Below is part of an e-mail I sent to the Ron Tonkin Acura Sales Manager:
At least one member of your staff knew about the true condition of the car I purchased from you and he chose to say nothing, while I signed the paperwork committing myself to years of payments.
My wife and I stopped in to see your 2004 350z Convertible Touring Model, on Thursday night, May 1. The car salesman we spoke to explained to my wife (while I looked at the car) that your dealership had just taken the car in on trade from someone recently. I test drove the car and agreed to purchase it the next day, Friday, May 2nd. While signing the paperwork, I asked your "Client Business Manager", about the origin (CITY ONLY) of the vehicle I was about to take home. I expressed concern that the car could be targeted by anyone who knew what the previous owner had invested in it. [I was] told not to worry: "We (Ron Tonkin) purchased that car from an auction in California." I took his word, found comfort in the information and let it go at that. When I got the car home, I opened the trunk to find the original box for an after-market stereo (head-unit) that had been installed in this vehicle.inside was the installation manual and a receipt from Leif's Auto Collision Repair.
Monday morning I called Leifs to learn that the car had over $11,300 worth of repair work done. This was enough to raise my level of concern significantly. I took my research a step further by going through the Oregon DMVs online vehicle history report (at my own expense of time and money). From this, I found that not only had the vehicle been significantly damaged by the previous owner, but the car was originally sold as a Fleet or Rental car and had later been sold at auction in California, listed as having had Frame Damage. Your dealership promoted the vehicle and [Financing] went so far as to pull up a CARFAX report (which showed the car as PERFECTLY CLEAN) to Assure me that the car was good.
Unfortunately for you, [your finance dept.] made the mistake of telling me that the car came from Auction. For him to have that knowledge, he would also have had to know that AT THAT AUCTION the car was sold listed as having had Frame Damage, meaning your associate did not have the moral scruples to disclose the true condition of the car at the time of the sale.
Since Mr. [Finance Manager] represents your dealership, I am preparing to report your establishment to the Better Business Bureau. Further, I am now going to push to shed light on the farce that is CARFAX. Im anxious to see what a local news station can report based on my experience. I am also prepared to run this experience through the ranks of the Ron Tonkin Auto Group and the Metro Portland New Car Dealer Association.
Im sure the Credit Union Association of Oregon would like to hear about my experience as well, since Credit Union funds were put at risk to finance the sale of a knowingly bad car. Would you like me to mention safety? I was buying that car for my wife.in the event of a future accident, can you guarantee that this vehicle would have been structurally sound enough to protect her? How about resale? If I had wanted to sell the car outright, the value would have been drastically reduced the instant any potential buyer did the research that I did.
On that note, Even if you were innocent (which I now realize you are not), if I was so easily able to research the vehicles history, how is it you dont do the same since vehicles are your livelihood? Of course you look! Your Finance Manager did he just chose to try to scam the unlucky person who came across that car. Me.
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