Complaint Against:
Talisman Motor Co.
Arnie and Paul Talisman
11222 Southwest Frwy.
Houston, TX 77031
Office: (281) 495-8100
Fax: (281) 495-1991
www.talismanmotor.com
If something seems too good to be true I know now it's because it is. I found a used Honda CR-V 2001 with less than 6000 miles advertised for $16,500 at Talisman Motors in Houston, TX. I went to view the vehicle and talked to Mike the sales rep and Paul Talisman (one of three brothers who run the dealership). I'd done an extensive search to find the best price and mileage and the only thing that came close would be a 99 model with higher mileage but leather seats. I even got the price down to $15,500 and had the car dealership that I ALMOST bought the Honda from run the carfax report in front of me as backup proof that the vehicle had never had anything wrong with it as Talisman claimed. It was a great deal so it seemed.
After discussing the final price with TTL I discovered they had a $295 fee on the form for window etching. I had read about this "scam" already from doing my research in preperation of purchasing a vehicle. I knew it only cost $20-$40 dollars to do the number etching on the windows. I insisted they remove it, but the dealers then said it cost more due to the fact they worked with a company called ACT Reinsurance LTD. Which would pay out $4000 if the vehicle were ever stolen and not recovered. They insisted that all their cars have already had the etching done on them and that I'd have to pay the fee. I placed down a $100 to hold the car and went home to consider.
OF COURSE a few days later they called me to say someone else was interested in the car and that they were ready to sell it. Preparing to buy the car, I decided to call the number on the ACT Reinsurance form they'd given me and discovered the number was not in service. Previously Talisman said that the service/company was not related to them whatsoever, but after I asked for the new number and persisted on getting more information they told me to come back in and they'd find out for me.
I went back to the dealership where I met Arnie Talisman and he finally admitted that ACT Reinsurance was a part of the Talisman business. He bluntly admitted that it was just another way for them to make money off the cars they sold AND he still said he wouldn't remove the fee!
I had gotten a loan approval from my bank so I was ready to buy in lue of the bogus window etching fee because it was still such a good deal. We went over final details, and they told me I could take the car that night even though I would not have the financing finished until the following morning. I declined the offer only because a few days before I'd read NEVER to take a used car off the lot before you sign the official loan documents AND get the car inspected.
I knew to insist that I take the car to be inspected before I officialy bought it thanks to clarkhoward.com's advice... Even though it only had 6000 miles on it, and the dealership strongly insisted it would be a waste of money. I left that night and immediatly went to the Gillman Honda dealership to schedule an appointment for the following day to have the car inspection.
Before I even made the appointment and wasted $150 bucks, the service man at Gillman asked me for one simple thing - the VIN number of the vehicle I was about to purchase. He did a search on the vehicle and discovered that it was their dealership who had sold the car originally back in April. Only by God's grace and a little luck by locating the original dealership did I also find out that the Honda CR-V had been involved in a major front-end collision only a month after the original owners had purchased it.
Over $7000 in repairs were done on the vehicle at the dealership, and they warned me that the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty would be in question with any future repairs on the vehicle if they could find cause related to the previous accident. John Miller in the Gillman Honda service department [ (713) 776-4851] said he would verify the info he'd discovered to Talisman if they contacted him. He also stated that a proper inspection of the car should have revealed to anyone that there was damage repair.
I left a message at Talisman concerning the damage to the vehicle I'd uncovered, and informed them that I would need my $100 deposit refunded. I walked into the dealership the next day and the receptionist simply handed me the check after I said my name. I had to find Arnie Tailsman myself where upon I asked why his dealership was claiming the car had never been damaged. He said he had his mechanics look at the car after receiving my message. He took me out to the vehicle and began claiming that it had no evidence of engine or body repairs, and that if it had been in an accident there was "no way it was $7000 worth".
I asked if he was going to look into the matter with Gillman Honda, and if he would now tell future prospect buyers about the damage. He wouldn't give an answer and went into defense mode saying I was wrong, and that he didn't believe that any major repairs had ever been performed on the car, and began asking if I was calling him a crook. Blah, blah, blah.
Not once did he handle himself in a business-like manner. He never claimed fault for the misrepresentation, nor said he'd look into the matter or even offer a simple apology. He did say, however, that he still intended on selling the car and that I needed to leave the car lot.
I'm very concerned about someone else getting scammed on this car and by this dealer. If I had signed the contract papers and allowed Talisman to preapprove the car loan that night as they were pushing me to do, I'd now own a previously wrecked vehicle with an almost worthless warranty and a strong potential for future car problems.
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