San Diego ECARS - Where Promises Go to Die
I bought a 2014 Audi RS7 from ECARS San Diego for over $40 000. It was late, I was far from home, and I trusted the salesman, Peter, who assured me, "You can bring the car back -- but only if it's something crazy." That promise gave me the confidence to move forward.
Within hours of driving home to Los Angeles, the check-engine light came on -- clearly cleared before sale. Soon after, problems piled up: clunking suspension, unstable ride, low headlights, squealing brakes, steering vibration, and windshield washers that didn't spray at all. A radiator hose later exploded while I was driving, leaving me stranded (photos attached). Even worse, every driver-assist feature that relies on the front camera -- adaptive cruise, collision prevention, etc. -- was dead from day one.
Those issues alone were bad enough, but the engine quickly became the biggest concern. The oil level showed "min" the night I got home, and after repeated top-offs and a full inspection, my mechanic confirmed the engine was burning roughly a quart every 150-200 miles -- a clear sign of internal failure.
When I reported this, Peter pushed me toward the third-party warranty I'd purchased, ignoring ECARS's own 30-day powertrain warranty that covers engine damage. He even asked for my mechanic's contact info and then never called. Instead, he arranged for my local Audi dealer to do what he called an "unbiased inspection." I agreed purely as a courtesy, since the problems were already well documented.
At Audi of Beverly Hills, the advisor smelled burning oil and told Peter the car needed major internal testing. Peter declined. I told him the car was unsafe and he agreed to take it back. ECARS even arranged transport to retrieve it from Los Angeles.
Once the car reached their lot, everything changed. Instead of honoring the refund, ECARS sent it to their local Audi dealership hundreds of miles away for a cheaper, less-comprehensive oil-consumption test -- one requiring the car to be driven about 700 miles under their control, worsening its condition and giving them total influence over the results.
While it was at Audi San Diego, the service center created a $20 000 repair estimate -- half the price of the car. ECARS never told me. I later obtained it directly from the dealership's GM after proving I was the owner. That hidden document showed they knew the vehicle's true condition. Even more alarming, the $20 000 estimate didn't include any engine work, meaning the real cost could climb far higher.
During that same visit, technicians found the engine computer had been tuned and needed to be detuned before testing. I was never told the car was modified. The record proved the tune would void the $5 000 third-party warranty ECARS sold me. Peter later admitted by text that they had detuned the car before sale to pass California smog -- an act of emissions tampering and concealment. In trying to spin the oil-burning issue, they exposed their own deception.
After the detune, ECARS ran their short test, claimed the car "passed," and canceled the refund agreement. Then they treated the whole ordeal as an inconvenience, threatening a lien sale if I didn't retrieve the car immediately. They even backed out of their offer to ship it back, forcing me to pay for towing from San Diego.
The Bureau of Automotive Repair later confirmed ECARS refused to cooperate with their investigation -- the same stonewalling pattern I experienced. The DMV's ongoing review will likely dig deeper into ECARS's sales and emissions practices.
For anyone considering buying from ECARS San Diego, please take this as a serious warning. Their online ratings and "customer" photos look great, but many of those images are pulled straight from their own website.
ECARS didn't just sell me a bad car -- they sold me false confidence. My experience was costly, frustrating, and deeply dishonest. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. read more