While Shoping Online (e-bay) for a used vehicle, I came across Texas Direct Auto, their great prices and extensive inventory. For the most part, shopping e-bay is pretty safe, and with a 99% or better rating, I figured this company was legitimate. I had a few questions and called the listed salesman who answered all my questions. I then told them that I was going to place my bid in the "buy it now" listing on e-bay. He told me he would take care of that, and that I could just do it over the phone. I gave him my $200 deposit, and financing information. He told me we were all set, and that the sale listing would be removed from the site. Well when I went to check my e-bay account, the sale was not listed. I tried calling Texas Direct back to clarify why the sale did not go through e-bay, and to find out the status of my vehicle. It took them 5 days to get back to me. The salesman I spoke with on this occasion told me that my original salesperson was no longer with the company (lie #1), He then explained to me that the reason they bypass e-bay (after you locate your car and read the 99.7% favorable rating) was to save money (e-bay fees), and to pass those savings onto the customer. Keep in mind that Texas Direct says the sell over 500 cars per month. Mostly through e-bay listings, but if you look at their e-bay sales, it lists them at only over 2000. Do the math. 500 sales x 12 months equals 6000. And thats only for one year. E-bay runs a continuous total as long as you are a member. As long as they bypass e-bay, they no longer have to worry about any negative feeback, and you have very little recourse to fall back on. Well they did get annoyed with me, I mean, how dare I question them. So I cancelled my order. To which they told me that they would not refund my deposit. Then they told me that my financing did not go through (lie #2). My credit report showed no inquiry, and my credit rating is very good. Matter of fact I financed another more expensive vehicle a few days later, ironically, through Capital One (their finance company). When I started checking for information on Texas Direct, I noticed the amount of negative comments on the company. It's pretty compelling. I spoke with them one more time, and finally realized that it would be best to refund my deposit, only now they said they had no record of my sale or paperwork. Yes I did get my deposit back. Bottom line: if you do go through e-bay, they act like responsible, respectible people (they wan't that fish hook with a 99.7% approval rating dangling infront of our faces), and thay have to make good on what they advertise. If you allow them to bypass that, all bets are off.
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