The Burt Collection Paul J. Burt Auto Hidden Damage Scam Lake Forest, Illinois

I purchased a 2011 Toyota Camry from TheBurt Collection. The salesman, Brian Ross, told me that there was no issues with the car. He told me that it did get into a small parking lot accident, but that the dealer replaced the entire bumper and that there was no other damage to the car. I noticed that the car was dripping oil, so I told him about it. Their group took a look at it, but they said that it was just a messy oil job and that even if there were any issues with the car, I could bring it back and they would take care of it. Also, one of the keys was not programmed to work with the car. He told me to take it to the dealer and they would take care of it under warranty. Otherwise, he agreed to take care of the price if the dealer charged me. He also agreed to throw in a free GPS.

The car seemed nice and the salesman did a good job at looking honest, so I went ahead and purchased the car for $15300 + tax ($1071). I get home, and I notice that the car is still leaking so it was definitely not a messy oil job. I took it to the dealer since it was still supposedly covered by warranty. Guess what? The leak turned out to point to hidden damage and that someone had tried to hide the leak by covering the part that was leaking with epoxy. It is an expensive repair that the dealer can only fix. Now, I was trying to get in contact with him and even the owner, but no luck. The owner, Paul J.Burt, is supposed to be a respected member of the Lake Forest Community. However, it seems that the whole sale of the car was a scam; It took for ever to get in contact with him or the salesman (Brian). Finally, he responded to one of my emails through his website and said (negating everything he told me before) that he would charge me for the repair. He said it was Toyota's problem and that he sold me the car As-Is, so he wasn't going to do any repairs without charging me the full price. Also, he never sent me the GPS, and I don't suspect he will.

Now, I am stuck with a piece of junk that the dealer wants over $4000 to repair. I am writing this review to let everyone know to beware of this business. I paid a lot of money and I am very disappointed for what I got. If you value your cash and time, do not deal with them. In the mean time, I will file as many complaints as I can and see if there is any way to get my money back.