The Import Car Store

Review: In March of 2012, I purchased a vehicle from the Import Car Store. I also purchased and included in the financing a 3 Year/38,500 Mile Warranty through the dealership. The warranty was purchased from [redacted] for $1,750. The plan purchased was the "Comprehensive" coverage that would include all powertrain and brake/steering/suspension issues. It would also cover rental cars during repair. At the time of warranty purchase the vehicle had 95,309 miles. On March 13, 2013, we took the car to the shop to renew the state inspection, but it was rejected due to some serious suspension issues. At this point in time, the vehicle has 103,408 miles. (total driven miles if 8,099 since time of purchase). We then took the vehicle to the [redacted] dealership on March 14, 2013 to be inspected and was given the same diagnosis regarding the suspension and was also old the o2 sensor was bad, which should have also been covered under the comprehensive warranty. We elected to have the [redacted] dealership fix the vehicle and provided them with the warranty contract that was purchased from Import Car Store. The [redacted] service department contacted the warranty company to get authorization for repairs on Friday March 15th and was told that the warranty was invalid. The service department and I made several attempts to contact [redacted] at the Import Car Store beginning Monday March 18 but wasn't able to reach her. We tried for several days before we were able to reach her regarding the warranty. She told us on or about March 22nd that she would look into the issue. On Monday March 25th, with my vehicle not safe to drive and still in the shop, I had to have a rental car provided to me by the [redacted] service department so I could do some business travel. This should have been included in the warranty coverage. While I was traveling for work, I attempted to contact [redacted] at the Import Car Store many times through-out the day but she was always unavailable and didn't return my phone calls. The [redacted] service department also called several times and received the same result. On Tuesday March 26, 2013 I was finally able to reach [redacted] via telephone. She stated that the warranty company had never received the contract from the Import Car Store due to the [redacted]. On that same day, a representative of [redacted] told the [redacted] service department that they wouldn't provide warranty coverage for the needed repairs because the warranty was not in effect and that they would not put a warranty in effect because the vehicle now had over 100k miles. When I contact [redacted] again to find out what she was going to do about it, she seemed frustrated and said she would try to get a warranty in place but it would take several days. On March 27, she told me that she couldn't get a warranty on the vehicle and that they would have to reimburse me for it. When I got to her office later that day, she handed me a check for the $1750 I paid for the warranty and suggested I use it for the truck repairs I asked if there were any other warranty options and she said there was not. With my vehicle still in the shop and out of commission of for nearly two weeks and a quote for repair of nearly $2k, I reluctantly picked up the check so I could pay for the needed repairs. [redacted] indicated that the Import Car Store would stand behind the vehicle for what would have been the warranty term. She also suggested I use [redacted] for the repair as it would likely cost a little less than the [redacted] service department. On March 28th I tuned in the rental care that was not being covered by the warranty, paid the [redacted] service department $158.96 for the diagnostic fee and the car rental. I then moved my vehicle down to [redacted] for repair. On April 5th the vehicle was repaired and finally passed the safety inspection. The total cost for the repairs were $1,322.82. On October 20th, 2013 the vehicle broke down with my daughter driving it. At this point the vehicle had 109,565 miles on it. The vehicle was towed to the [redacted] service department once again for diagnostics. On October 21 I was told that the motor had a major defect and would need to be replaced. I was quoted $5500 for the repair which included parts and labor. I tried contacting [redacted] at the Import Car Store several times with no response. On October 30, 2013 I located a new motor for the vehicle for $1,325 and picked it up in [redacted] a 180 mile round trip and a day off work. On November 5 I towed the vehicle back to [redacted] for the repair. The vehicle repair was completed on 11/8/2013 at a cost of $1,643.01. The grand total for the repairs was $3,396.44, not including time and transportation expenses for picking up the replacement motor. On November 14th, I took the repair receipts to the Import Car Store and was told by [redacted] that there was nothing she could do, but she would take the truck on trade in. I explained that she assured me that she would stand behind the vehicle after the warranty I paid for was never activated and she insisted there was nothing she was willing to do to help me. I have clear proof via contracts and back financing documents that I intended to have and paid an extended warranty on this vehicle. Due to the mishandling by the Import Car Store I was not provided the warranty I was due by the sales contract. I have $4,719.26 in total repairs after only 14k miles driven in 18 months which would have been well within the 3 year/38,500 mile warranty that was paid for in the initial sale of the vehicle.Desired Settlement: The Import Car Store should be responsible for all repair costs of the vehicle.

Business

Response:

Spoke with [redacted]. She states that once it was found out that the warranty did not make it to the warranty company the customer was given the choice to reinstate the warranty or to receive a full refund for the warranty price. He decided he wanted the refund price, and so his car would have no warranty on it. The business does have the signed request form and a canceled check to show this decision.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Please see original complaint with all the details. Only after I needed the warranty did I find out it was not a valid warranty.

Review: on june 4,2013 I went to the import car store to buy a car. I brought the car the next day a engine light came on so I took the car back the next day back to the import car. I spoke to the lady who sold m the car and told her what was going on and she said maybe it the gas cap. her son goes outside use a machine come back in and said its gone if it come back on take it to meineke and the can fix it.next day I took it they check it and said it was the catalytic converter I also told them about the shacking of the wheels they made the tire even. so I waited a week for the parts to come in took it back again. they cant fix it and they still feel the shacking of the car. car been to the shop four time all ready since I got it am not happy and no one is trying to help me I just want my money back... they told me that I would have no problem getting the car fix because the parts for the car is made by ford and that meinke is the only place I can take the car to get fix.its a [redacted] x type and I woulnt need to take it to a dealer to get it fix that why I got the car. am still in my 30 day because they said it could get fix at that repair shop. I need help pleaseDesired Settlement: just would like to get my money back

Business

Response:

I just received a letter dated 6/26/13 stating that [redacted] ill has a complaint. I wa shocked

Review: On Monday, November 11, I came to the store to look at a [redacted]. The vehicle was being serviced at the time, but **. [redacted] called someone and asked them to bring the vehicle back over so I could look over it. While looking at it, she assured me that the store has private mechanics that look over all of your vehicles and do thorough inspections of each one before they buy them. I took [redacted] at her word, believing that they do this as a means of quality control. After some time, I asked if I could test drive the truck and she said that would be fine. As we were pulling out of the Import Car Store lot, I checked the four wheel drive dial on the truck as I immediately noticed resistance in the steering and I wanted to ensure that it was in in two wheel drive. At that time, **. [redacted] asked "Have you ever driven a truck before?" I replied that I had driven a [redacted] before my Accord, and she responded, "Well [redacted] and [redacted] drive more like cars, but you'll see that this drives real 'trucky'”. I replied, “Yeah, I noticed that the steering was a little difficult” and **. [redacted] responded “The previous owner put on oversized tires, but the [redacted] typically come with narrower tires, so it is going to steer differently". Again, I took her at her word and representations that private mechanics had thoroughly inspected the truck and therefore the truck would not be for sale if the steering was not in working order and safe. I concluded the test drive and after some further conversations about the contract, I left. I returned the following Wednesday, November 13, with a friend, and we looked over the vehicle again. We both looked over the vehicle with flashlights and were as thorough as we could be with what was visible in plain view. We were reassured again that their vehicles undergo strict inspections before they are bought as a means of quality control. We took another test drive and found that the vehicle was slow to shift from four wheel drive back into two wheel drive, but again relied on **. [redacted]’s representations that the vehicle had been thoroughly inspected. I traded in my [redacted] in good working order for $3,000 and bought the truck that day, believing that the truck had been strictly inspected, that there were no major defects, and the truck would provide safe and reliable transportation. On Monday, November 18, I took the truck to [redacted] to have them look over it and let me know if there was anything I should know about for the future life of the vehicle. They quickly responded with two glaring concerns. The first was that there was substantial rust damage to the under belly of the vehicle, and the rust that would have been visible in plain view was spray painted over. The second was that there was clearly something wrong with the steering. I went over to Settle to speak with the mechanics in person, and they showed me the underbelly of the truck and discussed in detail the problem with the steering. The mechanic said, "Anyone who works with cars every day should know that there was something clearly wrong with the steering; it is not supposed to drive like this". We also looked at the [redacted] laws regarding inspection, and he confirmed that he would have substantial evidence to fail the vehicle for inspection. Upon hearing this news, I went and got my paper work and brought the vehicle back to the Import Car Store. In my conversation with **. [redacted], I asked for a refund. **. [redacted] refused, citing buyer's remorse, and said that “rust happens underneath trucks and that people paint over it all the time”. I told **. [redacted], “I’m not saying that you did paint over it, but you did know about it, and regardless, the truck’s condition was not accurately represented”. I also informed her that the mechanic would likely have not passed it for inspection due to the steering. Again, I stated that this was a misrepresentation of the condition of the vehicle. **. [redacted] continued to refuse to issue a refund, and told me that she would contact the warranty company regarding the steering issue and that she would be back with me after lunch the following day. She got back to me claiming that the representative from the warranty company was "sick with the flu" and that she wouldn't know anything until the following week. After appealing to them again, they refused to refund my money and sent me to a shop in town that was not equipped to repair my vehicle. Since then, I have taken the vehicle to another shop and have found that the mechanical damage to the vehicle is not covered under the warranty. Additionally, I am going to have significant work done to improve the condition of the undercarriage that was concealed from me.Desired Settlement: Ideally, I would still like a full refund for my vehicle. If that is not possible, I am asking for help regarding the assurance of the repairs of my vehicle. The Import Car Store sold me the vehicle knowing that it was damaged, and have since been unwilling to rectify the situation in any way besides sending me to one mechanic that was not fully equipped to deal with the repairs that the truck needed.

Business

Response:

Feb. 3, 2014
To whom it may concern:
,------_.....--""'
I am sorry that this letter has been delayed, but due to illness, I have been out of the office for a couple of weeks. [redacted] came into our store looking at the [redacted] pickup and said that he would come back. About a week later, he came in and wanted to take another look at the truck. I told him that we were having it serviced and it should be ready. I sent someone to get the truck and bring it back. He then test drove the truck. He seemed to like the truck and I informed him that when we buy our vehicles, we hire a set of mechanics to go through the truck at auction. If the vehicle passes their
inspection, we then bring the vehicle back and we have another set of mechanics go through the vehicle. We have a fresh oil change done in addition to anything else that the vehicle needs before it is put on the lot for sale. When [redacted] test drove the truck, I explained to him that trucks drove different than a [redacted]. It doesn't drive like a car. He never mentioned any problem with the way that the truck drove. He then came back a couple of days later and brought someone with him to look the truck over. He then test drove the truck again. He then put the truck in 4wd and he felt that the truck had some resistance which is perfectly normal when you are driving on dry pavement, and the person that he brought with him also stated that it was normal. He then switched the truck back to 2wd and was turning the vehicle while doing so. I tried to explain to him that he needed to drive straight or either back up to unlock the 4wd. [redacted] and the person that he brought with him went over the truckwithafine toothcomb. Theycrawledunderneaththetruckwithflashlights. Thepersonthat he brought with him said that this is a nice truck and that he should buy it. He then came in after spending almost 2 hours going over the truck. I have in no way misrepresented this truck. The person that came with him to look the truck over said that switching from 4wd to 2wd doesn't happen immediately. After I explained to him that he needed to drive straight for a little distance, he then confirmed. The truck was inspected by an inspection station here in [redacted]. The truck did pass inspection with no issues.
When [redacted] came in and stated that there was rust underneath the vehicle and that someone had painted over it, I explained to him that we did not paint underneath the truck. I informed him that it is not unusual for the trucks to be undercoated. We did not do the undercoating. We here at the dealership have driven the truck personally and never had any issues. When [redacted] came in and asked that he wanted his money, be refunded, because he was concerned about the undercoating that was covering some rust. I tried to explain to him again, that all vehicles rust underneath, and that it was normal to have trucks undercoated. He wanted me to refund the vehicle purchase price. I told him that we couldn't do that. He then called back and said that he had taken the truck to a shop and they stated that there was a problem with the power steering. I told him that I would contact the warranty representative and find out where he could take it. I then contacted the warranty representative and he
told me to have him take the truck to [redacted] which is their corporate shop that they use nationwide. I called [redacted] and had to leave a message. I have not been able to talk with him the last 2 times that I have called him. 'informed him to take the truck to [redacted] and have then take a look at the truck. If there was any issues with the power steering, that he does have the warranty and the representative said that they would be able to take care of it. [redacted] is a shop that Guardian Warranty has recommended that he take the truck to. [redacted] has done warranty work for Guardian in the past. I want to let you know that we have never concealed anything from [redacted]. All he would have had to do was to take the truck to [redacted] and if there was any issue, we would have addressed the issue at that time, with Guardian and also with the mechanic at [redacted]. We have not heard anything from [redacted] until we received the letter from you.
We have heard nothing from [redacted] that the warranty did not cover the power steering. We would
need to have the truck taken to [redacted] and a claim be called in by the mechanic. We will be glad to
work with the warranty company and [redacted].
I can assure you that we have in no way misrepresented, nor concealed anything about this truck to [redacted]. I will be sending a copy ofthis letter to him as well.
Thank you,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,