John Amato Ford, Inc.

Good Morning,I am very sorry that [redacted] has gone through this. [redacted] we appreciate you as a customer and thank you for your business. This is the first time this came across my desk.  I reviewed all of the signatures and paperwork from the transaction. We give  Warranty Forever...

on our qualifying pre-owned vehicles that have less than 100,000 miles at the time of purchase. That being said we usually do not fix or diagnose air conditioner problems on the pre-owned vehicles with over 100,000 miles that are sold as-is. If the air conditioner does not work, we check it as not working on the window disclosure as so. That was the case with the vehicle [redacted] purchased over 7 months ago in October 2014.  Even if the air conditioning works a little bit, we still check that there is a problem with it, we make it a practice with our staff at Amato Ford not to "sugar coat" problems. and we sell lots of as-is pre owned vehicles because of our practices. If there was a customer concern at the time of delivery, [redacted] stilled signed the window disclosure that stated the air conditioning does not work. Also we have a form called a We-Owe customer form. This is so if our customer were promised a repair, or an accessory, or anything, it comes up when they sign this form in the finance office. [redacted] signed this form that nothing was owed.  I would like to offer [redacted] to set an appointment to come in, and we will diagnose the air conditioning concern for no cost, and see what the problem is. Maybe we can even work with our customer  on the cost of repairs. Matt W[redacted]John Amato Ford

We appreciate Mrs. [redacted] coming back to the Amato Automotive Group to give us another opportunity to earn her business. On February 18th [redacted] and [redacted] took delivery of a Hyundai accent from our [redacted] location. That evening the vehicle unfortunately left her stranded the same...

night she purchased it.We sent our service manager, [redacted] to her place of residence to get the keys so we could go to where the car was to make arrangements to get it back to the dealership. [redacted] and I had several discussions on the phone as I wanted to apologize  and make sure the customer was ok, and she wanted to discuss her options for changing her mind on the purchase and "returning the car", in which we went to pick up.  John Amato dealerships all offer an exclusive  3 day return policy on qualifying pre-owned purchases. The technician found the battery to be ok but the starter was not working. We replaced it with a factory Hyundai starter and for customer piece of mind also installed a  brand new Motorcraft battery. [redacted] came back into the dealership when the repairs were completed the same day. We gave her the check backfor the purchase  and let her take the car on an extended test drive from Feb 19th to Feb 23rd to make sure she was comfortable and had confidence in the Hyundai Accent.  [redacted] came in on Monday February 23 with the vehicle, was happy with the car and we re-finalized the paperwork. I am very sorry for the inconvenience to both Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] and hope we can still be their friends for their transportation needs in the future.  [redacted]John Amato Ford

Will sell you "a bill of goods" when it comes to additional vehicle contracts. If you happen to reconsider and cancel said contracts it will take weeks to get a refund and/or reduction in your vehicle loan. If you experience after purchase issues there will most likely be delays and/or lack of communication and follow up by John Amato Ford personnel.

their service department could not diagnose a problem with my vehicle and kept trying to upsell me with something that was not the issue, and would not fix my vehicle until I bought the unnecessary parts. my vehicle left the dealership in worse condition than it was brought in at.

3 voicemails went un answered and numerous weeks of waiting for a response from the "service manager" went unanswered

I had to take my vehicle into another dealer to resolve the issue which they correctly diagnosed the problem and had it fixed in less time than Amato, with no up sell or issues what so ever

Review: We purchased a used car for my 18 year old son for $3000 and one month after purchase the vehicle now requires $3000-$4000 of repair. We had to purchase a new radiator for the vehicle so the auto repair shop could test the engine as the one in the vehicle had a hole in it, that was not disclosed to us. This dealer showed unethical sales practices by selling this vehicle to a teenager. We stated that he was going out of state for college and needed a reliable vehicle.Desired Settlement: We will would like to return the vehicle for it's purchase price or the seller should assist with repairs. The vehicle is unusable in it's current state.

Business

Response:

Good Afternoon,

Because we take pride in being a Warranty Forever dealership, we communicate very well to our customers when it comes to our pre-owned vehicles that are sold AS-IS. We advise that we do not offer a warranty on these purchases. We send many trade-ins to the auction due to mechanical or safety issues, but sometimes we have older vehicles that we feel are options for folks to purchase economical transportation and on these vehicles we inspect and disclose every problem we find. On 4/18 [redacted] came into John Amato Ford to look at new Fords as his company was discussing purchasing him a car . He mentioned they were looking for a car for their son as well for $3000 and we didn't have a car that fit the budget. He had shown interest in the Cadillac and returned with his wife and son to look at it anyway. Eventually I helped them out and sold a car to [redacted] that was red-tagged at over $4,000 for $3,000 plus tax, title, license and service fee. The vehicle was disclosed sold AS-IS with no warranty, but this is the first I have heard of any issues. We have a documented call in our CRM dated May 22, 2014 following up and thanking for the business. We never were told of any problems. Almost 3 months later to be asked for repair assistance would be unfair to all of the other customers who purchase AS-IS vehicles from our dealership. We do our best to make our customers happy and appreciate everybody who does business with our dealership.

Thank You

John Amato Ford

Business

Response:

Good Evening,

In both letters I have read here, it appears the main concern was selling a vehicle to a teenager based on how [redacted] ends each complaint. We are a dealer group with a great reputation and family owned in Wisconsin for well over 50 years. We do not participate in "unethical" business practices. We did not sell a teenager a vehicle. We sold the vehicle to [redacted]. I looked at the paperwork again and confirmed that Mrs. [redacted] signed the purchase agreement and all of the other documents.

If the vehicle would have had a hole in the radiator when we sold it, it would have not made it home without overheating. I do feel bad this has happened, but I clearly believe it happened after they purchased a vehicle that was sold as-is.

Thank You

Consumer

Response:

Review: I've been left in the cold 4 times in the past 3 years by warranteed cars purchased at the Amato dealerships: one at the [redacted] and one at the [redacted] store. Last night I bought a new car at Amato in [redacted] to find it did not start in the lot after purchasing. I was told by "[redacted]" at the front desk that the battery had been diconnected in order to be washed in the cold, and it would charge up and be fine once I drove it. [redacted] charged it with a battery pack and it started. I had to go to work at [redacted] more than a half an hour in rush hour traffic and I made it to the lot without problems but when my workshift was over at 10 pm, it did not start. My husband arrived a half an hour later with jumper cables and a charged battery pack and neither started the vehicle. He thought something must be wrong with the electrical.

I tried to get my money back as amato brags about a 3-day return policy but was told by [redacted] that he had to "charge me the same restocking fee of $500 he charges everyone or he'd be discriminating against others who returned their vehicles according to Wisconsin State Law. The only law the Consumer Protection agency reports is that dealerships are responsible for their own policies.Desired Settlement: I was told that I will be charged a $500 restocking fee by GM [redacted] even if my check for the purchase is destroyed. This is unacceptable and goes against the bold print in Amato's policy that they will give a full refund if customers aren't satifsfied and return the vehicle within 3 days with few miles on it, which we have. I was told I will only have to pay $500 and there won't be any more fees for anything and after being lied to and mislead about policies already I don't have any confidence in amato. I purchased a car 2 years ago and the mechanics at the [redacted] put my brakes in backwards and didn't fix the car correctly despite it having been taken in 3 times. im told by [redacted] this complaint will be dismissed im told by the WI consumer protection agency I have to file a complaint with WIDMV.GOV

Business

Response:

We appreciate Mrs. [redacted] coming back to the Amato Automotive Group to give us another opportunity to earn her business. On February 18th [redacted] and [redacted] took delivery of a Hyundai accent from our [redacted] location. That evening the vehicle unfortunately left her stranded the same night she purchased it.We sent our service manager, [redacted] to her place of residence to get the keys so we could go to where the car was to make arrangements to get it back to the dealership. [redacted] and I had several discussions on the phone as I wanted to apologize and make sure the customer was ok, and she wanted to discuss her options for changing her mind on the purchase and "returning the car", in which we went to pick up. John Amato dealerships all offer an exclusive 3 day return policy on qualifying pre-owned purchases. The technician found the battery to be ok but the starter was not working. We replaced it with a factory Hyundai starter and for customer piece of mind also installed a brand new Motorcraft battery. [redacted] came back into the dealership when the repairs were completed the same day. We gave her the check backfor the purchase and let her take the car on an extended test drive from Feb 19th to Feb 23rd to make sure she was comfortable and had confidence in the Hyundai Accent. [redacted] came in on Monday February 23 with the vehicle, was happy with the car and we re-finalized the paperwork. I am very sorry for the inconvenience to both Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] and hope we can still be their friends for their transportation needs in the future. [redacted]John Amato Ford

Review: In October 2014 I purchased a blue 2004 Toyota Sienna. I went to Amato Ford and met with sales person Steven O. We went out to the lot to see the vehicle. As we were in the vehicle and he was showing me what all the buttons do, I turned on the air conditioner and it did not get cold. I told him immediately that this did not work. He reassured me it took a minute to get cold as he was turning it off. When we got out to the vehicle, I checked the information sticker on the window and it said the air conditioner did in fact not work. I addressed the issue again. Steven said "they check the box that the A/C doesn't work on any of the used vehicles, its just standard." I said well, if mine does not work, I want it fixed. I did not check it again, as it was cold outside when I purchased the vehicle and didn't need it. I have emailed Steven O, requesting help in solving this problem, but he says he cannot do anything about it.Desired Settlement: I feel that I was taken advantage of and misled just to make a sale just because I am a women. I had addressed the issue multiple times and did not get satisfaction. I would like Amato Ford to fix my air conditioner. I would also like some sort of apology for my trouble.

Business

Response:

Good Morning,I am very sorry that [redacted] has gone through this. [redacted] we appreciate you as a customer and thank you for your business. This is the first time this came across my desk. I reviewed all of the signatures and paperwork from the transaction. We give Warranty Forever on our qualifying pre-owned vehicles that have less than 100,000 miles at the time of purchase. That being said we usually do not fix or diagnose air conditioner problems on the pre-owned vehicles with over 100,000 miles that are sold as-is. If the air conditioner does not work, we check it as not working on the window disclosure as so. That was the case with the vehicle [redacted] purchased over 7 months ago in October 2014. Even if the air conditioning works a little bit, we still check that there is a problem with it, we make it a practice with our staff at Amato Ford not to "sugar coat" problems. and we sell lots of as-is pre owned vehicles because of our practices. If there was a customer concern at the time of delivery, [redacted] stilled signed the window disclosure that stated the air conditioning does not work. Also we have a form called a We-Owe customer form. This is so if our customer were promised a repair, or an accessory, or anything, it comes up when they sign this form in the finance office. [redacted] signed this form that nothing was owed. I would like to offer [redacted] to set an appointment to come in, and we will diagnose the air conditioning concern for no cost, and see what the problem is. Maybe we can even work with our customer on the cost of repairs. Matt W[redacted]John Amato Ford