Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2018 Nissan Sentra from Bankers Auto in Denton, TX on 11/28/2022. At this time I was told that the only thing wrong with this vehicle was that the back bumper has been repainted. I have a very reliable witness to this conversation and sale. The dealer than told me after signing the paperwork that the State Inspection had not been done on this car so I had to take it to get inspected the next day myself. After getting the insurance on it the next day I was informed by my insurance company that there was a recall on it from 2021 that I was not aware of. Two weeks later I contacted the dealer to tell him that the car was making very weird noises and wasn't running right also that there was a "Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction" warning showing up on the dash every time I applied the gas. Also I noticed when I went to put gas into the vehicle that the gas cover would operate properly like it had been pushed in, told the dealer that at some point this car had been in a wreak, which I was not informed of before purchasing the vehicle. I also told the dealer that I didn't feel safe with my children in the car and that I have not drove more than 10 necessary miles with them in the car. The dealer advised me to let him take it to the mechanic to get it all looked at. I took the vehicle to the dealer at that time took it to the mechanic. I got my car back a day and half later. Told the brake line had a cut in it and it was pinched, everything should be fine now. A few days later it started with the same noises again along with a new message saying there was a "Malfunction". I asked the dealer if we had any other options for dealing with this and he told me he would not give me my down payment back or put me in another vehicle. I have pictures of all the messages given to me on the dash, text from when I messaged him about the issues I was having with the car and when I asked him about the other options.

  Business response

  03/22/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2023/01/03) */ We are disappointed to see this complaint as we have been very responsive and trying multiple times to correct this with the customer. We take pride in being honest with our customers and being their for them when a problem arises with their car, whether the issue is in the first month or 10 years down the road. Our customers are like family to us and we try to care for them as such. Unfortunately, we sell a product that is inherently imperfect and unpredictable, as our vehicles are all pre-owned. We disclose with every customer at the time of sale that we sell everything as-is, but we want to be involved to help our customers get their vehicle to the right place to get work done. We carefully disclose to every customer that cars are unpredictable, so while we get them all looked at and repaired before the sale, we never know when an issue will arise. We were very careful to disclose this with this customer because they were having multiple problems with their previous vehicle and were upset with the previous dealership with how they handled those issues. We told the customer that although this will be a new car to them, it is not new (has almost 100K miles on it) and like every used car is not perfect. To address the specifics of her complaint: (1) As the customer stated. we disclosed that the rear had been painted prior to us owning it. The vehicle history does not show evidence of an accident, but we could tell that the rear bumper had been painted so we shared that info. (2) We did ask that the customer take the vehicle to our mechanic to get a brand new inspection done at our expense. We paid for the inspection. We need a new inspection before we can register the vehicle. (3) In regards to the open recall, we are a small dealership and limited on our ability to transport all of our vehicles for recall work to be done. When the customer notified us that the vehicle had an open recall, we notified them that we don't always get recalls completed because of our limited staff size but when she was available she could make an appointment with Nissan and they would take care of that free of charge. The customer seemed to understand. (4) When the customer notified us of the noise that they heard (which occurred when applying the brakes and/or turned sharply) and the light on the dash, we apologized for the inconvenience, and quickly offered to provide the customer a free loaner and have the vehicle looked at our shop. When the shop checked it out, they saw that the brake line had been pinched, almost as if something had been run over. The shop was surprised to see this because they had already replaced the brake pads, calipers, and bled the brake system during their pre-sale checkout of this vehicle. The shop performed the repair on the brake line and the car tested out fine. The dash light did not display itself while they had the car. As a courtesy to the customer, We paid up front for the repair and told them that they could pay us back at a later date. (5) A few days later, the customer shared a video to us of some new noises that she heard when braking in traffic. The noises in the video did not sound like the noises that she had described the first time to us; but regardless, we offered once again to provide her a loaner and have it sent to the shop for further diagnosis. She said she wanted her down payment back or to trade into a different vehicle. We told her we don't give down payments back and we did not see changing into another vehicle as a solution because all of our vehicles are preowned, unpredictable and will all be in need of repair at some point. We have offered multiple times to help get the current issue fixed at the shop but she does not want the car anymore.

• Initial Complaint

  05/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchase a vehicle from Bankers Autos and was told they have fixed everything on the vehicle. Only have the car for less than 1 week and the check engine light came on. Well what I found out was that it has been reset and that the catalytic converter has gone out. They sent it to their shop and I was told it was fix. As soon as I got the car back the check engine light came back on. They sent it back to the shop and claim to have fit the problem. Well know the car has white smoke coming out of the tail pipe, my oil light is coming on, I was told they replace the oil and learn my car has no oil in it. I have put oil into the car and it just burn out. I have learned that they did not buy this car at the car auction as they told me. This car is a lemon and they are aware of this and sold me the car. I even trade in my car and now I am without a car and paying them over $800 a month for this lemon. They sold me this car knowing the engines is about to go out and I have proof. I want my money back or give me a another car. I am a single mom with 4 kids.

  Business response

  08/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/06/21) */ Summary: This 2015 Chevy Suburban with 130K miles has had a few different issues shortly after we sold it. Although we sell all of our vehicles AS-IS, we have helped the customer along the way. Issue #1: Check engine light came on for a CAT converter code - We fronted the money to repair the issue ($320). No up front cost for the customer (repair will be paid back at the end of the loan). Issue #2: Center console latch broke - We bought a new one and installed it. No charge to the customer. Issue #3: Yoke started leaking - We had the shop we use to try to repair it under warranty for a yoke replacement that they had done prior to the sale. They were unable to repair it, so we sent it to the transmission shop we use and they repaired the issue at our expense. We allowed the customer to use a loaner car during this repair. No charge to the customer for repair, but they have to reimburse us at the end of the loan for the transport cost ($40) to get the vehicle to the transmission shop. Issue #4: Engine started to burn oil and blow white smoke out of the motor - We paid the up front cost for the tow ($65) to our local partnering shop. Our local shop replaced a spark plug but the issue persisted. After further diagnosis, they deemed it as an internal motor issue (we paid the up front cost of $51.54). To replace the motor with a 12 month warranty is just over $3600 with our partnering shop in Grand Prairie. We agreed to pay for 2/3's of the repair up front (around $2400), the customer is responsible for 1/3 of the up front cost ($1200) and will be responsible for paying us back for another $1200 at the end of their loan (in addition to paying us back for the tow, spark plug and diagnosis at our local shop). Additional Details: We understand the customer being upset and sympathize with her having these issues occur within the first few months of her purchase. We have apologized multiple times, but more importantly, we have paid, or fronted money, for each of these issues to help the customer get the car back on the road as fast as possible. We sell all of our vehicles AS-IS so we do not have any legal obligation to pay for any repairs after the sale. However, we pride ourselves in treating customers as we would like to be treated. That is why before we list any vehicle for sale, the vehicles go through our reconditioning process, beginning with the our partnering shop. We make almost all necessary repairs. We do not erase or reset any dash lights such as the check engine light. We do not hide any known vehicle issues. If there is an issue that our mechanic has found that we elected not to repair, we notify the customer prior to the sale. After the sale, when a repair is needed (whether it is shortly after or years down the road), we help our customers to use the shops we use at our discounted rate and we also often front the money for repairs. Prior to listing this Suburban for sale, we paid our mechanic for a yoke replacement, rear brake job, oil change and inspection. We also did cosmetic repairs with our other venders. After the customer purchased the Suburban, the issues listed above occurred. This Suburban is not a lemon and has no history of being reported as a lemon on the title or the Autocheck history. It is a vehicle with 130K miles that is having a series of issues occurring within a short time frame. While we completely understand her frustration, we also know that used cars are unpredictable and repairs can be needed at any time. We have remained professional and understanding through this process, offering help at every step. The customer, on the other hand, has yelled at us multiple times, peeled out of our parking lot, and accused us of lying/hiding previously known issues multiple times. The vast majority of our vehicles do not present any issues for our customers within the early part of the loans. Most of our customers are repeat or referral customers because they know we sell quality vehicles and we work hard to make sure our vehicles are dependable prior to selling them. That is the reason this customer's mother (a repeat customer of ours) referred her to us. We hope all of our customers need as few repairs as possible, but part of buying a used vehicle is knowing the risk of potential repairs. As dealers with integrity, our mission is to be there for our customers when repairs are needed.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩