We purchased a car from Brothers Auto Sales and gave them $2500 out of $3000 for a deposit, with the remainder contingent on them repairing the back door that wouldn't open. They gave us the car, despite not receiving the full deposit, although the rest of the price was guaranteed through financing. The car broke down within 24 hours. We contacted them about the possibility of either canceling the loan (we were told we could) or exchanging the car for another (yes we could), but were told we would have to wait until the owner returned from overseas in a week because no one else could handle the issue and his wife - also an owner - does not speak English very well.
They took it, repaired it and said it was ready, however, would not give it to me until they received the remaining $500. I asked why they gave us the car in the first place despite not receiving the entire deposit. All I got was some claim to not understand. Yet they wouldn't give me my car. They only took the car hostage when it broke down after owning it for 12 hours and they were concerned we would back out of the deal and be stuck with a malfunctioning vehicle (they probably hoped we'd have it longer before it broke down). No one would come forward to handle the issue unless they were given the $500, claiming they didn't understand English, or we had said that we didn't want the car anymore and that no one could do anything until the owner returned in a week.
I understand their argument that the $3K is technically separate from the broken door, although there was an oral agreement to fix it. My ex-husband was the one who unilaterally decided to withhold the $500. However, they had $2,500 in cash and signed a contract for them to receive the remainder from the bank, therefore they were guaranteed to have 95% of the value. Furthermore, I questioned why they didn't present the $500 as an issue when they handed the car over initially, only demanding the money when they knew the car was a lemon.
Most businesses would have a little more good will towards a customer so I - and my two kids - wouldn't be without a car. All I got was dumb looks and excuses that they didn't know what was going on, although I think they understood their motives perfectly. A business that does transactions with English-speaking customers should have people available to handle the matter at all times, not claim ignorance of the language to perform bad business transactions. read more