I purchased a 1998 Dodge Caravan from Superior Ford, 630 Main St., Uniontown, PA on 8/15. The original purchase price was 12,995.00. I told the salesman I was separated from my husband in which we were not legally permitted to be in the presence of each other during that time and I wanted to trade in a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina TITLE #50258492702 which is owned by myself and my husband.
Since I was not willing to be there at the same time as him because of a court order for when the title was transferred, the finance manager from Superior Ford wrote down his phone number where my husband was residing at the time and said that he would contact him to set-up a time to obtain his signature. The finance manager stated that negotiations with Ford Credit caused the purchase price of this vehicle to increase from 12,995.00 to 19,084.50. I made a cash deposit of 1000.00.
Prior to making a deal and signing the paperwork, I informed Superior that I could afford a maximum payment of 400.00 a month. I was informed of the purchase price increase only at the signing of the deal and the reason stated by the Finance manager was because Ford Credit would not accept the contract the way that it was originally sent without the increase in purchase price and trade-in changes, then I was told that my payments were set at 485.00 per month.
When I mentioned I didn't think I could handle it, the finance manager pursuaded me to just manage the payments and struggle through it for one year, then come back and trade the van in for a newer vehicle and my credit would improve and in essence Ford Credit and Superior Ford were doing me a great favor. When I asked about my husband's signature and what if they could not obtain it he said that regardless if they obtained it or not it was still a done deal.
I was not given a used car buyers guide nor was I given an owner's manual for the 1998 Dodge Caravan and no maintenance records. The true mileage on the odometer disclosure statement reads 39,139 with no odometer discrepancies. My husband was not contacted for his signature on the title and the Dept of Motor Vehicles in PA has no documentation other than we are the owner's of the Chevrolet Lumina which is now registered in Ohio and in Pennsylvania. However, Auto-check has no record of the title being transferred to Ohio.
The 1998 Caravan has had numerous mechanical problems ranging from excessive exhaust smoke, burning oil resulting in constant maintenance, replacement of belts and pulleys (three separate occasions) which also resulted in towing fees, air conditioning recharge and part replacements, ignition replacement and pieces of the dash console not fitting properly and falling apart. The lights have always been dim and my mechanic states that the vehicle may have been in an accident since the front headlights had overspray from paint that was causing the dimness.
In addition to these repairs, both front and back brakes and two sets of tires have been purchased. My most recent visit to my mechanic on 5/19 resulted in computer diagnostics showing there is a bad crankshaft, camshaft sensors, and related parts needing replaced with the best recommendation being a new motor. I have had mechanical parts replaced and maintenance work done at 10 repair shops in the past in 21 months time range.
We were advised by our current mechanic along with other dealerships that we visited to do a Carfax and Autocheck history on the vehicle and this is when I discovered that it was registered in North Carolina as a commercial lease fleet vehicle, had a Not True Mileage Title, and odometer rollback or rollover. I have attached all Carfax and Autocheck records for all mentioned vehicles.
On April 7, the 1998 Caravan reported mileage at the New York Auction as 94,421 and again on April 13, the vehicle was sold by Fleet Lease Management Co. With mileage reported as 94,421. On 4/20 it was reported at 27,342 miles at New York Inspection Station and again on 6/16 at 27,104 miles with a new owner and Not Actual Mileage Title Issued to owner. The total rollback on record is 67,317 miles.
We also noticed the driver door was replaced with a door from a 2000 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY LX which had odometer reading of 39,086 miles on 8/10 which is a difference of 53 miles of the 1998 Caravan that I purchased on 8/15. This is either very coincidental or odometer fraud occurred again at Superior Ford during this time. Therefore, on the stated date (if this was the only rollback that occurred) I purchased the vehicle with over 106,535 miles which would now put the vehicle at 151,040 miles although the odometer currently reads 83,723 miles.
Incidentally, the owner told me that it was not conceivable for there to be 94,421 on the 1998 Caravan on 4/20 although the 2000 Town and Country that was used for the door replacement had 39,086 within 1 year of usage and both the Caravan and Town and Country were registered as commercial fleet vehicles.
I was never notified of any major accidents to the vehicle that resulted in replacement of the drivers door nor of any odometer fraud rollback or motor rollover, nor of the vehicles prior usage as a fleet lease commercial vehicle, nor of a prior TMU title issued. We made three visits to discuss the case at Superior since May 21. The first we spoke to a manager and explained our discoveries and the second time we made an appointment to present our findings to the owner.
At that time, he said that the vehicle history was unknown to him because it was a trade-in from a private owner. He said he would have someone research the information. I got two phone calls from the title clerk of Superior Ford stating that there is an investigation in New York with the Caravan and she was trying to obtain the information from New York, the second conversation with her was the same (no new information) with a promise that it would be resolved within a couple of days. The third trip to Superior, the owner stated that if indeed there was a prior TMU (True Mileage Unknown) and/or odometer fraud that he would buy the vehicle back.
We then spoke with our attorney, who has had several conversations with the owner and since keeps post-poning any resoloution and says he will make it right if the odometer fraud and TMU is accurate. The department of motor vehicles in PA says that they will not accept a title without the proper signatures and they advised us to contact the State Police and hire an attorney because fraud had indeed occurred with the 1996 Lumina and we are the rightful owners of the vehicle.
I have a signed statement from the NY DMV Crime Investigations in which I personally spoke with the Detective. This document also supports the Auto-check and Carfax documents that the odometer mileage on the title was altered when the title crossed state lines from North Carolina to New York which as a result of the alteration a Not True Mileage Title was issued for the 1998 Caravan.
I have also filed complaints Ford Motor Company Customer relations and they claimed that a regional manager would be contacting the dealership to obtain a resolution. Since May 30, Ford Credit has been unable to give me a status of who and what was being done. I have also filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, Mike Fisher, and given notification to the Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown to pursue an investigation for criminal charges regarding title fraud for the Lumina 1996 and odometer fraud but he will also have to charge me for fraud in the trade also. We have sent letters requesting information from NY, NC, and Ohio Dept of Motor Vehicles for all paperwork and have not yet received the information.
I have also been advised by my attorney and by the District Attorneys office of Fayette County to NOT trade-in the vehicle or sell it without a TMU sign-off on the vehicle odometer and that I would be liable if I did so; therefore, I have a vehicle that I cannot drive nor trade-in and it is not the vehicle that I thought I was buying.
Here are the new findings as of June 13: we were able to get the title paperwork from Ohio DMV Clerk of Courts which shows a forged signature of both my husband and myself. As far as my husband is concerned - he never signed for power of attorney and definately did NOT sign the title. The title was notarized on 9-11 which he and I know where we were on that day and it was not signing a title for the 1996 Lumina.
My family has been inconvenienced for a month already and I have been informed that I still have to make the payments and I may get charged with fraud. What a great deal this was.
Angela
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
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