On 09/10/07, we signed the paper work to purchase a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The car was not sold to us as is. A limited warranty for 3 Months/3, ooo mile Powertrain Limited Warranty was a part of the transaction. We test drove the vehicle and could not detect any problems on 09.10.07 other than that the right fog light was out. Our salesman said it would be fixed and wasn't. It was agreed to by the dealership to fix a crack in the rear bumper and touch up some needed paint on the rear and front bumper of the car. It was cold and rainy that night and my wife asked our salesman if we needed to go back out and test everything inside the car including the air conditioning, rear air, radio, etc, and he said "Everything works or we could not sell it." We left the dealership with the understanding that for $6,053 plus tax that we had just purchased a vehicle that we could begin driving without any issues. My wife picked the car up on 09.13.07 and drove for less than 3 miles and noticed that the brakes made a high pitched "Screaming" sound and the air conditioner did not work. She did not drive any farther and pulled off to the side of the road and called the dealership to talk to our salesman. He said he would get back to us. My wife finished driving the car home. She talked to our salesman on 09.14.07 and he told her that the car was set up as a "Cheap Sale" and their company was not prepared to do anything for us. I called the dealer and talked to our saleman and tried to set up a meeting with him and his boss for Saturday 09.15.07. He said to be there before 10:00 A.M. Because Saturday was their best day for sales. When we arrived on Saturday, the salesman met us outside and sat in the van and repeated that they were not going to do anything for us. He did agree to have his service department look at the van and identify the problem. It was determined, after only 5 minutes, that the power booster on the brakes needed repair and that the evaporator on the air conditioner was shot. Total cost of at least $2,000 although they did not quote us an exact price. When we bought the van they had us sign an arbitration agreement. We asked the dealership about arbitration but nobody there was able to assist us and said they did not know the procedure. We left on 09.15.07 with no resolution and the salesman still repeating that it was a "cheap sale" and because the van only had 65,786 that they were not going to fix anything. On 09.17.07, I called the sales manager and he told me that I was what was wrong with society because I would not assume accountability for making a bad decision because I did not examine the vehicle closely enough and they were not going to do anything. On 09.19.07, I spoke to the sales manager's boss and he repeated that the car was set up as a cheap sale but he would check with the used car manager and see if they could do something for us. On 09.20.07, the used car manager came back with an offer to fix the brakes at no cost to us and fix the air conditioner at dealer's cost of $950. My stand is that I think the dealer should assume 100% of the responsibility for the costs of these repairs as I feel that they knew of these issues before they sold the van to us and the salesman told us that the air conditioning and etc. Worked. I feel that even a car dealership should do business with honesty and the consumer should be able to have that expectation.
Key Players: Spencer Kaminski, Salesman; Joe Allbright, Sales Manager; Sam Gazzinga, General Sales Manager; Sam? Used Car Manager.
Circumstances for purchase was due to an accident that was not our fault where our mini-van was totaled. We purchased a mini-van because my wife is handicapped and cannot sit comfortably or without pain in a smaller vehicle. We weren't just looking for a cheap deal - we were looking for what would suit her health needs. Her doctor visits are 80
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