I really wanted to give Max at least 3 Stars, but my car has been nothing but hidden issues one after another. Max is super friendly but knowingly sells bad cars to desperate people. My credit score was really low so my options were limited. Knowing this, I kept my expectations low, just needed to get a reliable vehicle. I bought an '08 Acura TL 105k miles 5 months ago for a total sale price (including taxes, fees & finance charge) $12,242. (Planning to re-fi to lower apr asap) drove the car home, woke up the next morning and the battery was dead.. When I stopped by the shop to pick up plates (registration only bought me 6 months before they are due again) I told him about the battery. He said, "that's odd, I just recharged the battery the day I sold it to you, it shouldn't have died that quickly" Not super expensive so I didn't read into it much $130 new battery, done. 3 months after purchase took it in for first oil change. The oil pan plug had been completely stripped and replaced with a one time only fix of a self tapping larger size plug. When they removed it they were unable to get the new size to hold. Had to have it re-threaded which may or may not be a long term solution as the threads are very fragile. $200 Now 5 months into my purchase I got a puncture in one of my tires, attempted to put the spare tire on and discovered yet another surprise. The spare was the wrong size rim, the screws did not align, also the tread had a large gash so it wasn't even safe to drive on! Towed the car to tire shop to get the puncture repaired. They inform me that the tire was a different size than the other 3 tires, old and cracked so had to replace it instead of repair $130 I stopped in to see Max and kindly pointed out that I didn't have a drivable spare which I thought was included with my purchase, can he trade out my spare for one that fits? He makes a call, sends me down the street and says, might cost $10-$15 for labor but they will take care of a trade out for me. I went down and they told me no, mine is worthless and I can buy a used spare for $60 There are other cosmetic issues that I was aware of when I bought it, sun bleached paint in areas, dried out leather seats that rip easily and a thick layer of gunk on the windows I've spent hours trying to remove with steel wool to no avail. Luckily my issues have been in the hundreds and not the thousands like some of the others have reported. But, each of these problems are the result of covering up something that should have been fixed correctly or replaced. If you have horrible credit and need help getting a car keep in mind Max sells "as is" for a reason. Within a few months or perhaps not even 24 hours, his bandaid fixes will need to be repaired at your cost. read more

Tuff Cars - Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

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Max, the owner operator, was great. He made my car buying experience exceptional. Max was genuine, thorough, and honest. I am very pleased with my purchase, a 2012 Prius V. This car is immaculate, and runs remarkably well. I financed the vehicle through my bank, NFCU. By doing so, it makes the transaction incredibly easy, and fast. Needless to say, I look forward to future business with Tuff Cars, and Max. read more

Scammer! Be careful! I bought a car from him cost$8995. I paid cash. For totally $10,000. $706 for taxes, and the rest for DMV fee,$184. He told me there is 30 days warranty. Before I leave, he asked my 8 years old take warranty paper from the car to him. I thought he will put in with others documents. Later, my husband take the car and paid him. When he got home, I found out, he just gave my husband only the receipt. Less than a week, the car broke. I called him for warranty, he said No Warranty!!!!!!! After that, he called my husband, said DMV already sent him car registration, and he paid more than he expected,$184. He paid $804. We almost fall on his trick, and pay him. But remember he correct tax also. I went to DMV, and they told that this seller is paid to DMV for $804, but he correct money from in $860, so the seller has to pay me back. I then told him that I found out that he wrong. Then this guy turned to call my husband to asked him pay. My husband told him that he already know Max is cheating. Still, he asked my husband to pay him in 10 days, otherwise... I don't know what he going to do, but this guy not normal. read more

Based on my experience. Once you picked out a car that you want, he'll show you an NMVTIS report that says the car is "clean" but what you don't know is that the car you might be buying might've been in an accident where his so called "reliable" NMVTIS report won't state and he's probably not gonna tell you. He'll show you a kelley blue book reference of the car you want to purchase from their lot. It's gonna show you that the cars price is 3k+ more expensive than his asking price to make you think you got a good deal but if you check carfax it's gonna show you that that specific car's worth is kinda lesser than his asking price. Don't be that stupid buyer that doesn't take the car to a mechanic and do research first before buying a car. If you're planning to buy from this dealer, please read the contract carefully bc his writing might mislead you. Considering that's my first time buying a car and I was alone, this definitely served as a lesson for me. (He does give a 30 day warranty (atleast for me cz i asked for it.)) Update on my car: Check Airbag System light that randomly came on and would cost $180 just to diagnose. read more

Bought a car from here about 2 weeks ago and it has treated me well! The owner, Max, is very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Definitely recommend coming here for a used car! read more

Just recently purchased a 2006 Lexus GS300 for here and let tell you my experience was great. Max who is the owner was awesome help me out and took care of me beginning to end to make my car buying experience the best I've ever had. No-hassles just straight to the point and at a great price. Definitely will recommend to my friends and family. read more

Tuff Cars - Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

Tuff cars is the spot! Max is so so helpful! Very accommodating and patient. Thank you Tuff Cars for saving my brakes!

Wow, where can I start.. it's been a nightmare since I bought the car last March 2016 max the owner is a scam artist.. do not deal with this place unless you want to get ripped off.... the car was listed at $7999 + tax.. came out to be $9,000 .. once he said i was qualified 4 financing at 21.5% he charged me an extra $600 just because I got approved for financing.. so he proceeded to take the $600 out my deposit up $2,000... came out to $9600 plus interest in finance. total $13,00 plus for a 2008 Honda civic lx 78,000 mi the same day I bought it I told Max that it needed air conditioning checked because it wasn't working and the right window wouldn't go down he said to bring it back and we got in a big argument over it never heard back from him so he never fixed the AC or the window.. Less than a month I had to install a new starter and a battery I also installed 4 new tires because the tires on the car were worn out I also replace the brake pads because the brake pads were worn out.. took the car to Honda it needed an oil change right away and I also need to transmission fluid changed. Not only did the car have problems the paint job was shot... this place takes advantage of people with poor credit and will try to get you financed just so they could repo your car a few weeks later be careful with this place!!!! Max is a scam artist he has some lady named Rosa work for him she claims she helps him with Finance and charges you $600 to get you financed through the same company you were financed before.. please leave as many Yelp reviews as you guys can you guys have to stop this scam artist Max stop this business do not do business at tough cars they are scam artists read more

Tuff Cars - this is my contract.. Max the owner charged me extra $600 for financing but never implied that on the contract.. Max is a scam artist.. - Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

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Bought a 2005 Jetta Within months sensors weren't working, electronics were f'd up. Driver window wouldn't roll down and it ended up being something electronic and costing hundreds. Fast forward today, catalytic converter is melted (car wont go over 10 mph in speed) I'd give it 1 star but I'll have mercy and give him 2 stars. Max is an okay and I'll give him the doubt that it is possible he overlooked these things and failed to let me know. Price wise, was able to get the car $500 cheaper than most of the ads advertised on various sites and dealers after negotiations. Bottom line, Max is alright guy but double check, triple check the Car or you might be spending about $2,000 or more in repairs. I bought this car in November of 2011. read more

Anyone shopping for a car should not even bother going here. Sure they have nice cars but dont let that fool you. I bought a car here a week ago. Took it for a test drive and it ran fine. Well about a week later the car that i bought ends up overheating, clutch goes bad, and bushings are no good. This guy told me he was driving it with no problems for 2 weeks yet i get the car and now its no good. Im looking at an easy $1500 in repairs. TUFF CARS are more like JUNK CARS read more

Do not buy from this dealer. I bought my car a few years back and have had nothing but problems with it. When I went to sell it I was told it had been in an accident which Tuff Cars did not disclose to me. I showed the Car Fax from Tuff Cars to the dealer and they told me 2 of the 3 pages were missing. Very shady dealership read more

About 3 months ago I purchased a 2007 Audi A4. Loved the car so I had my heart set on it right away. On the lot the owner said the price was little over 11k, however after doing some research I realized that the car was listed on the dealers website as well as craigslist for $9,990. Good thing I checked. The owner honored the online price. After driving it off the lot I realized the car had expired plates instead of dealer plates so obviously I got pulled over every two days for two weeks till I went to pick up my updated registration. When putting on new tags on the car I realized they are only good for about another 3.5 months ... The hell? I just paid over $300 in registration and my tags expire in 3 months? The owner said that he had to pay for last years registration while the car was sitting in the lot. I don't understand why I'm responsible for paying registration for when I didn't even own the vehicle. After arguing with him for a decent 15 minutes he gave me back like $70 from the registration fee. Two months later all sorts of engine lights went on, after taking the car for full diagnostic i come to find out that I pretty much bought a lemon from this guy, the mechanics said that all these issues must have been there before I got the car but didn't become apparent till I dive it for a bit. The oil was mixing with the coolant which led me to have to replace the head gasket, the radiator and the coolant tank all together for a whopping $1500 in repairs. AVOID BUYING YOUR CAR FROM THERE AT ALL COST unless you want to spend the next year repairing hidden damages undisclosed to you at purchase. I feel ripped off. read more

The gentleman who handled the paperworks for my Prius was awesomely dignified and efficient and a delight to do business with! Wish all sales people were like him! read more

We were looking for a used car and so far so good very happy with our purchase, Max was easy to get along with and we will certainly go back too him in the future. read more

I agree with you Lena, today I met with this guy called Mashood aka "MAX" who is the owner of the lot for a little business with his employee's used car part. I've come to AGREEMENT for the price with his employee and Max disagree on the price. His excuse was his employee's used part worth more ?? First he tried to get $10 more, when I agreed, he wants another $50 !!! It's not even his part, just because the part is laying in his lot, he want to squish a bit more money for himself. I feel disgusted for this person who honored nothing. If he is dishonest for just a little $ (less than $100), I'm not surprised he is willing to do EVERYTHING to earn your $10,000. I feel sorry for all who works or deals with him. I hope this message can be a warning for people before dealing with dealership. read more

Max seems to be nice, but he is not honest. Do you really want to but from a person that tells you the car is in excellent conditions and once you have a problem ( the night of the sale) he doesn't want to help you! The website said that all cars are fully inspected, but that is a lied. Bought a 2014 camaro and I ask him if the car had any accidents and he said no, but it clearly was in an accident and had multiple issues with the car read more

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I didn't want to give 1 star. I went with my car loan application, the owner never invited me into his office, which I found rude. He looks over my application and starts with questions of my income and rent I pay. Which I told him, that I can afford it, because the car I have, I paid $370. Monthly for 3 years, he says its up to the bank, but he's standing there shaking his head no! So if it's up to the bank, why are you playing judge and jury! So pissed with this guy, clearly he didn't want to run my credit, and he didn't. Is it because I'm black, I hope not. read more

Nice guy, works by himself. Straightforward transaction for a car good car at a reasonable price

I bought a 03 Volvo from max, he financed it, after a $1200 down payment I am supposed to pay 10 payments of $524, because of my poor credit and low income I agreed to these terms $6500 for a car that should have been about $4000 it cost me another 1000 to keep it on the road. What I didn't know in the beginning was this car sat for 4 years on a the lot. The tires and rubber were rotting off of it. I needed the car immediately as I was starting a new job, and didn't inspect the car properly ( my bad) what's really got me is that Max is squeezing an extra 300 bucks out of me at the end of our agreement. Because of his poor bookkeeping he neglected the to give me credit for $300 that I paid him in good faith. Not asking for receipts was my fault. He has my pink slip, but he also has some bad karma coming his way read more

After searching online for more than a year, for just the right used Volvo, I finally found the right car, at the right dealer, when I found Max at Tuff Cars. I was immediately taken with Max's genuinely friendly and helpful personality. After noticing Max's ad for the car I was interested in, I first looked at all of his inventory online and found that all of his cars, not just the one that I was interested in, were carefully selected to provide value to his customers. That helped me feel more secure about the car I was looking at. I'm not a typical used car customer, I'm a gearhead, I write occasionally for a car blog and frequently I help my family and friends find cars online. I also checked Max's reviews online, both on Google and Yelp. There were some stray negatives, but the clear majority were from people who described Max as honest, friendly and very helpful. Having bought more than 35 cars during my life, I prefer to buy from dealers rather than individuals because the dealers have something they need to protect that the individual sellers don't have; their reputation. Max has earned his reputation over decades and places high value on his customers' satisfaction. I thoroughly enjoyed dealing with Max, and look forward to directing my friends and family to him when they need a car. If you're looking for a car and have found one of Max's, go to his website and look at the entire inventory. They're all nice. Go look at the car and rest assured knowing you'll be dealt with honestly. In case any are worried that my good impression might wear off, please know that I waited a month, and have driven our Volvo over 1,000 miles before writing this. Max's lot is small, and absolutely packed tight with cars, so I do suggest that you call him first, so that he can make sure the car you're interested will be more easily accessible when you arrive, otherwise you may need to be a little patient while he moves some cars around. read more

Max is the exception to the clichéd used car salesman: he is honest and honorable and true to his word. I found a great car in my price range and the whole transaction was hassle-free, upfront and easy. It was a pleasure to do business with Max, and I highly recommend his business. read more

First off I had horrible credit, but Max at Tuff cars got me driving off the lot in just a few days. He was straight up, honest and did all he could to help get me get the car I wanted. I was imagining a much tougher process due to my credit but Max made it easy on me. It's hard to find people to trust when buying a car but Max is a grade A guy. I searched all over the San Diego area and could not find a cleaner Lexus IS 300 anywhere than I did at Tuff cars. I'd recommend stopping by his lot when looking for a high quality used car. I couldn't be happier with my experience there and I'm thoroughly enjoying my new purchase. Thanks again Max! read more

I came to tuff cars and met max who kindly showed me his wide variety of cars he then let me test drive a few and wasn't pushy about me buying one. we sat down and talked for a few hours he even let me take the car i like and helped me get it checked out by multiple mechanics to re assure me on my piece of mind that this car would last. And i still don't have problems with it till this day. HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

Great place the owner Max was more then helpful helping me out purchasing my first vehicle . No credit no bank account and a little less then what I should have had for a down payment . The whole process I knew I was first priority and that's exactly how it always should be . More then happy with the vehicle I got it was a 2002 ford ranger and runs like brand new . I Recommend any one who is looking for a car to come to this place and u will not be dissapointed with the service read more

Everyone told me not to go to this place, but foolishly I did. Bought a Volvo for $9200 and drove it for a week. Brake pads were worn to the metal, both control arms and front bushings worn and a host of other problems. Upon inquiry I was given the answer "If I knew about it, I would have done something, excuse me I gotta go now!" by the two-faced owner. Buyer beware!! read more

Overall a very easy, reasonable way to purchase a used car. The car I purchased had some inconvenient repairs, but the transmission and engine are great. It is a small dealership and we didn't feel pressured. It was fairly up front, except I think makeup was used to cover the cracks in the leather seats. I would definitely recommend if you are looking for a fairly priced used car. read more

He's a nice guy. He sold me a nice car right away. Tire lights were on that's about it, but he said it's only the tires that needs air but one of the tires actually needed a new sensor, which I got done about a month after purchasing the car. Came back the next few days to get it washed, interior and exterior. So far it drives well. read more

I recently bought a car from Tuff's Cars. It was the best decision ever. I would recommend anyone who is looking into buying a used car to buy one from him. Especially MILITARY. I'm a Marine and he is a very trustworthy guy. read more

I just purchased a Volvo last month. I inspected and test drove the car and found it to be just what I was looking for. I noticed a few items that I thought were wearing on the window trim and Gus immediately said he would order the parts and install them at no extra costs. I have put over 800 miles on this vehicle with not even a hint of problems, Sometimes when you purchase a car "as is" you take a chance, but don't pass on looking and driving some of the good deals this place has. I'm very happy. You can always purchase an extended warranty. read more

Save your time, shop somewhere else. I can honestly say I am lucky for not choosing to purchase a car here. There were 2 guys, both told me completely different prices for the car I was looking at, plus completely different stories on warranty..within 10 minutes of each other. Extremely unprofessional, the owner has a "not my problem" attitude meaning that as soon as he gets his hands on the money, the car and all its problems are no longer his problem. Save your time and money and avoid these cheap-o's read more

Max had in his lot a small Nissan truck I was interested in. I gave him a call and two days later, I was the happy owner of the truck. Hassle-free, worry-free; Max made the buying process simple and enjoyable. read more

I bought a car from this asshole about a year ago & I regret it. He gave me the story that I was taking one of his cleanest cars and that there was no issues or problems with it. I fell for it. It was all lies. First off he lied to me and the Finance Company. He told them I gave him more money down then what I had actually given him. He said don't worry is just so they can approve. Little did I know he was going to try to charge ME! Then not to mention couple weeks after I had purchased the car I get into an fender bender and got rear ended. This is when it all came to light. My insurance and the Collisions Repair shop didn't want to fix the car let alone touch it anymore... IT HAD BEEN IN A PREVIOUS ACCIDENT BEFORE AND WASNT REPAIRED CORRECTLY FROM THAT ACCIDENT!!!! The outter shell looked great I won't lie that's why I fell for it and his story that it was his cleanest car and took the car I thought I was getting a good deal!! But the truth was that the frame and inner shell were messed up including the brake discs, they were cracked from the previous accident!!! The Collision Repair shop and my insurance made a report about it.. now the car is Salvaged Titled!!!! DON'T, DON'T BUY FROM THIS ASSHOLE!!! Not to mention he kept harrasing me with calls about me.owing him down payment money and telling me he made a mistake to deal with a Mexican and that I'm worse then black people. What kind of "professional is he? I recommend stay away from him.. he will screw you over!! read more