Auto Expo Unscrupulous, dishonest car salesmen. Car sold with dysfunctional horn, refused to fix it even though State inspection requires it to work Manassas Virginia

I will admit that Sar was a little nice when I first went in to Auto Expo on Saturday December 20, 2008, but got a little snippy when we got into the skinny of things. I should have known something was wrong when the first/main car that I was interested in had the back-seat safety belts CUT out of them. This idiot (Sar) tried to tell me that the previous owner cut them out because she had to fit two car seats in the back...it was a 2003 Dodge neon...I'm a woman and if I were a mother I would NOT cut the safety belts out of a vehicle that my babies had to ride in.

Since I could not get that vehicle, I settled on a physically attractive 2000 Ford Focus that had pretty low mileage for it's age. I didn't have insurance so I couldn't drive the vehicle off the lot, which was a real drag. Sar convinced me to leave him with my check (my cousin who was with me at the time assured me that it would be ok), I reluctantly gave it to him.

When I went back in on 12-21-2008 the power locks weren't working, which was weird because three of us test drove the car and I dont remember manually unlocking the doors for the other people. My auto trunk release didn't work either, my cousin looked inside and someone had unhooked the wires inside it..he plugged them back in and it still didnt work.

I told this to Sar, he told me to bring it back in and they'd take care of it. The horn was really weak and now it's completely gone. I reported this to Sar in person on 12-22-08 along with the locks and he told me to bring it back another day when shop guys were there(I was going out of town for the holiday so it would have to wait a week).

I called in again and told a young man by the name of Randy the problem, he told me to bring it back in Last weekend but I didnt make it, why????? There was transmission fluid leaking that REQUIRED my attention. Well, I took it in to get it looked at and guess what I find? The radiator had been SMASHED...so much so that it needs to be replaced and it will cost me at least $400.

Someone had an accident in the car and they sold it the way that it was (oh yeah, i looked at the carfax and it was clean). The accident didnt really cause any visible damage to the fender of the car, but when the mechanic moved it around a little it looked like it could fall off. One of my fog lights had been pulled out of socket and Lo-and-behold the horn had been disconnected! (hmmmm, i guess that explains why the inspection certification had install next to the horn box, but it makes me wonder why the checked "ok" next to it as well. I guess they have friends in the inspection industry).

I decided that I wasn't going to even argue with them over that since they were acting funny about replacing a stupid horn and power lock. I called on 2-12-2009 about my horn since it's completely silent and Sar acted as if he didnt recall me telling him about the horn. I told him I reported it to him the day after I drove the car off the lot (purchased 12-20-08, driven off the lot 12-21-08) and that he needed to do something. I told him that I would call the inspection station that inspected the car and asked them why they passed the car..he asked for my number and said he'd call me back.

He proceeded to tell me that he was one of the nice guys there and that he'd just gotten back but he didnt like being thrown under a bus. I politely reminded him that he WASNT thrown under the bus since he'd known about it right after I purchased it. He said I should have come right away to get it fixed...ummmm, how about the day I brought it in to you and told you that the horn doesn't work.

I finally took my car in on 2/14/09 to have the horn fixed..I had to pay out of pocket. I was told that whoever filled the antifreeze recklessly poured it into the horn. How stupid can one be?

I don't trust them, I wouldn't buy a car from them, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone and if you're a lady who doesn't know anything about cars...just because you THINK you're getting a deal from them doesn't make it so. If it seems too good to be true then it probably is. Look around before settling on them, Do NOT trust them because they seem nice. They want your money.

P.J. H
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
U.S.A.