ComplaintsforAuto Mall of Ocala

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On march 14 2024 I went to the ocala automall to purchase a vehicle. I spent over 5000 dollars on a vehicle that I was told was in great condition. I was.not told the vehicle had been in.an accident and had frame.damage. I was not told that there were problems with the transmission. I was not.told the it was rebuilt. I left the lot and went to tire.kingdom and they told me the vehicle was not safe to drive and I needed to bring it back.immediately. I called the automall to tell then I was bringing it back and by the time I got there everyone was gone. I left the vehicle there and came back the next day and I was.told I could not have my.money back or even trade the vehicle for one that was not damaged . I was told it only needed one part and I should order it from Amazon and have it put in. They were very rude and unprofessional. I took the vehicle.to my father's mechanic who said the vehicle should not have been sold without telling me about the rebuild or the accident with frame.damage. my father owns daytona beach taxi and called for the owner and the person that sold me the car told him the owner would not even return a customers calls at all.

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Date of payment 3/15/2022, initial deposit paid was $6,000. Then another payment was made 6/2/2022 of $1,000. Dealership never contact me to let me know they were selling the vehicle I put my deposit on nor did they contact me to let me know I would be losing my deposit. I reached out to the dealership several times regarding my deposit and they have been giving me the run around. They will not give me the owners contact information to speak to them regarding my refund for my deposit. All I want is my money back with no conflict. They sold the bus so what's the problem with giving me my money back??

• Initial Complaint

  10/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Candice F****** and Mark O**** are both employees at Auto Mall of Ocala. They sold me a 2008 Freight Liner 26-foot, Box truck for my business. On August 16, 2022, West Lake Financials approved me for financing of the truck. I gave Auto Mall a 6,000.00 deposit. During the entire time of selling the truck, Candy was texting my wife saying that Mark was trying to compete with her. You can view all the corresponding text below. She even told my wife not to deal with Mark because he does not know anything about sales. On August 19, 2022, my wife and I picked up the truck from Auto Mall. My wife reported to Candy on August 23, 2022, the body of the truck had to be set correctly on each side before the truck could be driven. The total cost of this bill was 1,032.55 and I paid it in full. My wife did call Candy to let her know that we needed to use the money that we paid for a jack pallet, in order to finish the repairs, which was a check that my wife wrote to Candy and asked her if it would be okay to use the money from the bank. Candy said it would be okay and that my wife could pay it when she could and that she would deal with her boss. The correspondence from that conversation between my wife and Candy is in the below text. On August 30th is when Candy text my wife saying that the boss had seen the check. And she remembered the conversation with my wife explaining to her our situations regarding needing the money to get the truck out of the shop so that I can began using the truck for work. The jack pallet has been returned with the truck which Candy says that Mark Olson, loss his commission from it and her boss took the money from her paycheck. The jack pallet is in Auto Mall possession with the truck. On August 30, 2022, I picked the truck up from the shop to start my first job. The engine over heated in the truck and we paid the fees of 400.00 to get the truck fixed. At this point I've spent all our savings with the 6000.00 down and approximately 1,400.00 in r

  Business response

  12/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/03) */ It comes as no surprise that this customer made a complaint to the BBB. The short answer is that this customer purchased a 2008 Freightliner M106 Box Truck under a clearly stated As-Is contract. He did not make his first car payment, which resulted in a loan default and subsequent repossession of the truck. Auto Mall will not refund the down payment to the customer. We refund DEPOSITS 100% of the time if a deal falls through, but this was not a deposit because it was used on the purchase of this truck. We believe that the customer's wife is making these complaints as his first language is not English and has clearly identifiable speech patterns. The speech patterns in this complaint are not the same as the patterns in other correspondence we have received from the customer. I am not sure if the customer knows she is doing it, but either she or both of them are misusing the Better Business Bureau and multiple other agencies in an attempt to bully us into giving money that we do not owe. We all know someone who has had a car repossessed, and we all know that they never, in any circumstance, receive a refund of their money because they chose not to make their car payments on time. As far as the credit score issue, that is between the customer and********* Financial Services. Auto Mall did not report to the credit bureau regarding this situation. Auto Mall staff worked exclusively on this customer's deal for days on end in an attempt to secure a lender for him. We only found ONE lender that would take the risk due to his severely damaged credit. The contract included a one-payment recourse, which means if the first payment was not made the loan is cancelled and the customer owes the dealership the remaining balance. The truck was purchased 8/10/2022, and he missed the 9/9/22 payment. ********* gave an extension, which is unheard of in these types of situations. The customer should have been grateful for this and made his payment when he said he would. Instead, he didn't make the payment until well after the repossession process was in motion. Auto Mall pleaded with********* to reinstate the customer's contract, and********* agents reported that there was absolutely no scenario in which they would go any further with the customer. The customer signed several documents regarding their first payment and that they would lose their vehicle if they didn't make it. On 9/30/2022, Auto Mall was forced to return the purchase funds to WFS via a Demand for Repurchase. The customer was given the last of many demands for return of the truck, allowing 1 day to return the truck or pay off the loan in full which was discussed and signed for in their contract. He refused to return the truck or pay off the contract. On 10/01/2022, exactly 1 day and 1 hour after the final demand to the customer was made, the unit was recovered. The customer was given an opportunity to sign a Voluntary Recovery Agreement which would have relieved him of any debt or negative credit consequences as part of this repossession. He did not do so, and so the law says he has 10 days to pay for the unit to get it back or Auto Mall can sell it at our leisure. Those 10 days were up on 10/29/2022. ********* Collections states that they accepted a payment from the customer because the customer still owed********* and/or Auto Mall $20,000+ on that day. They have not, as of the date of this response, refunded any money to Auto Mall. They also gave Auto Mall the information that the customer's wife called on the original payment date to state that the customer was unable to make his payment because his driver license was suspended due to his immigration status and his failure to file his driver license and other paperwork on time. The customer's wife never stated or even implied to the lender that there was anything wrong with the truck. The truck was found at a repair shop. The mechanic there stated they fixed absolutely ZERO mechanical issues with the truck. The only repair they made was one to the box of the truck. That was because it loosened when the customer went over a rough set of railroad tracks far too fast and damaged the welds. The customer told the salesman at Auto Mall the same story about the railroad tracks. At the time we picked the unit up, the truck had no money owed for repairs and was only there in an attempt to hide it from our recovery agent. Since we had legal paperwork for repossession, the repair shop was more than happy to allow us to recover the unit. Additionally, the customer put almost 7000 miles on the truck, which would not have been possible if it was not running. However, even if there was something mechanically wrong with the truck, that would not have been an issue related to the purchase because the customer bought the unit AS IS. There was absolutely no warranty, either implied or in writing. This customer has filed a complaint with any agency he possibly could in an attempt to bully Auto Mall into returning money that is not owed to him. What that has done is cause Auto Mall extensive amounts of time, manpower and money. They have also manufactured fake texts and made-up stories in an attempt to drive a wedge between the Auto Mall Staff. It is fortunate for us that we are a tight-knit set of people and the customer's ill-fated attempt at causing us harm will not win. We hope that future customers as well as the staff at the BBB can see through this situation. As I mentioned earlier, this is a case in which the customer did not make his car payment and therefore had it repossessed. For that reason, a customer who originally gave us a 5-star review is now trying to damage our name with his or her lies. Thank you for listening. Documentation including signed agreements to make the first payment on time, to return the truck within a day if he doesn't do so, As-Is agreement, No warranty Buyer's Guide, demand for return of funds from the lender, along with many other supporting documents are attached below. The customer also owes Auto Mall $500 plus fees for a check written as part of a separate purchase. The check was returned NSF from the bank they wrote it on, which is a misdemeanor in the State of Florida punishable by up to 1 year in jail and multiple fines. As of the date of this response, Auto Mall has not pressed charges for the check, but we intend to do so if payment is not received soon. Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our response. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/11/04) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) To address the response from Auto mall we will have to take this complaint to a higher court to get resolved. Since this is public, I will address each part of the complaint so that customers will decide on weather are not we as a customer would lie to dis credit this organization. 1. Correct we did not make our first payment on time, to west Lake Financial. The payment was due on August 9th, and we paid on August 26th the total payment and the late fee.********* accepted the payment and scheduled a new payment plan. 2. When speaking with the receptionist at Auto mall and the sales representative, they were on the phone saying that we had one day to return the vehicle and that they were going to call the authorities and cancel the tags because we were in default. Since the financial company did not explain this to us, we did not know what to do. 3. At that point the Auto mall receptionist told me that they could not speak to my wife anymore and they told me that they are not trying to take the truck from me they just need the truck to get another loan, or they would hold the note themselves are give us back our money. So, I gave them the address to go and pick up the truck the same day. 4. To prove this correspondence, I will have the text downloaded or printed to show proof that the text is not fake. 5. My wife was guiding me however Candy (Auto mall Receptionist) did not want my wife to speak any more so I could only speak with her and the sales rep Mark. I trusted them when they said they were trying to help me. This was not a volunteer repossession, they explained to me this clearly and again therefore I gave them the address to the auto shop. 6. The receptionist knows that my wife translates the English for me and yes, I did openly tell them about my license and my immigration status, which I'm not sure why this is a part of their reasoning however my license is in full status, and I will show this proof to the authorities. 7. My wife told me if I return the vehicle the "Buy Here Pay Here" Lot will not give it back. This is when the receptionist Candy, band my wife from the phone calls. I had no other choice but to listen to the sales rep Mark, because she put her boss on the phone and he assured me that he was trying to help me and that they were not going to keep the truck. 8. My credit is not severely damaged since I pay all my bills on time however I have not been in America long enough to have built a strong credit history. I'm not sure why the receptionist is not being honest regarding my credit report, however because of the multiple inquires, my credit score did drop. 9. I understand the loan was cancelled with*********, they finally told me this several days after I made the truck payment.********* said they have refunded the Auto Mall the first payment as of August 26. I will attach this letter and send this to them in the hopes that the truck payment is found. Either********* still have it, or Auto Mall have it and refuse to relinquish that information. 10. Once I gave Auto Mall the address for the truck, they would not answer the phone. I drove from Washing DC to Florida in my personal car to speak with the receptionist and she then handed me a contract saying that I needed to sign since I surrendered the vehicle. I never surrender the truck for them to keep. I surrender because they were working on another loan, or they were going to carry the note themselves and lastly, they said they would refund the 6000.00 back. The story was changed once I arrive to Auto mall in person. I will show the proof of the multiple phone calls from Verizon. 11. I never refused to return the truck, I complied and cooperated with the boss that spoke with me and the receptionist over the phone. I did as he asked, and he went and picked up the truck the next day. I did not come to America for trouble, why would I hide the truck after the sales guy text me and told me that they were going to call the authorities. 12. The receptionist did not explain to me the process of signing the ten days, she spent the entire session speaking about she didn't understand why my wife did not explain things to me better, I tried to tell her I followed their instructions once she said my wife could not speak on my behalf anymore. And again, my wife would explain these things to me however the receptionist said she was condescending over the phone once my wife told me while we were all on the phone "Why do they need the truck if they were looking for me another loan and or going to hold the note themselves. 13. My wife never called on the original payment date, I called myself and explained to the representatives the work that I had to do on the truck caused me to run late on my payment. My wife and I worked hard to give Auto Mall six thousand dollars down on this truck and they assured us that we should not have any problems with the truck, and I believed them because they said that it had just passed all test. Vehicles have maintenance issues, and I had no problem with getting it fixed, I fixed it and then asked for a few weeks grace to make the payment. Again, the payment was paid in full. It was due August 9th, I paid August 26th. I was a late, however I kept in touch with Auto mall and*********, I did not know this was going to happen. I brought that truck strictly for work and Candy and Mark knows why I fixed it with no problem and continue to make the payments is because I had all intentions of keeping the truck. This truck was my family way of living and not one day did I have the truck to drive for work. 14. It's unfortunate that they are saying that I put 7000 miles on the truck and as much as we spoke personally because they always said they were trying to help me, they know for a fact that I never had the opportunity to put that many miles on the truck. The truck stayed in the shop the entire time that I had it due to me trying to gather the funds to fix the truck. We had two separate mechanics, and I will show the courts those receipts as well. 15. I've never went over any railroad tracks and out of all the dishonest statements that have been made on this reply, when was the receptionist in the truck with me or the salesperson with me to say that I went over a railroad track to fast and damaged the welds? 16. The other disturbing statement is the fact that the receptionist said there were no money owed on the truck for the maintenance and that's because I went back to Washington DC to make money to pay for the truck to get fixed. I had not made it back to Florida to pick up the truck to drive. I never hide the truck, I complied with the receptionist boss, and I gave them the address and did as he asked. 17. We've never given this company a five-star review, we have never had to complete a survey until now. 18. I as a customer could never damage a dealership name. This dealership had a D- on the BBB website before we made this complaint. 19. I think the receptionist is forgetting the text she sent to my wife about the 500.00 check that was written. On August 30th my wife received a text from Candy stating "Hi, my boss received your check back and gave it to me to send to you a certified letter for payment. Call me please. I don't wanna send this letter so I'm hoping we can take care of it. He's a little leery because he have been burnt with a check before. He only took it because I said there was no way it would bounce. Lol open mouth insert foot. Then you warned me it might be returned but I forgot to tell him (and he had already deposited it anyway)" Auto malls have received the merchandise back when they picked up the truck it was a jack lift that we had purchase however my wife called Candy because we needed money from our bank account to get the truck fixed so she asked Candy if she could pay the following week. I'm sure Auto mall would have pressed charges on the check if they had not received their merchandise back and they must be very careful because Auto mall are aware of all of their text messages back and forth between them and us. Candy even joke at my wife in a final text. Hi ******, per our boss's instructions, we are unable to discuss ******* financials with you in any more detail than we already have. On a personal note, because of the condescending and unkind. Way, you spoke to me on our last phone call when I once again put my job on the line to try to help you out, I prefer that you do not call my cell for any reason. Even after everything we already went through with this deal, Mark and I had talked my owner into holding the note for ******* since the********* loan had defaulted. He gave us that day only to make it happen, but you choose to push it to the limit. I'm not sure what you thought you could gain by refusing to allow us to help you out, but this is the result. When I said********* was defaulting the loan, I had no reason to lie. Mark and I worked incredibly har

• Initial Complaint

  02/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  01/06/2022 20,000.00 was for the purchase of 2013 m2 freithliner, vehicle was not road worthy so, it ended a no-deal. he (Athony) blocked my number afterwards. They through their website chat asked me to come in, i drove 14 hrs from baltimore maryland only for them to call the police on me for trespassing. I have all the video and writing evidence to back my claims. he only use the vehicle as a pose to scam me of twenty thousand dollars

• Initial Complaint

  01/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I put 1,500 down on a 2010 Ford Explorer Friday 1/14/2022 by the time I made it home the transmission started to slip. The next morning I got for work and the truck wouldn't go in drive. I call the dealer they told me it was both the could do they couldn't refund my money because Florida doesn't have a used car lemon to they can get the truck back but I will still lose my money..

  Business response

  03/08/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/01/28) */ As You know the vast majority of all used cars in Florida are sold "As-Is, Where-Is and With All Faults. The No Warranty Federal Buyers Guide was clearly visible on the Dashboard. The Delivery documents have 3 separate forms that make it clear that the vehicle was sold As-Is and all sales are final. We sell our vehicles at wholesale prices and provide "no credit check financing" and have helped hundreds of customers over the years. The explorer ran and drove great when I drove it. We have no way of knowing when or if a used car, this one 12 years old, will breakdown. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/01/31) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) There wasn't any paper on dashboard nor in windows I have a witness that was there with me and can and will consent that this true..

*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. ↩