Buyers, Beware!
We purchased a 2011 Lexus from Molter Auto Sales in Monticello, Indiana on Dec. 15. We purchased it "as is," but the salesman told us there was nothing wrong with the car and that it had been the owner's wife's car for the past two years. (There was no sticker in the window that told the price, features, etc.) Before we got home, it was dark outside. That's when we found out the headlights don't work correctly. Apparently, the owner's wife never drove at night. We managed to get home. After a lot of snail's-pace phone tag (my husband calling the salesman; the salesman supposedly talking to the owner; the salesman eventually calling us back), Molter's salesman told us to take the car to a Lexus dealership to identify the problem. We found out the headlight carriage has broken parts. To fix it at Lexus will cost $2,900. We sent that estimate to Molter Auto Sales.
In addition to the headlight problem, after we had driven the car three or four times (during the day, of course), the driver's seat cracked open. It and the front passenger seat have been "repaired" with a vinyl paste that doesn't work. We will be paying for new seat covers. It's our fault that we missed it. Being unfamiliar with nickel-and-dime attempts to fix seats, we missed that red flag.
Another surprise: The advertisement for the car was 40,000 miles below the real mileage on the odometer. We questioned that when we looked at the car, and they said they had forgotten to change the ad from two years ago when they got the car. We should have walked away then, but we also missed that red flag.
We repeatedly called Molter Auto Sales about the lights and got the runaround for 35 days. Our offer was for them to simply buy the car back or fix the lights. The owner was not professional enough to talk to us until we finally got a call through to him on Jan 26. We got the run around until January 30 (a month and a half after purchase and we still aren't driving the car) when they gave us a check that will not cover even half of the cost of getting the headlights working. The seat repairs will cost us another $650.
I wish I had looked up this dealership on Yelp or the Better Business Bureau before we bought. These reviews consistently indicate that Molter Auto Sales is in the business of selling bad cars and not standing by their products. Our experience confirms this.
For anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced used car, I recommend Mats International in Richmond, Indiana or Drive Link in New Castle. These are more than reputable businesses. read more