On 1/24/19 I drove from Sioux Falls to Windom to look at a 2013 GMC Acadia with 122,341 miles. My husband and I test drove the vehicle and everything seemed to be in good shape, though the weather was cold and windy and we decided to purchase the vehicle. Within 17 days of owning the car I had noticed FM radio did not work, since they provided me with XM radio. I also had noticed large gas consumption and the slipping around 30-40mph, I was hoping this was due to the extreme cold and snow during this time. Once all of the snow cleared and temp rose a bit the problem was still there, I had brought it to a shop to check this, and was told transmission failing. I contacted Mike, the owner, he advised that he was not aware of the issue, and he drove it from MN to Sioux Falls twice and all around town for a month with no notice of slipping. I then brought it to Billion GMC for a second opinion, again told transmission torque converter, but overall would need a new transmission. The guy at Billion GMC said upon inspection they noticed almost dark brown almost black transmission fluid as a first indicator something was wrong, they also did a test that shows the transmission slipping severely. This guy stated in his professional opinion anyone driving the car prior would have noticed slipping, and a simple check of fluids would have indicated an issue, especially if they changed the fluid and it turned brown again, and that there was no way in the 17 days I owned the car that I could have ruined a transmission this badly. I also spoke with billion and mentioned the warranty offered to me at the time of purchase, and he stated that it does not cover replacing a transmission when it is a "pre existing" issue, which mine would have been pre existing to me purchasing. I then contacted Mike from Johnson's Auto or Smith Auto and he told me he had no crystal ball to tell when issues would arrive, that dark brown transmission fluid could mean that it was old fluid, and that he did not change it to see if it would turn brown again indicating a transmission issue, that it was my problem since I did not purchase the warranty he offered (which does not cover replacing a pre existing transmission problem) and that all he could do was give me %50 off of labor of replacing the transmission. My transmission came to $3,386, added in 2 diagnostic fees of $100. On 2/18 my car was picked to have the transmission and radio repaired by Mike and I was told it would be done by end of week. The following week on 2/25 I had not received any follow up on my car, so I contacted both Mike and his wife with no response. I was told on 2/26 due to blizzard conditions roads were closed and they were waiting on the transmission to arrive and when I asked for a time frame I was not responded to. Due to no response from Mike and his wife I called the shop a day later to get a time on when my car would be done. I was told Mike was out on Vacation and still working on fixing the transmission. On 3/4/19 I contacted and was told the transmission was done and I paid by card and set up a time to meet at a halfway point to receive my car. Upon receiving, my radio was not working still. I messaged Mike about this to see if he found what the problem was so I could fix this issue myself and I did not receive any contact back. Now in April 2019, I attempted to turn on my Air Conditioning since weather was getting warmer, not working, and the struts are going out. I know struts are a wear issue which usually need to be replaced at this mileage in a car, though I've only put 2500 miles on it, I would not be so mad about this except for the fact that in 4 months of purchasing a $15,000 car from Johnson's Auto I have had 4 costly fixes, with who knows what else about to go wrong. With $3,500 in transmission issues, $100+ in radio issues, $300+ in struts, and air conditioning issues that have yet to be diagnosed I decided to get a value on the car it is only worth $10,000 leaving me $5,000 upside down on my loan as well as the $4,000 worth of work put in over 4 months. I understand buying a car "as is" and no warranty was my mistake (even though warranties do not cover PRE EXISTING issues), but knowing that a simple check over the car would have shown Johnsons Auto that there was significant issues with it they should have lowered the price, or worked with me on the cost of the transmission more than $600. I feel this company knew about the issues, and chose to sell it to me anyway. read more
