Do not do business with Waikiki Auto Sales, they are scam artists.
I first stumbled across this business via their website, where I learned about a low cost vehicle which appeared to suit my limited driving needs. After a quick test drive, where there were no issues with the car to be found, I decided to buy it.
While doing the paperwork for the purchase I was given a document stating that the car had passed emissions and would be good for another year before needing to be tested again, and also the paperwork for a limited warranty on the vehicle provided by a third party. It seemed rather generous at the time, however I later found out that this nicety was nothing more than a candy coated turd and was useless.
After buying the car, under the "As-Is" sales agreement I began to drive my newly purchased vehicle home and it didn't take long before it started exhibiting engine problems, which I initially thought would go away with a refueling and an oil change.
To help deal with the car's odor from sitting on the lot for so long, I bought some auto interior cleanser to take care of it. The instructions required that I have the A.C. unit running for 15 minutes to help circulate the cleaner however after 15 seconds the vehicle began to spew dark noxious fumes out of the exhaust pipe. It quickly began to fill up my building's parking garage with its vile presence and I had to shut off my car before I suffocated.
At this point I suspected that my vehicle was defective, and I proceeded to call up the folks at Waikiki Auto Sales to discuss the matter, I questioned the legitimacy of the emissions test results document given to me, and sought a resolution to the matter. My plea was quickly dismissed as they told me that I bought the vehicle "As-Is" and that they wouldn't do anything about it, especially without a mechanic's review of the car, nor dealing with the limited warranty company first.
I then set up an appointment with the car's manufacturer to have the car inspected per the warranty company's instructions and not have them do any work until it was approved. Unfortunately, since the issue began immediately after I bought the car, the warranty company wouldn't help me because it was a preexisting issue. To prevent any further damage to the car, I didn't use it again until I had to take it to the appointment.
On the day of the appointment I barely made it to the shop because of all of the fumes coming from the car. Once I got the car to the manufacturer's shop and they looked at it, I was told that an essential component to this car's engine, the Turbo, was breaking down and seeping oil into the exhaust pipe and burning the oil as the exhaust pipe heated up during the process of operating the vehicle. Unfortunately, this would not be an easy fix and would require the Turbo being replaced entirely and that the overall cost to do so would be far more than what I paid for the car in the first place.
They suggested that I take the car back to Waikiki Auto Sales and ask for a refund, stating that for this severity of a problem to manifest itself immediately after driving it off of the lot that they had to have been fully aware of it in the first place.
Following their advice, I took the car back and had a chat with them, with the mechanic's report in hand. They dismissed my complaint saying that they sold the car to me "As-Is" and that the mechanic was just trying to upsell their services and that I should check with someone else to see if this was the case, so I did. I managed to get a same day assessment from another shop which ended in the same result as the first one.
Now armed with two mechanic's assessments on the issue, I contacted them again to get some form of resolution on this matter, however the very most that they were willing to do for me was make a couple of phone calls and see if they could find a cheaper mechanic to work on the issue, but still holding to the fact that I bought this car "As-Is" and that no further action would be taken.
During the course of my many exhausting dealings with this company, the front bumper of the vehicle began to sag, and upon further inspection I discovered that it was being held together by a plastic zipper clip, which had been sheared, and a shoelace, leading me to believe that their sales tactics consists of nothing more than smoke and mirrors to convince naïve, trusting individuals, to take garbage cars off of their lot and using the "As-Is" sales agreement as a shield to protect them once the car is no longer in their possession and inevitably falls apart a few blocks away.
In the end I had to trade in the vehicle for less than a sixteenth of what I paid for it because of how unsafe it was to drive and how costly it would be to repair. Now, I'm on the hook for 2 auto loans because I fell for their scam.
If you value your money, then I highly suggest you take your business elsewhere lest you end up being cheated like I was. read more