Some years ago, I foolishly bought a salvage title Acura from Frank after seeing it posted on ebay. I'd read that salvage title cars can be a money saving alternative to buying undamaged ones. So, after talking to Frank on the phone and hearing about what a great car it was, I decided to head to Detroit, looked at and drove the car, and ultimately purchased it. And no, I admit I did not have the car inspected--not that that would necessarily have found anything since these are typically only cursory. But yes, I should have done this.
Anyway, even though I'd tested everything when looking the car over, it started to literally fall apart on the drive home. The first thing that happened was the driver side window fell into the door when I tried to open it. I was flabbergasted and horrified.
I stopped short of home and went to my bank and put a stop-payment on the cashiers check; then I called Frank. After describing the problems I was having, he was ho hum about it. So, I then told him about the check, at which point you can guess what happened. He blew up and threatened me and told me to go to the bank and immediately wire him the money "or else". I insisted I was happy to bring the car back for a full refund, but he wasn't having it. And knowing what some people do under such circumstances, and being intimidated, I finally complied. God, I was pissed. And what is worse is that these issues I'd had on the drive home were only the start.
Only weeks later, I found that nearly half the wheel lug nuts were simply gone. It turns out the studs were stripped out. And around this same time while driving on the highway, I noticed smoke pouring behind my car. I pulled over just in time as the check engine light came on. The car was towed to the nearest small town shop, and they found that the oil had all run out because of a badly damaged oil filter that they had installed had failed. These kinds of issues just cropped up one after the other. It was incredible. For three years, I spent thousands getting items repaired that were the direct result of bad workmanship--not simply maintenance items that routinely come up due to time and miles driven.
That car purchase was one of the worst purchases of my life. I was a damn fool for buying such a car, and Frank' poor ethics and dishonesty were rampant. I should have reported him to the state of Michigan Attorney General's office in the weeks that followed. He got off easy. I just hope to alert others what he is capable of. Shop elsewhere. read more