Auto Auction of San Diego

I read the response from San Diego Auto auction which I adamantly reject in every shape and formThere was no facts given nor was any truth in their letterThere is no document in regards to non refundable deposit, if they have one I should have a copy?! My elderly mother called and left a massage which they also deny..Its outrageous and unfair of how they have tried to help us as they have indicted in their responseI still ask for my full refund and a copy of their alleged document in regards to my depositThis business is a fraud and a cheat on innocent consumers such as my elder mother and I I thank you for your assistance on behalf of my year old mother and wish you could assist us to get our deposit backI will also take a legal action on San Diego Auto auction through small court for deceiving consumers Thank You in advance, [redacted] ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Regards,
*** ***

I read the response from San Diego Auto auction which I adamantly reject in every shape and form. There was no facts given nor was any truth in their letter. There is no document in regards to non refundable deposit, if they have one I should have a copy?! My elderly mother called and left a massage which they also deny..Its outrageous and unfair of how they have tried to help us as they have indicted in their response. I still ask for my full refund and a copy of their alleged document in regards to my deposit. This business is a fraud and a cheat on innocent consumers such as my elder mother and I.
I thank you for your assistance on behalf of my 83 year old mother and wish you could assist us to get our deposit back. I will also take a legal action on San Diego Auto auction through small court for deceiving consumers.
 
Thank You in advance,
 
[redacted]

Hi,
 
I am responding to complaint ID [redacted].
 
Auto Auction of San Diego holds a public auto auction each Saturday.  Cars are sold in an auction setting; meaning that cars are sold "as-is", "where-is", with no warranties, expressed or...

implied.  When a person wins the bid on a car, we immediately ask the buyer for cash of $300 for sub-$2000 cars and $500 for vehicles over $2000 in order to secure the sales transaction.  This is the method used in auto auctions to ensure that each vehicle will be paid for.  It would not be fair to the other bidders on the same car who were out-bid by this buyer to do anything less than collect a portion of the payment due.  So, it is not really a deposit in the sense that the complainant alleges.  The buyer has already entered into an agreement to purchase the vehicle - when he or she is the winning bidder.  All sales are final at that point.  We have a number of prominently-displayed signs stating the same thing (see attached) and this is also very clearly explained by the auctioneer prior to auction. 
 
As it turns out in this particular case, the complainant was the winning bidder on a 2008 VW Jetta at $6600.  She gave $500 per our normal procedure.  Shortly thereafter, the complainant then came up to me and the other person named in this complaint and stated that she would not be able to pay for the car - that she did not have enough money.  This is the crux of the matter; the complainant did not have enough funds to pay for the car she bought.  It is very clear what the price of a given vehicle is as it is auctioned.  And surely, one must know the amount of money they have at their disposal in order to pay for the car.
 
It is extremely unfair to the other bidders on the same car when someone bids on a car with intent to buy and then not have the funds to pay for the car. 
 
Our auction business is constructed on the principle of complete transparency.  We are open Monday through Friday each week for people to come in and test drive our cars as well as take them to their own mechanic for inspection.  On our web site, all our auction vehicles are listed and each one of them has a free, accompanying AutoCheck history report.  Again, we do this in the interest of transparency.  Every car coming to our auction on Saturday is on our web site - with a full AutoCheck report.  It is not possible to have a "false history" as the complainant alleges.  We are the only auto auction in the state of CA that provides, at our cost, free AutoCheck reports (more comprehensive than Carfax) to the buying public for each vehicle we auction, where even major auctions like Manheim or Adesa don't provide this service. 
 
Further, it is not true that the complainant had her mother call the managers regarding a refund.  In fact, the complainant herself came to our place of business Monday and admitted that she could not pay for the car she bought.  She stated that she had $3500 and asked whether we would be willing to work with her.  We were troubled by this because it is completely unfair to the legitimate bidders in auction--one of them would have bought and paid for the same car that the complainant agreed to purchase.  Nonetheless, in the interest of satisfying a customer, we told the complainant the only possible solution would be for her to purchase another automobile for the amount of funds she did have - $3500 and we would "take back" the VW she bought.  Again, this was done in the interest of good-will and being fair.
 
I found another nice car, suitable for her budget.  I then gave the car to her to drive it for a day to make sure she liked it - which is not something we ever do, but done in the interest of good-will.  At that time she paid for that vehicle.  She brought it back the next day and stated she did not like the car and asked for a refund.  She mentioned that she thought the vehicle was over-priced at $3500.  In fact, market analysis for the car she was given, a 2003 VW Passat wagon bears out that similarly-equipped 2003 Passat wagons sell for approximately $6000.  We gave back the $3500.  She asked whether she could have back the original $500 for the first car.  Our answer to this question is no.
 
What if all or some of our bidders (at the expense of other bidders) agreed to buy a car and then said, well, they didn't have the money for it?  How would we stay in business?  There has to be a control in place to ensure we are paid for a car purchased by the winning bidder.
 
I would also like to address a few specific items mentioned in the complainant's letter:  
The complainant alleges that her mother had a limited understanding of English.  It is true that both the complainant and her mother conversed extensively in their native language (not English) with the other employee named in this complaint.
Her elderly mother and her were indeed provided with a clean title car--that is the car she bought.  Not, as she alleges, a "false history", "troubled title", and "hidden destruction frame damage."  Again, I seek to point out that this is an auto auction.  Vehicles are sold "as-is", "where-is", with no warranties, expressed or implied.  It would not have been possible for the complainant to speak to the owner that day - he is running the auction and not available.
Every wining bidder commits $300 - $500 toward purchase of the vehicle at the time of sale.  No one made the complainant pay a $500 deposit.  
There was in fact, written documentation in the form of a receipt, given to the complainant, which she brought back on Monday.  The receipt states that $500 was committed toward purchase of the vehicle she bought.
Lack of follow-up is simply not true.  The complainant came in person to our place of business and myself and the other person named in the complaint went a mile out of our way to satisfy her.  We went far beyond what we typically do in a situation like this and we are certain that a less reputable business may have just simply stood their ground and said the "deposit" is non-refundable and that would be the end of it.  We worked for more than two days in an attempt to satisfy the complainant.
We find no basis for the allegations of "false history" and "troubled title."  Instead, it is a true statement to say that the complainant did not have sufficient funds to pay for the vehicle she bought.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
###-###-####

Review: My elderly mother and I were promised a safe, clean title car by the owner, [redacted], and the manager [redacted]. They made my elderly mother, (with limited understanding of English language) pay a $500 deposit. However, no documentation was provided regarding the process of $500 (e.g. there was no printed receipt or literature to state the amount actually was not refundable). The car had a false history with a troubled title and hidden destruction frame damage. My mother had called the mangers regarding the refund and did not receive a response or follow-up regarding the matter.Desired Settlement: The full return of $500 deposit.

Business

Response:

Hi,