D O W Service, Inc

History: From March of 2010 until October 25, 2013 I had been driving a 2001 Hyundai, Accent. The insurance company totaled the car when someone rear-ended me on August 5th damaging my back driver’s side area so much that it was more to repair the car than the car was worth. The car was still in good running condition at that time but was not legal to drive.

On November 4, 2013, I bought a 2007 Nissan Versa from Deals on Wheels after a short test drive and seeing that it seemed to run well. The following is the timeline of my experience with the vehicle and Deals On Wheels.

November 8 -the check engine light came on and I said something to my mom who mentioned this to [redacted] Worrell (the sales manager) when she spoke to her on an unrelated issue. [redacted] stated that the check engine light may be from the gas cap not being on securely and to check that first. After I checked that, I brought it to [redacted] on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington, DE for a diagnostic reading. The computer read an issue with the Cam Shaft.

December – in the first week or two of the month the car st[redacted]ed having trouble st[redacted]ing when it was cold, but would st[redacted]. At that point it was the Christmas season where I work and we were very busy. I did not have time to bring the car in and did not have a back-up vehicle while it was in the shop.

January 6 - it would not st[redacted] and I had the car towed by JTC Towing to the Deals on Wheels mechanic shop on Centerville, Road across from the dealership. The dealership shop replaced the st[redacted]er and spark plugs and since it st[redacted]ed for them, they gave it back to me the same day.

January 22 – The car would not st[redacted] again, so I had it towed back to the Deals On Wheels’ mechanic shop on January 23rd. The shop replaced the cam shaft sensor and gave me the car back on January 24th. The check engine light was not on at that time, but when I tried to st[redacted] it on the 25th the light was back on and the car would not st[redacted].

January 27 – I had the car towed back into the shop for them to fix. I called the shop every day for three weeks, and sometimes multiple times when I could not get ahold of [redacted], the Shop Manager. During that time, the shop could not find the answer to the issue. Finally after three weeks the dealership shop gave up on it and said to take it to a Nissan dealership.

February 13 – I picked up the car after hours (it did st[redacted], with coaxing, but ran very rough) and parked it at home. When I tried to st[redacted] it on February 14th it would not st[redacted]. I went into the office on February 14th and spoke to [redacted] who stated that if Nissan could not fix it, they would do an accommodation deal where they would swap the car out for another.

February 14 – I spoke to [redacted] at [redacted] and explained to him what my warranty was and what I thought it covered. I asked them if a diagnostic fee would be covered and he stated yes if they did work on the vehicle and the issue pertained to the drive train that was covered by warranty.

February 24 – (I had to wait for a pay day in case I needed to pay for the diagnostic) I had the car towed to the [redacted] dealership on Rt. 13 in New Castle, DE. I called on the 26th and spoke to [redacted] in the service dep[redacted]ment. He stated that the issue was a wiring harness and a control module. [redacted] gave me an estimate of 2289.00 to fix it. When I spoke to [redacted], he stated I would need to talk to [redacted] about the “as is warranty” that covers, electrical systems from Deals On Wheels. After numerous attempts to contact her, [redacted] from the shop called me and said that [redacted] stated she would pay for half of the repair. The as is warrantee states this repair is covered as it was an electrical issue and that was covered under the warranty. I repeatedly tried to contact [redacted], but she was out of the office or unavailable. The last time I tried to contact her, I was told that she called the shop and that I should give [redacted] a call back. I made numerous attempts to contact [redacted] that day.

February 25 – I called Deals on Wheels and spoke to [redacted], he asked for a copy of the estimate, so I had [redacted] from Sheridan fax it over to him on February, 26th.

February 28- I attempted to contact Deals on Wheels 7 times, and was unable to get ahold of either [redacted] or [redacted].

March 4 - I had the car towed back to my house near Deals on Wheels. I also met with [redacted] and [redacted] and they stated that the p[redacted]s that needed to be replaced were high tech electrical p[redacted]s and were not covered under the as is electrical warranty. We decided that I would pay for p[redacted]s and that Deals on Wheels would pay for labor.

March 6- I paid $1000.00 in cash and $348.00 on my debit card to have them fix the issues [redacted] had found. They also lent me a 1993 Toyota Corolla which I returned on the 8th because it was overheating and the transmission was bad. They replaced it with a 2007 Hyundai Accent. I left the office with [redacted] assuring me that he would call me when the work was completed.

March 25 - since I had yet to hear from them I called to find out what the status of my car was and one of the shop personnel stated that my car had been towed to a Nissan dealership but the person did not know which dealership. This was done without my knowledge or consent.

March 27 - I drove to [redacted] to see if it was there and it was. I spoke to the receptionist, but she did not have much information because the shop personnel had already left for the day.

March 28 - I went back to Sheridan and spoke to [redacted]; he stated that they were just waiting for Deals on Wheels to come get the vehicle. [redacted] also stated that there was a timing chain issue with the vehicle. While I was at Sheridan, I called [redacted] and asked him what was going on with my car to hear what he had to say. He stated that there was a little work that Deals On Wheels had to do and that it would be towed to their shop that day.

April 3 - I went down to the shop and discovered that my car had not been towed and was told that the tow truck that I saw leaving the shop was going to pick up my car from [redacted]. I also mentioned to [redacted] that the clutch in the loaner Accent was slipping; there was no response from him about that issue. Jessie the salesman who had sold me my car, was looking at the sagging front bumper of the loaner Accent. I told him that it was like that when I received it. As far as I knew everything was going to be handled.

April 5 - On my way home from dropping my sister at her music group, the clutch on the Accent stopped working. It was in a neighborhood close to Deals On Wheels. I called them just after the clutch died to let them know. They sent Neal to come pick me up to bring me back to the office. I spoke to [redacted] and she stated that I would have to pay for the clutch and she would talk to [redacted] about that. She also stated that I was not going to be able to get another loaner and offered me a ride home. She was very unprofessional about the whole situation, so I decided to walk home. My mother then loaned me her 1997 Ford Econoline Van as she had just purchased another vehicle so thankfully they had one to spare.

April 8 – I received a phone message from [redacted] stating that there was a lot of damage I caused to the vehicle and that I would be obligated to pay for the damages. Once she received an estimate she would contact me. They did not call me back in reference to that matter.

April 9 - I called twice and spoke to [redacted] with no answer on how my car was doing.

April 10 - I finally spoke to [redacted] on my fourth attempt to reach him. He stated that the timing chain was bad, we discussed the issues and he stated that they would replace the motor to avoid future issues. He also said that he would call me back with a status and instructions on what to say to the warranty company, Guardian, if they called me about replacing the motor.

April 16 - I called again with no answer

April 21 – I called and spoke to [redacted] about the ignition switch and stated that my car would st[redacted], but if it was turned off I would have to wait for about a half hour to try to rest[redacted] it. He was going to continue working on it.

April 22 - I called with no answer.

April 23 - I called and spoke to [redacted]. She stated that [redacted] was still working on it and that she did not have any answers for me other than that.

April 24 - I spoke to [redacted] and he stated he thought he had it fixed but that he wanted to keep it another day to make sure everything was good.

April 25 – There was a phone message that [redacted] wanted to talk to me which I did not see until after I showed up at the shop where they let me know she wanted to talk to me. Along with my boyfriend, I went over to the office to talk to [redacted] went into her office and called [redacted], who came over. We went into her office where they both immediately st[redacted]ed yelling/screaming at us. They kept asking why I didn’t bring in the loaner as soon as I knew that it had clutch issues and why I didn’t let them know about the damage to the back of the car that I was, up until that point unaware of. They asked me why I didn’t notice the damage to which I stated that I get out of work at midnight and it was rather dark to see anything, but had not noticed anything wrong with the car. [redacted] stated that apparently, I did not know how to drive a manual transmission vehicle to which I stated I have always driven manual. My former car was a manual and the car I recently purchased from them was a manual. Both [redacted] and [redacted] kept yelling. “How are you going to pay for this?!?” over and over. [redacted] yelled “How could you drive a million and one miles on a bad clutch?” To which I stated “Hold on where are you getting a million and one from” [redacted] asked how many miles I had driven, I stated about 600. [redacted] stated that you could not drive even 20 miles on a bad clutch. Then they st[redacted]ed to ask my boyfriend how I drove the car to which he stated that I drove fine and that I don’t stall out or rev the engine. They then asked how he would know how I drove the car, was he with me 24/7 to which he answered we live in the same place and work at the same place with similar hours, so yes. They kept asking why I didn’t bring it in? I stated that I thought it was just st[redacted]ing to go and still had some miles on it. [redacted] stated that she felt like I had no remorse the day the clutch died about the damage and that I had an attitude about not getting another loaner. At time in question, I was not upset about not getting another loaner, I was more upset about [redacted]’s unprofessional demeanor towards me and that I had yet to get a car that would actually run from Deals On Wheels. [redacted] stated that the estimate she received from the shop was $1118.00, but that she would give me a copy of their estimate. She also said she would only charge me for the clutch, the back pumper damage and the tail light. She said she was not going to charge me for the dings and scratches here and there or the front bumper because it was just clips. She showed us after pictures from when I returned it and stated she had before pictures, but did not show us. [redacted] stated that this is a female run business and that she felt sorry for me when I came on March 4th and did not want to leave me high and dry even though I had been without a car since January 22nd. [redacted] stated that I would get my car back Monday April 28th after we had come to a payment agreement for the damage to the Accent. In effect holding my car hostage until I agreed to pay for damages I did not incur. She stated that she would be amenable to me paying an extra 50.00 on each car payment until it was paid off if I could not make a lump sum payment. At that point we had to wrap things up because we were already running late for work. I spoke to my mother about this and we both decided that it was time to take action against Deals on Wheels and the lack of service and professionalism provided. The loaner car in question is 7 years old and has over 90,000 miles on it. The clutch going out should be considered wear and tear. As for the other damage, Once Deals On Wheels picked me up from where it died, it was left there for well over 3 hours and anything could have happened while it was there.

At this point, I would like to sever all ties with Deals on Wheels. I have lost confidence in their ability to provide me with a car that will run and be professional about it.

I feel that their treatment of my boyfriend and me was completely uncalled for and unprofessional. I have and will continue to make timely payments for the vehicle they have had for more time than I have, since I purchased it in November of 2013 until an agreement is reached.