Da Vinci Automotive in Jacksonville, Florida: Beware of the fraudulent tactics they used to scam us.
We were in the market for a Porsche Panamera Turbo when we stumbled upon one for sale on the website for Da Vinci Automotive in Jacksonville, Florida. After looking over the roughly 50 photographs, vehicle description, Carketa Vehicle Inspection Report, and other information provided by on Da Vinci Automotive website, we chose to reach out to the dealership for additional information. Every bit of information provided to us -- both verbally and on the website -- was nothing but glowing.
Sure we had found "the car", we booked a trip and decided to pay the full asking price. During this process, they informed us the car was at Porsche Jacksonville for what they described as "routine maintenance". This was perfect, because we planned to have Porsche Jacksonville perform an inspection to help ensure we wouldn't run into any issues on the 600 mile trip home. We were then informed the car had already been picked up from Porsche Jacksonville, and we would need to pay a $150 "logistics" fee to have the car returned to the Porsche dealer. The fee amount seemed high considering the two dealerships are only 15 miles and 20 minutes apart, but we decided to pay the fee to Da Vinci Automotive.
After arriving in Jacksonville, we decided to swing by Porsche Jacksonville and see our soon-to-be new-to-us Porsche Panamera Turbo. After only a few moments of seeing the car in person and receiving the inspection report from Porsche Jackson, we had to ask Da Vinci Automotive if there was a mixup between the advertised vehicle and the vehicle sitting in front of us. We were assured it was the vehicle advertised on their website.
We immediately noticed obvious damages and differences that weren't shown in the roughly 50 photographs or mentioned on their website. The $21, 667.84 estimate for repairs attached to the Porsche inspection certainly wasn't mentioned verbally or on the Da Vinci Automotive website. It was about this point we realized Da Vinci Automotive was trying to scam us using fraudulent and deceptive business practices.
It was also around this time we realized Da Vinci Automotive stole roughly 50 photographs from a listing for another Panamera that had been sold by someone in Tennessee the year before. We also realized Da Vinci Automotive falsified information regarding the actual condition of the vehicle, resulting in the score of "A+" on the Carketa Vehicle Inspection Report. Turns out, Da Vinci Automotive performs their own Carteka inspections. At least for this vehicle, they abused that privilege.
The following are some of the issues listed on the Porsche Jacksonville inspection report:
-- Front Air Suspension components - This explained the brand new very inexpensive, low quality air struts found in the trunk. Da Vinci Automotive claimed to have recently used their own mechanic to replace the compressor, but hadn't yet replaced the air struts. This is the real reason Da Vinci Automotive had the car towed to Porsche Jacksonville, not for the "routine maintenance" as they originally claimed.
-- Misfire Cylinder 3
-- Replace four tires - Not N-rated, dry rotting, low tread life
-- Oil leak on passenger side of engine
-- Residue found on transmission and pan
-- Replace passenger mirror
-- Fuel door missing completely
-- Control unit - center differential lock - Sport mode, center-differential lock, faulty - Sport mode, faulty.
Considering the true and accurate condition of the car, it became obvious that this Panamera quickly went from a roadworthy daily driver to a project car, at best. Disappointed and not wanting the trip to be a complete bust, we offered to discuss a price that more accurately reflects the actual condition of the car. Da Vinci Automotive had no interest in such a discussion, so we were forced to make the 600 mile return trip empty-handed. Instead, Da Vinci Automotive chose to quickly begin covering their tracks by removing the stolen photos that grossly misrepresented the vehicle they were selling. At the time of this writing, they were still using the A+ Carketa inspection report.
Given the fraudulent, deceptive and unethical business practices used by Da Vinci Automotive during this process, we asked them to reimburse us for part of our travel expenses, the tow bill, and the inspection performed by Porsche Jacksonville, for a total of $1500. We would not have spent one penny of this money had Da Vinci Automotive provided photographs of the actual vehicle, along with an accurate description and Carketa report on their website. They refused to reimburse us, on the grounds that we showed interest in discussing a realistic price.
We have photos, screenshots, links, inspection reports, etc. to corroborate the description of our experience with Da Vinci Automotive. At the time of this writing, a complaint has already been filed with the Federal Trade Commission.. read more