After my husband was involved in an accident that totaled our car, we needed a new one. We went car shopping in Arizona and were denied by several companies (Toyota, Ford, etc) due to bad credit. We were ultimately refered to a company called DriveTime that could help us, despite our bad credit.
The experience was pleasant. Our salesman was friendly and caring and, depite the high interest rate, we drove off the lot in a 2000 Ford Focus. Things were great... For awhile.
45 miles before our 3-month/3000 mile warranty expired, we started having issues. Thinking we couldn't do any claims because we lived 130 miles away from the nearest DriveTime repair shop, we took the vehicle to a Pep Boys for a diagnostic. The results were disappointing.
Our fuel pump and fuel filter were both at the end of their roads and our battery was close to death. Repairs were going to cost upwards of $500 and we didn't have that kind of money. I decided to contact DriveTime to see what they could do about it.
They gave me a bit of a run-around, but I finally got them to fix the fuel pump and filter (with documentation that the problems started BEFORE the warranty was up).
Then, while they were fixing the fuel pump at Pep Boys, they discovered that it was a recall that had never been fixed. After hearing this, I went online and researched recalls. I found out that there were many un-attended to recalls on our vehicle, including a battery cable being routed wrong, being too close to a heat source, posing a fire hazard.
I had the battery cable recall fixed, DriveTime had the fuel pump and filter replaced, and I replaced the battery. But the battery cable had been too close to the heat source for 5 years and is corroted, causing many mechanical problems that I cannot afford to fix myself. DriveTime sure isn't going to pay for it, as my warranty has been up for some time now.
I've made complaints to DriveTime when I've made payments, but I might as well have talked to a brick wall about my concerns. It's unnerving that this company gets away with boasting a 52-point (now 53-point) inspection, but they can't go and fix problems that would cost them nothing except the gas to take a vehicle to a dealership.
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