Autobarn
Mount Sold us defective car which we had to use as trade-in within 6 mos than sold us New Car which was previously damaged and not disclosed

In 2005 my daughter saw that Autobarn in Mount Prospect had a Cabriolet that she wanted. We went to look at it and test drove it. We purchased the car which was VW Certified. Within a couple of weeks of having the car we she started to have mechanical problems. The car was brought back to be repaired. Within 3 weeks later, there was another issue. This went on for a total of 6 months. Autobarn had the car more than she did.

After getting disgusted with the problems she had with this car, we asked to speak to the manager. The owner, happened to be there and he then got involved to try to rectify the problem. He told us that he could get us into a brand new VW Beetle for lease, trade in the Cabriolet, keep her payments down, since her credit was not good. We had to co-sign for her. We had never leased a car before then, and wasn't sure this was quite a great idea.

The owner, then explained this would be great for us since the payments wouldn't be high and she could trade the car in at the end of the lease for another new car. He also gave her extra mileage (15,000 per yr) 60,000 for the 4 year lease and free oil changes if the car was brought back to Mount Prospect. We really didn't know much about this but agreed this was the only way she was going to get another car. Not really wanting to lease or having a more expensive car than the Cabriolet that we originally purchased not leased. This car was sold to us for $25,000 for total of 4yr lease. Which I actually thought was quite a bit of money for a 2005 VW Beetle. Payment of $320.00. Not cheap at all.

During the duration of the lease, my daughter took care of the car by taking care of all the maintenance which was suppose to be done. Everytime she took the car for service (Autobarn -Mount Prospect) there was always some type of problem. They would tell her it would only take 30 minutes, but never did, it was always 2 hours or more. They never seemed to have a loaner to give her. They were also very rude. At one point I had gone with her so she wouldn't have to sit for a lengthy time. We came back after 2 hours and the car was still not ready.

We walked around the show room to keep busy which was a big mistake. We were bothered by a sales person and we told them were just waiting for our car to be serviced. They wanted to know what we had and maybe we can trade our car for something else. They then pryed into our information after we left and started calling us about purchasing another car.

Now it was time to turn the car in for end of lease. There was some damage to the running board on the passenger side below the door which was done by hitting a pot hole. We brought the car to a repair shop which we have used for years. They looked at the damage and asked if we had ever had this repaired before. I was shocked at the question. They said this was fixed and repaired because it was not the original paint. They also said the door and the two panels behind the door were also repainted. We had never fixed anything on the car from damage, so I didn't know what he was talking about. They said we probably received the car like this.

We had the damage fixed. When the car was inspected before turning it into the dealership they told us there was another dent on the hood that we will have to pay for. ($270.00) They also said the wheel cover was scratched and will have to pay for that also. ($36.00) I couldn't believe they were going to make us pay for a scratched wheel cover after 4 years.

I called Volkswagen Customer Care and explained to them exactly everything that occured with the transactions with Autobarn with both cars. They said they would document everything, but there was nothing they really could do. They suggested I call and talk to the Sales Manager to see if they would do anything for us.

I called Autobarn and spoke with a person who was filling in for the sales manager who was out. I told him exactly what I found out about the car. He told me he wanted to pull a carfax on the car and would call me back. He called back about 1 1/2 hours later. He faxed the paperwork. He said he saw that we maintained the car well, but saw we had a collision with the car. I told him I knew exactly what he was talking about. My daughter hydroplaned on wet pavement and hit the bumper of the car in front of her. I told him he could look at the police report. The only damage was some scratches from the license plate. He started to get rude and said how does he know if there wasn't damage down to the passenger side at the time. I told him to pull the police report. He didn't want to do that. I also told him what my repair shop had said. He didn't car what they had to say.

He asked me what I wanted them to do. I told him after paying $15,000 into this car and finding out that the car was damaged and leased to us as new, that either we should keep the car or they should at least pick up the last car payment and the other excess wear charges. He said they can't do that.

He also disputed that the car was brand new when we purchased it and never was damaged, that my repair shop didn't know what they were talking about. He told me I should bring the car to him so he could look at it to see the repainting on the side of the car, I was talking about. (It takes approx 40 minutes to drive one way to Autobarn from my house). I asked him what he would do after he looked at it. He said nothing, he just wanted to satisfy himself. I told him I am not wasting my time. He then became even more rude and said there was nothing else he was going to do. At that point I didn't want to talk to these people any longer.

I called a different dealership to see if they could help us. They told me to bring the car in and they would see if they could pound out the dent. They looked at the car and said if it was just a bit over more on the hood they would've been able to pound it out. Because of the location, the whole hood had to be taken apart to get to the dent. They were very nice.

So now we had to pay for the dent and the scratched wheel cover $304.00. Plus the last car payment of $320.00. Total $624.00. I forgot to say we have already paid close to $15,000 for this car. They said if we want to keep the car we would owe another $12,000 as a payoff. How nice of them, after finding out we were sold a car that was damaged before we even received it. We also only had 31,000 miles on the car after 4 years and we were allowed 60,000.

The car has now been turned back to Volkswagen. I spoke to Volkswagen credit and they said they would take off the charges for the wheel cover. It was nice that they were removing this, but it was not that big of a deal, it was $36.00. They said that was all they could do. We are now responsible for $590.00.

Anyone thinking of buying a car from Autobarn, please think twice. These people are rip you off. They sell you cars that are not what you think they are and they don't care as long as they get their money. The owner of Autobarn owns the dealership in Mount Prospect, Evanston and I believe one in Chicago. Volkswagen will probably do nothing about this, since the owner owns so many dealerships. They are rude and deceiving.

You would think that after Volkswagen Customer Care contacted Autobarn and I spoke to the assisting sales manager, you would think that the owner would want to contact me to rectify the issues, since he was the one who sold us the car to begin with. Will never buy from them again!

Company: Autobarn
Country: USA
State: Illinois
City: Mount Prospect
Address: 333 West Rand Road
Phone: 8473926300

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