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Ripped off!

Shit. I just can't win for losing. Two steps forward, three steps back. Have I mentioned how much I hate cars? And car sales people? Especially ones that rip people off ...

When I bought my new-to-me car last year, I kept the old Saturn for my kids to use. Well, it finally bit the dust. The tranny gave out and that is just too expensive to replace in a 13 year old car with 150K+ miles on it (the odometer quit turning at that point a year and a half ago) that is used by teenagers. But, having to get to school and work and all around town, my darling daughter needs wheels. I'd have to pay insurance on her anyway, might as well make use of it. So, we went car shopping. My idea was to catch a trade-in at a dealership somewhere that they would be willing to let go cheap. I couldn't go for anything that cost too much ... I have no cash at the moment. I didn't want to finance, because then I would have to pay for full coverage on the insurance as well. But I have plenty of credit. Too much, in fact. A downright scary amount of credit.

So we found a nice little 9 year old Pontiac at a dealership. Right off, I could see it needed new tires. Upon test driving it, I could tell it also needed an alignment. And brakes. But the engine ran smooth and clean, was not too grimy and it didn't smoke. The salesmen (two of them, we were being double-teamed) kept telling me it was a nice little car, good deal, runs great, etc. Traded in by a young couple that was going to have baby and needed something more family-like. At $1370 + TTT and license fees, it seemed a decent deal. $2000 exactly, out the door.

I drove it home ... a fairly good distance, too, and it did fine. Pulled to the left when braking and shimmied a bit over 60mph but otherwise ran pretty darn good. Or so I thought. Then I took it into my mechanic.

Now, before jumping to the conclusion that the mechanic was out to get every last penny out of me, let me tell you about this guy ... my dad has been taking cars to him for 30 years. Never once has he done us wrong, he always bends over backwards to do better than right by us. His is a family business that has been in this town for a long, long time ... and you don't last in this town if you rip people off. That said ...

I called after he had a chance to look at it. He was seriously pained by what he had to tell me. Not only did it need new tires, it was on the verge of a blow out on at least one of them, with the steel belts poking through the treads. The cylinders on both back wheels are shot and need to be replaced. He's doubtful about the integrity of the back axle. But that's not all! The heater core, radiator and most of the cooling system will have to be repaired or replaced. Plus the brakes and alignment. Total quote ... $800-1000.

So, I call the dealership back. Ironically, they had just called to make their follow up courtesy call. Too bad I missed it. But I spoke first to the salesman that sold the car to us. Then the general manager, then the sales manager. The general consensus from all of them was, "Tough shit, chicky."

Heh ... ya'll don't think I will sit still for that, now do you?

I wanted them to let me bring it back, and them give me a refund. I'd even pay for the towing back up there, and pay a "restock" fee. Failing that, they could give me $500 towards the repair bill. After hammering on them a bit, they finally offered $200, which is absurd. An insult. They threw all the blah blah about buyer beware, bought "as-is" and other horse crap at me. I countered that they may have the law on their side, but by the same token, the law doesn't prevent them from doing the right thing by me. It's not a matter of "can't" it's a matter of "won't" ... they could make things right if they wanted to.

The general manager laughed, called me crazy, called me a liar and then hung up on me. Now this could become either a public relations nightmare or a blessing for them, depending on how they play it. I sent them an email outlining the two different scenarios ... one, in which they become known as the dealership that ripped off the single mom and then treated her like crap. Or they could be known as the compassionate business that really cares about their customers and their safety. This could cost them way more than the $2000 they got from me in bad PR, or buy them a priceless amount of good PR.

They have 24 hours to make me an offer that I consider fair ... and then I will name the dealership and managers here, and write up press releases for every media outlet in East Tennessee.

Oh, and is anyone interested in a 93 Saturn with a busted tranny? It has some good parts in it ... new water pump, fairly new starter and alternator and some decent tires. I'm also accepting donations to my pity party ... Paypal or Amazon links over on the left.

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