Or attempted bad deal. Have decided to replace the aging Sprinter work van. Just over putting $'s into this thing with no real improvement. Feel like I cannot rely on her to get up n go every single morning for the next hot season. Over the last 12 yrs its more than paid for itself still sad to see it go...... Anyway.. Been searching for a reasonable replacement. Auto trader showed a 2018 with 21000 miles in Winchester Va at a place called "Honey Cars" (get a sweet deal). Pictures looked good (lots of adjusted lighting and photoshop) Contacted them to start the process List was 36,500K KBB had it worth over 50K . Pictures look good.. Told my sales rep I'd like to be into this for no more than 35 out the door and later she agreed. Handed me off to another finance person. That girl put together a deal which was not what I had agreed upon with the last and so it goes back and forth.Red Flag one. Next is the financing. My credit is good. The business credit is excellent. For some reason they cant get it financed.. Telling me its an issue on my reports. Finally got it approved after running it through every bank they deal with. Later I start getting rejection letters which state the collateral is not sufficient for their underwriting requirements. Red Flag 2. Still I'm sturberen and book airfare up to DC. Dealer picks me up right on time. 30 min ride and we pull into an industrial park where one of the big warehouses has been converted into a dealership. Go in, get the keys then out to the van. Its filthy, has rust spots all over it some quarter size. not shown in the pics. Thinking ok, I gotta repaint anyway for the company logo. Open the drivers door and plug in my scan tool. Several permanent codes for nox sensors . Another flag, as it was relayed to me that the van was fully serviced with no problems. At this point I'm not happy. Pull the dipstick and the oil is thick , black + overfilled. Not serviced. The seats were filthy. only the dash looked to have been cleaned off. Final straw The lever that controls the cruise control was broken off and stuffed back into the column to make it look attached.. Said nope, walked into the showroom, handed the guy the key and said I'll pass. He looked dumbfounded..Guy says let me get April to see what can be done. We tell April unless I get this for under 20K out the door Im walking. She says not possible, howabout we get it all fixed and deliver to you. With a 3 day / 250 mile warranty Im not feeling it. Sat at a table with the wife, booked return airfare to Jax and a Lyft ride to the airport. Was back home by midnight.
This is another reason why Dealershi This is another reason Dealerships suck. There is no trust factor with sales people. Just sale the car and wait for the next sucker to arrive. This makes me angry. Vet
Another red flag was when they asked for a 5000$ non refundable deposit. Said hard no on that and offered a 1000$ refundable deposit which I have not yet seen returned to my card
Wasn't the first red flag a 50k van listed for 36k? And the second red flag was adjusted lighting and photoshoping? From those facts alone it would seem way to good to be true and I would not have even pursued it unless it was local and I could get eyes on it without buying airfare.
Thank you for not buying that piece of garbage. If you had, I would have lost sleep for you. I absolutely despise dishonest people.
The inbound flight and hotel rooms were free. Believe me I woke up many nights in the week before the trip questioning that deal. Ya just never know until lay eyes on it. I went on trust buying the Transit last yr. Ford dealer, Certified used vehicle with warranty. Its been in the shop more than on the job. Didnt know about the doctored pics until after seeing it in person. Afterwards I went back and looked at the pics and one can see some of the issues if ya really look for them, knowing what to look for. Just looked up this photo and they changed the listing description "Mechanic Special" Additional text added after I turned them down :Our intention is to be up front with you about this AS-IS vehicle but also provide the public an opportunity to purchase this vehicle at a wholesale auction price. Generally this vehicle would be sold at auction then retailed at a small independent gravel lot used car dealership. We are offering this vehicle for sale in AS-IS condition, without warranty or guarantee. Vehicle will be available for limited time only and may fail Virginia State Inspection. Test drives on public roads not allowed. HoneyCar does not want you to purchase this AS-IS vehicle under the impression there is any warranty on it. As soon as you take delivery of this vehicle, all repairs will be solely your responsibility.
I'm sure there are nice used ones out there but maybe in the end new is a better deal for what you need. I've also rented them from Enterprise & Penske & I assume they sell 'em off.
I bought my first Dodge caravan (1989) from Enterprise and it turned out to be a very good reliable van. Got it for a reasonable price too. No salesman/manager hassle either. Vet
...sorry you wasted so much time/effort. Used only "dealers" generally get their inventory at auction, and most vehicles run thru auctions are ones that aren't up to retailing, otherwise they wouldn't be there. For me, a "dealership" sells new cars, and its better trade-ins. Sometimes good cars go to auction because dealer doesn't have space/staff to retail them. This is not to say new car dealers aren't shady with respect to their used cars, but, in general, you're dealing with better vehicles from the start. Most privately-owned used work vehicles are worn out, that's why they're available. I remember this from my times looking for a used pickup. I learned that the only used trucks worth looking at were high-end, not work. Exception would be rental. Their turnover is based on time rather than mileage, but you don't know how they were treated. You can at least take credit for the revised "honeycar" listing. I especially like the "may fail VA inspection" and "no test drives on public roads for making prospective buyers comfortable buying...
Im wondering if theres a way to get any financial recourse on my cost. If nothing else the return trip. They had to have known they were selling a POS before I got there.
I went all the way to Florida from Maryland to look at a boat being sold by a broker. I'm checking it out and ask to hear the motors. Broker says need $5K deposit before doing that. I said I just want to HEAR the motors no sea trial or survey! He said they get alot of people acting like buyers while on vacation...they just want a free boat ride. I said no I just want to hear the freaking engines. He said sorry not without the deposit. I said forget this and left to go back home. It wasn't like it was some million dollar yacht...just a $30K outboard cruiser....
I have paid my dues with used work vehicles. I did what I had to do to survive and grow. Now I don’t even want to keep them past warranty. Some I don’t even want to buy tires for. I look for the crest of its equity/retail value and trade up. I understand that the $700-$1000 payments are not for everyone, but with today’s costs of parts and repairs $ 700 won’t go far for a heavy duty vehicle.
Owned the same work truck for 30 years. 400k plus miles. Original paint. They don’t make em like they used to.
next time get the sales guy to call you and do a facetime walkaround. or text photos as you talk with him
That was a bad deal and you were right to walk. Better you lose some money than buy it and find out it is WAY worse. Those people were scammers IMHO. You can try to sue them but I would bet that would be a losing proposition financially even if you won.
Dang that sucks I’ll just put this out there a friend of 50 years owns this lot. He has been in business I bet 40 years His son runs it now but I can put you in touch with him and inspect any thing you wanted looked at myself. I know it’s across the country but if you are interested let me know
