Date: Mon, 16 Aug 93 11:24:35 EDT
From: Andrew R. Ghali <andrewg@viper.ece.cmu.edu>
Message-Id: <9308161524.AA20705@viper.ECE.CMU.EDU>
To: Bovik@cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Car Buyer Beware - cmu.misc.market #56141

In article <YgPkrHi00ioW8BhkxY@andrew.cmu.edu>, Thomas Langer <tl23+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
From: Thomas Langer <tl23+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Car Buyer Beware
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1993 00:32:19 -0400

Dealer: The New Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth
Experience: Selling wrecked autos w/o telling buyers

I just wanted to pass along my experience with The "New" Monroeville
Chrysler-Plymouth to those of you in the market for a new or used
automobile. On Thursday, June 10 my girlfriend and myself visited the
dealership, interested in a used 1992 Eagle Talon that was parked in
their lot. Our salesman, Tom (don't know the last name), was happy to
show us the car. He even let us take it for a test drive. So far so good.

Upon returning from our test drive, Tom informed us that the used car
manager, Bill "Bull" Macko, was ready to make us a deal we couldn't
refuse. Ok, I thought, humor me. As it turns out, the offer was very
good. Now I was interested, and somewhat suspicious. I asked "Bull" how
they could sell the car for so little. He told me that the dealership
had bought the car at auction from another dealership that had gone out
of business. He then went into an elaborate story about how much cash
his dealership had on hand to go out and purchase these cars when other
dealerships were struggling to pay their electricity bill each month.
This was all followed up with him telling us that we must purchase the
car tonight. 

At the price that Bull had offered the car I could not help but be
interested, but I'm not an impulse buyer (or so I thought) and so I
started asking questions. "How do I know the car has been maintained?",
I asked. "Our mechanics do an extensive check on each car we buy and
this one has been fully serviced", Bull reassured me. "Has this car ever
been wrecked?," I asked. "No", Bull replied, "our mechanics check every
car we buy." I must admit that the car appeared to be in excellent
shape. After some further price negotiations, we decided that we would
buy the car. Since I was going to finance the car myself and it was
about 9:00 in the evening, it was too late to contact my bank. Instead,
they had me write a check for the full amount, knowing that the check
would not clear, fill out all the paperwork, and take the car home that
night.

The next day, friday, after I got home from school and my girlfriend
home from work, we decided to take the car out and give it a better
looking over. When checking the engine compartment closely in the light
of day, my girlfriend noted how some welding an engine mount looked
strange. I looked more closely and saw where the entire engine mount had
been welded back to the fender. Checking for the vehicle identification
stickers (located on every major body part of most new cars) I quickly
determined that the drivers side fender had been replaced. The final
clue the determining the extent of the damage was the drivers side
window - it only worked smoothly for about half of way down, then it
sort of ground slowly the rest of the way. I determined that the car had
taken a fairly hard blow in the right driver's side fender.

I returned the car to the dealership on Saturday, less than 48 hours
from when we picked it up. I found Bull and informed him that the car
they just sold me had been wrecked fairly extensively and that I wanted
to return it. "That car has not been wrecked!", Bull yelled defensively
in a voice like he knew what I had come back there for. So, I proceeded
to show him the damage. Within seconds of me showing him the fender, he
agreed that it had been replaced and that the car had been hit on the
driver's side. When I showed him the window, he pushed on the glass with
his hand as he pressed the window control, trying to make it seem like
there was no problem with it. Bull told me to come inside and we could
work *something* out. I wasn't in the mood to work *something* out and I
wanted my check back.

Here's what I was offered: they would buy the car back from me, at a
profit, and I would have to pay an extra $800 to put a warranty on the
car since the manufacture's warranty was not transferable to the third
owner. I would be out the difference of what I paid and what they gave
me, all taxes I paid (~$800), a license and title transfer fees,
documentation fees, and the $800 for a warranty on the car. I told them
they could forget it (in a little harsher terms), and that I was not
going to pay for a wrecked and restored car. Bull insisted that we
already had a "car deal" and that the car was mine. I reminded Bull that
he told me that the car had never been wrecked the night before. "I must
of missed it", he said. I was getting upset and asked to speak to the
owner. Bull told me that he would not let me talk to the owner and would
not give me his name. At this point you are probably wondering why I
would want to by a car from a guy named "Bull" in the first place (a
very valid question.) Instead of the owner, I could talk to Joe Carlino,
who Bull referred to as the General Manager. Mr. Carlino and Bull both
assured me that there was no "Lemon Law" in the State of Pennsylvania to
protect consumers from this type of situation and that as far as they
were concerned they had a "car deal." I asked repetitively how two
mechanical inspections by their professional (IUm using this term
lightly) mechanics failed to turn any evidence of prior damage to the
car when two average consumers could find it with casual visual
inspection. "It must of gotten missed", I was told. I'm not so sure that
they didn't do the body work themselves. I asked where the car
maintenance and history records I was promised the night I pick the car
up. They had suddenly gotten lost, I was told. Failing to reach a
compromise, I ended up leaving the dealership mad as hell, vowing to
return.

An important point: at no time did anyone at The New Monroeville
Chrysler-Plymouth apologize for selling me a wrecked car, they just
wanted to screw me a little more.

What I did was get counseling. I was told that until a financial
agreement is finalized that there was indeed no (using their
terminology) "car deal", no matter how many forms we had signed. I was
told to first cancel my check, and then inform Mr. Carlino that I had
done so and ask if I could return the car to their lot. If they asked
for a reason, I was to tell them that my financing fell through. I ended
up telling this information to Bull, who had interestingly answered the
phone pretending to be Joe Carlino when I called (he never asked why I
was returning the car). I was then warned by Bull of the penalties for
writing bad checks in the State of Pennsylvania. I thought to myself
that they must be written right next to the ones about deceiving the
public, false advertising, and fraud, unless the State of Pennsylvania
doesn't have these laws either. Bull then informed me that whoever had
given me this information was wrong and that I was setting myself up for
big trouble.

An important point: At no time did anyone at The New Monroeville
Chrysler-Plymouth apologize for selling me a wrecked car, they just
wanted to screw me a little more.

I returned the car Saturday afternoon and parked it on their lot, after
being warned that the New Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth held no
responsibility if the car was vandalized or stolen. On Monday I spoke
again with Joe Carlino, this time on the phone. I was told again that I
had broken the law by canceling payment on my check and that the
dealership could and would take me to court. These were the same people
who instructed me to write a check for the full amount of the car. Mr.
Carlino told me again as far as they were concerned we had a car deal.
He went on to say that I was a "big boy" and should be more mature and
careful when entering into business agreements. He said that I should
not be pushed into buying cars like this (this coming from the
dealership that sold it to me!) After weathering a few more insults, I
informed Mr. Carlino that I was now prepared to take this matter to
everyone up to, and including, President Clinton. After threatening to
publish my story and slander the name of his dealership, Mr. Carlino
finally told me that I should "consider myself blessed" and quickly
slammed down the phone. I have never, and hope to never again, deal with
such a low-class, unethical, and underhanded place of business as this.

Lessons learned:
1) Unless you are a masochist, stay far, far away from The New
Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth.
2) Never make a car buying decision on the spur of the moment. Even when
they give you the "this price is only good tonight" line.
3) It may be worth having a mechanic look at any car you plan on buying.
I never wanted to spend the extra money for this, but now I'm a
believer. Just make sure the mechanic does not work at The New
Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth, they tend to be a little far-sighted.
4) If it sounds too good to be true... (you know the rest)

If anyone knows for certain the State Laws concerning this matter, I
would love to hear them. In a clip on 60 minutes I remember seeing that
many states now have laws protecting consumers of this type of activity.
If anyone could provide me with a copy of the Penn.law, I will be happy
to drop a copy of it by The New Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth. (I wonder
what the "Old" Monroeville Chrysler-Plymouth had a copy?)


Tom

P.S. I asked them if they will inform the next buyer of this car about
the damage, they said "probably". So, if you happen to know someone who
recently purchased a Maroon 1992 Eagle Talon, have them check that left
front fender.