ComplaintsforSole Savers

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought the car in October the car had a light come on nothing wrong with the car just a light I took it straight to the place I bought the car they instantly sayed it's a head gasket they did not look at it before telling me they assumed it was the head gasket I feel the mechanic did not do a proper diagnostics on my vehicle it was running fine when I dropped it off now head gasket ???

  Business response

  03/20/2023

  Please see attached

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I would like to file a complaint concerning a car dealership, Sole Savers, ****************************************, as well as ********************************, 23 ******. ****** ** 95501. 
  
  After hearing advertising and reading about Sole Savers Used Cars, being lead to believe they helped people with credit issues drive away in a vehicle with little to no credit, bad credit, credit with derogatory marks. My credit file at the time, July of 2020 was not bad, I had not established any credit history at that point. I walked in with a 620 score, no repossessions, no derogatory marks on file. They approved me for a loan, which was privately financed with ********************************. The interest rate was 29% (I now realize this is outrageous for a car note. This was the first car I had ever financed) 
  
  The car at the time, a 2009 ****** Corrola S,had ******ish miles on it, I had heard good reviews about ****** though, but had not done my research on what the value was. I later found the car had been ***** blue booked at only $4600. They did not make this transparent. I guess they don't have to, they are in the business of making money. I signed a note after applying on their site, being approved at the time for financing. The note was fo 4 years, 29% interest, the total cost would be around $19000.
  
  I drove the car off the lot that day. The next day I took the car on a highway trip. I had issue with the rear bumper on the trip,it came off of the body and was flapping as I drove. I had to pull over and push it back snug to the wheel well. I've attached pictures. I emailed the dealership about this and they suggested I take the car to a Body shop, or that I might get set screws to reattach it. I ended up gluing it. 
  
  The car also dropped water, from the front under the radiator and I informed this also to the dealership, at which they informed me it was normal and was just condensation buildup draining off. 
  
  This was a within the first month of having the vehicle. 
  
  A year and a half into having the vehicle I started having engine issues, I did not take the car on any long trips, I always maintained oil changes, and had fluids inspected at the oil shop. I was never informed of any coolant issues, oil issues or transmission fluid issues. 
  
  I was able to finally able to get a OBD diagnostic tool to read a check engine light that came on and it said cycinder three was misfiring so I had the coils and sparkplug changed. This did not solve the problem, it had symptoms like hard starts, stalling at stops, not starting (it would turn over but not fire up) slow acceleration, low power. 
  
  Never did I over heat the vehicle and it never blew smoke out the tail pipe. 
  
  Eventually the car would not start at all so I called ******************** and asked if I could make a reduced payment as I needed to get my car into a shop to get it looked that it was having those issues. Because I had made it a practice of always paying $200 every two weeks,rather than the $196 required I had built up what they called a credit I could use against payments owed. 
  
  At this point they informed me they could "help me out" they had "options" had a relationship with a mechanic, from ***********, a satalite shop. They said they could make me an appointment to get my car in to have it diagnosed that it would only cost me $140 compared to what they'd normally charge someone, but because of their "relationship" they could get me a deal. It was also said that because of this relationship, that if I chose to have the repairs done with ***********, they could either write me a side note to help me pay for it, I agreed to this and so they made me an appointment to get the car into the shop. I brought the car into their shop a week later. They said the diagnostic would take 3 hours. 
  
  I brought the car in to the shop on the 27th of July, 2022. This was a Wednesday. I hadn't heard anything from them until I called ******************** the following Monday, and they apologized for not getting back to me sooner but that the mechanic couldn't get my car in right away, even after having me drop it off on appointment. 
  
  They informed me that they believed the spark plugs I had used to replace the old ones where the cause of my engine issues (even though the car was having the same issues prior to my replacing the plugs and coils) I was told they still needed to run compression tests, that they would get back to me. They had not been very good at getting back to me. 
  
  Three weeks ago I talked to ******************************** and they informed me the mechanic believed my head on the car was bad, that misfires had cause arcs in the cylinders causing compression issues between cylinders 1 and 2 and 2 and 3. They said they needed to replace the head and that it would coat me $4000, I gave them the go ahead.They said because the amount was over the threshold for giving me a side note that they could just rewrite my current not(issue me a new note, with what I owe, plus the repair bill) I felt like I had no other options, I didn't have the cash to afford to take the car to another mechanic, *********** had already done work so they already had me with a bill, that if I decided to walk away from their repair service I'd have to owe that on top of anything else anyways. 
  
  As of yesterday, August 30, 2022, I had no word about my car from anyone. I've never been in contact with ***********,Sole Savers has not been in contact with me and I've had to legitimately pry information about the process of repair out of ********************. 
  
  This process has left me without a vehicle for over a month, a vehicle I am still making car payments towards, a vehicle I will be paying over 5 times the ***** bluebook for after all is said and done,for a 2009 vehicle, that had issues right off the lot.  I believe I was sold a lemon that had a bandaid job done on the engine and therefore over time,finally broke and I feel taken advantage of and buried with this car note and I believe Sole Savers, and the private financing company ********************,have intentional put me in a position that is harmful. I've been under constant duress during the process of the run around I've received getting this car repaired, because I believed as they said to me, that they where helping me out. 
  
  I need help. 

  Business response

  10/07/2022

  To whom it may concern:

   We help people with credit problems such as bankruptcy, no credit, bad credit or limited credit get transportation and Northwest Acceptance helps with financing. When first time customer coming in to purchase the interest rate Northwest Acceptance offers is ***** regardless of credit score.

  All of our vehicles get safety inspected and smog complete by *******************, which is very well respected dealers ship in Eureka. All of our vehicles have KBB retail price is posted in the windshields of all our vehicles on the lot. Every time a vehicle is sold here we go over all the numbers that will be on a  sales contract prior to purchase. That includes: price, fees, length of loan, payments, pay schedule, amount financed, finance charge, apr, total price after financing and total price after down payment. We do this to make sure both customer and dealer ship are on the same page prior to singing any legal documents. When it comes to customer concerns during our warranty period which is 30 day or **** miles, warranty repairs regardless of severity are taken seriously. It is important to us to get off on the right foot with our customers. Customers states that bumper fell next day after purchase, we offered to fix it and customer decided glue bumper. Customer also stated he had water dripping from car. Condensation from air conditioning system, or from exhaust usually where water comes from. Radiator functions with coolant, engine oil, transmission has transmission fluid, braking system has brake fluid. If customer stated he had any one of these fluids leaking from his vehicle under warranty, we would have recommend for him to bring it in the following day. After our warranty period is over Northwest Acceptance has programs to help customers with repairs. Please let me know if I you need anything else from Sole Savers regarding this complaint. Thanks

  ***********************************

  Sole Savers Auto sales

  Customer response

  10/07/2022

   
  Complaint: 17922897
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I was never told to bring my vehicle in because of the bumper, I was told to take a hike, so I glued it. 

   

  They never offered to inspect the vehicle, well within the 30 days I question the water leak, but a year and a half later, when the head gasket blew for mysterious reasons? I was informed I allowed the vehicle to overheat, or that I used the wrong spark plugs when changing them, and thus I caused the damage to my head, when the car had been misfiring prior to any changes I had made to the vehicle. Dealership states they take pride in helping people with bad credit. Yet they have put me and others into contractual relationships with them where, I find that for me, with their offered " help" I am paying 5 times the ****** bluebook for a vehicle over a decade old. 

   

  Regardless I have my vehicle back after over a month ordeal with lack of communication and shallow customer service, I was given their assistance with a repair, I waited as the patiently and in timeliness had my vehicle repaired with their friends ********************** 

   

  I sat there bent over and took a transmission up my f****** ***.. 

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Purchased a used car from lot first tune up/oil change I got I had flakes in my oil my transmission fluid is black and my air filter was caked with mud let alone the buildup on the throttle body filter.. since I've gotten the vehicle it has been nothing but problems one after another even leaving me stuck on the side of the road without service. I call them and speak to the manager and they claim that they will call me back but never end up calling me back as of now it's got a check engine light on and it remains to be a problem

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