Cali Auto Group Giovanni Cali lies about the safety and reliability of his cars just long enough to get your cash Palmyra, Pennsylvania

My roommate crashed my car on Saturday, April 6th. Being that we both share the use of the vehicle to get to work, it was critical that we get my car replaced ASAP. We found Cali Auto Group right down the street from my house, and my roommate went and spoke to Giovanni. She explained our situation to him, including the saga of how badly off we were financially (due in large part to the crappy vehicle we were replacing being in such bad shape) and she explained how we needed nothing more than reliable transportation to and from work. Giovanni assured her that the vehicle he was selling us was 100% reliable, and even made her wait several hours while he "called in his mechanic to give it a thorough looking over for us" before driving it off of the lot.

For the first night, aside from the oil light coming on, the car ran well. When we checked the oil we noticed it was a quart too high, and assumed it was the cause for the oil light to be on. By the end of the first full day of having the car, the oil leaks (probably why they overfilled it), the transmission leaks, the transmission slams so hard into second gear it jolts your spine, the car stalls out when you stop for a red light, then try to resume movement (VERY dangerous on a major highway like the ones we drive on to get to work), refuses to start frequently on the first, second or third try, and we noticed one of the turn signals is not working properly. All of these are safety violations which would cause a properly inspected vehicle to fail inspection. The dealer is obligated to have a proper inspection done before they can sell the vehicle, even "as is". It's clear this was NOT done.

When we contacted Giovanni (Not only the salesman who dealt with us, but the OWNER) his answer was essentially "Tough luck, you bought the car as is. But if you bring it into our shop and let us fix all of the problems, we will work out a payment plan with you".

If you look on their website, according to Giovanni's "About Me" blurb it says "Hello my name is Giovanni Cali and I am the proud owner of Cali Auto Group. Our business philosophy is based on Loyalty, Honesty and Integrity, and having you as our priority. And making sure you are comfortable with your new purchase! All of our vehicles are provided with a full mechanical inspection, safety inspection and all serviced ready to drive!". I have to disagree. Selling people vehicles like this, knowingly taking advantage of people who are already in a terrible financial situation, then less than 48 hours later refusing to honor the promises you made when selling the vehicle (reliable and safe being ALL we asked for in a vehicle) is completely against the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The fact that they expect us to pay $600 a month for this heap for the next 6 months, after their refusal to honor the law, care about their customers, actually perform the safety inspection required BY LAW, and general "It's your problem now, but I can fix it for a fee" attitude is completely inexcusable. 

Don't EVER buy from them, or any of the other dealerships that are operated under the same owners, such as Flatline Auto, also in Palmyra, PA. We will be pursuing legal action against this "salesman" his dealership and his company.