Negligence after the sale has been made .....

I should have written this long ago, but I have told the story countless times in the last six years. Anyone who even mentions shopping for a car to me has heard this story, and they always thank me for telling them. Most have already heard negative stories about John L. Sullivan in Roseville, so my story merely corroborates them.

In 1996, I was only 19 years old when I bought my first car - a 1993 Toyota Tercel. It had high miles, but the price was right for me, and I believed Toyota's were good cars that should last a long time.

The day after I purchased the car, I heard an extremely loud 'buzzing' coming from the dashboard. I immediately drove to John L. Sullivan, believing that since they had just sold me the car the day before, they would be willing to look at it to see what the problem was. (I couldn't afford the warranty, so I was assuming they would at least look, to keep me as a satisfied customer. I know it's a stretch, but I was young! If I had been given great service, I would have been a customer for life - and being 19 at the time, I would be buying a lot of cars over my lifetime!)

They basically laughed at me, saying they could look at it, but would charge me their hourly charges, and whatever other charges would apply for the repair. I was so angry, because I had literally spent every cent I owned for my down payment, and could not afford the outragous service fees. I don't remember if I actually cried on the lot, but I do remember very loudly (in order for customers to hear, and yes, they DID hear me) telling them that I was very unhappy with my purchase and would be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.

I took the Tercel to another mechanic, and the problem was minor - a broken spedometer cable. It was no big deal, other than the frequent noise (and when it was buzzing, the spedometer didn't actually work). If they would have just fixed that $20 problem for me, I would have bought more cars from them, but their neglect forced me to give my business to another dealer. (In 2000, I bought a 2001 Tacoma from Maita.)

On the same day that I announced that I would be calling the Better Business Bureau, I received a call in the evening. It was the John L. Sullivan dealer, calling to apologize, and inviting me to bring my car in for the free service. But by then it was too late. They had lost my business forever.

I hope this story makes someone realize that the people who work at John L. Sullivan don't care about you after they get your money!

Sara
Sacramento, California

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