Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/04/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We purchased a 2005 *** ******** from this location June 17, 2022. The sales persons name is.*********************. She sold us a vehicle that is not safe to be on the road. We purchased a vehicle with cash paying $4815. I looked at the car looked underneath the car. Everything looked OK. We were told that we had to test drive it in a certain area Only. After we purchased the car, I took the vehicle to my mechanic and he stated there was rust on the frame way up in the rear of the car. This could only be seen on a lift. I questioned the sales person on why we only had one month on the inspection And that the Emissions sticker was expired. She stated that they were not going to put it on for inspection that it would be up to the buyer. My mechanic told me about the rust and I called.**** right away on it and of course she was defensive and stated you bought it as is. Knowingly selling me a vehicle that should not be on the road. She said I could take it to her mechanic at ******************************** ask for a guy name ***** and he would take care of the inspection. Again, just passing it so we could drive it knowing that it was not safe. I did not go to him. I went to another shop and they did pass it for inspection. I went to that shop this year again for the inspection, and they said that they could not pass it because of the rust . I took it to my body shop, and he said that theres absolutely no way to fix that and if my daughter who is driving, the vehicle was rear ended, the car would be crushed! Again I called the sales personnel on this vehicle. Again, I called the sales personnel on this vehicle, she stated she had no clue, of course! We all know she knew very well that she was selling us a car that should not be on the route. So here I am one year later having to get rid of that vehicle and having to find another car. I spent over $6000 on this vehicle between the purchase And getting it s other repairs that needed to be done. I looked into lemon laws, and they do not pertain.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2023

  On this 9th day of August 2023 
  Dear ******** *******, 
  

  Thank you for your time in this and allowing my side of the story. 
  

  Firstly, I am sorry that ******** ******** is experencing any problem regarding a vehicle I sold her on or about 6/18/2022. That was actually 1 year and almost 2 months ago. I personally did not send her or suggest to send her to a mechanic... 
  

  She states it was my mechanic....I do not have a mechanic. I recall she asked where close by inspection stations were and would have named a few, not one inparticular. However, she admits she went to her own mechanic for the initial (after purchase) inspection and all was fine and it passed. She doesn't mention who that was or where, that said....it took another year for an inspection that she claims failed due to rust. Well, rust could result from a number of things, parking on grass, down the seashore, water etc. It can occur from neglect of maintenance etc. But at the end of the day it was 1 year and almost 2 months later. The vehicle was purchase AS IS and she did state she examined the vehicle when purchasing and found it to be good! 

  One last fact, I did not sell the car to a ****** ******** but to ******** ********. 
  I have enclosed true copies of Registration to that vehicle and the AS IS paper she knowingly signed and accepted! 
  

  Sincerely, 
  

    for Nick's Auto Sales 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2023

  Good afternoon, I had a lot of trouble downloading the response from the business. I finally got into the messages to see the response from nicks auto sales. The lady that wrote you back is 100% wrong! My wife can be the witness to what she said. my complaint did in fact list that I went to my mechanic after the car was sold because we were not allowed to go out of the area in which she asked us to test drive the car. Took it to my mechanic for the inspection and emissions, like my complaint stated.  it also stated that it did not pass inspection because of the rust! The rust was verified right after we purchased the car. She also says that we did not release the name of our mechanic. It is ***** **** ******* the *** block of ******** ****** in Collingdale  Pennsylvania. At that point, I reached out to nicks auto sales and the same young lady was the one that responded to our complaint. I spoke to her and she said well you bought it as is. She, in fact, said that we could send it to “” her mechanic , which was just down the street from her lot. She can deny that all she wants again. My wife was with me for this transaction as a matter. In fact, she stated if it didn’t pass inspection, we could take it to that mechanic. When I struck out with her, I took it to another mechanic, and that was in Prospect Park, and they passed the vehicle.  I did not tell them about the rust and they did not see the rust. The following year which is this year when I wanted to get it inspected again they noticed the rust. Again, this rust was noticed by my mechanic right after the purchase of the vehicle, when I took it to him to get the omissions and inspection renewed.  This lady is full of lies, and the fact that they sold us a car that they knew should not be on the road is ridiculous! I guess nothing will be done until somebody dies from the a very unsafe car like ours Purchased from that shady auto dealership.

  Yancey
  
  

  Sent from my ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased a car (**** **) late June 2022. Asked about existing known issues because the car was for our college daughter who needs reliable transportation. As soon as we left the lot we took the car to be inspected. Could not be inspected until driven for 30miles- returned to the lot and was told to keep the car bc the holiday was approaching. Informed Nicks that the check engine light came on. They said keep it and they will have their mechanic look at it when he returned. We asked to switch cars within the same price range, since no title was issued yet- they said theyll speak to his father & well discuss after their mechanic looked at it. (This was the same day.)We returned the car again after they reopened from holiday/ not only was the check engine light on still but the car was having issues starting- we informed them- their onsite mechanic held the car for close to a week/ then said it was spark plugs - and charged us approx - $400 to return the car. We asked again if we could opt for a different car within the already paid price and if we could compromise on the fee to troubleshoot and change spark plugs. The Ms. stated, no one can work for free and the gent stated, my father will not give you nearly close to what you paid bc youd have to sell it back to us-, so its not worth it. While there the check engine light was still on & they saw the stuttering start and refused to honor what they said to sell us the car- its a great, safe car with no problems.she even now stated - its a used car, what do you expect? She became very condescending and they refused to have farther convos regarding the vehicle. Since then the car has been parked in our driveway except to **** where they performed diagnostics that revealed several issues and thousands of dollars on repair to get to a point of a state inspection. Nicks Auto sold us a lemon. Even after pleading with them & demonstrating how bad the car is they were inhumane.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  PLEASE BE ADVISED: 
  On this 16th day of JAN 2023 regarding Compliant ID ******** 
  We thank you for this opportunity and for recognizing the fact that there is another side of the story. 
  We will not mention names of course as you stated in your letter to us. 
  In late June 2022 as stated by customers purchased a 2008 **** 
  With miles of 178,267, for the Purchase price of $ 2,500. 
  We have enclosed true copies of the transaction. 
  We ONLY SELL CARS "AS IS" our prices are low and we specify NO WARRANTIES....We do have a Post on Our Wall with Independent EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANIES. By keeping the prices low on USED CARS allows for the Purchaser to address any mechanical issues, oil changes etc. that they may need. 
  In regards to the Inspection....having to drive a few miles is due to having a battery replaced and then the car needs to reset. 
  We do not have our own mechanic...however, there is a mechanic that is towards the back of us and we always recommend he would gladly look at their car....he did....this is going back 6 months....that said, I asked him to recall this matter. He states he did replace the spark plugs etc...but said he never charge $ 400 for this and he does not recall having the car as long as they stated. 
  BUT an underlying factor is a possible "buyer's remorse" their college daughter did not want any car but the AUDI....they tried to sway her away from this car...but she was persistent...to an **** period. 
  Once a car leaves the Car Lot with a License Plate it can not be retracted without all the additional cost involved. 
  Both of her parents knew the CAR had all those miles and signed documents understanding NO WARRANTY....They could have purchased an Extended Warranty from any Warranty CO.....We Do not directly sell those warranties due to the fact that Dealerships that do add fees for themselves. Once again, we do not! 
  We regret they had issues and we do state Used Cars are just that Used! The price of the car was extremely cheap....When it comes to our own family members esp. young adults that need reliable we would not recommend such a low priced esp. ****... *********...etc any high price cars with expensive repairs....esp. not getting an extended Warranty. 
  Once again, thank you for allowing our side and sending you the documents that were signed! 
  Nick's Auto Sales (**** ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/30/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the response doesn't address any resolution to the grievances. Nick's auto's statement is filled with false statements regarding their auto mechanic, the price of the vehicle as well as the character of our college student. A representative from Nick's Auto phoned us three times (in a harassing, intimidating manner. Neither the verbal or written response seeks to satisfactorily resolve this complaint. The action we would like to see is a refund of the monies paid to Nick's Auto. This sum is approximately $6,000. This amount paid directly to Nick's auto includes the cash deposit of $250, the cost of the car, taxes and title $5,300 and auto repair $450. (Please see the attachments for the **** as advertised and charged, bank receipt for withdrawal, receipt for auto repair). The response from Nick's Auto also contains documents that were altered after signed by the purchasers. (The Vehicle Use Tax Form.)
  The character of the college student- the student never heard of an **** until this purchase. After test driving another car we came to the dealership for, and two more (none were *****s) we decided on this car after the assurance and reassurance from both reps. Student only wanted a reliable car (as this wasn't the first used car purchase by the student; first being a reliable **** *****). The mechanic- Nick's rep's referred to this person as their mechanic. The technicality could be that the entity is a separate business, but under the same entity; yet controlled by them. Much like ******* Auto tags. ******* is ran by the male representative's mother, it's attached to Nick's Auto (separated by a waiting area)and is used by them after paying for your vehicle. So, that could possibly be the  claim to "not my mechanic" however in every conversation it was referenced by them as their mechanic. In fact, when rendering payment for work done and parts- (after asking why we needed to pay and the female yelling "no one can work for free") it was Nick's auto who took payment as well as provided us with the receipt. (Same reception area where we paid for the car.) The mechanic may not recollect much because it was all orchestrated by Nick's. We dropped the car off 7/9 and picked it up 7/20. When we picked the car up the check engine light came back on after driving it in the lot and the stuttering still existed. They called the mechanic and him and the owner's son (male rep) reset the car in front of us. The ck engine light went off and came back on as we drove home. We asked about trading the car for an equal priced one and were willing to incur what they said were fees to switch the title back.  
   The responder was correct in stating that buying a vehicle like an **** at a low price is never a good idea. Which is why we didn't. If this **** was priced at $2500 we would've never considered buying it. We would've automatically thought "what's wrong with it" and moved on. We would never in good conscience place our daughter in it because we would question reliability. A quick google search shows that even used, this car (mileage, age etc)  is priced $5,000 at least. Which is why $4995 seemed reasonable and didn't raise a flag. After test driving it there was no flags because the check engine light wasn't showing. Had that came on; we wouldn't have bought the car either. But most unethical car dealers are aware of this. We paid the asking price of $4995 for the car plus taxes and title in cash. This was only done this way because when trying to pay with the student's cards Nick's Auto said that an additional (enormous) fee would be tacked on if we don't use cash. After paying them and seeing the paperwork drafted we asked about the amount saying $2500 - we were told that for tax purposes the paperwork would have to be written that way; as a wholesale price. When asked for a receipt - we were told yes and then that changed too. 
  I think our ask for integrity from Nick's Auto is mistaken as buyer's remorse. I agree with their statement, " a used car is used." This car had existing major defects- there's a difference. We wanted and needed a car; there is no buyers remorse in getting a used working car. The remorse comes when the business we purchased from has no integrity and character. The vehicle was not described accurately and these dealers are not operating honestly and ethically. We were deceived regarding the condition of the car. Not only did they not offer full disclosure on the **** but when asked they said nothing is wrong "the prior owner took excellent care of this car." It seems that the multiple resets were indeed used to hide the check engine light. There exists serious mechanical malfunctions that were known by Nick's. They also charged and accepted more money than they disclose on their paperwork as well as manipulating documents after they're signed by the purchaser. This seems to be gaining commission by fraud. 
  Is there any seller remorse or seller's compassion? Selling us a car under false pretense with a plethora of issues that is non drivable. 
  It's our greatest hope that a true resolution can be agreed upon.
  Please see attached for the Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Return - please note there are no numbers written on the version signed by us.
  Receipt received from Nick's Auto for Labor and parts- 
  Price paid for car- on car- $4995
  Bank receipt- dated 6/27/2022- cash to pay for the balance of the car. $5300

  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/23/2023

  We deeply regret anyone being disatisfie, that said....We see my untruths here from the this compliant.    This vehicle was SOLD  AS IS...and was properly signed and agreed to, that is a fact!   Their daughter was present and she wanted the ****.   Also the mechanic they are refereing to said he would sign a sworn affidavit if it helps to attest he did not charge them $450.   That is probably WHY they have no receipt to this.   He remembers a small charge but no where near that amount.   They test drove the car two seperate days....the slaesperson also told them it just came on the lot...but she also test drove...and just like their test drives all was well period.

  The car was $2500 plus sales tax and title work with an $80 document fee....TOTAL

  $ 2955.00.   They point out they have a receipt from the Bank for withdrawal....We can not speculate why they took the dollr amount they specify ...possibly for their daughter in college...it could have been for any reason.    

  
  

  We are sorry but AS IS indicates NO WARRANTY and they had asked for an immediate trade....which we could not do until their Title came back.  We offer A SIGN on the wall posted for compnaies that oether customers seem to recommend....it doen not go through us.  The cash offer vs credit card is a 3% change for using the card that is what we are charged.....our prices are low enough not to obtain back the cost of it.

  
  

  Thank you so much again for this opportunity!

  
  

  Nick's Auto Sales

  
  

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/07/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because Nick's Auto still fails to make a good faith effort to resolve this issue. It seems that they continue to target and defame our college student, offer lies, and not focus on an amicable solution. A signed affidavit from their mechanic is not needed. He was not involved in any money transaction. We never stated that he charged us $450 or received monies from him. The female representative (the owner's daughter in law) requested the payment, received the payment and provided the receipt. All monies were rendered to her. Even the cash payment for the car. In reference to assuming the why behind the money amount withdrawn from the bank- they did assume incorrectly bc the college student paid for her own car. And would have used her own credit union card- had they not preferred a cash payment. The money was withdrawn the same day to pay for the vehicle and the exact amount~ Ask *********************. Despite their “AS-IS” statements- It's reasonable to think that if a business stands behind their product and urges a seller to buy a particular product (car in this case) they'd have some type of integrity and remorse. That's not they case here. They knew the car had extreme issues, sold the car under false pretense, used tactics to cover the issues and under reported the sale of the car. They charged us almost $5000 for the car ~ $450 to fake repair it plus taxes and other fees; unscrupulous. Again, we are aware of inherit risks- we did think, especially based off of the sellers encouragement, that we were buying a reliable vehicle and that we may need to do some wear and tear fix- bc we have had worthwhile experiences with a used car. Instead- this car had same day issues and  could not pass inspection and has a plethora of issues (since day 1) and will not start. We did want an immediate trade because the car had issues the same day as purchase - and the goal was a reliable car for the student to commute- once explained about awaiting the title; we asked for a fair trade value for what we paid- they vehemently refused. Now, we would like a refund so that we can buy a working 

  Regards,
  ?***************************???????

  Business Response

  Date: 04/27/2023

  It appears that the customer is contridicting our response and is determined to actually say the opposite.   The fact is the **** was sold AS IS....period and they signed to that willingly and Used cars are just that....while the car was on out lot there were no issues....we can not predict what happens thereafter.   WE also said they could after the Title came to come back possibly for a trade -In but that time limit has expired!

  
  

  We have been in Business for over 30 years....and one thing is for certain....If someone is not satisfied (using their own terms)   (regardless of the contract AS IS) then not much else can be said.   So they can simply go to any used lot and trade in their vehicle or sell it.

  
  

  Again thanks so much!

  
  

  Nick's auto sales