J.D. Byrider

Additional Notes

Complaint: In February 2011 I purchased a 2002 **** ***** from JD Byrider in Attleboro, MA. When I purchased the vehicle I was informed that the only place that I could have the car repaired at a "discount" rate would be at the JD Byrider garage in Attleboro. At the time I lived in Westboro, MA so driving all the way to Attleboro for repairs was a bit of a hardship but they told me they were selling me a vehicle that would be in great condition "just like I went to any other dealership." This was according to the man named **** *******. JD Byrider said they wanted to help me get a good car so I could get back on the road after a recent and unfortunate repossession of my previous car after some serious financial setbacks due to no fault of my own. At any rate, life happens and my relationship breaks up and I'm forced to move out to western Massachusetts as I had no where else to go. I didn't drive my car much in that it wasn't demanding driving but in the year that I owned it I noticed a dramatic decrease in performance and by February 2011 a tensioner for my serpentine belt snapped out of nowhere requiring a major repair on the car. Being over 2 hours from JD Byrider I was forced to rely on a friend to help me fix the car. The dealership couldn't do it and it cost me money in parts, towing, and time off from work. Eight months, bringing us to now this past October, I begin to hear a terrible grinding noise while I'm driving. I'm not making a lot of money so I was going to wait until I got paid to have someone look at it at the end of the week but about 2 days later I'm driving the the car home from work and I nearly lose control of the vehicle as the back right passenger wheel nearly comes off as a bearing broke. Once again, I'm too far from JD Byrider to have them look at it so I have my boyfriend's family take a look and they had it towed to a local garage who were shocked at the state of the under side of the car. They saw half finished work on the shocks, the rear axle was damaged, the tie rods were ready to go, and the struts were all screwed up. To put it plainly, the mechanics were shocked that someone had sold me the car in the condition that it was in. I'd never had anyone else work on the car, all my oil changes were done by family members who knew what they were doing. No one could've done this amount of damage to the car. So the car was sold to me in that condition. What scares me is that I could've died if the wheel came off the car as I was driving 50 MPH at the time. I'm hoping that I was just a isolated incident because if JD Byrider in Attleboro is selling other people cars in this condition at regular dealer prices they ought to be investigated.

Desired Settlement: Ideally I would like the $1100 in repairs that I was forced to make on the car refunded since I had no ability to get the car from ***********, MA to Attleboro, MA as there is no towing coverage in the dealer warranty and I could not afford to get the car towed there as it close to 100 miles. The car was sold to me in terrible condition as observed by the mechanics at ******* in ***********, MA. (You can call **** and talk to him to verify the state of the car when the repairs began.) The stipulation that I would have to get the car to Attleboro from western MA in order to take advantage of a warranty to cover the repairs is ridiculous and I feel that since the condition of the car could have resulted in grievous bodily injury (possibly death), I'm asking that the repairs made by ******* be honored under the warranty that JD Byrider says they have which is supposed to be 24 months or 24,000 miles.

Business Response: Thank you for contacting me regarding Ms. *******. First of all we sell nothing but 100% serviced and inspected vehicles here at JD Byrider. We have a 95% customer satisfaction rating. Ms. *******'s problems after almost a year of ownership are unfortunate and if she had contacted us we would have done whatever we could to make her happy including making arrangements to get her vehicle here. The unfortunate part is that she did not contact us. She bought her vehicle 2/5/2011 with 93,000 miles on it. It had just recently undergone $1165.00 worth of mechanical work to ensure it was in the best condition possible for sale, it was auto checked by experian and state inspected at time of sale. Her problems unfortunately have occurred since her purchase. Ms. ******* has never once brought this vehicle here for service or brought her issues to anyones attention here at the dealership. We are here to help all our customers in anyway possible but we cant help if we dont know the issue. After 8 months of ownership and mileage put on any car, issues sometimes arise. Our warranty is here to help with those issues assuming the items are covered items. Unfortunately the warranty does not cover after the fact repairs. Ms. ******* was well aware of this when she purchased her vehicle and also aware of her distance from the dealership. In the future we would be happy to make arrangements with Ms. ******* to handle her vehicle issues and since she is so far away, we would be happy to make arrangements with the Springfield Mass. JD Byrider. We always go above and beyond for our customers and Ms. ******* is no different. Communication with us is the key and we tell all our customers to call us if they have any issues. 

Thank You
***** ******

Consumer Response:

I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint.

There was no damage to the vehicle after the fact. When the car was looked at by **** of ******* in ***********, MA he observed that the work done on the shocks were "half finished." He also observed extensive rot underneath the car along the struts, tie rods, and other structural areas. This is not damage caused by use of the car but by negligence on the part either the previous owner or the dealership in fixing the issue. I do not believe that I should be held responsible for the repairs and if so I will be contacting the attorney general to escalate this complaint. The point that I was very nearly in a car accident that could have cost me my life is no small matter here. I am extremely upset and the fact that I have been a good customer, I have a right to expect that my car is going to be safe and reliable for more than two years. A REPUTABLE dealership such as Honda would never have sold me a car that would have caused me this many issues in such a short amount of time and, in fact, I never had so many issues with my past cars.

Business Response: I am sorry for the misunderstanding, "After the fact" repairs was referring to the warranty company not things that happened after you purchased the vehicle. They will not pay for repairs done elsewhere. This is clearly stated in your paperwork and is told to every customer at closing. At JD Byrider we specialize in getting you the financing that you cannot achieve elsewhere and servicing your vehicle in time of need. We do not build the vehicles and cannot predict when items will rot. If it were rotted at time of sale then it surely would not have passed state inspection. I am sorry for your troubles and understand your concern. We would be happy to try to find a solution for you if you would like to pursue all your options. Please call your sales manager, ***** ******** and he will be happy to try to get you into a different vehicle or at least explain your options. He can be reached at ************. Also, unlike you stated, we are a reputable dealership with thousands of happy customers. We take good care of our customers as you would have found out if you had called with your issues. This could have all been avoided. Again, please give ***** a call and we will do our best for you.

***** ******

Consumer Response: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint.

I will contact ***** ******* within the next 24 to 48 hours. If a proper resolution is not reached then I will be reopening my complaint and also pursuing further action. But in the meantime I am willing to attempt to work out this issue with the dealership.

BBB's Final Determination: Consumer accepted resolution offered by the business.