I purchased a car from CRC a few months ago and it was a terrible experience. I gave myself a little bit to make sure that it wasn't just my emotions, but the more I think about it the more I felt the need to inform others who would consider buying from CRC. The experience boils down to two main issues: 1) Changing terms after the check was cut and 2) Dismissiveness of pre-purchase inspection. If you don't feel like reading the whole review--which if you plan to do business I would highly advise you to--then the take away is this: if you could get a similar car from anyone else, DO IT.
At first he was great to work with--even though he didn't seem to read the emails very closely or remember what we talked about previously. Sometimes days went by between responses. But I appreciated him working with me digitally as I lived 45 minutes out of Clio and couldn't get off work to go in person. He even took the car to an auto-shop of my choosing for an inspection. Then we negotiated a deal over the phone and set up a time for me to pick it up.
During the phone negotiations he indicated that he allegedly had other potential buyers--now that two weeks had gone by due to his slow responses that included questions answered in previous emails--and that he would not budge on price. He said he would be nice and let me get the first crack at it since I had already gone through the pre-purchase inspection. I brought up that my mechanic told me that the rotors were warped from rust and needed to be replaced, and the brake pads were at about 10-20%. CRC insisted that this was incorrect and that his mechanic said they were at 40%. He assured me that he wouldn't sell me a car I had to take into the shop--which later proved to be a false promise.
I said that if he took care of the rotors and brake pads, then I would pay full price for the car. He said that because he was a dealer he could get the repairs done cheaper, so he would take care of it. We agreed in the morning and we set up a time for me to come by in the evening to pick up the car. I went ahead, put insurance on the car, and cut the check. As I was getting in my car to drive to Clio he sent me an email saying that his people wouldn't have time to put on the parts. I was a little irritated as he had all day to do it, but I thought maybe he was just busy. I said that was fine and that if he simply subtracted the price he would have paid for the repairs, then I would take it to my own place to get it done. He refused. Then he went on a tirade about how the repairs were unnecessary, and went even further to claim that they never were part of the deal in the first place--despite the email evidence that showed when realized that he wouldn't be able to get the repairs done on time.
He then demanded that I either accept his new terms or he would sell the car to someone else. I told him that since I had already cut the check that this felt like extortion and seemed borderline illegal. He then got very upset and said he would sell it to someone else if I threatened a law suit. I suggested that I could take the parts instead of a cash deduction if he would give me a guarantee that my auto-mechanic would say the parts were good enough quality to put on the car. He got angry at this and said that they weren't dust-free brake-pads, but they would get as many miles of use as what any shop offered. Despite these claims, he refused to give me any guarantee--his parts or none at all.
The last hiccup was when I went to trade in our old car. He had already given me a quote on the car and said he would pay me that amount if there was nothing wrong with it. When he saw the car, he said it was in great shape but he didn't want it--even though he had already agreed to a certain amount. He then proceeded to offer me $100 less than the previously agreed price. I was so fed up by this point that I just took it.
Within 100 miles of the purchase the check engine light turned on, the rotors started to grind, and the squealers were going off on the brake-pads--so much for 40%! Turns out either his mechanics are incompetent or he stretched the truth too far. The mechanic said they could hear me driving in the grinding was so bad. I told them it was silent a few days ago when I bought it. They said the seller likely lubed it up so it would sell better. They looked up the parts he gave me and historically his parts got 20,000 less miles than the pads they offered--and theirs weren't dust-free either! There were also 'brand new' wind shield wipers when we bought it, but two months later the rubber blade had already disconnected two inches from the wiper and needed to be replaced. So now I have a bunch of cheap parts to remind me of that one time I was scammed by used car salesman just outside of Flint, MI. read more
