I bought a car from Auto World of Springfield that was represented by a clean Carfax, which was the main reason I bought it out-of-state. A few months later I discovered that Carfax was false and used only to to gain my assurance and buy a wrecked car. The dealer knew it, but he did not disclose that information to me, even after he was asked twice before the sale.
The generic description of Auto World's over-all services (used on all his e-bay ads) includes "Not many but a few of our listings may have had prior paintwork which is very common on used vehicles". There was nothing in this material relating to my car being in an accident and having body damage. However, their same generic description they currently attach to all their ads today, reveals even more, how they previously scammed the public... They have added the clause caused by a previous accident, which is now used as a disclaimer so they still don't have to openly admit up front that an auto has had body damage.
In my case, I specifically asked Mr. Tom Westwood, Finance Manager, had this car ever been wrecked? His answer was simply No. And to reassure me, he faxed me the Carfax dated 4/20/06, showing no accident history. A few days later Mr. Westwood called to ask about our payment terms and spoke to my wife who also asked, This car has never been in an accident, has it? Again he assured her No! Now, of course, they deny any such question was ever asked of them. This is an industry wide question, that almost anyone asks when buying a car, but they claim I never asked it.
On 7/29/06, a friend in the auto business pulled a more current Carfax, clearly showing a past accident that occurred in September 20 months prior. When I confronted Mr. Steve Faria, President of Auto World, he admitted they knew of the accident history and had paper work on this fact from the auction house where he bought the car. His claimed however, that Tom Westwood's answer to my damaged question was No because the car was repaired, and no longer damaged. Evidently, this is their way of evading the question and not giving a truthful answer. After requesting a refund, Auto World refused, claiming my car no longer had the same value it had when I bought it 3 months before.
I wrote Mr. Faria a certified letter of reconciliation, where I even offered to drive 1000 miles to his dealership and exchange my car for another on his lot and pay him the listed difference of $1000. Again, he stated my car was no longer worth what I paid 3 months earlier. Actually, a local dealer here in Winston Salem has confirmed that due to the damage history, my car's value is $4000 less than what I paid.
Clearly, I have bought an automobile that was NOT what they advertised. My attempts to settle this with Auto World of Springfield have not been satisfactory. Therefore, I am asking for the assistance of your office.
Steve
Winston Salem, North Carolina
U.S.A.
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