” and “carfax.” The first repair found sludge in the engine but the engine was not dismantled to remove all of the sludge and I have been fixing the vehicle even after the warranty has ended. Just to get it out of the way, in this statement, he acknowledged that there was in fact a Warranty. Again, I don’t know the specifics of the repairs as I had not yet been an employee here at American Dream Auto Sales. I do know that when Mr. [redacted] purchased the vehicle in 2012, the vehicle was already 8 years old with 88,000 miles on it. I just spoke with our mechanic regarding “engine sludge” and he states that “There are moving parts in the engine and because they are moving against each other, they wear down. Motor oil lubricates these parts to mitigate the wearing though there will always be some wearing creating a sediment that collects in the engine. Timely oil-changes allow the sediment to drain out so that clean oil is in there which will lubricate much more efficiently than dirty oil. Untimely oil changes allow sediment to build up but can easily be remedied by getting flushed out using appropriate fluids/chemicals.” Please note that I have paraphrased here and that I asked the Mechanic to speak plainly to me so that I could easily understand what he was saying. I purchased a Carfax Report today and found that the car had only one owner before him. When I looked at the photos that we took and kept in our archives, I can tell the first owner took great care of this vehicle. Though anything is possible, I can’t imagine that someone who took such great care of the the vehicle’s interior and exterior for 8 years would neglect its mechanical maintenance. Please see attachments “carfax” and “pic.pack.” Being a used 8-year old vehicle with 88,000 miles, it is reasonable that there is sediment in the engine. As far as Mr. [redacted] having to “[fix] the vehicle even after the warranty has ended,” all vehicles need proper care, maintenance, and repair and this vehicle is not no different. When a vehicle is brand new it requires less care, maintenance, and repair. As it ages, it requires more and more. It is unreasonable for him to expect the vehicle to require less care as it ages. If that were the case, cars would last forever and ever. ========================================================================= What We Feel is Really at the Root of this Complaint The sale of the Vehicle to Mr. [redacted] was/is financed by American Dream Auto Sales. So instead of being financed by Bank of America or Navy Federal Credit Union, American Dream Auto Sales financed him. His loan was due to mature on 09/09/2015. That means he is just shy of being 2 years late on payments. He still owes a good sum of money on the loan even before mentioning the interest that he has let build up. It has been like pulling teeth just to get him to make any payment. We have been more than patient with him regarding this matter. To put it simply, he has our property and has not returned it nor has he finished paying for it. We believe that he is attempting to use extortion to get us to make concessions that will forgive or offset all or part of the loan and accrued interest. I cannot begin to explain what our experience has been trying to work with Mr. [redacted] and now he is threatening to sully our good name. For proof that American Dream Auto Sales is the entity that provided financing for his vehicle, you will see that American Dream Auto Sales is the Lienholder in attachment “title.” If you look at the Carfax, you will see that he’s driven that car all over California, Nevada, and Arizona and has put 75,300 miles on it over 5 years. You will also see that there are many many entries in the Carfax for times that he took the vehicle in to various shops for care, service, and maintenance. Those entries list what was addressed and you will see that there is nothing there beyond regular care and maintenance. It is obvious that he’s been happy enough with the vehicle to trust driving it through long stretches of desolate desert in the heat of summer and the dead of winter throughout the 5 years he’s owned it. See attachment “carfax.” Upon investigating this matter today, I found evidence that suggests Mr. [redacted] is again residing in our small town of Ridgecrest. On 06/30/17, Ed, the manager at American Dream Auto Sales tried to reach out to Mr. [redacted] again for payment via text. This is the same exact day that Mr. [redacted] filed this complaint with the Revdex.com. Our property (the vehicle) and he have been out of our reach for a number of years and now that he is back in this small isolated town, I’m sure he feels uncomfortable being in such close proximity to us whom he still owes a substantial sum of money and that is why he is trying this tactic.  I would also like to point out that the address he gave you is a dummy address. See attachments “current.address” and “dummy address.” ========================================================================= Thank you so much for contacting us regarding this matter. I hope that I have provided enough information and documentation for you. If there is anything else that we can do for you to help resolve this matter, please do let me know and I will do my best to provide to you what you need. Best Regards,   Lucy Bui Office Administrator