Huntington Auto Group

Review: I purchased a used car from Huntington Mazda on April **, 2015. At that time, I signed a sales/financing contract for a 60 month loan at 7.35% interest. Since I am a resident of Washington, DC and the car was purchased in Huntington Station, NY, I was issued temporary New York State In-Transit tags and a temporary registration that was good for 30 days. I was told that the dealership would handle registering the car with the DC DMV and I'd receive my registration and tags within about 2-3 weeks after they received proof of DC inspection. Upon taking delivery of the vehicle and returning home to DC, I took the car to have a DC emissions inspection. The car passed and I sent the inspection form via email to Huntington Mazda so that they could process my DC registration. I was told at that time that the form was received and that nothing more was required of me. Three weeks later I attempted to contact Huntington Mazda because I had not yet received my registration/tags. I was repeatedly ignored until 2 weeks after my temporary tags expired. Eventually, the finance manager told me that they had made an error on my sales contract and that I'd have to sign a new set of documents. I was assured that the terms would be the same and that, once the new papers were signed, I'd receive my permanent DC registration within 2-3 weeks. The finance manager, Eddie P[redacted], drove to Washington, DC where I met him. He presented me with the new documents, however the terms of the deal were changed. The loan was now through a different bank and the interest rate was 8.99% and the amount financed had gone up by approximately $200. Mr. P[redacted] assured me that the dealership would write me a check for the difference between the original deal and the new one. Based on his assurance and the fact that I'd already had the car for several weeks, I signed the new papers. Only later did I realize that what happened was essentially a “Yo-yo finacing scheme” where a dealer allows a customer to leave with the vehicle without fully finalizing the financing only to later call the customer back due to some problem with the financing that will now cost the customer an inflated amount. This is a highly fraudulent practice.

Three days later I received a second set of temporary NYS In-Transit tags good for 30 days. 2 weeks later I attempted to contact Mr. P[redacted] because I had still not received my DC registration/tags or the check I was promised (although I had started making payments to the new bank). I was again ignored. When I finally spoke with Mr. P[redacted], I was told that they didn't have my DC inspection form. I promptly showed them the emails from April [redacted], when I originally sent them the form. I also resent it via email and overnighted the original to them. At this point I contacted the management of the dealership who took over handling my case. On July **, 2015, Mr. Jack D[redacted] agreed to personally ensure that my registration was processed and sent to me immediately, to pay a ticket I had received due to the expired tags (which I did receive), and to write me a check for the difference in cost to me between the first contract and the second. I have in my possession evidence to support all of this including recorded phone conversations, copies of both contracts, and countless emails. I did not received my DC registration/tags until SEPTEMBER **, 2015. Nor have I received the reimbursement promised me for the difference between the two contracts. This encompasses a span of 5 months since I purchased the car, during which time I have called and emailed Mr. D[redacted] and several other Huntington Mazda and Garden City Mazda (all part of Leader Auto Group, LLC) to little or no avail. I was unable to use the car for a total of 10 weeks due to the expired temporary tags. I have been misled and lied to on numerous occasions by Mr. P[redacted] and Mr. D[redacted] (telling me that I would have my registration in "3-4 days" only to find out that it would take weeks and being lied to about the terms of the contract being the same).

I believe that I am entitled to be reimbursed for the entire difference in cost to me between the first sales/financing contract and the second (approximately $480). I believe that Huntington Mazda's actions in this case were fraudulent and illegal, amounting to "yo-yo financing" scam. I also believe that I should be reimbursed for the loss of use of my vehicle for 10 weeks ($205 monthly payment + $104 monthly insurance payment = $773) due to the negligence of the employees of Huntington Mazda/Garden City Mazda/Leader Auto Group, LLC.

Also, I was issued another citation for my temporary tags being expired ($100), that Huntington Mazda agreed to pay, but still has not.Desired Settlement: I would like to be reimbursed for the costs outlined in my complaint above, totaling $1353.00. Additionally, my credit score has been damaged by Mr. P[redacted] running additional credit inquiries in order to effectuate the “yo yo financing” scam. I would like this corrected.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Huntington Auto Group, LLC regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: I negotiated a new car lease from this company via email and phone for a close family friend. I confirmed all the details through email which is included below. Neither I or the consumer got a call to change or discuss any changes prior to her picking up the car. At that point they refused to refund the money. Since my friend is non-confrontational she took possession of the vehicle. This is dishonest and deceitful and needs to be addressed. They have not returned my emails or phone calls to discuss a solution.Here is the email confirmation of the agreement:Hey [redacted], Please forward this link for [redacted], please note that the credit application is on a timer so if she can get all the information she needs like drivers license, pay stub, social security number, employee information (address and number). Click on this link or copy and paste into your web browser to enter your credit application online.[redacted] Also, if she can call me back with a $500 deposit which we will refund her once she picks up the car, just so I can get the car ready for her when she wants to come in Monday or Tuesday. To recap its $0 out of pocket for $449/month for 42 months, 12,000 miles per year. Stock number [redacted] which is the meteor gray with sand interior. Thank you and have a great day! [redacted] Huntington Mazda [redacted]###-###-#### EXT [redacted] DirectDesired Settlement: We were never provided the deposit refund as promised.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, my complaint, ID [redacted] regarding Huntington Mazda has been resolved.

(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)

Sincerely,