12/28/17
Dear Sir:
I purchased a 2009 GMC Acadia from Mark Sweeney GMC Buick in Cincinnati, on Saturday, September 2nd, 2017. I was on a waiting list for a car to come in that would meet the criteria that the bank was requiring. After several days, one came in and I got a phone call at 8 in the morning on a Saturday to come and get a car that someone was trading in, but I needed to get there fast, he said, before it's gone. So I got up and rushed out the door and by the time I got there the guy was just then getting into his own new car. I literally drove off the lot with this car thinking that when I came back the next Monday, as my sales agent was telling me to, that it would be serviced and it would be up to par, meaning; inspected to rule out that there were no major problems wrong with it, make sure the car had a tune up, etc.... figured surely that they would do those things before selling a car, and which all seemed pretty standard to me...(please note that all the other cars on the lot had car star reports and service inspections. I know this because I was told this and it was advertised that this is what is done for all used cars). When that Monday came around, they picked the vehicle up from my work, brought the car back to me when they finished with it, put my receipt and key under the mat. When I got off that evening I noticed that the only thing stated on the receipt was that they had done an oil change and replaced a wiper blade. It was one day later and I made a call into Derrick Hayes, the sales agent, to tell them that the car feels like there's something really wrong with it. It feels like the transmission is skipping or something, it's like a stutter of sorts... He said that I was probably just getting used to the car, and he asked me if my check engine light was on at that time. I said no, and he followed by saying, well if it comes on or you have more problems, give us call us and we will take good care of you, ...ok,?!? Well, not even 2/3 weeks later the issue started to get worse and I had already by this time made 2 calls into Derrick's voice mail to which he never returned my calls. With the engine light now on, I ended up breaking down on the highway. Come to find out I had a blown head gasket, that it needed a complete tune-up, including, but not limited to, needing wires and plugs replaced, the engine coils replaced, and that was just to name a few. At this point I had no choice but to get it serviced. I was stuck on a Friday night with a broken vehicle I had just purchased, and still hadn't been successful with reaching anyone at the dealership. But again I continued to call Derrick. I even called the used car sales manager at this point to immediately let them know of these major issues that the mechanic just explained to me. The mechanic started to work on those few issues.
Not knowing yet what lay ahead, this alone was completely unacceptable as a new customer having to pay for this kind of repairs when, literately this was just purchased. Obviously this was already a problem prior to the previous owner's trade in and probably the reason for the trade in ...so I was pretty much sent on my way with what was fixed at that point, leaving an open invoice and major problems that still needed replaced/repaired etc. I still can't go over 30 maybe 40mph and that's if I'm lucky, but that only lasted about 2 days till the car completely wouldn't accelerate at all and now just sits dead. Adding to that was the fact that I was completely ignored and looked over as far as the dealership responding to me as a customer with a serious complaint that needed resolved asap. We're talking over $1,500 on labor and repairs so far. Now I'm making a car payment, paying for other forms of transportation to get me around, a towing bill, and a repair bill that needs to be paid. I cannot continue to pay all these repairs! My sales rep knew the situation I was in with children and that my job as a nanny required and depended on a safe car.
The mechanic confirmed "rigged up" parts and shoddy work had already been done to the car. Basically a way to cover up major problems and buy some time by doing so. I have attached an information sheet that explains what happens when someone continues to drive a vehicle after a head gasket has been blown. I don't speak mechanic so I couldn't repeat everything, but I have everything exact.
Moving forward, no matter what I signed, what I was told, and what was not done, what I, the consumer, have been left with, should be a major crime and it's completely unfair... I don't have money to dish out. I just paid a nice cash down payment to buy this car and it sits dead! Remind you, I called the next day after they dropped it off to me and continued to drive it till "that light" came on and with no response... Now it's just like everything under the hood is going out... How does one buy a car from a reputable and be blantly ignore me tho read more