Elkton Auto Corral, Inc.

I emailed this place at the beginning of last week about a 2000 Avenger for my 16 year old. I waited two days without a response. I finally called on Wednesday to make them an offer. They wanted $3995 for this car and I offered them $4000 out the door. They agreed. Unfortunately for me I live four hours from this place and tell them I won't be there until Saturday morning. I tell them. They say fine. I leave at 5:00 Saturday morning and get there right at 9:00 to find out the car was sold the day before. No email, no text and no opportunity to make them a better offer. I know it first come first serve in this business but I would've appreciated a little more effort in being informed. All I got was one voicemail to a phone that's voicemail has been on the fritz for weeks. Unfortunately for me it was a wasted day. Unfornately for them the only other car like that in that condition is 400 miles from where I live and I would've gladly gave them $5,000 before tax title had I been informed. My reveiw of this place is seemingly quality automobiles and fair prices but terrible salesmanship.

I’m in the military and purchased a '02 Ford F-150 while deployed from Elkton Auto. I communicated directly with the owner [redacted], who indicated the truck had no problems whatsoever. I sent a $9,500 check to Elkton Auto and the Kelly Blue book value for this truck was less than that. I didn’t have an issue paying more than it was worth as I wanted this vehicle and based on the online advertising and [redacted]’s indication that it no problems. I agreed to pay $9,500 which was slightly less than what it was advertised it for. After the truck was shipped to my home, I wanted some aftermarket parts installed on it including having it licensed & titled at a local auto shop. They performed a thorough inspection of the truck and it’s a complete lemon. The whole undercarriage is rusted, nearly impossible to shift into four wheel drive, gas tank is leaking because of the rust, radiator is about to fall out, exhaust pipes are rusted, tailgate won’t open without extreme effort, and the underbody is spray painted to hide the rust. The truck was delivered to my home with only 1/8 a fuel tank, so Elkton Auto didn’t bother to fill the gas tank up unless it leaked while being transported. I took this truck to a local Ford dealership after I returned home for the holidays and they reconfirmed these discrepancies and both shops deemed this truck unsafe to drive. I called Elkton Auto Corral and spoke with [redacted]'s wife [redacted] who also works there and indicated I received a lemon of a truck. I informed her that I wanted to ship it back and have it refunded but I was willing to keep the truck if they paid for the repairs. I justified this due to their false advertising. She denied that the truck was in its current condition when it left Ohio and I retorted these defects don't occur on a one day journey via trailer from one state to another. [redacted] offered to compensate me $2,000 for the repairs which I refused. I informed her that the frame is completely rusted and would need to be replaced to be safe to drive. I told her I plan to ship the truck back to Elkton Auto and would make arrangements with the shipper to do so. I traded voicemails & emails with [redacted] and also informed him of my intent to return the truck to him. On one email he listed a bunch of rhetoric and how he was broke, near bankruptcy, etc. I am sympathetic due to today’s economy but not with these business practices of Elkton Auto. I called the same shipper that delivered the truck to schedule a pickup and return to Elkton Auto. The shipping company informed me that Elkton Auto contacted them behind my back and indicated they would not take the truck back if it was delivered to them. I immediately called Elkton Auto and spoke with [redacted] again and she informed me that her husband, [redacted] would not be taking the truck back. She informed me that she's sorry I'm not happy with the truck, continues to say it was in good condition when it left Ohio, and I'm pretty much out of luck. I strongly recommend you not purchase your next vehicle from [redacted] or [redacted] from Elkton Auto Corral. They both knew what they were selling me; yet continue to deny the truck was in its current decision when it left their lot. They’re probably the most dishonest personnel of any profession that I’ve ever done business with. Fortunately I can afford to lose this income because I deploy frequently, but I can think of nearly 10 grand that could have been utilized better. Ultimately it was my own fault as I was anxious & excited to purchase this vehicle and I learned my lesson well. Don’t repeat my mistake and don’t EVER purchase anything from [redacted] or [redacted] from Elkton Auto Corral. Buyer beware!