Airport Auto Sales Rude, Deceptive, Dishonest, Opportunists-Poor Management, and more! ripoff Alcoa Tennessee

Typical story here of, "female (thought to be single) purchases and finances used vehicle in good faith, and vehicle turns out to have major mechanical defects that appeared to have been masked by dealer in order to sell vehicle to idiot like me!

September 2006-In need of vehicle, was separated from husband at time, and was referred to this business by a friend of mine who had purchased a vehicle from them years ago. Obviously there had been changes in management since that time. Yes, my credit was in "not so great a shape," and was in desperate need of a vehicle at the time.

I was plainly taken advantage of, and yes, it is partly my fault for being willing to even think about signing on any line, especially after the way I was treated by the manager of this lot! Not only did he speak down to me like I was a total idiot, but after agreeing to allow me to make a partial down payment and return in a few days with the remainder, he had threatened me with the "repo man" before I even signed papers. He KNEW I was in a predicament and took solid advantage of that by humiliating me in the office, in front of the sales people and others that work for that company.

Right about 3 weeks after the purchase, vehicle overheated, broke down and was found to have an intake manifold gasket leak. Immediately towed when first sign of overheating occurred. Taken to auto repair shop (although I had gotten suckered into purchasing a warranty on vehicle, this so-called warranty did not cover such repairs). Auto repair shop diagnoses vehicle with the intake manifold gasket leak and cracked head. When the radiator was drained in this vehicle, it was found to have copper color-tinged water with some type of what looked to be fragments of metal in it. It seemed to be an overall opinion that the contents was that of bars leak or some other type of temporary sealant.

I sent a certified letter and complaint to corporate office and have yet to hear a word from corporate or management, although I have had collections calls (from their finance office) for them wanting payments, of course but they never made an effort to contact me and try to work this out by either fixing this vehicle or offering a suitable replacement. Of course, as always with this type of establishment, the actual worth of the vehicle is not near the amount I would have paid, had I continued paying and paid it off.

Now, it's just as much my fault as anyone's for letting my desperate situation get in the way of making an informed decision when making this purchase, however, in all fairness, I do not think it is right for any business to treat any customer in this fashion. Although they will continue their dishonest business practices and although I wasn't the first nor will I be the last to be ripped off by them, I am hoping that others will at least take this information as a fair warning that IF they are looking to be treated with respect and fairness, that Airport Auto Sales is NOT the place they should shop for a good used vehicle.

Looks to me like they took my money, so far, over $3000.00 invested so far, and just slightly below what the car is actually worth. Do they really give a rat's a*s how they treat others and who they rip off? No, they do not! Will they get away with it? Sure they will, but I'm researching any legal options I may have at this point and rest assured, my complaint with their corporate office was obviously ignored, so I guess I'll complain elsewhere.

Thanks for listening.

Susan
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
U.S.A.