The Auto Vault

Review: We purchased a vehicle from The Auto Vault at the beginning of 2016, and it has significant electrical (some safety) issues, in addition to some external mechanical, which were not disclosed before sale. The Auto Vault claimed to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and showed the vehicle along with other high-end stock to suggest that it had been handled by specialists. Since purchasing we have been informed that the vehicle was originally bought for personal use, had not been handled by mechanics, and was without any standard of guarantee. After owning the vehicle two days; the on-board computer was intermittently failing, the dash was reporting errors throughout the electrical system, and we required to bring it in for service. After three months we found leaks in the air conditioner and problems with the exhaust system; amounting to thousands in repair. The mechanic who has been handling the issues believes that the scale and type of issues predate our purchase, and that due diligence was not done in reporting issues obvious to any trained mechanic.Desired Settlement: Ideally, we would like to have the issues with the electrical system and air conditioner fixed, and to review the resale value of the car against the value after repairs.

Business

Response:

I have contacted this customer multiple times to follow up on this sale, and he brought up concerns nearly a month after but had not provided any specific details about what was wrong with the vehicle, nor did he ask for The Auto Vault to pay for any repairs. I offered him an extended warranty, but he did not respond to the offer. Since I am unable to purchase the warranty without the customer's consent, I could not warranty the car. I asked the customer for the mechanic name and number, and detailed report or invoice or receipt so I can have a mechanic discuss with their mechanic, but was not provided the customer's mechanic contact info until 5 months after the initial incident. I even asked if I could have a vehicle verifier (3rd party) come out to see the vehicle, and the customer never responded. The sale of the vehicle was an honest transaction and no faults or conditions were hidden during communication. The faults that the customer have listed were identified by a code reader and can be all faults during the lifetime of the vehicle (e.g. oil low can even be a fault, but even oil was changed it doesn't delete history in BMW vehicles). An oversight on my part for not responding to the customer's last email, prompted the customer to threaten to file complaints. I've called, emailed and responded to all but the last email from [redacted], and specifically asked what he is asking for. Without a request, I have been unable to respond with what we can do for him. This is the first time I am seeing an actual amount requested from the customer for us to pay. Attached is all our correspondence. I'd love to speak to someone about how to resolve this as I feel I have done everything I can. I'm unwilling to hand over a check for $6000 without verifying the condition of car, which we had for 1 month and did not have any of these issues nor did they come up during an inspection of the vehicle. I look forward to hearing from Revdex.com. Thanks in advance,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Customer did not purchase a contract cancellation agreement, and purchased the vehicle As-Is. All of the complaints the customer communicated months after purchasing the vehicle. The customer did not respond to our attempts to reach him to ask about his vehicle purchase during the first month after purchase. When we heard from him, he provided vague information. The first time we saw invoices and even a cost for repairs was when this Revdex.com was filed. The car was purchased in January 2016.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: It greatly understates the effort we made to resolve these issues with The Autovault, and provides no evidence of a thorough inspection being made before sale.As mentioned previously, we visited The Autovault and were shown the vehicle amongst a collection of other high-end BMWs. The vehicle was being detailed, and we were informed that it was a high-performing vehicle which had been handled with the same care as the selection of other vehicles we viewed. After leaving, The Autovault informed us that another party was interested in buying the vehicle, and so we organized a loan and a return visit as quickly as possible. We have since learned that claims of this sort are fraudulent if they cannot be proven. After discovering the electrical issues with the vehicle, we contacted The Autovault and spoke to them a few times on the telephone in the weeks which followed. They assured us that the vehicle was sound, and informed us that there was little which could be done through any extended warranty. When major mechanical issues were discovered with the vehicle The Autovault requested that we put our mechanic in contact with them, and that we recover as much information regarding the issues as possible. We believed that The Autovault would have a record of the vehicle which could be compared to our mechanics, but they have not produced any information and have been unavailable to respond.The Autovault continues to assert that the vehicle was thoroughly inspected, and that it was handled by their team of professionals, but have provided nothing to support this claim besides the Air-Care document they previously submitted.