On May 20th, I visited Archer Autos at (address) while shopping to purchase a vehicle. The sign at this premise reads Archer Kia although I have now learned the business has changed its name quite some time ago. I financed a 2000 Cadillac Deville and rendered a down payment of $1,500.
On May 24, I realized that the inspection sticker on this vehicle was set to expire in less than one week. I contacted Archer Kia (Autos) and was advised by Craig Conner that a voucher would be provided to compensate me for the expense of getting an inspection since it should have been completed by the dealership before sale. I immediately took the vehicle for inspection on May 25th and was notified that the vehicle failed the inspection process. The inspector informed me at that time that the vehicle had a faulty transmission and the service engine light that indicates these types of malfunctions was inoperable because the bulb had been broken. When I contacted Archer Autos on that same date to report the information provided to me by the inspector, I requested a refund of my deposit. The manager, Conner stated that the dealership could not refund my deposit but that they would be willing to make the necessary repairs at the expense of the dealership by their repair shop. He also told me that a loaner vehicle would be provided until the repairs were completed. He requested that I bring the vehicle in for service on May 27th and an estimated time frame of 1 week for repairs to be completed was quoted at that time. On that day, I was provided a Kia Optima that lacked the majority of the amenities and features of the Cadillac that I purchased.
On June 2nd, I called for a status update on my vehicle and was advised that the dealership had not completed nor started repairs on my car. However, they requested that the Kia Optima be returned to the dealership so they could prep it for sale. A replacement Kia Rio that was smaller in size and had even fewer amenities was given to me and utilized for an additional weeks time. I was notified at that time that the repairs to my vehicle had still not been completed. Again, I requested a refund of my initial deposit and was advised that while repairs were estimated to be $1,200 at the dealers expense, my $1,500 deposit could not be returned.
An additional 2 weeks passed with unreturned phone calls from Archer Autos and contact was finally made by a visit in person to the dealership on June 11th. Again, I was advised that the repairs to my vehicle were not completed. Considering that I had only driven my actual vehicle for 4 days while it had been in the possession of Archer Autos for almost a month at this point, I again requested a refund of my deposit. My request was declined and a new estimated timeframe of 3 days for repair completion was given. I requested a different kind of loaner vehicle as the small Kia they had given me did not accommodate my height adequately. A Dodge Charger was provided and utilized for an additional week while they attempted to repair my vehicle.
Throughout this entire ordeal, my phone calls were not returned when checking the status of my vehicle causing me to make another trip to the dealership on June 23rd. I was finally able to learn the location of the shop where my vehicle was being repaired in order to go and retrieve some documents from my glove compartment. At that time, I noticed that one of my original Cadillac white wall tires had been replaced with a dummy tire, the cars gas tank was empty although it had over a half tank when it was given to the repair shop, and a new copy of my key had been made. When I questioned the motive for the tire and key, I was told the original tire had burst and needed to be replaced but was never provided an explanation about the new key. Again, I was given another Kia Rio loaner vehicle until the repairs for my vehicle were completed. A new timeframe of 1 week was quoted.
On June 25th, the dealership called me for the first time since the initiation of this ordeal to request a payment. I went to the dealership and made payment but was advised by Conner that the general manager, Bart Ferdinand, had stated that I needed to return the Kia Rio and call a ride to get home. I was told that my vehicle should be ready the next morning. I asked to take my vehicle as is and my request was refused. Since the Kia Rio was my only means of transportation and I had written permission to utilize the vehicle, I returned home in the Kia Rio. I advised Conner that I would have the vehicle at the address they had on file and that I would return it in the morning when I could exchange it for my vehicle. Conner later called me and told me that he had reported the vehicle to the police as stolen.
The following morning of June 26th, I called the dealership and spoke with Bart Ferdinand who advised me that he would not converse on the phone, but welcomed me to come and speak with him in person to discuss the refund of my deposit. I went to the dealership with my girlfriend, in her vehicle as I was afraid to drive the Kia if it was in fact reported as stolen. When I arrived, Bart came running to the entrance screaming Give me back my {expletive} car, I want my {expletive} car! I explained again that the car was at the same address that they have on file for me and he could send someone to retrieve it or that I would be happy to go and get it if he would remove the stolen flag from it. He called me a car thief and told me to leave his premises and said that he was again calling the police.
I left the scene and I immediately called the police to my address to retrieve the vehicle. When the police arrived I provided the paperwork showing that the dealership authorized me to use the vehicle. The policeman advised me that there was another policeman on scene at the dealership and requested that I and my girlfriend accompany him to the dealership in order to straighten out what he called a civil matter. When we arrived at the dealership the second policeman advised me that Bart told him that I was not authorized to use the Kia because he was repossessing my Cadillac for non-payment. When I showed the policeman the receipts from the payments I made, he advised me that Bart was indeed wrong for reporting the vehicle as stolen and that I was indeed authorized to use the vehicle since he had not returned my Cadillac and that he was not able to repossess the vehicle since I was current on my payments. Bart told the policeman that my vehicle should be ready on Monday, June 28th. Since I did not feel comfortable driving the Kia anymore and did not know when or if Bart would report the vehicle as stolen again, I returned the Kia while the policeman was still at the dealership.
As of Monday, June 28 at 18:00, my Cadillac has not been returned. No one at the dealership will return my calls and all sales representatives claim they have no knowledge as to where my vehicle is.
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