I was in need of a used car in the $3000 price bracket when I saw someone selling a bunch of used Subarus on Craigslist. I called the number and asked about when I could check out the cars and the person offered to drive a car out and meet me, which I thought was pretty strange. I told the guy that I'd be interested in meeting him at his place where all the cars were, and so he gave me an address out in Jay.
I got there and it turned out that it was a used car dealer, not a private seller, which is strange since he didn't mention his dealership's name on the Craigslist ad.
The first thing I noticed about the owner of Mainely Motors (Howard Smart) was that he didn't introduce himself; the second was that he seemed both nervous and passive-aggressive. When I asked why the car's coolant overflow tank didn't have any coolant in it he suggested that if I knew anything about cars I should know that cars shouldn't have any coolant in the overflow: I wonder then why the overflow tanks have a "LOW" marker?
I took the car for a drive and had some issues with the ride- there was a clunking sound from the front end and the car seemed to be swaying more than it should, but I was desperate so I made him an offer of $2800. He said if I paid $2900 he would replace the back shocks. I took him up on the offer, which was quickly modified to me bringing the car in on Monday for him to look at the shocks and replace *anything that was needed*. Word of advice: Used car dealers are legally required to fix anything that could fail inspection within 30 days of selling a car, so he haggled me up offering new back shocks and then fell back on what was really just his legal obligation. I also pointed out that the car's rear wiper didn't work, and he said he could just fix that for us when we brought it in.
We drove two hours on Monday to bring the car in for him to check out the back end and when we got there he was busy detailing a car, and told us that there had been an emergency and that the guy who normally inspects cars for him was in the hospital, and that we should come back in three hours. We were bummed out to come so far only to be blown off like that, but went out for lunch and killed some time before coming back.
When we got back, he was again really nervous and passive-aggressive, rushing around and talking about how he'd pieced this one car he was detailing back together out of multiple vehicles and that he was surprised it ran. This didn't instill confidence in the car I'd just bought.
He took the car in the shop (and didn't invite us in, leaving us standing in the cold) and then took the car for a drive. He said that the front end of our car was tight and that our shocks were good and he couldn't hear the clunking noise in the front end, and when we asked him about fixing the back wiper he said "Oh, that's a Shaun thing" and that we would have to come back later. Apparently he can't fix these things himself.
To add more fun on the passive-aggression front, when I showed him how the back hatch wouldn't latch he said "Oh, all Subarus do this, don't you know that?" and showed me how I should push the handle back into position before closing it. What a nice guy.
Shortly after we left the Check Engine light came on for a bad exhaust catalyst, which suggests to me that he cleared the ECU codes before selling the car. More recently, we had a slew of error codes lighting up for Christmas because there were connectivity problems with the ABS unit. Finally, I checked the oil on the dipstick and it didn't even register. Pretty inspiring for a car with a 'new head gasket' 200 miles ago.
We considered going back to Howard but the issue seems to be intermittent and we realized that getting Howard to make anything good would involve more time, money, and legal action than it would cost to just fix it ourselves. I took the car in to VIP and they told me that the car's entire brake system would need to be replaced soon because the calipers and rotors were so rusty. Fun fact: Howard's business does all its own car inspections.
Since this experience, I've learned about how car dealerships will pose on Craigslist as private sellers to get around used car laws, meeting people in supermarket parking lots like he offered to do with us. I get the feeling that Howard Smart, owner of Mainely Motors, doesn't really want to be a used car dealer and is dancing on the edge of what's ethical if not legal.
Howard Smart did not treat us with respect- he was passive-aggressive, blew us off for three hours because detailing a car was more important than making an appointment, and after we spent an entire day to meet with him he told us that there was nothing wrong with the car when I originally agreed to buy the car because it would come with new back shocks. If there had been something seriously wrong with the car that prevented it from being drivable, I can't imagine the gymnastics he would have put us through.
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