July 2024 by gaitpro
Michael is not an honest guy. I backed out of a purchase on one of his cars and lost $1000 deposit. He is 60 miles away from me, so I called and asked about any issues, and he said there were none. He also said they detail every car. I scheduled a visit on a Saturday because he mentioned he was out all-day Friday going to an auction right by my house. I suggested he could drive the car to the auction, and I could meet him there and test drive it to determine if I wanted to purchase. He agreed but wanted a deposit upfront. I did not agree to buy the car until I was able to check it out and test drive, but since I was not aware of any standard policy regarding this procedure, I went ahead and gave him the deposit. Prior to all of this, he had to get emissions on it as well as an oil change to clear the Maintenance message. This is important because he drove it all around to get this done and therefore knew the condition of the car. When we met, the car was not detailed at all, which wasn't a huge deal. Also, there were cosmetic issues that were difficult to see from the pictures. Which again, wasn't a deal breaker. The ultimate deal breaker was the A/C wasn't blowing cold air. I told him I did not want to purchase, and he said I would lose my deposit. I even offered for him to keep $200 of the deposit and he said that $200 wasn't worth his time. He guaranteed that all it needed was an $18 can of freon. He even offered to go to Advance Auto and prove that would fix it. (He also said I would have to buy the freon). I said if that doesn't fix, would you give me my deposit back. He never answered the question but kept repeating that he guaranteed. Throughout this whole process, I asked him why he didn't disclose that the A/C didn't work. He would not answer the question but instead deflected the question. So, I decided to take him up on going to Advance Auto. We went there and initially couldn't find what we were looking for. So, he asked an associate for help. Another red flag is that he found someone that spoke Spanish and only spoke Spanish to him in front of me. Even though both guys spoke perfect English. The associate would speak English sometimes, but Michael would revert to Spanish. The freon the associate said we needed was around $150. Michael asked me to pay for it. I refused, so he bought it, and we all went outside, with the help of the associate, to add the freon. That did nothing. At this point, I asked for my deposit back and he refused. He did offer to take $500 off, but I lost all trust in him and this car. I would later tell him that I would only feel comfortable if this was fixed by the dealership. He refused that and said he had a guy. The next day or so, he said he got it fixed by his guy. But I still did not trust him or this car. It's been over a month, and still no deposit back and he has listed the car sold on his site. This guy gives a bad name to used car salesmen. He was unfriendly the moment I said I didn't want to buy it. He was dishonest about several things. At times, he wouldn't let me get a sentence in and kept talking over me. What's worse is that this car was for my daughter who just graduated college and she was there with me during this whole interaction. Keep in mind that I did not sign anything, nor did I agree to purchase it. Hopefully someone finds this helpful.
