I bought a car from them last month as all of you know (the black/terra coupe).

sent money in full and filled out all the paperwork....

In my haste to sign the stack of forms quickly, I scribbled my signature on a few papers. That signature didnt match the way I signed on my DL.

Well the finance manager brought this to the sales managers attention and they thought for sure that this was a big scam on my part. That I was using someone elses credit to buy a car. They held my money for 5 weeks making empty promissses that the car was a phonecall away or a signature away etc, trying to buy time until I would walk away from the money if I was indeed crooked.

Let me tell you what I did for them to make them feel at ease that I am who I say....

I provided them with my biz website (dirtcheapmattress.com) with a video of me in a commercial that matches the pic in my license
I called and involved the DelRay beach police
I called and involved the Oakland police
I sent them new handwriting samples (as signed on my DL)
I had the manager of my Credit Union call/FAX/write them a dozen times with signature guarantess, proof of identities etc to reassure them that this deal is legit. I have been banking with Patelco for 8 years and have had three car loans.

After three weeks, it became apparant that they sold the car to someone else that was willing to pay more for it. I then threatened to fly out there to retrieve my money personally and only then did they "promise" to send me my car (which suupposedly was now in California)...

After two more weeks of ring around the posey and unanswered calls, I then went to my local police station and had a fraud detective call them to find out their intent. they told the detective that "they chose not to do business with me becasue they were suspicious and were in the progress of refunding my money..."

So yesterday, after five weeks they sent my money (second day mail and in company check format another 10 day wait for out of town check to clear (sent wire to them.))

NOW GET THIS EVERYBODY.....

THEY WITHHELD $1000 out of the refund to PAY FOR SHIPPING OF CAR!!!!

The guys at AUTOBAHN MOTORS are plain CROOKS.

They backed out of the deal, lied to me a dozen times, sold the car to someone else for more, and then have the sheer audacity charge me for the shipping on a car i patiently waited for for five weeks.

They held my money so long I missed out on the silver/terracotta cab that I bought on ebay as well. That was sold out from under me as well as the salesman said he could wait no longer.

It was all a big blessing in that I bought a new 06 triple black S cab today from Chris on this forum for an unbelievable $87.5K (thanks CHRIS!)

I need advice....

Is there a Bureau that deals with car sales fraud in the state of Florida that I can file a complaint with?

Anybody here a lawyer that may be able to help a fellow Rennlister out with a letter or something of the sort....

I am way out in Cali and as Im sure they know, an airline ticket would cost me near what they withheld from me.

Any advice or leads would be greatly appreciated.

-Pete

 

man I am sorry to hear about your situation. You know what sucks is that there are so many good dealerships and then a few horrible ones like this that make me nervous purchasing out of state. Glad you found a nice car though. Congrats on the 06 S!

 

this has been pure hell for me....

The bright side is that their 05 coupe with 9800 mi on it was 79,200
I bought a new 06 cab for 87,500

 

79k for a 1 yo coupe w 10k? That's a raw deal. Why would anyone buy it when you can get similar deal for new?

I think there is a national dealer association. Better business bureau, local TV channel and DA office are also good sources.

Why a $1k shipping if they didn't sell you the car?? Nothing is missing here. You should talk to dealer owner or GM to straighten this out. If not, file a small claim against the dealer. It's like $15 and you can fax your paperwork. No lawyer in small claim. You will have to get a sheriff to serve the dealer and that'll be your biggest expense which you can claim on the filing as actual damages. Add other things like interest, loss of work, etc.

 

Looks like you got a great deal on the cab....IMO you saved at least $1k on the current sale so why waste more time on filing, suing, etc. Time is money....if you are into principal then file a small claims suit.

 

Fishy story. I would have told them to stuff it 5 weeks ago.

 

Sorry to hear about that, Hope you enjoy your 06 triple black S cab

 

Thanks for the heads up! Be glad that they only stole $1000 from you!
Congrats on the new car. Small claims for sure, A BBB complaint will take you 5 min, FL dept of banking and finance, Attorney Generals office etc etc etc. I had to do something similar with a dealer in Orlando.

 

Guys, if he files a small claims case, he'll have to travel to Florida. He's already indicated that's not feasible.

 

Call the Florida BBB Better Business Bureau and file a complaint with them, Reverse the charges if it was on a credit card, And know that all deposits must be returned to the customer if you do not take delivery. Its a Florida law!

 

File for 5k, they will probably settle before it comes before a judge.

 

write a letter send it by registered mail demanding the return of the $1,000.00 by a date certain. If they do not send the money contact the consumer fraud branch of the Palm Beach County DA's office and Florida Attorney General's office IN addition to the BBB. Try the postal authorities for mailing the insufficient check.
If you fail to get satistfaction consider buying discount air tickets and confronting the dealer face to face and at least get the pleasure unloading.

 

You should also send them an e-mail copying them on this thead and the one on rennlist.

 

Not gonna happen with small claims and if they've got any sense at all they probably know this.