Be aware of this fraudulent dealership. They Sell "Lemon" and defective cars as brand new cars…read more Sunrise Chevrolet sold me what I believe was a lemon as a brand-new vehicle. I am now having this matter investigated by the DMV and the New York State Attorney General. I purchased what I was told was a brand-new 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV from Sunrise Chevrolet with only 7 miles on the odometer, full of excitement and trust. That trust was destroyed almost immediately.
The very next day, the vehicle displayed a terrifying "Service High Voltage Battery System" error and would not charge at all. My stomach dropped. A brand-new EV, essentially dead within 24 hours of purchase. What's even more disturbing is that the vehicle's own dashboard logs later showed these same warnings were recorded BEFORE the date of sale. To me, this strongly suggests the dealership already knew the car had a serious defect before selling it to me.
When I confronted the sales manager, Mr. Dominic Tolstykh, instead of showing even a shred of sympathy for a customer who had just spent over $40,000 (including the EV tax credit), he was utterly rude, cold, and dismissive. All he said to me was, "prove it." No apology. No concern. No accountability. Just "prove it."
I searched the high-voltage battery alert code myself and discovered it was a serious and dangerous defect. I then contacted the salesperson who handled my purchase, Mr. Kris Zafar, hoping for help. Instead, he was dismissive and completely unwilling to assist me once the problem appeared. The moment the sale was done, I felt abandoned.
I immediately attempted to return the vehicle. Again, Mr. Dominic Tolstykh refused to rescind the sale or exchange the car, told me to "just lemon it," and insisted they would only repair it under warranty. What made everything worse is that no loaner vehicle was provided at all. I was left without a car for weeks, stranded after buying what I was promised was a new, reliable vehicle.
When I again told him that it appeared the car was already a lemon before it was ever sold to me, he once again said I should be able to "prove it." He even went so far as to claim that General Motors "scammed him" with the vehicle, and therefore I should go after GM instead, as if that somehow excuses what was done to me.
Later, when I contacted General Motors directly, they informed me the vehicle may require a major high-voltage battery replacement -- a repair that severely diminishes the value of a so-called "new" EV. Even after learning this, Sunrise Chevrolet still refused to unwind the deal.
The situation escalated even further when the sales manager became hostile and aggressive and even admitted he sold me a defective vehicle, yet continued to challenge me repeatedly to "prove it."
This entire experience caused me significant emotional stress, extended downtime, and real financial losses as a direct result of being sold a defective vehicle. I am now stuck with paying a significant auto loan debt for a defective and worthless vehicle.
This is by far the worst car-buying experience of my entire life. I trusted Sunrise Chevrolet to sell me a safe, new vehicle -- instead, I was handed a non-functional EV and pushed into a legal battle just to protect myself.
Buyers beware. If this can happen to me with a so-called brand-new EV, it can happen to anyone. Based on my experience, I strongly urge people to take their business somewhere else. Do not assume that "new" actually means defect-free at this dealership.
