I recently bought a used van (2011 blue Dodge Grand Caravan, VIN 2D4RN3DG3BR682823) that…read moreEPS-Cineworks owned - their phone number (818) 766-5000 is painted on the back of the van, as is their logo (also on the side). See attached photo.
Although the van test drove fine when I bought it from another party 2 months ago (I've been out of town and have hardly driven it), the engine overheated a few days ago. I had that repaired (heater hose, $800) and changed the oil ($200), which is a best practice after an overheat.
Post overheat, the transmission ($3,500+) is slipping and the shop said the fluid is burnt. I'm not an auto mechanic, but apparently engine overheating can cause burnt transmission fluid. So, I'm deciding whether to sell the van, drive it until the transmission fails, have the transmission fluid drained ad refilled (no flush), or have the entire transmission rebuilt. As part of my due diligence, I called the above phone number, which Google said was clearly EPS-Cineworks - and even though I did not buy the van from them, they clearly were a prior owner.
A young man answered: "Hello, this is MATT." I asked "is this Cineworks"? "Who wants to know"? was the response...
I politely explained my situation, and merely asked him whether Cineworks previously owned this vehicle and if so, why they got rid of it.
My sole purpose in making the call was to find out if the reason for getting rid of the van was "failing transmission." If so, then the overheating incident was not the culprit (and, therefore, that a fluid change would not help, and I was looking at a 3.5K bill if I kept the van). If not, then a fluid change might help.
That's ALL - nothing nefarious. I wasn't "coming after" Cineworks...
But...
"Matt" proceeded to lecture me: "let me tell you something, dude, when you buy a used car, you assume all the risk...," blah, blah, blah.
OK, maybe "Matt" was trying to be helpful?
Giving "Matt" the benefit of the doubt, but when I said that I was aware of "As Is" sales, "Matt" went ballistic and started screaming obscenities at me, saying that "if you [me] were here, I'd beat the sh!t out of you," "you're an idiot for throwing your money away," "I hope your car goes over a cliff," etc., so on and so forth....!
All of this was said with apparent glee and aplomb.....
YIKES!
If this jackass, "MATT," is any indication of how CINEWORKS treats its film industry customers, STAY AWAY AND TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE!!!
In "Hollywood" parlance: 'DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER"!!!!!
I am facing a difficult time and decision with this vehicle. The very last thing I needed was some guy, who I called for help, swearing at me at the top of his lungs and saying mean, hurtful, bullying and abusive things to me (I am a senior citizen, 67). Did "Matt" get off on berating me and making me feel bad? Apparently so....
My guess is that CINEWORKS abused this vehicle. That's their prerogative when they owned it, but they clearly don't give a rat's ass about anybody else. It would have cost "Matt" (who obviously lied to me, maybe he's the guy who abused the van?) nothing to tell me "bad transmission" was why they ditched the van - and that information would have been really helpful to me in making my decision. But alas, "Matt" saw fit to behave otherwise.....
I can just see it now... "whaaat? you don't like our lighting? Well, FVCK YOU, CHUMP"!!!!!!
TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!