John was without a doubt the best salesman I have ever had. He was honest, he sold me a quality 2017 S60 Volvo for my daughter and made me look like a hero. He even gave my daughter a gift. He is a class act. The deal he gave me was almost too good to be true. Keep in mind he is selling used cars, so when I see a negative review I ask, why didn't you get the used and high mileage car inspected before buying? The owner gave me no pushback when I asked to do so. After closing the deal he gave my daughter a gift that was truly appreciated. I hope he made money on this deal. read more

Americar - 2017 Volvo S60 - Used Car Dealers Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I've been a customer at I Americar twice now and both times they've blown me away. John took the time to understand exactly what I needed--reliable daily driver with good gas mileage and Apple CarPlay--then showed me a spotless 2022 Honda CR-V with full service history. No pressure, transparent pricing, fair trade-in, and Julien in finance had me out the door in under 30 minutes with a rate better than my bank. The car was detailed, tank full, phone paired, and they even tossed in keychains and service coupons. Three weeks later, it's running perfectly and I've already sent two coworkers their way. Hands down the best dealership experience I've ever had! read more

Do not waste your time here. They're scammers. They reset cars computers to get rid of the lights to sell as "good condition " Once you walk out with a car and drive it, you'll have issues. Big time scammers. I have made a claim about their scams to the city and the state. Again, SCAMMERS. LOW END SCAMMERS. read more

I purchased a 2017 Nissan Maxima from this dealership, and after only a week, we're already having serious issues. I drove it 23 miles home from the dealership, and then just 10 more miles locally before the check engine light came on--only 33 miles total. When I brought it to a trusted mechanic, they discovered that the car's computer (ECU) had been swapped with one from a completely different vehicle--a 2015 Nissan Altima--with a different VIN. This kind of mismatch not only voids any warranty (including the 90-day warranty I was given), it makes accurate diagnostics impossible and may be a sign of major prior damage, like flood exposure. The Carfax report makes no mention of this ECU swap, so this is clearly fraud. Either the "dealership" did it themselves, or they failed to do proper due diligence before selling the car. Based on their complete lack of response--no returned calls, no texts--I'm leaning toward the former. Now that I'm seeing all these other bad reviews, I wish I had looked more closely before buying. But I was rushed--my son had just been in an accident and needed a car quickly to return to college. The mechanic confirmed this qualifies as fraud, and it should absolutely have been disclosed. I'm currently in the process of reporting this to the appropriate state agencies and law enforcement. This isn't just poor customer service--it's deceptive and dishonest. Do not buy a vehicle from these crooks. read more

Everything!!! We are going to pursue legal action. No security deposit ever given back! Not BBB accredited. Was told mandatory insurance must be taken upon being dropped off in Ft Luderdale location, to get car rental,paid online prior, in a must leave for emergency situation! As well had to leave due to that, they knew my situation, they lied, and mis- disclosed untruthful mandatory insurance with their company!NOT TRUE! They have for 16 days still not refunded anything on our card ,run around no security refunded of 250.00!!!! Car was filthy, and they gave me as they said what they had! As well was told 3 times they would do a refund on SECURITY DEPOSIT on WHATS APP???WHO DOES THIS?? NEVER??? IN OUR OPININION SHADDY. WE ARE TAKING A NEW APPROACH, WITH LEGAL ACTION FOR FUNDS NOT GIVEN BACK!.Ssince nothing but lies and disclosed wrong information in all areas,, and more run around and more lies IN OUR HONEST OPINION BAD,AND UNPROFESSIONAL, GIVEN A RUN AROUND AT EVERY TURN!!! read more

Americar Inc. Recommended. Honest and reliable car dealer. Refunded my purchase price without hesitation. It is rare to find such integrity in business today. 5 star. 10/10. I have no affiliation to Americar. My review is based on actual events. read more

I am a dedicated long time member of USAA. USAA is THE best insurance and investment members-only company around, exclusive to members of the military. I am absolutely surprised that my USAA Car Buying Service would have a 'dealer' of this type in its listings. We drove from Brooksville to Tampa to take a look at a vehicle Americar was selling. I had done my homework, including extensive VIN searches, pricing guides and CARFAX information. Upon arrival, we had a hard time just finding the entrance to this car 'lot'. That's what it is, a 'lot'. They don't even have a proper entrance. We had to use the entrance for the business next door, drive towards the back of that property where we found an open gate in a chain link fence. This led us into Americar. Their 'office' is a not much more than a air conditioned hut. We immediately spotted the vehicle of our interest. A guy was wiping the door sills with a wet towel, he stopped and handed me the car keys. I got in and started the car. As I sat in the drivers seat the first thing I noticed was the AC was NOT blowing cold, at all. (Critical to have cold AC in Florida!). My physical inspection revealed extensive rust stains on the wheel lug nut holes(one lug nut was missing on the front and the bare stud was solid rust). The brake rotors on all 4 wheels were extremely rusted. (I found out this car was from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. It was likely exposed to salt air). I suspect that IF I put this car on a lift I'd find extensive rust on the car frame and components as well. All bad signs. We took the car for a quick test drive. It drove okay except for the warm AC and the brake pedal shook as I stepped on the brakes. (This indicates warped brake rotors, which meant a repair issue). When we got back to the lot, I told the guy about the warm AC and the shaking brakes. As I was talking, John Selvi, the owner, quickly came over and interrupted saying he knew about those two problems. He said he has the brake rotors and pads ready to be installed from O'Reilly Auto Parts. He also said he would replace the air conditioner compressor. That made us feel a bit better about the car. (But why hadn't he already completed those repairs to make an easier sale?) John started telling us about the car. He said it was a 1 owner car with no accidents. I informed him that based on my research including a very accurate CARFAX report, this vehicle has had 5 owners. He stepped back with a surprised look on his face. He then denied he had said it was a 1 owner car. He was acting so shocked. Anyway, we all went inside to talk about a possible purchase. He confirmed the price we'd seen in the listing. We said that appeared to be a fair price. We then asked him about possible finance options. He grabbed his chest like having a heart attack and said he thought we were CASH BUYERS! He said he could NOT finance the car. (Even though I noted on several non-USAA links including cargurus.com there is a PAYMENT CALCULATOR and an ESTIMATED PAYMENT description, I've included a screen shot of that). John went on to say that even if he could provide financing, the price would be $1000 more! The price he quoted and that same online price was good only for today, for cash! (First sign of trouble, and for us to walk!) He then started inquiring how much could we put down, while still insisting he couldn't finance the car. AND he kept saying the car wouldn't be ready until next Wednesday and the price would be higher! We left without further 'negotiations' and did not purchase that car. Once I got home I looked over reviews people have left for this business on Google, Yelp and cargurus.com. I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of a lot of those reviews. I found many reviewers had written only 1 review, and that was for Americar. More importantly, I found 2 reviews, from 2 separate individuals that were almost identically worded. Basically the same review, with a couple of words changed and copy/pasted. I have included screen shots of those. I am sending a copy of this review to USAA for their consideration. read more

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Best car buying experience I have ever had. I will travel the two hours to buy from these guys again. Honored the price, provided a warranty, and gained a returning customer. read more

I live thousands of miles away from Florida. I purchased a car from Americar Tampa Fl. on-line. I conducted a CarFax based of the VIN which indicated the car had a credible history, the Americar representative Julie conducted a live video walk around prior to the purchase on a Thursday or Friday. Julie said the car would be ready Monday and it need a repair that would only take a couple of hours to include a thorough detailing. I asked that a decal on the trunk be removed. Julie said the company that preforms the detailing would remove it. Monday late afternoon I called Julie, she said she was sick and not at the dealership. Julie said the car was not ready as the mechanics arrived to preform the repairs at 10am. Late Monday evening I called Julie, Julie said the car was not ready as the contractor's day ended at 6:30pm. Tuesday, late morning I called Julie, Julie said the car was not ready as the car needed to be "programmed" Julie said she would call me back, she never did that day. Wednesday late afternoon I arrived in Tampa, met Julie, the car appeared to not have been moved in days. The interior was grimy around the door handles, seats and gear shifter. I sat in Julie's office and witnessed her call "someone" on her phone with the speaker on, no one answered, Julie also texted someone and said the person / contractor did not call her back. Note: Julie said they preform the detailing one premise and they had a crew that could detail the car in less than an hour. I had to get a rental car at the last moment to get around. My credit car company had get my payment back. Had I given Julie any other form of payment, I presumed I would still be fighting to get my money. What car dealership advertises and sells a car that is not ready to be sold? I would not recommend this car dealership to anyone who maybe in the worst needs of a car, most people work too hard for what we have to do business with a company like this. If you read my account, what you will notice is: 1. At no time did Julie ever call me to give me an update, 2, Julie also said they had a vendor perform the detailing but later said they did the detailing on premise. 3. All of our communications were initiated by me, I have the phone records. Julie has no credibility base upon her repeated promises and consistent failure to deliver or communicate. read more

I would recommend my whole family to him! He is honest kind warm and he truly looks out for your family and friends! The world would be a wonderful place with more people like John in it! God bless him and his family! read more

The absolute worst car buying experience I've ever had. Do yourself a favor and runaway In the opposite direction. You will end up buying a pretty car on the outside but end up with a car that doesn't start. John will pretend to fix the problems and resolve absolutely nothing while constantly putting the blame on you for not being able to fix the car. If you purchase a car it is understood that the minimum standard is that the car will start. That's all end of story. The final result is he worked on our car for almost an entire month and resolved nothing, he corrected things that were not issues and then blamed us for having to fix them , then told us to give him $6-700 for the work that he put into our car. When we arrived to pick it up the car after he claims he paid thousands to correct our issue, it had the same problem still and wouldn't start. We just took it and are having it fixed ourselves. Biggest nightmare and waste of time and money. The car was not cheap either we paid $15000 . read more

They stole my bank card info and used it to pay a bill at Rent King. Buyer beware. They are not reputable!!!

Purchased a car 6 weeks ago from this place. Was promised a 90 day warranty from the owner. 6 weeks later we have an issue and he won't honor his promise. He lied and won't fix issue we are having. Should have got it in writing. Bad business.. do not buy from them. read more

I'm literally in the process of RTO a vehicle from Americar. I drove off the lot in February 2019 and it's now April 2019 and I've experienced far too many issues. The car runs hot, the AC only works on the driver side and sum up all the difficulties the car shuts off while I'm actually driving. I personally would tell any curious buyer to RUN and as fast as you can away from this lemonade stand . read more

My mother purchased a 2011 Hyundai Genesis from John at Americar. Within only three weeks of the purchase the engine seized/ threw a rod. Upon Hyundai dealership analysis, the engine oil was 100% sludge. The warranty that John sold my mother refused to cover the engine replacement, and John offered no help. John sold my mother a lemon car that hadn't had an oil change in years, a lemon warranty that that picks and chooses what they will cover, and he does not stand by his customers. He is now refusing to answer her calls. She will have to pay $5,000 out of pocket for a new engine. Please refrain from patronizing this unreputable "business" establishment. read more

This guy screwed me over. DO NOT GO HERE. I bought a car from here and half an hour later it broke down! I called the guy immediately and his phone was turned off. I got it working, and then, I come to find there's transmission issues, and it just won't stat up sometimes, and eventually, it stopped working all together. It's sitting in my parking lot now, and when I called, he said he would come have it towed and repaired ON HIM, then a week later calls me rudely telling me he never said that and it's all on me to get it fixed. Do not trust this man, he is a phony. He will take your money, even if it's you're first time buying a car. He is shameless and will guiltlessly screw you over. read more

John Selvi (the owner)was excellent! He provided my husband and me with great service. It was not a strong arm tactic sale. He was reliable, answered all our questions and made every effort to make certain we were happy with the car we wanted. He pulled the car history report for us without needing to be asked. He does not haggle, although at the end he adjusted the sales price down a bit, his prices were great and he prepared the vehicle we purchased to our specifications. We were able to test drive and inspect a number of cars from a good variety of used vehicles and make our selection. I checked around at six dealers in Tampa before deciding to work with John. His office person, Rachel was thorough and thoughtful. I highly recommend Americar. read more

If "No Stars" was an option, I'd take it. Buyer BEWARE!!! John sold my daughter a car that had the Check Engine light turned off and the first time that she drove over 55 mph, it came back on. It turns out the car has a transmission defect that could cost $2,000!!! Of course the car was not under warranty, so she has no recourse. John is a predator looking to take advantage of young students at USF. Do not buy a car from there or you will be sorry that you did!! It also took them over a month to get her actual license plate. She had to call them to tell them to go get it. Spend your money somewhere else and have peace of mind!! read more

Terrible "dealership" literally run out of a shack on the side of the road. The vehicle I went to see was completely false advertised on both Craigslist and on the Americar website. The engine was not the original, the quality of the car was way below what the ad stated, and perhaps the worst part was the salesman/owner "John" would not negotiate on the price AT ALL. Not even by $50. The price was already excessive and since it was a small dealership I was expecting to see the salesman willing to negotiate. The only positive factor was that I was allowed to test drive it, but that should be standard, so no extra points for that. He literally knew nothing about the cars on his lot other than where he bought them. I don't think he had even tested many of them since he didn't know which ones had broken window motors, AC, etc. He admitted that he bought cars from local used car dealerships that were sitting on their lots and tried to flip them for a profit. He assured me that the engine and transmission were "perfect" and had no problems and would "last forever," so I said, "well then give me some warranty on the engine and transmission, even just a week." He wouldn't negotiate any sort of warranty. This place has scam written all over it. Only suckers would shop here. read more

I would like to update my previous review. The check engine light came on the night we bought the car. we had to pay 4500.00 in repairs for a car we purchased for 8000.00. after going round and round with John Selvi, he agreed to pay 1500.00. Although I did not think this was fair I agreed on the settlement. As of today, 5 months later I have only received 750.00. He did not live up to his word! There are to many other dealerships you could go to. I advise skipping this one!! As you can guess no return of calls or messages... read more

WARNING!!!! DO NOT BUY FROM THIS DEALERSHIP!!!!! John Selvi sold my nephew a car for $5000 and it ended up needing $5000 worth of work for it to even be safe to drive. I sell cars at a reputable Toyota dealership in PA that also sells used cars. My dealership stands behind its vehicles and I am proud to work for my company. I tried to reach out to John-salesperson to salesperson- to see if there was something he could do help out my nephew. I understand the car industry and know it is possible. John didn't even address my concerns. He started talking about the Toyota warranty and completely deflected my question. When I tried to interrupt him to explain that I thought he misunderstood that I also sell used cars, he literally went off on me. He insulted my upbringing, insulted my work ethic, told me I was mentally insane and started screaming "SHUT UP" at me. He never addressed my concern and told me he could no longer talk to me and hung up on me. I do not know how this man can live with himself by selling cars that need $1000s of work to people when they need reliable transportation. This company should be put out of business and I plan to contact the Better Business Bureau due to his unethical and insulting behavior. read more