AUTOMOBILE FRAUD
My story was on the front page of the Herald News on 2/12/01 & will go before the TV media & the Star Ledger this month to alert innocent consumers to unethical auto dealers and lack of the Chase Manhattan bank's fiduciary responsibility:
I have been a victim of Automobile Fraud. I purchased a used 1995 corvette (VIN 1G1YY22P8S5119723) in 1998 (8,600 miles as per the written odometer disclosure statement provided by the dealer on 3/19/98) for $32,000 (plus paying for an extended warranty from GM Protection Plan purchased on 3/16/99
#973230795; cancelled on 5/22/01 & warranty was pro-rated {$189.00}) from Peter Sabatino, Burack Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Inc., Route 202, Lincoln Park, N.J. 07035, (973-696-1100) WHO HAS TWO VIOLATIONS FROM THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS IN NEWARK, N.J.
I financed the car by signing the agreement on 3/19/98 and sent my first payment on 3/22/98 to the Chevrolet dealer's bank (Chase Manhattan Bank, 900 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York 11530, Account # 28219938180019), who is also to blame for not notifying me of the contents of the certificate of title, and upon completing the payments in 2.5 years(2/22/00), I received the certificate of title from Chase Manhattan Bank and across the title was "RETURN TO MANUFACTURER, LEMON LAW" & the status was "L". It is the bank's fiduciary responsibility to ensure that
fraud & corruption are minimized in the projects it finances.
This is enshrined in the Bank's articles, and was emphasized again by President James Wolfensohn in his annual meeting in October 1996. What duty of good faith, loyalty, integrity & honesty & duty of full disclosure was rendered to me by the bank, the principal?(Letters were sent to US State Senate
Banking Committee & to the US House Representative on Banking & Financial Services in Washington, D.C. & Federal Reserve Bank in New York City 05/01/01 & Board of Governs of Federal Reserve System, Division of Consumer & Community Affairs in Washington, D.C on 5/02/01))
The above disclosure was not made known to me (see copy of the bill of sales signed on 3/14/98, in the right hand corner of page 2, under wavier of Dealer's obligation) at the time of purchase by the dealer, Mr. Peter Sabatino. The same day I received the certificate of title (February 28, 2000), I confronted the dealer in person and Peter told me that he knew
nothing about the branded Certificate of Title. He told me that if I was not happy with the car, that he would try & sell it on the Burack car lot. This was his solution to the immortal, oppressive, unscrupulous & fraudulent act.
As per an article in the Sunday Record written in December 2000, by Kevin DeMarrais, Mr. Jim Appleton, President of the N.J. Coalition of Automotive Retailers, 856 River Road, Trenton, N.J. 08628 (609-883-5056;ext.330) stated that it is a dealer's legal & moral responsibility to be aware of defects in his cars and to let the consumer know.
The next day, I connected Mr. Frank Stevens at the lemon law unit in Newark, N.J. (973-504-6597) and he told me that I was a victim of CONSUMER AUTOMOBILE FRAUD. I found out further when I obtained the "History of the Vehicle" from Trenton for a small fee, that there were 5 other owners beside myself. As per the History of the Vehicle, the car was sold to Burack Chevrolet by Les Daniels, Mountain View Auto Body in Wayne, N.J. (973-694-8516).
I have had one year of electrical trouble with the car (as per the vehicle history). Electrical problems have branded this vehicle a lemon on 11/20/97. The vehicle had stalled & would not start and had been towed twice on 5/14/98 & 5/15/98 to the dealership. Due to mechanical problems, please note the following dates & the invoice numbers from Burack service area written up by Burack's service employee, Darlene Olsen: 9/15/98 ,10796 MILES, INVOICE #873446; 11/30/98 ,12420 MILES, INVOICE # 88570; 12/23/98, 12607 MILES, INVOICE # 88812; 1/27/99, 12695 MILES, INVOICE # 89266.
If I did not have a second vehicle, I would have had to purchase one because of these mechanical issues that have plagued me and had caused insecurity & lack of dependability while driving the lemon car. Based on the violation of the Unfair Trade Practice Act, I sincerely hope that Chevrolet fines Mr. Peter Sabatino and also revokes his license for his unprofessional & unethical representation to Chevrolet. At the time of purchase I did not
receive a copy of the Buyers Guide at the time of sale, which is a violation of the Used Car Rule. To-date, this car with 14,500 miles will not start due to electrical problems & has been sitting in my rented garage for several months waiting for resolution.
A car branded as a lemon is only worth ½ the market value & I paid full market value for this vehicle & I also paid for an "over extended car loan" from the Chase Manhattan bank. I paid for a signature loan only, there was no collateral on this car.
After one year, the Burack Chevrolet Dealer, Mr. Peter Sabatino offered a $40,000 settlement for the car; however, it was after the deceptive fact. I had already hired a lawyer, had added rental garage fees, added unnecessary maintenance on a second car, added car insurance & not including punitive damages. Please, he should have made the offer in February 2000 when I
showed him the branded title that he "knew nothing about."
I have contacted the Better Business Bureau in New Jersey and Pam McClure, Director of Constituent Relations at Consumer Affairs in Newark, N.J. (973-504-6315) who upon receiving the documented information regarding my case has assigned an investigator, Mr. Joseph Palaia, 973-504-6247, to my fraudulent case.
Sincerely,
Gail Hawthorne