Bought a car from them in August of 2023. Car was said to be "in great running condition" and needed $3,000+ to be road worthy. These guys are scumbags. Don't buy from them.
My Story: was looking for a diesel VW for the mileage as my daughter started to do softball tournaments. I wanted one for the mileage and fuel economy, and to keep miles off our other cars. I found a 2014 VW Passat TDI on ebay from these guys. The photos showed a car that looked to be in really good shape, minus a small chip of paint on the front bumper. The description was "runs and drives great" among other positive adjectives that would only reassure my desire to buy the car.
The kicker: I live in Colorado so a one-way flight was going to have to be taken to get to Chicago. I had called Chicago Fine Motors and spoke with a gal who was assisting the dealers. I asked about the car which she has no knowledge of and said "I'll try to get someone to call you so they can describe the car" which never happened. I also asked for additional photos, which I was told would be emailed out before the next day, which also never happened. I never spoke with a dealer for the car and this lady basically was the only one who handled my experience. I stressed that I was coming a long way and would need to drive the car back almost 1,000 miles. She said that the car would make it without issues, and she also said she had seen the car and it was in excellent shape. After a few calls on the phone over the next week, I made my decision to take the trip. One flight and an Uber later, I arrived to see the car outside waiting for a test drive. My smile quickly turned to disgust.
First off the exterior of the car didn't look terrible, but the rear bumper had some "spider web" cracks from being bumped hard in the back. There were also some small dents and scratches on the side, normal I guess for a used car. Then there was the smell. Oh God the smell!
The windows were down all around the car and for good reason. This car was obviously a smokers car and the interior was covered in the foggy grey of cigarette smoke. I think they were hoping that leaving the windows down in the hot sun would help the smell a little bit. It only helped to emphasize the fact that this car was not in bad shape. Furthermore, the photos that were taken online of the interior were taken at just the right angle to hide damage. The seats were battered, cracked and missing vinyl chunks on the sides. Hardly in " great condition" as they had described. But that's not the worst part. we took a test drive. The guy who drove with me told me that "sir we sell a lot of cars and this car is in great shape. You can drive it to Colorado no problem." In reality it had five check engine codes, three of them for the emission system, and one of those stated that due to the problem that the car had with the emission system, the car would only drive for the next 30 miles of range. I argued that that was ridiculous as what if I shut off the car leaves me stranded. of course he assured me that that shouldn't be a problem. It's just general warning. He said if you want, you can stay the night we can see about getting somebody that they know who is a Volkswagen tech to look at the car and clear the codes, but their machines that they have won't do it . I was really pissed. I told the guy he was gonna get me screwed over on my trip if the car didn't work and get me home. I told him at minimum I need some money off. He said sir the car is here. Take it or leave it. We can't take anymore money off. Now I was really pissed. But more so I was mad at myself because I had gone along the entire way, trusting that these guys were being honest with me, the car would make it home. Now after a one-way flight and a whole night worth of I could potentially be stranded somewhere with a defunct car as the only option of getting home. I debated whether or not I just hop another one-way flight but the logistics of getting somebody to pick me up from the airport and drive me back home was a problem. The gal I spoke with on the phone, on vacation, convenient.
I spoke with a friend who is a VW tech and he said "whatever you do, don't shut off the car!" "Other unknown issues could be costly, so beware" he said. I bought the car.
Fast forward a year now, it works, but to get it there, I had to align the wheels ($120), get new tires ($1,100), replace the emissions system ($2,000), buy a timing belt kit and get that installed ($1,000), change all the fluids ($400), get the car professionally detailed to get the cigarette smoke out ($500), buy seat covers to bandage the broken seats ($350) and replace the heater core in the A/C unit ($85). If I wasn't buying this car for the fact that it gets 45 miles to the gallon on diesel I would have never bought it. I can't say another car would have been less or more work but I can say with confidence that these guy are scum bags and dishonest. Don't buy from them! read more