Purchased a 1999 Ford Contour from Red and White Auto for a purchase price of $3000. Vehicle was taken to garage before purchase by dealership and vehicle passed the requirements for a New York State Inspection. On the day the vehicle was purchased and all paperwork was signed, I proceded to attempt to change the oil in the vehicle. Upon looking underneath the vehicle, it was discovered that the oil pan was severely rusted and after moving my finger over the rust, it chipped off and oil began leaking out of the oil pan. I contacted the dealership, informed them of the problem, and they quickly offered to come and pick it up, and perform the repair free of cost.
After we got the car back, we noticed that whenever we would turn the blower on for the vents, a strong smell of gasoline could be smelled inside of the vehicle. We called the dealership, informed them of the problem, they said to bring it to the garage that they deal with, and it would be looked at. The garage had the car for two days, called me back and informed me that they were unable to find any problems with the vehicle.
We figured the problem would go away, or that it might just be an exhaust leak. After 2 more weeks of dealing with this problem, I had another mechanic look at the car, who within 10 minutes of looking at the vehicle found a gas leak off from a steal gas line coming off the fuel injectors. I notified the dealership of the problem, and this is where things began to go downhill. Our vehicle had a 60 day/3000 mile warranty, and we had just gone over the 3000 mile mark 2 days before the second mechanic looked at the car. They also informed us that our warranty didn't cover fuel lines. As our converstation heated, the dealer began swearing at me, and eventually hung up on me. I called the Attorney General's Office, was told that paperwork would be sent to me, and to contact the DMV Department of Saftey and Recal. I spoke with a gentleman from the DMV who informed me of the proper paperwork that needed to be filled out and the goal of both the DMV and the Attorney General would be to have the dealership pay for the repairs. I was also advised to ask the dealership one last time for cooperation, and that if there was none, we would be filing complaints with both the Attorney General and the DMV.
I called and spoke with the owner of the dealership, and was told to take the vehicle to their garage and that if the repair wasn't major, it would be taken care of. The estimated cost of repairs was $217 not including labor. The garage informed the dealership of the situation, and then the dealership called me, telling me that there was nothing that could be done. I went down to the dealership in person in the afternoon to speak with the owner. After a few minutes of talking, it had seemed like we had reached an agreement, when one of the sales people decided to jump in and start harrassing me about the warranty being no longer valid and not covering the problem. I was then asked to leave the dealership and did so promptly.
The purpose of this report is to inform you first of all, to be absolutley positive that there is nothing wrong with a vehicle (take it to a few different garages,) before purchasing. Second of all, to make it known to anyone who may read this report, to be informed of the problems that I have encountered with this dealership.
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