I had an atypical experience at Autolenders, but one that still needs to be shared. My wife and I…read morewere in the market for a used car, after searching for a week at various new and used car dealers we found ourselves on Route 37 in Toms River doing the classic dealer shuffle. We walked around the lot at Autolenders and didn't really see anything that we really liked that was in our price range (we were looking for a luxury car with 60-80 miles), Autolenders had some nice vehicles but the mileages were low and the price a just bit out of our reach. As we were about to leave, our salesmen, Bill S. said, "hang on, I just received a car in a trade-in and I think you might like it." He brought the car out, a gorgeous jet black 2006 BMW 525i in near Mint condition. The car was making a weird noise and had a sensor malfunction lamp lit on the dash. My wife and I informed Bill that we really did not want to a car that has any problems, as our last vehicle broke down and left us in the lurch. Bill S. assured us that they were only brake sensors and that if I wanted the vehicle, the sensors would be taken care of. I should state now, this was an AS-IS (no warranty) vehicle and not part of Autolenders usual business model, which is low mileage vehicles off of their first lease, usually 2-5 years old. We took the car home for the evening on a trial, (we almost walked away, but we figured, why not).
The car was fine, the night we had it, (the brake sensor light is on the entire trial). The next day, we brought the car back and were prepared to make an offer. We would buy the car as long as all the lights on the dash were taken care of. The General Manager Stratis M. informed me that all would be taken care of and the car would be ready tomorrow.
When I picked up the car and drove it off the lot, the brake sensor lamp lit right back up! I immediately brought the car back and told Stratis that this was unacceptable. Stratis agreed and had his in-house mechanic take a look at the vehicle to determine what was wrong. I was told that it was not the brake sensors as before, but a Steering Angle Sensor in the ABS braking system that was malfunctioning. As I stated previously, I never checked the codes on the dash and took Autolenders at their word that it was only the brake sensors. With this in mind I was told that it was the first time anyone there had seen such an error with the vehicle. As the vehicle was AS-IS it would not be covered, as it was not detailed in the signed contract. Of course, this was upsetting, so I voiced my concerns to Autolenders cooperate headquarters via an email. Within the hour Stratis called me and asked me to return as soon as possible so he could address me and my wife concerns. While driving the vehicle in the day which took place in the interim, the BMW overheated while driving down the highway (pulled over waited five minutes and drove the next day with zero issues, faulty water pump). Now, I am scared of this vehicle!
Returning to Autolenders the next day, Stratis informs me again that it is an AS-IS vehicle and is entitled to nothing under law. He then informs me that after speaking to the owner of the company, Mr. Brad Wimmer, Autolenders has decided to undertake the cost of the Steering Angle Sensor Repair, just out of loyalty to a customer! Unfortunately, but understandably, they would not be able to cover the cost of the faulty water pump. Even here though Stratis said he would work with me to get the repair down in-house for as cheap as possible. Let me stop here and address the obvious, yes, Autolenders might have known about the steering angle sensor the whole time, but I highly doubt it. I was a medic for six years in the ARMY and served two tours in Iraq, during that tenure I got to know people pretty well, and it's not hard to spot a liar. And even if, the point is mute because they repaired it with OEM parts and even lent me a "lot car" for a week so I didn't have to splurge for a rental again ($300 savings). The water pump issue only occurred once in three day of driving so I am positive that they were ignorant of that as well. After a few days, the new sensor and water pump we put in and the total cost of the repair was a little over $1200, roughly the same price I was quoted at the dealer, though I am sure it would have been about $1500-1800, when it was all said and done over at BMW. I have to say that when buying a used car you always expect issues, and this BMW certainly has more than a few .
At the end of the day a few lessons have been learned, the first being, never, ever buy a European luxury car for more than $5000 without a warranty! Just not worth the risk unless you're a mechanic. The second is that I would most assuredly return to Autolenders to purchase another vehicle.
