Gateway Classic Cars Selling Commission Scam BUYER & SELLER BEWARE Alpharetta Georgia

PEOPLE, PAY ATTENTION. Gateway Classic Cars has very questionable business practices. I wanted to list my 1970 SS El Camino with this company in the fall of 2020. I called and asked all the question about the process. They tell you what you want to hear, and then they send you a contract. Like most people, I really wanted to sale my car, and was willing to pay a fair commission to have someone else do it.

In short, paragraph 1 of the contract is all about getting you ready for the game, it is called "NET AMOUNT". This is where you agree to the, and let me quote "Initial net amount for the sale of the vehicle". "This amount is also referred to as Net To Owner". There is some other wording in this paragraph, but here is and I quote the wording you need to understand: "Any amount earned over final written Net To Owner amount will be retained by Consignee as commission."

Now, we can move on to paragraph 2 of the Gateway Classic Car contract. Minimum Consignment Commission. I am going to quote the part you need to read and understand. "The minimum consignment commission retained by the consignee will be $2,500 or 12.5% of the sale price, whichever is greater". "The consignee reserves the right to charge a buyer's Fee up to 12.5% of the sale price, although this does not create any agency relationship between the Consignee and the buyer, and the Consignee is not acting as a broker for the buyer.".

Just to make a few things clear. The buyers premium is included in the asking price of any vehicle price you see posted for a vehicle sold by Gateway Classic Cars.

Now, stop and read the above comments over and over until you are blue in the face and think you have understood paragraph one and two of the Gateway Classic Car contract.

Now I will explain how this worked for me. I arrived for my appointment to deliver my car to the Atlanta show room. My appointment was with Dennis Vanterpool. Dennis went over the contract with me. He pulled Chris Hicks into the process when we were trying to agree to the Net to Owner price. We agreed that if we went with $35,000 as the Net to Owner, the car would be listed for just under $40,000. We knew there would be some potential negotiating before it was over, but we all agreed this price would bring potential buyers.

Two weeks later, I called Dennis to find out why my car was never listed on the company website, or any of the sites they say it will be listed. Dennis was unaware the car was not listed, and said he would call me back. One week passes, and no return call from Dennis, so I call the show room and spoke to Chris Hicks. He told me he was just about ready to call me, yea right..... You see at that point my car was pulled outside for photos, but they could not get it started again. I drove three hours back to Atlanta the next day to find they had run the battery dead trying to start the 454 Blower motor.

After showing Chris how to start a motor like this, we were back on track to get the car listed. A few days later, my car was listed, and much to my shock, it was listed at $46,000. Now do the math, that makes it 32% over the Net To Owner. Now they have me because the Gateway Classic Car contract states they have the right to list the car at any price. I called Dennis, and asked him about the listing price. He told me corporate set the listing price. He then told me that it was only after he did the paperwork on my car that he learned that every car was listed at 32+% of the Net to Owner because they have expenses of running a business.

I told him my contact stated 12.5% commission, but he pointed to the contract that states they can list for any price above the Net to Owner price. Dennis wrote a letter to Gateway Classic Cars owner and copied me on email. Dennis told the owner that what they were doing was confusing and wrong. Dennis was no longer employed after that. After many unanswered phone calls, I found myself talking to Chis Rockwell at Gateway Classic Cars Corporate. His solution to the problem was for me to lower my Net To Owner, so they could lower the asking price. I refused, so he agreed to lower the asking price to $44,000, this would allow them to make just 26% on this sale. Mat car sit on the show room floor in Atlanta until I picked it up at the end of the contract.

I am trying to tell you readers two things. First, if you are going to list a car with Gateway Classic Cars, the commission is not the 12.5% they talk about before you drop off your car. The only way to lower the advertised price, is to reduce your Net to Owner, but the 32% Gateway commission will not be changed. Go back to the quote about paragraph 1 where they talk about "Initial amount" for the Net To Owner. They know the Net To Owner amount is going to change, they count on it.

The second point is for all you buyers. Keep in mind that EVERY advertised price you see from Gateway Classic Cars has a chump bump that could choke a horse!