SCAM CITY - BUYERS BEWARE…read more
Buckle up, story time.
I've been looking for a Lexus SUV for my family for a while. I saw Vision Hankook on Cars.com, and the LX570 was priced very competitively and looked amazing in pics. I spoke with Mateen, who was very eager and friendly, so this gave me high hopes. He also texted me videos and even more pictures, which had me salivating, thinking it was an amazing deal.
I WAS WRONG.
As I'm coming from San Diego (2 hours south via train), I told him it was important that the car be ready for me to see and that a local mechanic (near the dealership) review it. I would obviously pay for this service. Mateen had no issues with this and was *confident* the car would pass with flying colors - perfect! Our appointment was set for the following day at 11 am.
The following morning, I take the day off work and book a train ticket to head up for our mutually agreed appointment, less than 24 hours prior.
This is where things go wrong.
3/4 of the way up to our appointment, I received a text: "I apologize for today, I have to cancel, I just found out the owner sent the car to auction yesterday afternoon, it won't be possible to view the car today, it should be back tomorrow, can you come tomorrow?"
ABSOLUTELY NOT. But also, why would you take a car to sell at auction, then tell me it will be there tomorrow?
Mind you, Mateen had sent me pictures of the car the afternoon prior, so I don't know when this would have happened.
I explain that I am on the train and will not cancel the appointment; I will still go to his office, OR I will take an Uber to see the car at the auction. At this point, I am committed.
I could sense that scared Mateen a little. He scrambled, said the owner had been notified, and that he would have the car at the dealership by 4 pm that same day.
Extremely frustrated by the lack of communication and professionalism, but I've already committed time/money to this journey, so I'd like to see it through.
When I arrived at his office, Mateen greeted me very apologetically and had me wait in one of the cubicles next to what looked like a TikTok spam bot center with multiple cellphones ringing and chirping over and over.
I informed Mateen that I'd like to speak with the owner and find out where the car was so I could see it at the auction. He said we were in luck! The car was on its way. Great!!
15, 20, 30, 45 minutes go by. I ask Mateen, "Do we have an ETA? If the car isn't coming, I need to book a train home." He says, "Oh, let me get the owner." Out comes another man, whose name I was not able to remember, and he says, "Oh, the car is next door at the mechanic."
Weird, it was supposed to be at the auction...?
"Yes, it WAS at the auction, but we just got here because we found a small leak in the radiator, and we are replacing it now for you - you can go see it if you want."
I AM SO GLAD I LOOKED AT IT.............. HALF OF THE ENGINE WAS OUT
(I have pictures)
The intake manifold was off the engine, there was dried coolant all over the block and in the intake port itself. This means there was a gasket leak, and it probably overheated. Not only that, the mechanic didn't even have the car on proper jack stands or a lift; the front wheels were off, and the car was sitting on its base suspension on the ground!!!
What probably happened was, they KNEW a mechanic would call this out, so they tried buying time to quickly fix it/patch it up so I (or some other sucker) would buy it, not knowing about the ticking time bomb under the hood.
As someone who has worked on engines before, I know that whole process takes time, removing the sensors, bolts, manifold, etc. So the car was NEVER at the auction, and they were caught in a lie!
After all this, Mateen, knowing I had just caught on to their ruse, has the gall to ask, "So would you like to come back and test-drive tomorrow?"
Needless to say, Mateen, I would not...
Like I said - BUYER BEWARE