CARMAX- LITHIA SPRINGS GA RIP OFF Lithia Springs Georgia

ALWAYS get your financing BEFORE you go car shopping. Your CREDIT UNION will tell you what your limits are. They can also tell you invoice prices on new cars so you know what the dealer paid and avoid paying unneccesary MSRP prices, and they can tell you what the accurate price of the used varieties that interest you will be more accurately in your area than a Blue Book. The Blue Book might not be accurate for all parts of the country. They can also warn you away from lots they have consecutively seen as problem sellers.

Do not rely on the DEALER to give you an accurate assessment of the vehicle condition, provide fair financing, or a decent value for your car. It's like asking the fox to watch your chickens. Here, help me save all the cash I can. promise me this car is a good one and tell me you'll give me a good deal. NOT going to happen reliably!

What you see is what you get. YOU need to learn to see BETTER the flaws of the vehicle. Dealer isn't going to tell you! YOU need to let YOUR mechanic (you know that 1 fellow you've been using for ALL your vehicle repair needs for the past 30 years? No, not that franchise PLACE where the employees are all new every 6 months, but the independent guy!!!) inspect the vehicle end to end - the 100 point inspections are a gimmick to make the uninformed consumer feel better about their purchase.

100 point inspection Mechanic: yep there is an engine in there, yep it's got oil in it, yep there's belts on it, yep there is a transmission in there, yep the a/c is cold.

YOUR mechanic: the engine sounds loose (worn), prob driven hard, noticed the residue of various stickers on car. Might have been raced or driven by a hot rodder. Auto tranny 2nd gear to 3rd gear shift is soft when the tranny is hot so the clutches are worn (or the hydraulic pump, we can test that if you want) and supports the theory that the car was driven hard despite it's low mileage of 50K miles (worn engine, worn tranny). A/C needs at least 2 ounces of Freon won't cool idling in traffic on a hot day, might be a leak at the compressor clutch. The front of the compressor is greasy which also indicates a leak there. The oil has recently been changed but a peek into the valve cover with my borescope shows alot of crud buildup so I don't think the engine was serviced often enough. I also looked into the cylinders with the scope through the sprak plug hole and I saw that #4 cylinder has some cylinder wall damage. Prob a combination of dirty oil, low oil level and being driven hard. The belts are cracked and worn so I suggest, if it was my $14K to leave this car on the lot. It is fine now but evidence says in less than 30K miles you are facing a new engine and tranny and compressor. About $6K in repairs conservatively.

Now couple that with the average consumer's reliance on tow services, lack of understanding about how a car works which means they will drive it until a noise is too loud to bear or until it won't drive anymore, owning this car would get expensive quickly. If you knew a little about cars you would know that that rattling noise is not dangerous but that within the next 5K miles you better have the $20 sway bar bushings replace. However the other rattling noise indicates the engine is about 30 minutes from blowing up entirely because there is a crankseal leak and all of your oil is gushing out of the engine and you haven't noticed. Now maybe if you stop now and add oil you can make it to your mechanic, or maybe you still need to have it towed. However if you keep driving it the WHOLE engine is going to be ruined. Think people don't do that? Knew a person who had the oil light on so she drove it across town to the mechanic. The oil light indicates no oil pressure (not low oil level). Drive ruined an otherwise repairable engine (cam seals had begun to leak). The oil light indicates you shoul dhave shut the engine off immediately or 2 minutes before the oil light came on in the first place... I've heard it called a last chance warning light. In actuality it is a too late light!

So the inspection might cost you $100 but it saved you $6K in repairs... Is the 100 point inspection going to indicate these facts? NO.

Don't shop on convenience! Shop smart! Pick a model and brand and research it on the web and see what kind of problems they have. I certainly couldn't gather 500 opinions and 1500 facts about a car I was interested in 20 years ago! Use the internet! It's the greast threat to the bad dealer's bag of tricks - they hate an educated consumer!!!

Understand that like this site, you hear more from folks with a compliant than praise BUT at least you know the issues a particular car has. Poor door handles or a stink that you can't ID but that some enthusiast can ID as a $10 oil pan gasket.

Chris

KevinI first need to say that a car buyer should never trust a car salesman nor a F&I person. They are out there to only incrase the size of their pay check. What might have happened to you is that they got a lender to pic up a car loan on the first car. Then they tryed to get a lender to pick up the second loan and they had trouble.

If you signed on 3/5/05 and they called you on 3/31/05 to say that they could not find a lender for the second car deal you my fellow American might want to see if they fired a "SHOT GUN" to your credit report. I am willing to bet that your credit score has gone down a bit because of what the F&I Clown has done to you.

If they are saying that they can't find a lender they might be using this as a ploy to get you in fear that you can't keep the SLED and have you come back to the SLED SHOW and sign a new contract at a much higher interest rate. This process is called a YANK or a SPOT DEVIVERY.

Many times after a car dealer has a buyer sign all documents they will let you have enough time to show the SLED to as many of your frinds and family, then the car dealer will call you up and say "HEY we are having trouble finding a bank to do this deal"

They want to put a bit of fear in you so you might be willing to bend over and let them go a bit deeper on the interest rate. Could be a fast way for them to increase their profit on you.

Now I feel it is time for me to post some informative reading for you. I hope and trust you will read it.

I want the public to know more about the auto industry so I became a Rip Off Report consumer advocate a few years ago. I also want to the public to be informed before they are taken advantage of. Go to this Rip Off Report mentioned below and read what this lady posted. You might find it very informative. Go look at it and make sure you take a good look at all of the photos on this Rip Off Report.

www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff52158.htm
Take a good look at the second picture posted on her Rip Off Report. After reading it, you car buyers out there might want to contact your auto lender and ask for a copy of the credit app that they received from your car dealer. You might get a big surprise after you read it. Maybe there is some "untruthful information" hand written in on it.

look at the pic that shows the four car buying contracts this car buyer had to sign. Think about it for a second, Why should a car buyer have to sign four car buying contracts? Many car dealers are playing with the car Buyer's info on the credit app before they send it to auto lenders.

Like to know what I am talking about regarding Fraudulent credit applications? Like to see what can happened to a car buyer behind their back. Like to see what a car buyer has gone through? Go to the following Rip Off Report.

www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff52158.htm

You need to look at this one real HARD!

Dealer's Separate Spot Delivery Agreement Violates Law
www.carlaw.net/articles/spot.shtml


Next I want you to read all and I mean all of the below. It is about the word "Arbitration" and how car dealers use it to their advantage.

Let's say that you bought a car from your so called friendly car dealer and soon after your purchase you find you been Ripped OFF!

So you think you can take a car dealer to court and get your case infront of a honest jury, RIGHT! Think again and real hard then read the below what I found on the net. Print this off and save it if you do not fully understand it have some one you trust read it then explain it to you.

"June 7, 2000Chairman Gekas and Members of the Subcommittee, Public Citizen is submitting this testimony because we believe that the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses presents a grave problem for consumer rights and public safety.

The use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses is growing at an alarming rate and congressional action is urgently needed. If the trend continues, soon we will have a private justice system adjudicating disputes that is largely controlled by corporations.


Automobile Consumer Credit Fraud

On January 31, 1999, Ann Brown of Sandusky, Ohio borrowed $5,500 at 25% interest from a J.D. Byrider Franchise car lot to finance her purchase of a car from Byrider's used car lot.

The car turned out to be a "junker" and a safety hazard. The entire wheel and axle fell off when Ms. Brown's teenage daughter was driving down the road.

In her lawsuit in Ohio court, Ms. Brown alleged that she was forced to pay an artificially inflated price in violation of the Truth in Lending Act.

Ms. Brown also alleged that Byrider violated the Truth in Lending Act by requiring her to accept an $895 warranty fee that was also to be financed by J.D. Byrider at 25% interest. In addition, Ms. Brown alleged violations of the Ohio Sales Practices Act and fraud.

But Ms. Brown was denied her day in court by the district court in Ohio, which ruled that the arbitration agreement contained in Ms. Brown's contract had to be enforced because of the FAA's policy favoring arbitration.

Under that arbitration clause, Ms. Brown LOST ALL her claims under state and federal lending and consumer protection laws although Byrider retained the right to sue her.

She also waived her right to punitive damages, no matter how reckless or malicious Byrider's conduct. Instead, she must proceed under Byrider's choice of arbitration, for which she must pay half the costs and attorney fees.

The costs of arbitration, which begin with $300 - $500 filing fees and approximately $1,500 per day arbitrator's fee, exceed the value of her claim. It is simply not worth it to take the case to arbitration.

In sum, Byrider is using this arbitration clause to insulate itself from the consequences of violating the Truth in Lending Act, Ohio Sales Practices Act and flat-out fraud.

Ms. Brown did not understand that she was waiving her right to go to court when she signed an arbitration agreement with Byrider.

This is hardly surprising because the Byrider financing officer himself had no idea what arbitration is or what the rules of arbitration are, so he was unable to tell Ms. Brown what rights she was waiving.

Nor was she given an option -- the credit contract was presented in a standard form, take-it-or-leave-it format and she was not allowed to challenge any of its provisions.

The mandatory arbitration provision only applied to Ms. Brown. Had she defaulted on her loan, Byrider would have been able to file a lawsuit against her.

When Ms. Brown first filed her lawsuit, Byrider stopped using the mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. But once the courts refused to vindicate Ms. Brown's rights in court in favor of arbitration, Byrider began using the clauses again.

Ms. Brown's attorneys have received inquiries from over 40 consumers similarly defrauded by Byrider. Unfortunately, no matter how many of J.D. Byrider's former customers are defrauded, they cannot file as a class action because the mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts waive their right to maintain class actions.

Don't EVER think that car dealers hire lawyers to write up car buying contracts that help protect consumers from auto dealer deception.

If your so called friendly car dealer wants you to sign a contract that has a built-in mandatory arbitration clause in their contract, tell them to SHOVE IT!

I hope that I have helped you in some way. have any questions, Post them!

And yes I hate car dealers! ..because they don't know how to make their money honestly..

I have had "my" car since 3/5/05...today is 3/31/05. They called and said there's a mistake w/ the lender. You see I bought 2 cars within 2 days. When they sold me the 2nd one they said they got me financed w/the same company.

They sell 300k cars per yr, so ...ok whatever they say I suppose. Anyway, I get the vech. registration and metal tags, and Texas Dept transportation verification of Title transfer and 1st lien holder which is the finance company. Anyway, I just got a call saying the finance Co. is refusing to take the 1st vehicle. Thus if they can't find another lender, I can either find one on my own, pay them in full, or bring back the car. What the??

The contract reads (if I read it right) that they can do this based on lack of "funding" prior to the Transfer of title being "recorded". Well, it has been...I have it. Who can tell me what they are trying to pull.

ps... the contract says they have there own lender...carmax finance co. or something.

pss... they sent me a pymt booklet on the 2nd car's warranty that is billed separately, so I know they can finance it if they chose to. I don't see where they can get out of this contract. ??? Who can help....quickly!!!