On or about the 4th of June, I, along with my daughter, came into your store on I-240. We were looking for a car for her. We intended on trading my Mercury Mountaineer, her car, in on a car. We didn't want to spend over $9000.00 on another vehicle and I clearly expressed this desire to the salesman. We looked at a Monte Carlo. We both ask him how much the Monte Carlo was and he somewhat avoided answering either one of us but insinuated it was in our price range. She liked the look of the car, so I told my sales man, Sergio, that I would have my husband come in on Monday and look at it. This was Saturday early evening. Of course, he didn't want me to leave w/o doing some paperwork. He also said he was in somewhat of a hurry because a boxing match was on T.V. And as soon as he got off work he was going to rush home to watch it with his son. He was insistent that I leave my Mountaineer and drive the Monte Carlo home.
We went into the dealership and that is where we were turned over to another gentleman because Sergio was also helping someone else. I told all the men I spoke with exactly what I needed in a car price. I told them clearly how my banker would price the car. I told them he would take the yellow and black NADA book, add and subtract the options and the trade in price is what he will loan. I said, as long as this car met those qualifications w/o me having to put down ANY money then we may have a workable deal, if my husband and my mechanic approve of the vehicle. At no time did these men not know exactly where I stood on what it would take for me to consider buying this car. They insisted I take the car and leave my Mountaineer. So I did.
I went out and pulled my Mountaineer up to the front of the dealership, where 80 % of the employees were standing. Sergio and I switched my belongings from one vehicle to the other. I gave him the keys and we left. I will leave out the details on why the trade didn't work. Do to the relevance and length of this letter. But if you want to know I will tell you in detail, at a later date.
The finance man wasn't happy that we couldn't agree upon the terms of the trade and told me to bring the car in that next day. I didn't have time to bring it, so I ask my son-in-law if he would take it after work. He took the Monte Carlo in but instead of picking up the Mountaineer he was told they couldn't find it. It was a fiasco to say the least. First of all they were rude and unwilling to assist my son-in-law with locating my vehicle. They told him 4 different stories, they said that it was there they just weren't sure where, then they said it was already taken to auction and couldn't get it back until the next day, then they said that it was taken to auction but someone was bringing it right away and finally that they weren't sure how long it would take them to get there so they had him drive a SUV home and for us to come back the next day. This whole process took over 3 hours. My son-in-law was very unhappy. He hadn't eaten dinner and had to walk across the street to a store and get some chips because they wouldn't let him use one of your vehicles to go get something to eat while he waited. (Very unprofessional, seeing how it was their r fault that he was in this predicament). He also said repeatedly that the staff was less than friendly and that they were purposely taking a long time to find my car.
The next day I didn't have time again to bring the SUV back. I called and told them this and also told them I felt as though they should bring it to me. But that was not going to happen. So I ask my older daughter and her husband to please take it back to Oklahoma City for me and pick up my Mountaineer. So they did and when they did. The Finance man walked with them to the car. The hood was open as my older daughter got in the drivers seat, her husband walked in front of the car to the passenger side but before he got in, the finance man said that the vehicle was getting hot and that the head gaskets might need replaced soon. He said this before my daughter even started the car.
My daughter called me as soon as she started the car and said Mom there is something wrong with the Mountaineer, it sounds really bad. I told her that I would call my husband and tell him what she said. But before I could reach my husband, he came to my office. I got in his truck and told him what she had said. He told me to call her right back and ask her specifically what it was doing. So I did. She said it was making a really bad sound, trying to die each time she slowed down and that white smoke was coming out the exhaust. Upon hearing this my husband said find a safe place and pull it over ASAP and turn it off.
As soon as we got to the car, my husband started it. I almost fell over when I heard the motor and saw the thick white smoke barreling out the back. I called the same man that had told the kids that they needed to watch out because it was overheating. I was furious and we had a very lengthy conversation. He flat out denied saying anything to the kids or having any knowledge as to what was wrong with the vehicle. He later acknowledged he knew there was something wrong before they left the dealership. He sent a tow truck to come pick the vehicle up and tow it back so his mechanics could look at it, free of charge none the less.
I will spare you the details over the next 7 weeks worth of excuses and stalling. To make it short, I was told parts were ordered but not in, that the mechanic hadn't had time to put the parts in, that it still wasn't running right so again more parts were ordered. Every time I called I was assured it would only be 1 or 2 more days. I didn't start calling for a couple of weeks in the beginning because of what had happened the night they towed our vehicle. You see my older daughter was going to take my younger daughter her car (Mountaineer) because she had plans that night but because we had to go pick the older daughter and her husbamd up w/o the Mountaineer, the younger daughter was forced to rely on someone to give her a ride back to my house. While she was waiting, she was attacked by someone and stabbed.
She was stabbed in the arm as she raised her arm to protect her face. She almost bled to death before someone got her to the hospital. She had to be rushed by ambulance to another hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. We were told she might loose her arm if they didn't loose her. The surgeon said she was extremely lucky to have made it to the hospital when she did because if she hadn't she would have bled to death without question. Along with other damage, she had 3 major arteries severed. They were severed in a way that they couldn't keep the bleeding stopped with pressure. Thankfully she made it and she still has her arm. However she doesn't have use of it. She can not feel 3 of her fingers and is visibly impaired. She has not been able to care for her young son since the attack. Her life and ours has been forever altered by this. It has been a hard long road to recovery. And we aren't close yet.
That is why the delay in my filing anything on this company because I have been unable to devote any time to anything other than the immediate needs of my daughter and grandson.
After almost 2 months my husband received a call that the Catalytic converter was bad and wanted to know if we wanted to pay to have them replace it. My husband called me and told me that the reason the catalytic converter was bad was because when they blew the head gasket, it caused water to get into the cataleptic converter. I am not certain how all this works but my husband is a pretty good mechanic. They then said because we didn't say we would pay for the Catalytic converter, they put it back together with the old one. Saying that, it would not run right until we replaced it.
This was all the work they were willing to do. They did over $900.00 worth of work on my vehicle and said I only had to pay for a new radiator. Which I didn't do. They wouldn't do anymore work on it and we had to come get the mountaineer because the manager told me that he wasn't aware that this was going on and he was very disturbed that they had done almost $1000.00 worth of work on a truck that wasn't theirs
Just as we suspected, it doesn't run any better than the day this first happened. We were not able to drive it at all. So, we took it straight to our mechanic who said that 2 cylinders were not holding pressure and that the motor would have to be replaced. This has been about 6 months ago. I have a lot going on in my life without having to worry about this.
My theory is that, the night I left the vehicle, Sergio, in his hast to make the boxing match, took my car and since it was Saturday night, he kept it until Monday. But he evidently let the water get low and burned the motor up. Or maybe when they were driving it around the 2 days it was lost. The reason I think my theory is right is because within that 1st week, I called to talk to Sergio but he no longer worked at this establishment.
However it happened, it clearly happened by their personnel. I drove it into the dealership and it was running great. Don't you think someone would have noticed that thick white smoke was coming out the exhaust and brought it my attention? Never, not one time was the condition of the Mountaineer brought up during our negotiations. Not once. Also, why would they pay over $900.00 on a vehicle that they didn't break? You wouldn't, nor would anyone else. There are two possible solutions to this situation.
I would never have thought a reputable dealership would do this. I recognized the name of this dealership, as one I have heard most of my life. I guess that is why I am so shocked by the treatment I have received. Along with the obvious frustration, I am disappointed in knowing that people would try and take advantage of my family. We don't have an extra $2500 to buy a new motor. We should have never been made to endure this. I have had to make payments of $300 per month and $115 per month insurance, since June and have not had use of the vehicle at all.
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