General Manager Tom O'Donnell Canceled My Purchase After I Paid My $1K Deposit, Wired the Full $16K…read moreBalance, and Signed the Purchase Agreement!
GM O'Donnell is holding the over $16K of my 21-year-old son's money he worked over four years saving, along with my $1K credit card deposit. O'Donnell's latest comment: "We will send a check in the mail for the (over $16,000) balance at our convenience." No. That money will be wired back to us the same way it was sent to Audi Allentown.
I first worked with Tina, who sent me the Carfax and confirmed the vehicle had been sitting on the dealership's lot for four months. Because I was buying this three-year-old vehicle with nearly 100,000 miles, I wanted to do my due diligence. This wasn't just my money--my son had worked hard and saved for his first car purchase.
I emailed Tina with several reasonable questions, including whether the car had undergone any previous pre-purchase inspections, whether the dealership had its own inspection report, and whether they could provide a cold-start video, underbody photos or video, and a complete walkaround.
None of those questions were answered.
Instead, Brad sent me a five-minute walkaround video that did not include a cold start, did not show underneath the vehicle, and did not address any of the questions I had asked. During that video, Brad also stated the vehicle came with a 3-month/3,000-mile powertrain warranty from the dealership. When I later received the purchase paperwork from General Manager Tom O'Donnell, the 3-month/3,000-mile powertrain warranty mentioned in the video was not included in the paperwork, which only added to my concerns.
I also wanted an independent pre-purchase inspection, but despite multiple attempts, I could never get the dealership to coordinate one. That meant I was expected to buy an out-of-state vehicle for my son without the information or inspection I had requested.
Communication throughout the process was consistently poor. At one point, I called looking for Tina, and the employee who answered told me, "There is no Tina here. You must have the wrong dealership."
Despite all of those concerns, I still moved forward because my son really wanted the car. It was the exact color, make, model, and trim we had been searching for for months but could not find in our area. I should have used better judgment.
Throughout the transaction, I never became more comfortable, my questions remained unanswered and an independent inspection was never coordinated.
The day after I sent the wire transfer, I had to call the dealership four separate times just to get an update on my purchase. Eventually, I reached General Manager Tom O'Donnell, who told me the dealership had not yet received the wire. I explained my frustration with the poor communication and the fact that I had agreed to buy an out-of-state vehicle for my son based on a five-minute video without answers to my questions or an independent inspection. Rather than acknowledging those concerns or trying to work toward a solution, he canceled the transaction.
Although we had signed the purchase agreement, I had paid the deposit, and I had wired the remaining balance the day before, GM Tom O'Donnell canceled the sale. When I called back hoping to resolve the situation, he told me there was "nothing else to talk about." He then said, "Once the wire clears, we will mail you a check at our convenience." I immediately placed a wire recall with my bank for the full balance and disputed the deposit with my credit card. After everything that had happened, I was left feeling that my business was not valued and that resolving my concerns was never a priority. I have never experienced anything like this.
What should have been an exciting milestone for my son turned into days of uncertainty, phone calls, and trying to recover the money we had already committed to the purchase. I cannot recommend Audi Allentown based on how this transaction was handled by General Manager Tom O'Donnell.
