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:04/24/2025

  Type:Delivery 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.

  February 22nd, 2025 2017 **** f250 xlt $26,375.25 Promises made; radio fixed, front end fixed, inspection report found, tpms sensors fixed, check engine light resolved, passenger mirror does not adjust, 3rd brake light is busted and not working properly, $1000- $2000 off total price due to issues, permanent tags mailed to me. I'm on my 2nd set of temporary tags and they are currently expired can't get anyone on the phone to find out any info on tags. I Was told by owner to bring the truck back to them to be fixed and was promised a loaner truck by the owner ***** ****** then was told he could not promise a truck as loaner and that does not work for me because I use the truck for business and personal purposes. I have expressed with ***** the inconvenience of me bringing the truck back the dealership is almost 2 hours from my house and my work schedule makes this very hard to do. Since then the airbag light has popped up on dash and the truck is currently broke down had to have it towed to my house and now I can't get in touch with anyone at dealership. Mutiple calls have been made and I'm either hung up on or put on hold for over 30 minutes. 2 safety issues which include state inspection being fraudulent or invalid and a recal on the front end components.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/09/2025

  We had a long talk. The issue is resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/09/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  I bought a 2013 Buick Enclave at Car City on 12/30/2024, after a full day of shopping unsuccessfully on my bike, having recently totaled my last car. I was to begin commuting to ********** the next day, as the store I was working at had recently closed. So I was exhausted and desperate when I took an **** to Car City, which was open much later than similar local businesses. I regrettably shared a few of these details with my salesman, CJ. I then also clearly stated my maximum price ( $9000), and that I was seeking a commuter SUV that was reliable, fuel efficient, and had no preexisting issues. His manner was immediately inappropriately flirtatious, and became more so as the transaction went on. I had seen many vehicles on their website that fit my criteria, but he showed me mostly cars I didn't see during my search, including the Enclave, which had many options that I found novel and enticing. I voiced concerns about my budget, which were brushed off. By the time he took me to finalize the sale, it was nearly 2 hours after my arrival. The sales process took at least another hour, during which time I was pressured, then coached through, falsifying the amount of my down payment by $1000 to ********, who eventually approved me. I then drove him on a lengthy personal errand before going home, under the initial guise of helping me get gas, since the car was almost out. Almost immediately, I noted my windshield wipers didn't work, odd since the car was sold with a 9/25 sticker. I then discovered that the car he sold me was close to $14k, well beyond my budget. And I have now learned, through a diagnostic at a ** dealership, that the car was sold with a catastrophic longstanding transmission problem. It is currently inoperable, and ******** is now trying to collect their next payment from me, despite my disclosure that I falsified the amount of my down payment, under pressure from the dealer. Any assistance you could give me in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2025

  Honestly, It is a sad state of affairs that a customer will say and do anything in order to get a vehicle, but the second something goes wrong, they try and throw the dealership and say anything they can to try to undo the decision they made. Up unti lthere was a problem with the vehicle, we heard zero complaints from Ms. ***** Nothing. Nada. Not a word. Only thaknk you's and how much she appreciated everything we did for her. Now that something has gone wrong with the vehiicle. she wants to try to get out of everyhting that she did  and agreed to do in order to get the vehicle. This entire sob story of being so desperate and not knowing,etc is absoutley untrue. We do not force anyone to do anything they do not want to do. At any time, Ms. ***** you could have walked away, you could have said you are not comfortable with the cost, you did not think it was the right car, etc. Please do not blame the delaerhsip and please take personal respobibility for purchasing the vehicle. It is one thing if you bought it a few days ago, but you bought it over 4 months ago and put OVER ***** miles on the car. Any mechanic that says they know for certain that a transmission was on ongoing issue is a mechanic that can be sued for libel. How could a mechanic know that there was a transmision problem over 4 montths ago and after the customer put over ***** miles on the vehicle. It is truly ashame what this country has come to, where people refuse to take personal accountability for their actions and always want to put the blame on someone else when their decision does not work out the way they hoped it would. Obviously eveyrthing was ok for the last 4 months since we have not heard a peep about anythng this customer is now sauing is a problem. Unfortunately, we see this any time a customer does not do proper maintenance on their vehicle and seemingly only takes it to the shop when it has an issue. I just pulled up the current Carfax and I have uploaded it as well. As you can see, we sold the vehicle to Ms. **** on 12/30/24 with roughly under ******* miles on it. It is suggested that you change the oil and do other important maintenace to your vehicle at certain intervals, especially changing the oil every ***** miles. On the Carfax, after the sales report on 12/30/24, the only time that any service was reported was on 3/25 and it seems from the report that this is when Ms. **** brought the vehicle in because of the issue she was having with the vehicle. It only states that ****** *** did a maintenance inspection, checked the transmission and checked the wipers/washers. It does not even say any work was done to the vehicle. There is no service reported between the ******* miles when Ms. **** purchased the vehicle and the ******* miles it had on it when she brought it in to ****** GMC to have the transmission checked. When we sell a vehicle, we are completely honest and upfront that we are selling the vehicle As-Is and we have many documents with big bold lettering that state the customer is agreeing to purchase the vehiicle completely as-is. It is surely not a coincidence that between the date Ms. **** bought the vehicle and now, we have not heard one single thing she is now saying she did not like about the transaction. With all due respect, how is a dealer supposed to do business when a customer can come up with a sob story months later and after putting ***** miles on the car and agreeing and signing all documents that state the vehicle is sold as-is, that the customer has the right to ask to do a pre-purchase inspection, t  We sold the vehicle wiht  wish people would take personal accountability for their actions. Ms. ***** you seem to be making every excuse in the book for buying a car that monWths later (and I am sure many miles 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/16/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  My wife and I just purchased a 2014 ****** Tundra truck from a company called Car City. We have quite a few complaints with the truck. The truck shimmies when driven on the freeway, there is yellow chipped paint on the running boards, the passengers side running board is broken, the tailgate won't open, The *** port and cigarette lighter are not working, the truck makes a weird sound when you first turn it off, the antenna is missing, when making a hard turn there is a thump noise, there are deep scuff marks on all inner doors and dashboard of the truck, the top of the front grill comes loose while driving, there is a hole in the driver's side seat, the compartment between the driver and passenger seat is detached and sitting on the floor. The gas door is damaged. All tire rims were spray painted black which the paint is now chipping and it's showing rust underneath. The tire sensor light is on in the vehicle, even after putting air in the tires. We have been trying to on numerous occasions. We have been trying to set up an appointment for the truck to be detailed. However, the detailors, upholstery, and mechanic staff have not been available. We were also told we would have to leave the truck 1 to 3 days which we need to transport our granddaughter. There are features the truck does not have, however my wife was told to tell the loan company that we did have these features such as a navigating system and electric seats.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/05/2025

  The car is in our possession. Car City has agreed to re-purchase the loan from the lien holder. The owner feels that should satisfy this complaint.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/07/2025

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: *********************************************************************************.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  I purchased both vehicles from Car city in ***************** on December 21, 2021 June *******. Due to the first vehicle being rusted out and not being able to drive due to the rusted frame. Then the next vehicle was supposed to be an even exchange however it wasnt the Issues that i am having with this vehicle are on the drivers side; the exhaust manifold, broken bolts ,rear brakes, rotor assembly rusting, running boards both sides are broken and rusted, undercarriage is rusting, frame rusted out, bad tires and truck is misting. The amount paid to Car City was *********. The business hasnt tried to resolve this problem as of now.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/09/2024

  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.

  I recently bought a vehicle, when I bought a vehicle and after driving it for a while, the airbag light came on when I called the dealership. They told me that they had to replace the front seats which they did.. I also complained about the stabilization link that keeps popping up with the *** light in the tracking control that also pops up upon driving the vehicle under a month. I noticed that I had a gas leak. I took it to a mechanic which diagnosed me with a fuel line and the car dealership did agree to fix it .Upon them fixing the vehicle, they damaged the sensor on the gas tank and another line that is connected, which made my tank spill out gas as I was trying to fill my car up. The company is giving me a hard time. They told me that I was being a pain in the a** and that I need to make a way to get the vehicle down back to **************, ********. I had to pay $175 out-of-pocket to make sure that the vehicle was towed due to the gas leak because I was unable to drive it now theyre telling me that I need to figure out how to get the vehicle down there and theyre telling me that I have to wait basically a week on Monday of next week I will find out what day Im able to bring the vehicle down and theyre still not sure if theyll be able to fix it within the same day. I need this vehicle for work and the last time I was out of the vehicle for almost 4 days before it was actually ready.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2024

  First off, this customer owes us $800 and it is over a month past due. We have not gotten one single call stating she needs time to pay or can only pay $50 a week or some small amount to at least show good faith. 2nd.We have gone way above and beyond for this customer and we do not give unlimited free service for the used cars we sell, nor does any dealership that I have ever heard. I ask any reasonably minded customer to read everything we have done for free after the sale and say if we are being reasonable in our reply. We never once told the customer no, even today when she called. The fact is that we said she had to get the vehicle to Car City and it is not our fault that she made the decision to buy a vehicle so far away from her house. We have done so much for this customer as she has admitted and even more than what has been stated by the customer herself. We have spent hours on the phone with her and had managers, sales people, service employees and mechanics spending so much time assisting her at the expense of Car City. The gas lines that she accuses us of installing wrong were done about a month and a half ago. If there was an issue with the gas lines we installed free of charge, then it would have been known right away. These accusations are unfounded and this is a customer who wants to buy a 2015 Tahoe LTZ fully loaded that is $70,000 brand new and now has depreciated to under $20,000, basically about 75% of its life is gone,and expects not to have to put money into at as she drives it. No dealership does unlimited after the sale free service and I have been a GSM and ** of some of the biggest franchise dealerships in the area. We stand behind our vehicles even though the vehicle was sold completely as-is as agreed to by the customer.This is the equivalent of us calling a customer after we made a deal and saying, "Ms. ********* we changed our mind and need you to pay us an extra $1,000. We do not feel we made enough money on you". Would that be fair to do to a customer? Then why is it fair for a customer to come in, say she will do anything to get the Tahoe because she loves it so much, test drive it, sign all the documents agreeing to purchase the vehicle for the agreed upon price,sign documents stating that any and all repairs after she signs will be at the cost of the customer, then as soon as a problem comes up she starts calling and going against what she agreed. She has been extremely hostile if we did not do free repairs and even threatened to put a bad review if the repairs were not done, as seen in the text she attached, which I will speak to my attorney about since that could be considered extortion. We have done so much for this customer and were extremely nice to her even when she was extremely hostile and she knows this is true. Enough is enough. She is making accusations that are unfounded and even though we said we would look at her complaints again, for the I do not know how many times now. If she bought this vehicle at almost any other dealership they would have charged her from the start and she must not realize how nice we have been to do free service after she agreed to purchase the vehicle as-is. It is now off the table that we will even look at the vehicle. Did the customer really expect a month and a half later that we were going to pay to have her vehicle brought to our dealership to do more free work. It never pays to try and help someone out because they always want more and more. She has even mentioned all the free service she has received that we had zero obligation to perform. We do not call our customers after we make an agreement with them and ask them to pay more money. We also expect our customers to adhere to the contract they signed. We do understand that there are some service issues that may pop up after the sale and we are always willing to look at them within a reasonable amount of time after the sale.Depending what the issue is, we will determine if it is something that we nor the customer knew about at the time of sale, if the customer caused it or if was that way when the customer purchased the vehicle and knew about it at the time of sale. As the customer stated, we replaced an entre seat for her and gas lines as well as I believe looked at some other concerns she thought may be an issue but was not sure. I personally spoke to the customer and said we have been more than reasonable and fair with the service we have performed after the agreement was signed and that future repairs would be on her. Now, she is having an issue with her vehicle a month and a half after the free repairs and wanting to blame Car City, after we went out of our way and did free repairs for her. There is a very true saying that you give someone an inch and they take a mile. This customer wants to drive a $70,000 vehicle that has depreciated down to under $20,000 and expects that the dealership will keep doing free repairs as things need to be replaced on the vehicle. All this does is ruin it for the next customer who may have an issue and because of our generosity with customers like this, we may have to explain that trying to assist customers in the past has only lead to accusations, wanting more free repairs,unwarranted BBB complaints, threats, extortions and a huge reduction in much needed sales because we have to stop everything we are doing in order to look at vehicle already sold and already inspected for free and handle unwarranted and unfounded claims against Car City. I have attached a part of the Carfax that shows all the work we did prior to even selling this vehicle and it shows why a vehicle that was once $70,000 is now under $20,000. Look at all the work we had to do in order for it to pass VA Safety Inspection. The customer chose to purchase this vehicle in ******** while living in ********. This customer contacted us and was extremely happy with the vehicle when she purchased it. We also looked at the mileage put on the vehicle compared to when we sold it to her and she has been driving a very good amount. We cannot help that a customer who lives a good distance from ********************** purchased the vehicle, so the fact that we stated we were willing to look at her concern but she needed to get the vehicle to us is only fair. If it was a day or two after we installed the lines for free, then that is one thing. The fact that it has been over a month is a completely different thing and to say that we installed the lines incorrectly is coming from a person who seemingly does not want to put any money into her vehicle even though it has been about 3 months since purchasing the vehicle.With all due respect to the BBB and to all future and past customers, the truth is that we have gone way above and beyond what even large franchise dealerships would have done for a customer who bought a ********** Tahoe with over *******.Nobody should be buying this type of vehicle if they are not prepared to spend money to replace parts. As you can tell from the Carfax that I attached, we did a pre-purchase inspection and paid a great deal of money for that. We paid a great deal of money to get the vehicle to pass ************** Safey inspection and it passed from an independent inspection station that we have zero affiliation with. We have done nothing wrong and actually went above and beyond to try and make this customer happy. However, it seems as though if we do not keep doing free repairs than we are the bad guys and we will be threatened and harassed and reported unless we continue to do free repairs. To put an end to this complaint, Car City has done as much free work as we are willing to do and has gone above and beyond what any other dealership I feel would have done. It is extremely unreasonable to expect a dealership to keep repairing a vehicle for free that should have been known prior to purchasing that a vehicle that originally cost $70,000 and now has over ******* miles on it and is over 9 years old would need parts replaced. We go so far out of our way to make our customers happy and this is another case of a customer who bought a vehicle they probably should not have bought because of the known upkeep of these types of vehicles after ******* miles. We have done as much free repairs as we are willing to do and wish the customer all the best with her vehicle in the future. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/06/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Dear ************* I have a complaint about Car city , Me and my husband sow a Buick Enslave online and they told us its available , Made an appointment to go see it . Upon arrival we were told its not there but we can made another choice . Question is why would you let us drive from MD to VA when you didnt have the car. ? We got an option GMC Acadia 2017 . We went for road test my husband told Sales person ******************* to check the transmission, He said he will work on it. We paid the deposit and since I had to work in the afternoon we rushed thing so that my husband drives back to ** . But ****** promised a warranty in case anything happens to a car we bring it back and be fixed. In a weeks time us having the car it began making a funny noise in a third week it broke down and we had to **** it to Car city. At first they said we bought it as it is , they were trying to tell us to fix the problem . But its less than three week afterwards they said they would fix it. We left it there , they said two weeks every week I communicated with ***** to give us updates they kept on promising and told us the Mechanic had it. Fourth week I call and ***** was rude , he said when I tell you when the car will be out you will keep disturbing me. Imagine that car costs 25. 000 dollars after seven years it will almost be *****dollars with interest and its not in good condition.. its at the dealership now over three months , we are paying payments for it. When **** the owner gave a warranty he purchased it in July 9 th 2024 and hes telling us to go use the warranty in transmission shops nearby , but every where we go Amco, cotton they cant use that warranty now . It shows the car already had pre existing problems. . We call they dont pick. We have driven there several times to see whats happening but they where playing us. We have been patient with them still we are. Let them remain with there car we are no longer trusting them to do the right thing

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/21/2024

  Dear ************ Am following up on case 22099162.  The truth is that Car city called because I work in one of the busiest 711 I kept on finding missed called and any time I got a chance I called back . Or could tell my husband please call car city back. But him also didnt get them. We are working so tirelessly to make ends meet we have a car that we are renting ever since we towed the car to car city on the 27th may. The car payments are killing us and we also have other obligations. We are crying out to anyone who can help .The truth is that we had the car less than a month. The car itself is already expensive, but it also having major problems of transmission which were pre existing and cant be fixed with a warranty immediately. We have gone to different Mechanic shops for transmission nearby Amco, Cotton etc they said an estimate of 8500dollars some even 10. 000 dollars . Now imagine us who had gone for a Buicke Enslave which wr found it wasnt there , we also made a mistake thats when we had to leave because what we had gone for wasnt there  ended up buying a *** Acadia  , then we are going through such problems with the *** Acadia which costs like *****dollars and after financing it will be like 50. 000 dollars and its not in good condition. But we had hoped since the warranty was there no worries but when Car city denied that we didnt buy a warranty that also we were promised by word of mouth .later told we bought as is. Almost ****** dollars , and after financing  it will be 50. 000 dollars . If it was minor issue also us we would not even bother them we would have worked on it than to go into renting a car. But I also think if it was minor then car city would not be dragging there feet to fix it. But here is the truth Car city when you drag yourself one more minute or day or month theres a persons life your dragging into being homeless because of the overload of bills , think about there mental health as they go through this .Yes we have over come to car city to check on the progress and even over called . Its coming to 4months as making payments and waiting for car city to work out something.  . If this message reaches anyone please help us to talk to them  , let them get a solution ASAP .. Please Help 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/23/2024

  Dear sir/ ***** with reference to case 22099162  yesterday I talked with the owner of Car city **************** and hes working on the issue. So I dropping the complaint .from Car city thanks for helping me. *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/29/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  I purchased a ****************************************** October 2023. It had low mileage for its age and these vehicles are usually very reliable. It had some reasonable wear and tear issues that were easy enough to fix. I had *** Boys in ************** do an additional pre-purchase inspection and nothing major was found that was alarming. The truck drove well for about 6 months. Then in April of 2024, the vehicle broke down. I knew it was something with the rear differential and was prepared for repairs in the $1000-3000 range. I had it towed to my local ****** dealership and asked them to also do the inspection at the same time since it was due soon. When they called me back, they said it failed inspection and the repairs needed to make it pass inspection were north of $20,000 (no I did not add an extra zero. 20k, for real). In addition to the rear differential being completely destroyed, the frame had rust and holes that were beyond repair. There were many additional smaller issues as well. I called Car City to ask them to make it right and their response was that the ****** dealership was probably trying to take advantage of me and I should shop around for different estimate. I told them I was considering taking legal action because the truck was essentially a total loss, and their response was that they couldn't speak to me anymore. I eventually had to replace the vehicle and was only able to get about $500 on trade-in for the truck. I still owe ********************* more than $12000 for the personal loan I took out. The vehicle was ultimately a total loss and I feel completely screwed over by Car City. Shame on me for trusting them when there were so many red flags and bad reviews that I saw prior to the purchase.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/20/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  I purchased a car on 05/02/24 the car was priced as 6995 we got to the place he said ********************************************************* what his price was which was different from the price of the car but the vin number are the same but different prices now on the left side bumper is messed up and I failed getting it inspected so I let them know and I'm not getting in feedback to accommodate me and he said he knew the front bumper was like that when he sold it to me

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/01/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore 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.

  On 1-6-24, my son (*************************) purchased a *********************** as a co-signer for $8,500. It had ******* + miles on it. He put a down payment of $2,000, this left a balance of $9,000 + on the car. On 1-7-24, the check engine light came on. We called & they told us to bring it in on the following week, but after waiting a few days we took it back on 1-10-24 and left it there with the keys. *************************** (Sales Director) told us their mechanic would look at it. He called us 4 hours later and said we could pick the car up, it was running good. On 1-12-24 the car started stalling, it would not go in reverse & the check engine light was on again. We feel the car has transmission problems and the dealership knew it when they sold it to us. On 1-14-24, we again took the car back because of the issues and told them we didn't want it. We spoke to ************************* (Fin. Mgr.) about trading the Focus for another vehicle, they agreed. We sat down with them and chose a car that cost $7,500. When **************** finished the paperwork, he said the total cost would be over $14,000. Ofcourse we declined. We knew then what type of dealership we were dealing with, faulty. We've had 2 diagnosis done and on 1-30-24, we took the diagnosis to the dealership b/c we have a 3 month warranty. ****** suggested we call the warranty services office, but tell them the car was in perfect running condition when we bought it. He said if we don't word it right, they won't approve the warranty. We are very disappointed with this dealership and who wants to be paying a monthly car note and insurance on a car that you can't drive. WE WANT TO RETURN THE *** AND GET OUR MONEY BACK, bottom line. By the way, we were told there was a recall on the car, but no one wants to provide us with a rental while the car is being worked on.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2024

  When your son first inquired about a vehicle, it was for the **** Fiesta. However, that one we told your son  was not ready and it *** have a problem. From what I have been recently reading about the 2014 **** Focus, there are issues with some 2011-2015 **** Fiesta transmissions and some 2012-2015 **** Focus transmissions. If a customer calls me with an issue after the sale, the first thing I do is see if that particular vehicle has any recalls or if the ***** is a known one for that year, make and model. In 2013 and 2014, the **** Focus was the number one selling vehicle in the world as seen in this article:******************************************************************************************************** was a new automatic transmission **** designed for the remodeled Fiesta in 2011 and the remodeled Focus in 2012. It became known that there were some vehicles that the new transmission was not working well and **** had to put out many recalls for the Focus. There were millions sold, so there are a lot of good Focus's out there as well. We told your son we would not sell him the Fiesta because we thought it might have a problem. You did not mention that in your complaint. We had him drive the Focus and there were no issues with it when he drove it. It is not like we can just magically make a car drive well only on a test drive and we already told you we would not sell you the Fiesta because it *** have a problem, so why would we then sell you a vehicle if we knew it had a problem. Makes no sense. We know if we sell a vehicle with an issue and we do not disclose it, the customer is not going to just be ok with it. They will call, come in, complain, etc. I have been doing this for 25 years, so I know it actually costs more money and time when you sell a vehicle with an issue. When you called us with an issue after you bought it, did we tell you sorry, we cannot help? No. If we were a bad dealer, that is exactly what we would have done. If we were a bad dealer and knew it had a problem, we would have sold it to you and then told you that we cannot do anything.However, we had you bring it back in and we did free work to the vehicle and it was running fine. You would not have bought it if it had an issue and you would not have left with it if it still had the issue. About a week later you called back that it was having another issue. You asked if you could exchange it with another vehicle and did we say no? We said yes. However, with the challenges your son has with credit, it was not easy to get the first loan approved and now we had to find another lender to get the new loan approved on the vehicle you chose to exchange the Focus for. You did not like the price and interest rate and total for new vehicle and said no, that you would not buy it. You would have gotten a newer vehicle, a 2 year fill warranty and gap insurance.You could have taken off the warranty and the gap and it would have been a few thousand dollars cheaper. They are optional. Your son told us that the truth was that you did not want to co-sign and it was not really about the **********, that is between you and him. We did not force you to co-sign for your son, however, it is something parents often do. We offered to assist with the repairs, we offered to exchange the vehicle, we gave you all the warranty information and explained how to open a claim. We did nothing wrong, actually. We have been trying to make you happy this entire time, however, it is either your way or nothing for you and that is not fair. As far as we know, there was no issue with the Focus when you bought it. We do not know how everybody drives and obviously everybody drives differently. With the **** Focus transmission that is in the vehicle, if someone drove the car like it is a **** Mustang, then it will damage the transmission. We are not saying that happened, because we will not make up a lie in order to get our way. To say that we knew there was an issue when we sold the vehicle is not true at all, however, you made the statement as if you know it for a fact. You do not know that and if you look at the evidence, it would actually favor Car City. We did not sell you the Fiesta because we felt it might have a problem. We still have the Fiesta and are working on it to fix the problem. You have a warranty and it is a day one warranty. That means it starts from the day you bought the vehicle. Most warranties have a waiting period, usually ***** days and ***** miles. *** we know that these are used cars and things can happen any time, not just after 30 days. It is the same thing with car insurance. Does car insurance start 30 days after you buy the vehicle? No. Why does it start the same day you buy the vehicle? Because anything can happen from the second you buy it, onward. We cannot take the vehicle back at this point. It has been way too long since the sale to do even an exchange. We tried to assist you by telling you to call **** to see if there is any recall or extended warranty on the transmission. We told your son to Call **** ***, not a **** dealership. A dealership is there only to make ********** the company is there to make sure their customers are happy with their vehicles. If you or your son would have called **** *** and opened a case, they would have probably made a decision by now. They do not want to get sued anymore. They were sued by thousands of people over the transmission issue in the Fiesta and Focus models that I mentioned above and from my recent research of common problems with the year Focus you bought, I see there was a class-action suit as well. We spoke to your son about a week ago and he said he was going to put in a claim with the warranty company. That is what it is there for. It is a 3 month warranty, so it is to be used if you get a covered issue within the first 3 months of owning the vehicle. We have been here the entire time. We are not ignoring you, telling you we will not assist, telling you too bad. We have been advising your son on what his options are. Call **** *** and do not take no for an answer. I know how these big car companies work. They are big about customer satisfaction. They do not want anyone hating their product.Call them and explain you recently bought a 2014 Focus and you are trying to get a **** dealership to check it out and to complete the recalls but you are not having much luck. Tell them that you read about all the problems the 2014 **** Focus transmission has and that you want them to check your car out to see if it has that same problem. Tell them that if it does, **** should do the right thing and repair it free of charge because they know they designed a faulty transmission. If you do not take no for an answer, these car companies usually will help. Also, you can open a warranty claim with the warranty company that you bought with the car. That is what it is there for. You can not use it 4 months from now. It is to be used in cases just like this. It is a 3 month or ***** mile warranty, whatever comes first. We tried to guide your son as to what he should say. The truth is exactly what the salesperson told him. There was no issue when you bought the vehicle. You would not have purchased that vehicle if there was a problem. So it is not a lie that when you bought it,there was no issue. People in this situation start saying what they believe in stead of just the facts and they end up hurting themselves. That is why we tried to guide your son on what he should say when he calls the warranty company. If you call and say, we know this vehicle had an issue when we bought it (which in fact you do not know and actually is only a belief you *** have),then of course the warranty company is going to deny your claim. They are not going to cover something that was already there. *** why do they offer day one warranties on used cars? Because of exactly incidents like this. Where neither the dealer nor the buyer knew or believed there was an issue with the vehicle at the time of sale. Why else would they have a warranty that started the first day you buy the vehicle. So you have to tell them the truth of the matter, not what you *** or *** not think. You *** believe it had a problem before you bought it, but you have zero evidence of that, which is a good thing actually.That way the warranty claim has a much better chance of being approved. Those are the options I can assist you with at this point. Your tags are already processed with the state. We already paid the taxes for the vehicle to the state and titled the vehicle in both your names. It is now your vehicle, but we are happy to still assist. We can help you open a warranty claim and we can help you call **** ***. We can also help you call some **** dealerships to see who can get you in the fastest. I believe with your warranty, if you have an approved claim, they do offer some type of rental car or rental reimbursement. You will have to ask them. If for some reason you cannot get a rental, I can see if I can give your son a loaner car if the warranty claim is accepted or if **** says they are going to repair the vehicle. I am terribly sorry this happened and that is the truth. We had no idea that an issue was going to come up so soon. I wish we had a crystal **** that told the future because I would not sell any vehicle that *** have an issue. However, that is why you have a warranty for the vehicle. In case something does happen on day one and up until day 90 or ***** miles, whatever comes first. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/12/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I've emailed my response and documents to: ****************************************

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

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/22/2024

  2-21-2024
  Claim # ********
  *************************
  *************************
  
  
  Additional information to show that Car City is a swindling car dealership.  We purchased the car on 1-6-2024 and started having transmission problems a few days later.  However, we picked up the hard tags (TRP ****) on 2-6-2024 and the dealership didnt provide the paperwork for the emissions.  The decals do not expire until January 2025.  How could this be, how could they have gotten an emission with all the transmission problems? They cant say they werent aware because it was brought to their attention on 1-6-2024 and the tags werent provided to us until 2-6-2024.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/23/2024

  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 Car Nov 9th didnt receive it until Nov 18th a little while after that ive ran into a couple problems with the vehicle had to change oil and brakes, i havent had the car for 30 days yet and had to fix it. The tires are bad and balding and the alignment is bad cause its pulling as I drive and I hardly go anywhere besides work. Now recently Jan 8th- 9th I turned my car into their service department so their mechanic could see what was the issue with the car because when pressing the gas it wouldnt go the speed limit and on the highway it made a noise and wouldnt go above ************************************************************** mileage. Was told it would be fixed by Wednesday, which turned into not being that day but another day they kept changing the days and now it has been 2 weeks going into 3 and they are just telling me its ready. Theres more to it but too much to include. They sold me a bad car and now I dont want the car anymore and want to see if I could get my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2024

  ?This customer came to ********************** asking for assistance in getting her an auto loan on a 2017 ******* Tucson with no money to put down that day. We agreed. The old saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. The road to h*** is paved with good intentions. Again, Car City goes out of our way to help someone in need and it comes back to backfire. However, we believe in Karma and this customer knows the truth. The customer picked out a vehicle we just got in and it was not ready. She still wanted to move foward with the purchase and said she would pick it up when it was ready. It was ready days before she actually came to pick it up. We had it ready the day after she purchased it. We worked out a payment plan with her that fit her budget for the down payment she owed Car City. Thats how good of people we are. The vehicle just past state inspection before she picked it up. We do not do state inspections so we use state inspection stations in **************. The two main inspection places we use is ****** Auto, one of the most reputable service stations in the area. They always err on the side of caution so there is no way a vehicle could be unsafe after they inspect it. The other we use is ************** a large ***** dealership who certainly will do a thorough state inspection as they have to answer to the state of VA & *****. This customer had her vehicle for 2 months and had zero problems. There is no way we can tell how a customer drives their vehicle after they leave our lot. Why do young drivers have such high insurance rates? Because they do not have experience driving and are most likely to get into an accident. This is a young driver and there were zero isdues when she picked the vehicle up. It was after months of driving that she had complaints. If something does come about, within the first 30 days and within reason and if it was not something the customer did themselves, we will always assist our customers. This customer is making false statements that are defamatory. Her vehiclle had no issues when she picked it up. 2 months later she is stating very minor things that are things she wants done. Not things that need to be done except the sensor being replaced. If she actually had an issue with tires and brakes, she could have contacted the state inspection station who did the inspection and had them look at the vehicle. She could have also called the state police and asked them to investigate. She did neither. What she did was make false claims about tires and brakes which passed ******** state inspection and she is giving zero evidence other than her just saying they are bad. We would never sell a vehicle with bad brakes or tires. On my business, I will make the true statement that neither the tires nor the brakes are bad. I have attached the part of the Carfax showing that ****** Auto inspected the vehicle and we even replaced the Catalytic Converters. You can see the customer never brought the vehicle to another shop and had it looked at, which means these complaints are coming from her alone. The vehicle did not need alignment. The vehicle did not need brakes or tires. After two months of her owning the vehicle she wants us to do minor repairs for free. Look at the texts to the salesperson. If the vehicle truly needed new tires, nobody is going to just say, ok. They are going to say something more. Ask to speak to the owner. Not one time did she call to speak to me even though I was the one who did all her paperwork when she bought the car. Part of being a responsible adult is taking care of your vehicle. However, I offered to look at her vehicle for free to make sure it was safe. There was a check engine light on for an 02 sender that costs about $50 to replace. We offered to replace the sensor for her because when you replace the catalytic converters, you replace the 02 sensors as well so possibly one was bad. After we checked, it was not the sensor for the cats. It was a different one. A responsible customer after owning a vehicle for months does not hit up the selling dealership for minor wear and tear repairs. Young people are getting taught that someone else is supposed to pay for them. More and more this country is getting away from being accountable and responsible for oneself. Everything today is how can we blame someone else. Its very sad to see. A $50 sensor went bad. That is why the check engine light went on. The customer had the vehicle for over two months. She never took it to a service center to have it independently checked and is just trying to hold us hostage to fix things that do not need to be fixed because she does not want to pay for things she wants done. It is very wrong. So we had her bring it in and then all the snow came. We had one mechanic and he lives an hour away in the backwoods. He was trapped in his house for 3 days. This customer got so angry because we could not do free repairs on the sensor on her time. She could have just had it done herself. I am attaching her angry texts where she is clearly just thinking the world revolves around her and ************ should risk his life to come in to put in a sensor. Then the mechanic got sick and called out a few days. Again, this is not unreasonable in the dead of winter after a snowstorm. Then the customer kept telling us two different things. We said we would do the sensor but anything else she would have to do, because the other things were not wrong. However, we explained the mechanic was out for snow then was sick. She then said she would just pick up the part and get it done herself. We said ok. The customer kept telling us that she was going to pick it up and have it done herself, then said for us to do it. I have attached her text saying she would pick it up. When the mechanic came back, we did not know what she wanted. She did not care about another human being Ill. It was all about her. We again were trying to be nice to help her and unlike as we had to wait for her to pay us the down payment she owed, she could not wait to get free service months later. Look at her texts and how angry. Young people these days think the world just revolves around them. Finally, I  actually authorized my mechanic to put in the sensor and I paid for the part and labor. The truth is that there is really nothing minor or major wrong with the vehicle. The customer wanted free repairs and it did not happen on her time. It makes me not want to help anyone. People like this are the reason dealerships get a bad name. Why help someone who is going to treat us like this. So the next person who really needs help, now I am going to be scared to help them because it happens all the time. The reason why people get into situations why they need all this help to get a car is because they dont save money, they do t hold down a job, they dont take care of their credit, and many more reasons. I feel bad for people and try to help people. But this is what I get. In her texts she even says that I probably dont want to help her and that why its taking so long. Then she says she will get the part herself and have it put in. Why would I get the part if I did not want to put it in. This person did not get her free repairs fast enough and that is why she is venting and trying to release her anger in any way she can. Its truly a shame. I am sorry it snowed. I am sorry my mechanic git sick. I am sorry I helped you in the first place. Also, the complaints this customer is talking about are extremely minor issues which shows this is something other than the car being bad. The fact is she wants to try and hurt my store because she is so angry it took a couple weeks for us to do free repairs on her vehicle. Her complaints are ridiculous to want to return the vehicle. Brakes cost us $30 a set. Tires are about $75 each. An alignment is $100. This customer has anger issues as seen by the texts. I understand the customer is a young female and probably does not have a lot of experience driving or with repairs, but there is nothing wrong with her vehicle that would warrant wanting to return the vehicle. If the transmission was bad or the engine is bad, that I would understand. The Carfax shows this vehicle was very well maintained by previous owner. We did a thorough pre-inspection, service to the vehicle & state inspection of the vehicle. This customer is being extremely unrealistic in buying a used vehicle, not having even one ***** to put down at the time of sale, Car City goes out of our way to assist her with getting the vehicle she wanted with no money down at time of sale, then when she did bring up tires and brakes 2 months later, we checked out the vehicle again and saw there was nothing wrong other then a sensor needed to be replaced. The new sensor was put in on Monday  She can pick it up  We will not be allowing her to return a vehicle with nothing wrong after she drive it for months and we should have told her we would not do anything for her when she called two weeks ago  if we are going to get a bad review, we should hsve done something bad. This is truly shameful. 

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  I am not satisfied because that car had issues with it and they knew it. I didnt take it to them to get it serviced because they kept telling me different days. If he was out sick or trapped in his home why even tell me any days that he could fix it knowing that he couldnt, I felt as though it was very unprofessional for you guys as a business to keep misleading me that which led me to anger I was very understanding about the whole situation because I was even sick and stuck at home. But it became a different situation when you guys kept misleading me and telling me different days I could pick up my car. And Of course theres nothing wrong with the brakes or the oil because I put my own money into getting it replaced I still have the old brakes as well. As far as the tires yes they are balding and the tread is going down due to it pulling while driving on the highway theres no reason for me to lie its me driving the car not you so you cant tell me whats wrong with it. It was fixed up good enough to sell so once it leaves your lot its out of your control what happens. You dont care and just a money hungry business who takes advantage of young females who dont have knowledge of cars. I have alot more proof that I couldnt fit but dont try to make it seem like I was just angry and looking for free fixes. I wanted you to fix something that you guys did not fix nor check before selling the vehicle was just quick to sell it. Because if you thoroughly checked the car like you said you wouldve noticed the glass in my trunk panel that once again I had to take care of myself. Which is why I never take my car to you to get it fixed cause your only working off of 1 mechanic and takes forever to fix little things I havent had my car in two weeks. He came in for 30mins yesterday and still havent fixed my car and you wonder why I was angry the way yall go about situations is very unprofessional. Im not even the first nor the last person to complain about this business goes to show how they choose to run themselves. So my decision on wanting a refund still stands because you guys sold me a bad car and you know it and dont care because its money in your pocket and youre right there is a thing called karma and its going to get those who do people wrong. Bad Business.