Auto Advisors - Cape Coral Cars ripoff, dishonest, fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, crooked, deceitful Cape Coral, Florida

I would like to bring to your attention an ongoing incident that began in May, 2006. I was interested in purchasing a Chrysler Sebring JXI convertible so I went to the Ebay auction website looking for options available. There were approximately 80 cars on Ebay available in order to offer bids. One of the cars that I saw was from a company called Auto Advisors, Inc. located in Cape Coral, FL. The name has since been changed to Cape Coral Autos. Their address is/was 1424 Viscaya Parkway, Cape Coral, Florida, 33990.

The ad in their auction was very appealing. The auction price at that time was reasonable. I decided to call the company on May 12, 2006 to get more information on the listed car. I talked to Chuck, who stated he was one of the owners of the company. He answered my questions concerning the car, Ebay item # 4637910148.

Toward the end of our conversation, I inquired as to whether Chuck would accept a bid on the vehicle over the phone at this time. Chuck stated that he would accept my offer if the price was right. I made an offer of $5400.00 which was the wholesale Kelly Blue Book price of a 2000 JXI Sebring convertible. He accepted my offer and ended the Ebay auction for that particular car.

I paid a $200.00 deposit immediately over the phone using my ATM debit card to secure the deal. I told Chuck I would call him back within an hour to arrange for pickup. Chuck gave me his business phone number and his cell phone number at that time The dealerships phone number is 239-573-1034 and Chuck's cellphone number is 239-671-1645. The car was located in Cape Coral, FL, and I live in Lowell, NC, which is near Charlotte, NC. I wanted to find an airline flight that was convenient for both Chuck and myself so I could pick up the car and complete the transaction at our earliest convenience. I found a flight that would have enabled me to pick up the car within a couple of days which was Saturday, May 13, 2006.

I called back within the hour and no one answered on either phone number provided by Chuck. I left messages for the next four days but my calls were not answered. By the end of that period, I had serious reservations about completing the purchase of this vehicle.

When I was finally able to get in touch with Chuck, he apologized and said he had to leave town because his niece had a medical operation and he wanted to be there. He said he did not get a chance to call me and his cell phone was not working. He reassured me that all was fine and we were able to arrange for the pick up of the car. By then, five days had gone by and according to Ebay regulations, I was required to pay for the car. Chuck gave me a few more days and I paid for the car on May 19, 2006 by wire transfer without ever seeing the car in person.

I arrived to pick up the car on May 23, 2006. Nikki, Chuck's secretary, picked me up from the airport and drove me to the dealership to pick up the car. When I was finally able to look at the car, I noticed that it had been repainted, dents had been repaired, and the car was made to look clean and more lightly used than it actually had been. Under the cosmetic clean up, I could tell that the car had been abused by the previous owner. I bought the car as is so I do not have a complaint as to the condition, mechanical or cosmetic, of the vehicle.

My complaint is that the car was not advertised correctly. The car I bought is a Chrysler Sebring JX, not a Chrysler Sebring JXI. As you can see in the copy of the accompanying Ebay ad, the vehicle was always advertised as a Chrysler Sebring JXI. I found out that the car was only a JX from my insurance company when I insured the vehicle. The insurance company told me the VIN number was not that of a Chrysler Sebring JXI; it was the VIN number of a Chrysler Sebring JX.

When a potential customer is bidding and only has the information provided by the seller of the car to rely on, the information must be totally accurate in order for the Ebay process to work. In this case, it was deliberately deceitful and dishonest on the part of the seller.

After I found out about the misrepresentation, I called Kevin Touhey, the owner of Auto Advisors, Inc., and Kevin stated that he would look at the original ad that he had placed and would get back to me. After numerous phone calls and messages left for Kevin, we finally talked on or about June 1, 2006. I told him that the difference in wholesale price between a Chrysler Sebring JXI and a Chrysler Sebring JX was $500.00, according to Kelly Blue Book.

I requested a refund in the amount of $500.00 and Kevin agreed to refund the money. Kevin said that he was in the process of reorganizing his company, getting a new dealer's license, and changing his physical location. He asked that I wait two weeks before he would send the reimbursement check for $500.00. I waited the two weeks and never received the reimbursement check. I have since called several times and again left messages that are being ignored.

I am writing this letter because after reading some of the feedback from other dissatisfied customers, it is obvious that this newly formed company, Cape Coral Autos, is engaging in the same business practices as the old company, Auto Advisors, Inc. I do not believe this business is acting in a forthright manner. They are deceiving innocent customers and in turn, are creating victims of unsuspecting customers who have good intentions.

I believe investigative regulatory agencies should be brought into this situation and determine what recourse should be brought against this company, as well as determine what actions should be taken to make the victims whole.

Ellen
Charlotte, North Carolina
U.S.A.