In July my wife and I decided that it was time for us to upgrade our vehicle to something more safe and reliable. At that present time we owned a 91 Chevy Cavalier that continually found something new to break. Now that we had a daughter we needed something that would be better for our family. We only have one vehicle so making sure we had a reliable car was very important.
I do not have the best credit so we had been denied a few previous attempts at purchasing a new car. Finally, we get to Van Devere where everything seems to flow smoothly and we are informed that getting us into a car would be no problem. That is the only thing that was true.
The car was a 2002 Ford Taurus which was in very good condition and relatively low miles. We were immediately allowed to take the vehicle home before purchasing or signing anything. At that time we found that the vehicle drove very nice but there was a check engine light on and the breaks squeaked when stopping. After deciding the vehicle would fulfill our requirements we decided to purchase the car only after breaks and engine light are checked. The salesman tells us that the engine light is because of the gas cap not being in the right way. We are told that the squeaking is normal because of the new pads that were recently put on and that it would go away. The car was returned with the check engine light off and there was no other said work required by the service department.
Now we are satisfied that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle and we are moving forward with the purchase. They offer an extended warranty which they describe as a security blanket in case the vehicle breaks down and you are caught in the position where you have to fix the vehicle or make your payment. We thought yeah how nice would it be to not have to worry about paying to have your car fixed. So we are sold on this so called extended 1yr or 12,000 miles bumper to bumper warranty.in addition to this bumper to bumper warranty we have another life time warranty which covers the engine, drive train, axel, etc. Etc. As far as we are concerned we think we are safe, WRONG!
After a few scheduled maintenance appointments I take the vehicle in for grinding noise in the rear wheel area combined with a check engine light on. There is also still squeaking up front paired with a lot of break dust. I drop the car off on Thursday night at the night drop off for service. I was told that by doing this I would ensure that my vehicle would be seen first thing Friday morning.
Friday morning comes and goes and so does Friday afternoon and then comes Friday near 3:00 when I finally call them to get a status. I talk to the woman who is handling my vehicle who tells me she will go find out and call me back. At 5:00 P.M. I call back once again to get a status only to be told once more that I will be called back. Finally, at 6:00 P.M. Friday when they close I am informed that they won't be able to do anything until Monday and they still don't know what is wrong. Basically, I am left with no vehicle and no answers for the entire weekend and both my wife and I have to work.
Monday arrives with the news that the grinding noise was a rear drum with a broken adjuster. The engine light was a bad seal where the gas cap fastens. Surprisingly none of it was covered by the warranties and the test to determine the gas cap seal was bad, cost over $100 by itself. So this entire bill costs me nearly what two car payments would be.
This brings me to the most recent which began December 7. The 2002 Ford Taurus is now leaking antifreeze at an alarming rate and the vehicle is no longer providing heat.in addition to this the steering wheel now wobbles back and forth when I break and the driver side door lock does not work with the power locks. I call to take the car in and have the above descrepancies assessed.
Monday evening I receive the news that antifreeze is leaking because of a cracked resovoir which held the antifreeze, another $200 not covered by warranty. The driver side lock is partially covered but will still cost me $100 and the front breaks will cost $120 because the rotors need to be resurfaced. I tell service to fix the lock and make sure that the vehicle had heat because I had a two year old daughter that rode in the car. Because none of these are actually covered by any warranty neither is the rental car I had to get to make sure I could get to work.
Tuesday comes and I pick my car up with a $389 bill attached. We have the car for two days before it gets really cold where heat is necessary. My wife turns the heat on during her drive to work only to be confronted with cold air blowing from the vents for the entire 45 minute drive. That was not as bad as when she returned that evening around 11:00 P.M. And the temperature was nearing -12 with wind chill.
Friday afternoon the car goes back to the same service center which calls me today Monday December 14. Today they call me and tell me that the heater coil is not cycling antifreeze and this too is not covered by warranty. Neither the option to flush the heater coil or to replace the heater coil is covered by any warranty on the car. I am out of patience and money. I can not afford to make service payments at nearly $400 a shot when my car payment is almost $300. Considering the car was purchased in July and it is now December I have only made 5 payments on the vehicle and not owned the car for more than 6 months.
Van Devere has shown no concern for me or for their reputation. They will continue to sell crappy vehicles with warranties that do not cover anything. After they sell you the crap and they do find something wrong they will not make sure that it is fixed or even if they have actually identified the real problem. Buy your car somewhere else and definitely do not have your car serviced by this company.
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