March, 2025

After speaking with Maria and hearing her compelling story, I was disheartened by how she had been taken advantage of by the dealership where she purchased her vehicle. While she did sign an “as-is” agreement—which made the sale technically legal—I couldn’t get past the fact that the dealership promised to repair the vehicle and then kept it for six months without completing any work.

Worse still, they repeatedly told Maria that her vehicle would be ready “by the end of the week” or “tomorrow,” stringing her along with empty promises. The text messages between her and the dealer go on for pages—variations of the same message: We’re working on it. It’s almost done. Eventually, when Maria insisted on taking the car to a different mechanic for a diagnostic and proper repairs, the dealership told her they had towed it to the shop. But her vehicle app told a different story—it showed that the car had been driven there, despite being declared unsafe to drive. That action alone risked further damage.

These kinds of tactics can be hallmarks of less than trustworthy businesses—something we unfortunately see too often at Better Business Bureau. BBB holds businesses to 8 Standards for Trust, one of which is Honor Promises—to follow through on both written and verbal commitments. This situation was a blatant violation of that standard, and it only deepened my resolve to find a way to help Maria.

In late 2024, BBB Foundation formed an official partnership with Long Arm Mechanics and their Green Light Outreach (GLO) Program, which donates time and parts to help people in need regain access to safe, reliable transportation. I was already familiar with Long Arm Mechanics—they won the BBB Torch Award for Ethics in 2023 and have remained active judges and supporters of our programs. When I learned about GLO during the development of our Restoring Trust program, I immediately saw the synergy between our missions. Given the number of automotive complaints we receive at BBB, I knew we could work together to make a difference.

I reached out to Levon, the owner of Long Arm Mechanics, and shared Maria’s story. He was just as troubled by her experience and quickly expressed his interest in helping. The first step was to get Maria’s vehicle to his shop so his team could run a diagnostic. Once they did, Levon confirmed the original assessment: Maria’s car needed head gasket repairs, with an estimated bill over $11,000—and only $1,500 would be covered by warranty. With Maria and her family already paying monthly on a vehicle they can’t even drive, this was a heavy financial burden.

As Levon and I discussed options, we kept circling back to the same conclusion: the dealership—the one that sold Maria a defective vehicle and promised to repair it—should step up and honor their word. But how could we approach them in a way that gave them an opportunity to become part of the solution rather than remain part of the problem?

I brought this question to my colleagues, and together we began brainstorming a new approach—something innovative that BBB has never tried before. It was time to get creative.

Do you know of businesses with programs like GLO, or ones that lend their time and services to help people in need? I’d love to hear about other leaders and companies who are using their skills and platforms to give back. Let’s celebrate and amplify them together.

Reach me at bbbfoundation@thebbb.org

Yours in trust,

Meghan Conradt, Director of Foundation

February, 2025

My name is Meghan Conradt and I'm the Director of Foundation for Better Business Bureau. I couldn't be more excited to share this journey with you as I've worked over the past couple years to rejuvenate and reinvent our BBB Foundation, the charitable entity of Better Business Bureau. When our Board and Executive Team decided to revive our charitable arm and asked me to lead the charge, I came to the table with a background in Marketing, six years of BBB experience, and unbridled enthusiasm for the chance to effect change in our community.

Through this role as a nonprofit leader, I've been privileged to sit at the helm of developing a new program that allows us to provide tangible help to consumers who come to us for assistance. Here's how it started: because I've also lead the BBB Torch and Spark Awards programs for years, I knew there's a wealth of Accredited Businesses in our community that are dedicated to giving back and helping people around them. On the other hand, I also knew BBB receives lots of reports from consumers who are targeted by scams or have poor experiences with businesses - sometimes resulting in money loss or even worse (keep reading). I had a lightbulb moment one day: what if we could find a way to connect these two groups and work to solve some of the issues we're seeing with fraud in our community? Why not help consumers who need to recover find resources and solutions in our Accredited Businesses who are already engaging in outreach work? Thus, the BBB Foundation Restoring Trust program was born with a purpose to help people recover from fraud by connecting with BBB's network of outstanding Accredited Businesses that want to give back.

I came across Maria’s BBB complaint against a used car dealer, whom she purchased a vehicle from, only for it to break down nine days later. After obtaining an initial diagnostic, it was determined that the head gaskets needed replaced – a hefty repair with an estimate of $11,000. Maria notified the dealer that sold her the car of this issue, to which they asked her to bring the vehicle back to them and they would take care of it for her. The dealer ultimately kept Maria’s car for six months, while continually promising her they were “almost done” with its repairs. Maria saw the vehicle in their lot, seemingly unmoved during this time, and also has an app on her phone that notifies her when the car has activity on it, like car doors or the hood opening – which never happened while it was at the dealer supposedly getting repaired. Maria removed her car from the dealer and brought it back home, unsure of where to turn to next.

In talking with Maria more, she shared with me her story and what this car means to her. She is a first-generation Mexican American, had been a teen mom, and has two young children whom she and her husband have worked hard to support. After completing her master’s degree, Maria wanted to treat herself to something she’d never had before: a vehicle of her own. She had used hand-me-down cars up until this point, but none that she picked out herself and obtained on her own. Now that she achieved her education goal, she decided to purchase a 2017 Range Rover and was excited to drive the car of her dreams for taking her kids to their sports games and commuting to work.

Now, Maria pays the monthly finance balance on a car she hasn’t been able to drive since July 2024 and her husband had to trade in his two-seater truck to get a vehicle to fit their whole family, which added another monthly car payment to their bills. Without the means to pay for this hefty repair bill, they borrow cars from family and friends, ask for rides, and hail Ubers when they don’t have other options to go where they need. A hardworking family like this should be able to have the peace of mind of safe, reliable transportation for themselves and their children. And be able to use the car they already spent a considerable amount on for more than nine days. 

Not long before Maria submitted her complaint, BBB Foundation had partnered with a local mechanic who was already running a charitable program to help people in the community who need car repairs. I knew this situation definitely warranted a conversation to see how we could join forces to help someone who was taken advantage of by a less than trustworthy business.

Have you or someone you know had an experience with an automotive company that disrupted your livelihood and access to transportation? We know this happens more than we think, and we want to help more people in situations like this. You can always visit our Restoring Trust webpage here to apply for help.

Yours in trust,

Meghan Conradt, Director of BBB Foundation