Three Amigos Auto Center

Review: Change in contract

I went to Three Amigos Auto Center on 03/10/2013 with my Mother [redacted] and my [redacted]. I drove from my house in Sacramento to see a Mazda 6 that I saw on there website. I noticed a lot of cosmetic damage on the vehicle that wasn't portrayed on there website. I told the sales person that I deciding to leave, but he pleaded with me several times to see a Mazda RX-8 that just came to the dealership. He directed us to a garage in the back parking lot. Upon looking at the vehicle I noticed that it was very dirty on the outside, and a lot of garbage was still in the vehicle. I didn't like the vehicle at first because it was too small, and I didn't feel as if it would be safe for me being pregnant or for my newborn once I gave birth. The sales person kept insisting that I take it for a test drive. He even stepped in front of me several times as I attempted to leave. I decided to take it for a test drive because I felt pressured. I enjoyed the test drive, but still didn't feel as if the vehicle was well suited for me and my family. I noticed that all the windows on the vehicle were tinted, and I asked if it was legal in the state of California. The sales person reassured me that it was completely legal. The sales person asked me several times to look at the paperwork inside. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least look. After looking at the paperwork, I decided to purchase the vehicle because I believed initially that it was being sold at a very good price. The sales person then briefly mentioned that the vehicle was declared a Lemon. I asked to see the Lemon Law paperwork that was associated with the vehicle. The sales person left to get the paperwork as requested, stopping to talk to my mother in spanish for a long period of time, and asking other sales workers to come by and tell us what they thought of the vehicle. All of the sales workers told me how good of a deal I was getting, and that the car wouldn't be on the lot for very long. At that point, I decided to put $8,000 down on the vehicle, and financed $9,814.75 through Wells Fargo Financial. Shortly after leaving the dealership, the screen for the radio stopped working, and it hasn't worked since. I also noticed that one of the AC vents were broken. I took it to a mechanic, and I was told that it would be at least a couple hundred dollars to fix both issues. After having the vehicle for roughly a month, I was pulled over by a CHP Officer and received a Fix-It ticket for my front windows being tinted. To this day, I never received the Lemon Law paperwork from them even after asking several times since leaving with the vehicle. I made a payment of $178.45 on 04/10/2013 and 05/10/2013. I received a check from Wells Fargo Financial for $356.90 toward the end of May, 2013. I went into a Wells Fargo Branch and I was told that Three Amigos Auto Center withdrew the financial agreement. I contacted [redacted] at Three Amigos Auto Center, and he told me that Wells Fargo Financial were the ones that withdrew the financial agreement. I asked [redacted] what I needed to do at that point and he explained to me that Golden 1 Credit Union would be taking over the financial agreement. I was also told by [redacted] that I would be getting the same deal as discussed with Wells Fargo Financial, and that Golden 1 Credit Union would be contacting me shortly. [redacted] also said that he would need me to backdate the financial agreement to 03/10/2013 when I went Golden 1 Credit Union to fill out a new contract. I waited about a month and decided to contacted Golden 1 Credit Union myself. I was told by a banker that I would have a higher APR, and higher monthly payments. I decided not to fill out a financial agreement with Golden 1 Credit Union because I wasn't given the same deal as promised. I attempted to contact [redacted], and I was told that he was on vacation. I called Three Amigos Auto Center several times over the period of a couple weeks and IDesired Settlement: was unable to contact [redacted] even after leaving messages. Three Amigos Auto Center sent several tow trucks to my former residence, and has talked to my mother and boss at my workplace several times looking for the vehicle. I continued to try and get ahold of [redacted]. Once I was able to get ahold of [redacted], I explained that Golden 1 Credit Union wanted me to pay a higher APR and higher monthly payments. He told me that it wasn't his fault that Wells Fargo Financial withdrew. I've attempted several times to resolve these issues with Three Amigos Auto Center. I have called several times, and they have had me talk to several different people. Three Amigos Auto Center said that they can finance me through there own financing. They want me to bring the vehicle to there dealership and talk to them further about the offer. I've attempted to discuss the potential offer over the phone before going in, but they said that they want to talk in person. I don't feel comfortable taking the vehicle to the dealership, and I don't want to feel cornered into something that I will later regret doing like I already have. I also fear that they want me to come in so they can repo the vehicle. It has taken me this long to file a complaint because I wanted to try my best to resolve these issues with Three Amigos Auto Center, and I just had a baby 10/26/2013. I don't mind returning the vehicle and receiving part of my down payment back or financing the vehicle and making payments. Any help at this point will be much appreciated.

Business

Response:

We tried contact Ms. [redacted] because we haven't received payment. After Wells Fargo stopped financing her vehicle we took over the loan and payments were due to us, Three Amigos. We were not able to get a hold of her for quite some time. When we were finally able to get a hold of her (she had changed address and wouldn't answer our phone calls) she refused to talk to us and authorized her boyfriend, [redacted], to speak with us. We clarified for him that payments were due to us and that we would take care of the financing as stipulated in the contract. He promised to contact us to confirm the appointment we had made for them come in. He never called and also stopped answering our phone calls. Unfortunately, we have not received any monthly payments since the vehicle was purchased. Ms. [redacted] has had possession of the vehicle and hasn't made any payments on it. We sent a letter requesting that her account be brought current and as a courtesy we are not charging any late fees and we're also giving her time (until 12/28/13) to bring account current. We have tried to do everything in our power to help her, unfortunately, she doesn't respond to us and we can't help her if she doesn't communicate with us. We are, at this time, asking that her account be brought current and that she abides by the contract she signed.

Consumer

Response:

I was away for the holiday and didn't receive the response letter until my arrival back home today. I'm basically reiterating what was said in my original complaint. 3 Amigos Auto Center is telling lies.

3 Amigos Auto Center did try to get ahold of me at times. Someone from the business would call me and we would attempt to come to a resolution. They would tell me that they would get back to me, and after a couple weeks, I would call them. I would be passed to several people and told that they would get back to me. This went on for several months.

How can I make a payment without a contract? My payments to Wells Fargo were returned. 3 Amigos Auto Center wanted me to sign a new contract with Golden 1 Credit Union at a higher APR. They offered me financing through 3 Amigos Auto Center, but they want me to drive the car to them. They refused to talk about the new contract over the phone. I don't want to feel bullied into contract that I will regret later, and I don't want the vehicle repossessed. I don't necessarily want the vehicle at this point unless I get the same contract as originally offered. I don't want to give the vehicle to them either because I put a substantial amount down on the vehicle.

I have talked to DMV and have filed a complaint with them as well. 3 Amigos Auto Center claims that they took over the loan, but the DMV said that the title is still in Wells Fargo's name.

I just want to get this resolved. I'm not trying to get around payments. I just feel as if I'm being taking advantage of. I would be okay with returning the vehicle and getting part of my down payment back or bringing my payments up to date as long as I receive a contract by mail. The same contract that was originally discussed.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] we are reiterating what we have told you in several occasions in the past. We are honoring your contract for you; however, we need you to do the same and get your account current. We, Three Amigos Auto Center, haven't received any payments. Due to all the confusion and as a courtesy we are willing to let you get current by paying all of the payments that are due. We are, also as courtesy to you, willing to waive all the late fees that are due.

Review: I went into Three Amigos Auto Sales in Modesto, CA with my mother [redacted] to look at a used vehicle for my personal use. A gentleman named [redacted] greeted us and he became the salesman that began showing us different vehicles. We let him know that we were searching for a car priced around $15,000 that would be reliable enough to get myself to and from school and work. My mother, [redacted], let [redacted] know that one of the reasons we had traveled from - Sacramento to Modesto specifically to their dealership was because we had heard through their marketing, that they specialized in a zero-money down option to purchase a car. We let [redacted] know on several occasions that we did not have enough money to put any cash down for a car. [redacted] told us to narrow our vehicle choices to about three or four vehicles and from there we would be able to further narrow down which vehicle we wanted based on the price. He then proceeded to show us a 2012 Ford Fusion, which he suggested would be more economical for the specific uses I would have for the vehicle. The salesman then proceeded to take us inside to start breaking down the price of the car and how much the monthly payments would be. My mother and I began to feel uncomfortable with Francisco when he began to really "push" the car on us. Although we realize this is his job, he continued to heavily persuade us to purchase the car without us having test-driven the car. When I finally brought it to his attention that we weren't going to purchase a car that we had not yet test-driven, he immediately had someone else from the dealership bring the car so we could test drive it. After we came back from the test-driving the vehicle, Francisco once again began trying to explain to us the cost and monthly payments of the vehicle. When my mother and myself attempted, on several occasions, to let our salesman know that we wanted to take some time in private to talk about the purchase of the vehicle on our own, he ignored our requests time after time. Being both women and never having purchased a vehicle from a dealership, we never realized the mistake we made in not taking a male counterpart with us so that he could assert himself on Francisco's level. We felt at a disadvantage because we realized that we were pressured into purchasing a car on terms that we were not fully comfortable with and couldn't have had the chance to do so because Francisco, our financial representative, knew very well that we were not well-informed. My mother and I feel that we were taken advantage of because of our lack of knowledge of purchasing a car from a dealership. Upon telling Francisco several times that we did not have any money to put down for a down-payment on the vehicle, he continued to persuade us to ask our friends and relatives to borrow the money from them in order to be able to make the down payment that they were requesting from us. After approximately forty-five minutes of having our financial representative not pay attention to any of our requests we felt pressured enough to say yes and go ahead with the purchase of the vehicle. The contract for the purchase of the vehicle stated that we were going to give a $500 down payment for the car while we were still at the dealership on March 13' and we would have to call back on March 14" and give another payment of $500. However, after closer reading of our contract at home, we realized that on our contract there was no amount of $500 stated that we had paid on March 13th only a payment of $500 on March 14th. In addition to this discrepancy on the contract, we were also issued an Addendum to our Bill of Sale that had a different amount for different dates that did not fully coincide with those written in the Bill of Sale. Later on March 18", we received a call from one of the representatives from the dealership stating that we were approved for a lower interest rate and we had to go back to the dealership and sign a new Bill of Sale with the new interest rate for the loan of the car because the bank didn't finance the first contract. My mother and I made another trip to Modesto on March 19th and signed the new Bill of Sale, which we were not given any new dated paperwork. The only new paperwork that we received was the new Bill of Sale. After realizing the various discrepancies, I had my dad accompany my mother and I to the dealership to see if there was any way that we would be able to trade-in the 2012 Ford Fusion for another car on which we would not have to give any down payment. That took place on March 27th 2014. The gentleman we spoke to when we discussed the possibility of trading-in the vehicle was Marco A. Molina. When we first began speaking to him, he identified himself as the General Manager but as he realized what the discussion was about, he said he was not the General Manager. When my dad asked about a 90-day cancellation policy for any car purchase from a dealership he said that there was no such policy or law as that in the State of California. The people that we spoke to at the dealership were all very rude and told us that they couldn't do anything to help us cancel the contact or trade-in the car for another one. They basically told us that they couldn't do anything and that if we didn't pay they were just going to repossess the car and that ultimately the ones that were going to suffer from the repossession of the vehicle were going to be my mother and I along with our credit scores. We attempted in every way possible to speak professionally and in an amicable manner to the representatives from the dealership to solve this situation without greater consequences and they were unwilling to work with us in any shape or form.Desired Settlement: I feel that my mother and I were fully taken advantage of by the representatives form Three Amigos Auto Sales and did not live up to the expectations that are expected from every consumer in the State of California. I hope that something can be done to reprimand this business to prevent future customers from being taken advantage of like my mother and I.

I wish to cancel the contract which includes returning the car, getting my money back and not affecting mothers or my credit.

Business

Response:

In response to the allegations made by Ms. [redacted], we

disagree. Ms. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] had the opportunity to test drive the vehicle;

they chose to purchase, and also to discuss in length “the numbers” before

committing to anything. Ms. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] are both individuals of legal

age to purchase a vehicle on their own. We did not at any moment take advantage

of either one of them. All the documents were explained to them and copies were

provided as well. The contract, Mr. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] signed, is legally

binding and there is not legitimate reason why the contract should be

cancelled. We tried to accommodate Ms.

[redacted] and her mother. There weren’t any issues until they came in and did a

voluntary repossession of the vehicle. Even after they made such a decision and

broke their contract, we, in good-faith allowed them to pick up their vehicle.

We have fulfilled our duties outlined by the contract; unlike Ms. [redacted] and her

mother who have not made their payments due under the contract. We try to accommodate

our customers as much as possible. However, some requests are unreasonable and

we are not able to fulfill them. Ms. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] are more than welcome

to contact us if they have any further questions.