Business ProfileforValley Auto Center

BEWARE - very unethical dealership

Over the phone, the dealership's sales lead ******* and I negotiated a price of $8,500 for a ********** Mirage. ******* said he'd put the deal together and call me right back. A full day passed, and I never heard from him. (Red flag #1.) I called back in and spoke to ********, the *** who reneged on the $8,500 price (red flag #2), but said I could still buy the vehicle for $9,200. I agreed and drove 90 minutes to the dealership.

When I got there, the car was missing several of its advertised features, including run flat tires, Bluetooth capability, and keyless entry. Were I to purchase all these features from a third party after the fact, it would cost up to $3,700.

For the keyless entry, ******** said he could bring in a specialist to add in the feature for $300. When I asked if he'd take that $300 off the price of the car, he refused, saying I "already had a good deal." I reminded him that I was already set to pay $700 more than the price originally quoted to me, and that this was before learning the car was missing numerous features listed in his online listing.

******** said he wasn't responsible for the listing's content because I saw it on CARFAX, and not on the official Valley Auto Center site, which had the "correct information." I pulled up the listing on his web site, which, not surprisingly, falsely stated the car is equipped with run flat tires, Bluetooth capability, and keyless entry

******** then said, "I've been in the car business for eight years, and this is the first time a ******** has ever had a problem with the fact a vehicle was missing some of the features we listed online." When I challenged him on making such a ludicrous claim, he doubled down and said, "It's true, I swear on my children's lives."

When I asked him to confirm that some of the car's other advertised features were accurate, he said, "Look, this is a good car and you're getting a good deal. If you don't want it, don't buy it."

The listing content on both our website and Carfax has a disclaimer that explains that the accessories on the vehicle may have been changed from the original manufacturer's list, and it is up to the consumer to verify what the vehicle actually has upon their prepurchase inspection.

Negotiating a vehicle purchase over the phone can lead to misinterpretation of what was actually said. The price quoted, $8,500, did not include tax and license.

I am sorry for any confusion. I can confirm that this issue has never come up in the past The only way to insure a vehicle has all the original equipment is to purchase the vehicle new.

In their comment above, the business wrote, "The only way to insure a vehicle has all the original equipment is to purchase the vehicle new." This is an egregious comment for two reasons. 1) The dealership can easily spend five minutes inspecting each used car they purchase to ensure they are not printing misleading information on their website. 2) While at the dealer, I asked the GM, Nicholas, if he could check the vehicle to confirm all the remaining features listed on their website were actually included in the car. He refused (this was another red flag).

The business also wrote above, "Negotiating a vehicle purchase over the phone can lead to misinterpretation of what was actually said. The price quoted, $8,500, did not include tax and license." This is untrue. The $8,500 amount negotiated specifically included tax and license.

Additional, the vehicle disclaimer listing they are referencing was noticeably added to their website after my complaint. It did not appear on the original screen shots I took of their sales page for the Mitsubishi Mirage.