First off, I understand that buying a vehicle is a chance you take and you should check it out thoroughly. I had very little time in a state that I had never been before. I relied heavily on Vince, the Owner and Frank, the Manager (Vince's brother) to guide me on the sale of this vehicle.
They both were very aware that I had one chance to buy a vehicle and that I was very concerned about the condition of the vehicle. I will have the phone bills to prove it. They lied to me from word one, misleading me on the condition and safety of the vehicle. I was not an idiot, I asked the questions I felt I had to ask and they answered repeatedly with the same lies. I feel that most car sales people are just concerned about their commission and the customer but this was so blatant, I felt propelled to file this complaint to try and warn off any potential buyers.
I will be filing a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the BBB and whoever the idiots are that does the car inspection. I am very serious about pursuing this complaint as far as possible. Any car salespeople that are going to get their undies in a bunch, save it. The honest car salesperson is so rare, it can not possibly be you. Here is my story.
I did the right thing by being in constant contact with Vince and Frank prior to the final bidding. I will have the phone bill to prove it once I receive my next bill. I told Vince that I was concerned about the condition of the vehicle, the safety of the vehicle and the ability of the vehicle to make it from Pennsylvania to Minnesota. He repeatedly assured me that the vehicle would make it back no problem and was a strong runner. His eBay ad stated, freshly built 350 Chevy small block 8 cylinder engine which fires right up and runs strong. This is the first and biggest lie. The van does not start up right away. It sounds like the starter cant handle turning over the motor. It is not a freshly built 350.
Frank told me to my face that a local guy who was a great mechanic just recently rebuilt the motor and transmission and only drove the vehicle locally. He stated that they were being modest in claiming 5,000 miles on the rebuilt tranny and motor. First off, the transmission is coated in oil and appears old and not rebuilt. My roommate who is a mechanic stated in his opinion that this motor had been in there for a long time. This van took 8 quarts of oil to make it back to Minnesota. The entire bottom of the motor, axle, etc. Is coated in black oil. I have photos of the van after arriving home and the entire back half of the vehicle was coated in oil so severely that the back windows were black. I had asked Frank if the fluids had been topped off and the oil changed and he said yes. That was a lie. The radiator was half empty, the oil was black, and the tranny fluid did appear to be fresh and full.
Because of the problem with the oil leaking, I developed a severe engine knock by the time I got the vehicle back home. The vehicle overheated twice in normal traffic on the way back. The supposed air suspension that was supposedly worth so much, was not only not installed properly or neatly (everything laying in the van) it leaks. I had to fill the air bags at least 8 times on the way back. The one time I forgot, I bottomed out hard on the front and rear of the vehicle and nearly lost control. I asked Frank if it drove nice and firm and he lied and said yes. The van drives like a rocking horse. He stated in his eBay ad that the body panels are solid and clean with fresh metallic paint.
The paint had rust on it, huge chips out of it and runs in the paint that appeared to have been made by an amateur with a brush. He stated that the van had deep dish rims and the tires had deep tread on them. The rims were rusted and all but one of the tires are nearly bald. There is no jack or spare tire with the vehicle. He listed a SuperTach and CD player with the van. The SuperTach did not work except to serve as an interior light due to the fact that the were no other lights in the interior of the vehicle. The CD player is probably from 1989, is old and cuts out every time the vehicle hits a bump, which is constantly due to the improperly installed suspension.
There is no oil dipstick. Where we thought there should be one was a plugged hole by some nuts and bolts. I had called Vince and Frank in a panic on the drive back about the oil problem and neither one of them was aware that the vehicle had no oil dipstick to properly check the levels. None of the doors open with the severely rusted keys that they gave me which means no securing the vehicle. I had asked them to check the brakes before I left because they went right to the floor and you had to pump them several times to stop safely. A severely uninterested mechanic brought the vehicle back 10 minutes later and said the pad were almost new. My roommate and I check the pads the day after I got back.
Not only are they not new, they are less than half and rusted. He also needed to bleed the lines. I almost rear-ended a semi on the way home due to these faulty pads. Another favorite, the electrical dims severely when the headlights and turn signals are used. The wiring in this van is a joke. Very unsafe. Last and not least, I was taken to the hospital on returning home due to the exhaust leak that I endured for the entire trip. I was covered in welts that itched insanely. I had to get a shot and two prescriptions to cure this.
When my roommate and I started breaking down this vehicle, we found that 3 bolts on each header were more than finger loose, hence the exhaust leak. Three of the spark plug wires were not even on a spark plug. I had asked them if they would clean the vehicle, they said yes. It was dirty, mechanically unfit to drive and a danger to others on the road. They claimed that Pennsylvania is the second toughest state to pass inspection. They obviously are qualified to do these in there own shop or have a very friendly relationship with someone who does.
This vehicle didnt pass my Ex-Wifes test and she refuses to allow me to pick up my Daughter in it. How the hell did it pass a state test? I could go on and on about the rest of this vehicle but I cant remember everything else. I do specifically recall Vince saying during one conversation, If you added some panels and some seats, you could have a show truck. That is the only thing funny about this whole experience. A show truck, right. I again, take responsibility for allowing myself to be ripped off. I was in a strange state with no other way to get home and was unable to make the right decision. I am filing this complaint due to the high number of lies told to me and the very high numbers of safety issues with this vehicle. If they care that little about human life, I figured everyone out there had better know. They can claim there As Is Condition crap but really, is everything laid out here defendable? I think not.
Shouldn't they be held responsible for the condition of the vehicles that they put on the road? I mean, what if I lost my brakes and hit your Family head on? Would it matter then? My fault for being a moron and allowing myself to be put into a situation to be duped. There fault for being outright liars and showing a complete disregard for the safety of their customers and the quality of their vehicles.
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