After a mechanic blew the engine in our current vehicle and refused to fix it or refund us our money, we decided to let bygones be bygones and invest in a new vehicle (even though we have yet to pay off the Blazer). Driving around Lincoln, my husband spotted a 2004 black Jeep Cherokee at Dillon's Auto so we pulled in. The salesman, Chad Engel, met us outside and immediately let us test drive it. Everything seemed great (as usual with car dealerships). We asked about information on the vehicle and Chad showed us the Carfax and told us that he personally took the Jeep as a trade-in from a guy that lived in our area (he even gave us his name). We purchased the vehicle and left.
One week later, we went on a family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, KS. On our drive home, my husband noticed some sort of fluid coming out of the rear passenger wheel well. Worried that it might be brake fluid, we immediately called the nearest TO Haas and they were able to get us in immediately. What they found was this: fluid leaking into the rear of the vehicle. This was unsafe to drive. Somebody had "very recently" tried to fix it, but incorrectly. They drove us home. I immediately called Dillon's Auto and was told that of course they would pay for it, just bring it in. I told them that it was already in the shop and Chad said, "SHIT. Call them and tell them not to touch it!" So I did.
Eventually, Brad Best called me to tell me that he was upset that I didn't bring the vehicle to them (remember, the unsafe-to-drive vehicle). But since I had, I had two options. One was to pay to have the Jeep towed to them and they could fix it for $300.00. I know this is impossible because we also needed a new axle as whoever "fixed" it previously had accidentally torched the axle. Paul at TO Haas refused to fix it without putting in a new axle as it would just leak again. Brad tried to talk Paul into fixing it without the axle and Paul would not. The second option was to just take a check from them for $300.00. (This is where Brad told me that TO Haas is just jacking up their prices and screwing us over).
Talking with Paul at TO Haas, he told me that Brad Best had told him that this vehicle was purchased at an auto auction so it is not Dillon's Autos fault that there are problems with the vehicle. He said they cannot be held accountable for what may be wrong with a vehicle when they purchase it at auction. But...Chad Engel told me that he personally took this vehicle as a trade-in? So who is it that's lying to me? And does it really matter since they both work for the same company?
I opted for the check as I certainly will not trust them to fix something that I'm pretty sure they don't have the best intentions of fixing correctly. Now I am stuck trying to figure out how to come up with $500.00 to fix a vehicle that we purchased thirteen days ago.
Again, I'm stuck saying 'Let bygones be bygones.' read more
