Bob's Motors

Review: I purchased a Jeep 12/30/12 on [redacted]. Prior to paying, I spoke with the seller multiple times via phone whereby he confirmed the outstanding condition of the vehicle. Based upon his abundant written and verbal representations I proceeded with the purchase and wired funds. The Jeep shipped from Maryland to Arizona arriving 01/22/13. When the vehicle arrived, it was not drivable due to the grossly misrepresented underbody condition. Immediately I contacted the seller to cancel and unwind the transaction as I had been duped by a seller 2,000 miles away. To assist in unwinding our transaction he relisted the car on [redacted] to resell to someone else. No buyer materialized. After two months of attempts to remedy the situation seller would no longer cooperate or attempt to correct sale. On 02/22/13 seller indicated he would no longer communicate with me.

Virtually all of my correspondence with the seller is documented. The vehicle condition that I as the buyer received was grossly misrepresented by the seller. I attempted for months to remedy the situation with the seller. The jeep frame was so heavily damaged with rust that it was held together by the body bolted to the frame pieces. The Jeep as delivered in it rusted condition was not stable or safe to drive. Further the brakes were inoperable thus not allowing you to drive. Axle support struts had broken off of the frame and destroyed the rear braking system which was held to frame sides by plastic zip ties. Front brake lines were so heavily rusted that they broke due to the corrosion and would not retain fluid. The seller represented the vehicle as low mile (33k) in 100% rust free excellent condition with no mechanical issues and in an excellent condition “accurately” described. The frame was very heavily damaged due to extensive rust, fraudulently rewelded with thin gauge sheet metal over the damage to mask large frame rusted areas (you could push your thumb thru the side of the frame in the worse areas), covered with bondo and sanded to hide imperfections, and then repainted to hide and conceal the damage/attempted repair. The seller went to great lengths to conceal the actual deteriorated condition of the car, with full knowledge of the grossly different condition fraudulent stated in his auction representations which stated, "100% rust free.” “I stand behind my vehicles and value my reputation. Everything sold is described accurately with no mechanical issues." To correct the car condition and make vehicle drivable required finding a suitable used frame, transferring usable parts from the damaged to the non-damaged frame, correcting the broken struts, attachments, and brake lines, acquiring other undamaged operational items to make the Jeep functional, and then re-assembly. A shop I engaged completed the repairs in mid-May. Upon completion of the initial repairs, I learned that the Jeep could not be titled in AZ due to the improper assignment of title paperwork.

The Seller ([redacted]) is selling cars from Maryland on [redacted] as an individual??? while purchasing cars at auction using Bob's Motors Washington DC auto license. The person is acting and signing documents as an Agent of Bob's Motors but representing himself as an individual independent of others. With this sale, I did not receive a Maryland Safety Inspection Certificate, the title assignment paperwork was incomplete and inaccurate requiring the Arizona DMV to reject the title transfer, a huge six-month+ headache, and significant financial harm. I paid the seller above book value based upon the written and verbal representations made to me personally and in writing by the seller. My loss is directly due to the gross misrepresentations and fraudulent claims made by [redacted]. He operates as [redacted], hghbidder (on [redacted]), 1ownermotors (on [redacted]), [redacted], and Bob's Motors. There could be additional aliases he uses???

I do not believe [redacted] is licensed as an auto dealer in Maryland to sell cars, although the Jeep I purchased had a Maryland dealer reassignment form that was not acceptable to the Arizona DMV and was delivered to the auto freight carrier at a Maryland address ([redacted], MD). However, in correspondence with Bob's Motors they acknowledge [redacted] as an independent Agent of their firm and the title provided is signed by Bob’s Motors in DC. It is now June and I do not have use of a car I purchased in December. The "new" DC dealer re-assignment forms only arrived this past Saturday.

I would like to receive assistance in mediating an acceptable settlement and refund for the outright fraud the collaborating parties have caused me. Originally, when I won the bid I was happy to slightly overpay to market for a vehicle described as 100% rust-free and excellent mechanical low-mile condition. Based upon his representations (verbal and written) the vehicle would be received in an “unbelievably nice and less than two year old condition.” I paid $11,000 for the vehicle via wire transfer, $1,150 to the auto shipping company for transport from MD to AZ, and $25 for the bank wire fee to acquire and ship the Jeep. I immediately notified the seller indicating I did not want anything to do with the Jeep purchased.

Upon receipt and when [redacted] would no longer communicate or attempt to remedy the situation I contacted local legal counsel which advised me I could likely win a case against [redacted] (and all others associated) but could potentially have difficulty collecting a favorable judgment out of State. This attorney advised further me to attempt to repair the car to recover as much value as possible. Concurrent and subsequent with the Seller’s re-listing on [redacted] I attempted to sell the car locally in its un-drivable “as received” condition. No one was interested although I tried for several months, Prior to conducting any repairs I received offers of $1,500 and $2,800 from two different reputable Jeep repair stores for the Jeep in its original to me “as delivered” condition. I elected to retain and repair the Jeep as I did not want to immediately lose $10,000 in this transaction.

To repair, I paid $850 for a used but suitable replacement frame, $2,500 for labor to swap the frames, $3,125.04 to the shop to acquire safe operational parts damaged or deemed unusable due to the frame transfer (this value was largely unknown at the beginning of repair as the extent of damage was not fully known until the disassembly process began and certain parts were so heavily rusted, damaged and unusable they had to be cut off of the old frame thereby consuming them in the process), $424.55 to the shop to repair items so that Jeep would pass AZ emissions, six months of paid car insurance while the Jeep was unusable un-drivable, and sitting at a repair shop, a dozen 50-mile round trips to the repair shop to monitor progress and discuss options to reduce costs, and the cost of money, extensive invested time and hassle. I have spent countless hours scouring the internet to find usable parts that could save money in the rebuild process.

Today, in order to drive this Jeep in AZ I have yet to pay an additional $726 in AZ taxes ($11,000 purchase price x 6.6% AZ state sales tax – this would have been $0-zero if this was sold as an individual-to-individual transaction as originally represented. In Arizona, person-to-person transactions are sales tax exempt). Further, to correct for all remaining rust I will incur additional potentially significant $ to replace and/or repair the visibly rusted parts remaining on the vehicle (which could be done systematically over time when located at less than new pricing). The local market value today of this vehicle in is current substantially repaired condition is estimated to be approximately $10,000 +/-.

I have paid in excess of $7,000 to get this Jeep to its current state, which is still in a less favorable condition that originally represented in seller sales documents. To register and drive in AZ I will have to pay another $700+ in taxes. Last week [redacted] of Bob’s Motors offered $500 in full settlement. I need help in mediating an equitable settlement.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded the difference in value purchased vs. received (several thousand dollars) and full reimbursement of expenses incurred to date to bring the vehicle to a safe condition (in excess of $7,000). I have expended in excess of $19 thousand dollars for a vehicle this is worth likely less than ten thousand in today's market.