STL Auto Sales LLC

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2016/01/12) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Manager
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@gmail.com
In response & order of the complaint.
1) Check for full amount of $3150 - Lie
We received a check for $3700. They forgot to mention...

[redacted] spoke with the lender & got their loan amount raised so they could use the down payment $ for taxes & other fees. You're welcome for [redacted] helping you.
2) Unprofessional office - True
We are a family owned & operated car lot. We don't dress in shirt & ties. We dress casual. We have toys for our children that are at the lot & to entertain our Customers' children when they bring them to look at cars.
3) The 1st person I encountered advised me to speak to the man over in the corner playing with his child - Lie
[redacted] has known my brothers & I since the early 90's. He knows exactly who I am. No one advised you of anything at that moment. I was playing with my son. That is not a bad thing.
4) I put $500 down on the car with the assurance that everything would be fixed & good within the week - Lie
This took place on THRS Dec 3rd
I did not assure of anything with a deadline. We have to locate & see how long before we can pick it up or have it delivered. We try to stay cost effective as that's how savings are passed ** our customers. I did assure it will be taken care of though.
5) The next day I brought the check for the remaining balance of the car & I drove the car off the lot - Lie
You brought the check for asking price of $3150 + $550 that would be refunded (as soon as check clears). Yes, [redacted] drove car home as he said he wanted to have it for the weekend. We did say it could use an oil change. This was FRI Dec 4th. You're welcome.
6) I called [redacted] & advised that I had issue with fluid container, said they would repair it, no issue -this event was saying Saturday the 5th -Lie
I have only communicated with [redacted] over Facebook all up to this point. No phone calls at all. I have spoke with [redacted] at all except when she was at the lot. I did agree to fix the washer fluid reservoir that you found out had a leak. that was not part of the deal, but just added in that expense on us. You're welcome.
7) I waited the week out, calling to make sure I was able to get everything done, I really liked the radio & wanted it to work. (This one, I have no clue what she means)
The week? What week? Not the week that I didn't assure. I didn't know about the reservoir until Mon 7th, when he messaged me about it. Who was you calling and what was you trying to get done???
The radio you liked so much was a factory cd/cassette radio that came with car. It was nothing spectacular. We wanted it to work so we wouldn't have to replace it. You knew it didn't work. I haven't even had a chance to order until Monday.
8) So spoke to [redacted] & dropped my car off to be taken care of. Come back the next day to find nothing was done, hood was open & keys were not at the establishment. They advised me they had the wrong radio and [redacted] stated he would contact me when it was in. I then waited another week without any contact & called that Friday to find out all of the parts were in and they could do it the following Monday
Only [redacted] communicated with me by Facebook messenger. I'm not sure where they are in time with this, but I'm assuming after we received the 1st factory radio (cassette only). We could've installed this one, but I figured they wanted the cd/cassette that originally came with it. [redacted] confirmed he wanted the cd/cassette. The hood was open (I guess a clear sign nothing was done), but I said our guy was getting a part for the car. KEEP IN MIND, WHEN THEY DROP THE CAR OFF, IT'S AFTER 5PM WHEN THEY ARE OFF OF WORK AND WE CLOSE AT 6PM. We teach our technicians not to leave keys in the cars. If they are working on a car and leave to retrieve a part, bring key inside or take it with you. Do not leave in the car. We have had cars stolen from us in the past. We called the technician and he confirmed he had the keys. Throughout this week, [redacted] kept messaging me to see if the check cleared. I wasn't sure as I don't watch over the bank account. I kept in contact and made sure he had his $550 back by the Friday after he closed the loan on it. You're welcome. When he came in to collect the $550, we discussed the new radio and I let him know it would be delivered Monday. He asked if he should leave car here or if he could take it and drop it off Monday. I told him whatever he wanted to do. He then said he would have to find a ride to work Monday. I told him to call me when he was ready to go to work. I'll give him a ride to and from work if he needed. I told him to call me Monday morning to wake me early if he needed a ride. I even offered him a loaner from the lot. He said he would just take his car home and figure it out and call me if he needed a ride.
After he left with the car, there was no contact until the next Friday, but he knew it was being delivered and he was suppose to set something up for me to give him a ride to and from work. I did not here from him. So then, he messaged me back that next Friday 18th about tossing him a "bill" ($100) instead of doing the radio. I was thinking after all the messaging back and forth, he's trying to get $100 out of us now? We already spent $50 and communicated about the last radio we received from our supplier. There was no refunds, so no...we are going to install this radio as we said.
9) Drove up there & they were able to install everything, but when I turned the car on, the radio read LOCKED. I was then advised to call a dealer and get a code from them. I called the dealer and said it would be about $130. Contacted [redacted] & he said he could resolve that issue, I just had to drop it off again - Lie
Yes we had it installed and we did inform him we still had to take it to get unlocked. He said he was upset that it wasn't done. I told him I got that but we just had it installed and didn't have time to make an appointment yet since we just did it. He then said, you should just give me a "bill" and call it even. I told him no, he wasn't getting money from us after all the time we spent dealing with that. Maybe we would've if he would've offered in original deal or before we bought that radio, but now after all of that.
10) Agreed to drop it off a week later & called that day to pick it up & was advised that the ignition was locked & would not start. [redacted] said it would be the next day before it was ready. Came back to pick it up, ignition now is so tight you can barely turn the key & radio is still LOCKED. The only remedy I was given was an old CD player they had sitting in the office. Not an option. -Lie
I informed you I could take it the next day to get the radio unlocked if he wanted to me to. He said no he looked up the info and every time the battery gets disconnected or loses total power, that it would need to be unlocked again. I then offered a nice, big face aftermarket unit that we took out of a trade in 07 vw jetta that needed a factory unit installed due to the radio being the brain of the European car. He just asked if we could toss him a "bill" and call it even since it would be $130 to put code in. I told him no, we spent a lot of time and dealing with it and we wont do that, but he can have this one. He got upset and left. About a week later he texted and apologized for the way he has been acting about the radio and if we would get it unlocked. I then agreed after everything we been through. He done left without reason and basically the deal was done. So he dropped it off, I took to a tech buddy of mine and he programmed it and told me that would have to be reprogrammed every time it lost power, but it would be a while before he could reprogram the VIN into the radio because that was timely while he was on the clock. He told me he could do it at a later time off the clock. I tossed him a $20 and thanked him and said I would probably be seeing him later to do the VIN programming to the radio. Then took car back to car lot and parked it. Later went out to move it and the ignition was locked. I got a hold of a locksmith. They came out and did what they do and charged me $50. This is something that would've happened to them, but since the car was in our possession, we took responsibility. It would've happened sooner or later locksmith said. [redacted] picked up car next day. I showed him he would have to push key deeper or harder into the ignition and radio reset after he did ignition. I told him I could go the next day and have the VIN programmed to the brain of radio & he declined and wanted a "bill". I told him not after all that. He left & couple hours later, his # calls my phone. I answer his wife asked why he brought the car last night in a loud assertive manner. I yelled and let her know she wasn't gunna yell at me after everything I done for them & all I've been through trying to deal with that car. I reminded her of the no $ down I helped them get. Then I hung up on her as she started yelling. She was mad I yelled back & that's reason for this complaint.