Buyer Beware! Learn from Us!
Buyer beware!
Our experience with this dealership has gotten progressively worse over the short few months since purchase.
For one, we went out and test drove a vehicle after reviewing all the history available on it. Things looked sound. We asked about taking the vehicle for PPI with a deposit and were declined. Our option was to have a mobile mechanic inspect or forgo. Being that a mobile mechanic would not provide nearly the same diagnostic assessment because they have limited equipment on the road, we declined with the intent to purchase the most robust warranty for it.
We put down a deposit and went to square away payment by certified cheque. Between leaving and returning with payment, we had some questions for the business office. Despite leaving messages, our calls were never returned. This concerned us - we hadn’t even finalized a sale and had to chase staff. We brought this up during the finalization process, were apologized to and offered a discount on the warranty we purchased. Here’s where the transaction gets sloppy and breaches what we understand to be legal obligations.
We were given a warranty brochure that had three clear “tiers” of warranty. The business office hand wrote details of these three tiers on a piece of paper. We wanted the premium tier, pointed to the premium price point on the handwritten paper and paid the dealer. We picked up days later.
Within 10 days, the tire pressure monitoring system malfunctioned. As we explored this, we found permanent fault codes implying that the intermittent codes had been cleared (likely to remove the warning message). Typically, this system wouldn’t display a permanent error code without an intermittent first. Now, this system is a luxury feature and is not covered by the used vehicle safety certification (if I understand correctly). We get that, this wasn’t a new vehicle and we understand that service will be required as it ages.
Fast forward to the colder weather months - I notice the defrost isn’t working and the heating is imbalanced. I can’t say I was able to test the functionality of the defrost at the time of purchase because temperatures were still in the double digits. As this heating/defrost issue occurred, the check engine light went on. This meant booking the vehicle in for diagnostic. It was at this time that we discovered multiple service bulletins from the manufacturer regarding the defrost (would have been nice to have that heads up even if it isn’t a legal obligation) and more concerningly, a coolant leak from a broken flange/gasket that undoubtedly occurred long before my possession based on the degree of damage. The shop called the warranty company who denied the claim which set off alarm bells - why would a premium warranty decline this basic repair. It was then we learned that the premium warranty we pointed to and agreed upon on the handwritten paperwork was not what we had been registered for. So we contact the dealer with our concerns who at this time tells us that we were never eligible for the premium warranty with this vehicle and that we have (tier name) coverage. I do some quick research and find that this tier is their basic plan. This is not at all what we bought. We would have never purchased a basic plan and if that were all that we’re available to us at the time of purchase, we would not have finalized the deal and looked elsewhere.
For greater perspective, we had put less than 3000kms on this vehicle before the hypothetical wheels started falling off.
We had to look back through all of our documents to be sure we hadn’t missed anything and this was when another concern arose - our copy of the Purchase Agreement showed no warranty coverage at all. Beside warranty it listed “declined”. But we didn’t decline - we had a receipt from the debit terminal showing our $2700 purchase on top of deposit, certified cheque and licensing.
So not only do we not have a current copy of the Sales Agreement, we also have no warranty documentation whatsoever. We have no idea what plan we have, what is covered, nothing.
We reached out and asked for clarification and to be compensated for difference in the costs of repair between the two warranty plans.
After much back and forth and gate keeping to prevent us from escalating, we were told in writing that we would be refunded the cost of the warranty and it would be kept intact. The next morning, we wake up to another email stating that they were l reneging that offer. They would refund us and cancel the warranty only. This doesn’t correct the issue and it means we’re now $4000 deep into coolant system repairs alone.
They’ve since excused themselves from any further communication leaving us to escalate to third parties.
If you must shop here, consider taking a lawyer with you so you don’t get hosed (and a useless lemon).