Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  on monday 06/05/2023 i purchased a car from american federal auto llc in summerville. A 2006 buick lucerne with a $1000 down payment. i got a bumper to bumper warranty that requires me to be 50% responsible for the cost and the dealer to be 50% responsible.my first car payment was scheduled to be on the 23rd of the month of june. on friday evening 06/09/2023 me and my son noticed a large amount of smoke coming from under the hood. we pulled over at a gas station to inspect the car my son got on the ground and looked under the car and took a picture of what hee was looking at. i ttom the car home and parked it. only using it for emergencies until i can take it to the dealership to be looked at. I called the dealership on monday 06/12 to let them know the issues i was having with the car. They told me i had to bring the car in to be fixed. i called and spoke with vanessa she told me to bring the car in the following morning to have it looked at. 06/13/2023 TUESDAY i showed up to the dealership spoke with Hailey and she immidiatly told me that i could not wait in the office due to covid concerns. So i waited outside while the mechanic checked the car out. About 10 - 15 minutes later the machanc came back with my car and told me that unfourtnatly the "gasket "that connects the transmission to the engine was broken & they would have to drop the whole transmission to fix it, that he would probably have it done by friday evening before closing time. if i left it by the following morning they would be able to start on it immidiatly. so i went home and arranged a ride to bring me back home. around 12am wednesday morning i dropped the car off and dropped the key in the drop box. 06/15/2023 THURSDAY i called around 1 pm to get an uodate on the progress of the repairs, Vanessa told me that she would have an update for me at 5pm to expect her call, she never called. 06/16/2023 SATURDAY i called at 1pm for an update. Vanessa told me they were "putting it back together" that she would have an update at 5pm. so at 5:02 pm i called becauase they close at 6pm and i would still have to arrange a ride and its not a close by drive for me. she then tells me that "all the mechanics got sick and went home early" and that she didint know what was going on, but that my car would be ready monday. so frustrated i told her that i was not getting off the phone she would have to hang up on me they needed to do something to help because i had already had to spend on rides plus miss out on at least $130 potentially for ebveryday i was unable to work but on friday evenings my income can potentially double as it is my busiest night, and my employment requires a vehicle. she put me on hold for about 10 minutes the comes back on and tells me that i can come in in the morning and do a trade for another car as long as the downpayments match. iasskeedd what time they opened she said 9am. i told her i would be there at 9am. i ha dto arrange a ride and was unsucessful until aboout 10:20. i got there around 11:00 am and martin told me HAiley left because i was late, i told him i had to arrange a ride. so he gives me 4 options of cars. i test drove a checy sonic and the engine kept skipping while i was on the test drive. i test drove a mazda 3 and it had a noise in the engine but ran ok but it had a significant more amount of miles than the car that was being repaired. so i this point i was done. i asked if i could get my down paymemnt back. martin told me that the owner was on the way and would be there in about 30 minutes. I waited. The owner showed up and immidiatly upon speaking to me he begins to feel for the secrutiy panic button under the counter, inds it and keeps it there during the majority of our conversation. He kept throwing in my face the fact that they were fixing it and not charging me. i flat out told him that they were crazy if they thought they were gonna charge me for that. we exchanged words. he ultimatley told me they will not give me my down payment back and the car will be ready monday, i left withoout incident. 6/19/2023 MONDAY i call aaround 1pm and speak with chris. he tells me that he will have vanessa callme with an update. she calls me back within the same hour and ttells me that unfourtnatly the car will not be ready until the following day (tuesday). she didnt give me a reason and i didnt even wanna know one. 6/20/2023 TUESDAY i call aroound 1 pm and speak to rob or robbie, he tells me they are finishing things up and that they wanna run the car to make sure evrything is fixed and that there are no leaks. i aked him if i need to go ahead and arrange a ride. he tells me to wait until i get a phone call from them so i dont waste my time. he told me that if they were to finish it at the last minute they would communicate with me and leave the key were i could pick my car afer hours if need be. 5:20pm i called and spoke with vanessa she told me that the car would not be ready until in the morning, and again did not give me a reason. she told me that the mechanics would be staying late to finish my car. 5:34pm- i called back to ask vanessa if sshe could give me a estimated time and let her know what robbie said about me picking the car up after hours, she said that she didnt think they would give me a time but that she would find out, then she hung up the phone on me. right after that my boyfriend called as he was my ride to get the car and was willing to leave work early to take me and i was very upset after everythiing and then being hung up on. he asked her not to hang up on him also, she said she didnt hang up on me before. he asked her to place him on hold and go find oout if she can get a time, and she did. about 5 minutes later she got back on the phone and told him that the car woould not be ready until the following day . 5-22-2023 MONDAY i called around 1 pm to get an update on my car and was told they would call me back. at the end of the day they told me that i needed to consider doing a trade in because they had ran into an electical issue and that they did not know how soon they would have a specialist to fix it. i then started to ask for my down payment back and was told that thtey would check with the manager andd call me back. i was then told that if i wanted my money back that i would only get 50% of the money back. i expressed that i didnt want anymore of their cars due to issues ive had and seen during test drives nor did i want to deal with them given all the problems ive experienced with them. hailey then begins to hang up the phone on me numerous times. 5-23-2023 TUESDAY i went in to american federal auto and asked hailey what my options were. she told me i could do a trade off or if i wanted to get my money back i would only recieve 50%of that. i was only given 3 options of cars to chose from. i recorded the entire interaction. ineeded a car so i got a 2008 cheverolet hhr, a car that i DID NOT want. before i left the lot the air conditioner blower went out. the mechanic told me to come the next day and he would fix it. i had to go straight to the gas station to put gas in the car because all their cars they give out with no gas, upon getting to the gas station and trying to put gas in the car i realize there was no gas cap so i called the mechanic and he told me when i came in the next day he would fix it also. Upon driving later that night i almost got rear ended. whe i arrived home i checked all my lights and blinkers, i only had one working blinker and only one working break light.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau
  
  Subject: Response to Complaint Case Number ********
  
  Dear ******,
  
  We are writing in response to the complaint you filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding your recent vehicle purchase. We take customer concerns seriously and appreciate the opportunity to address your dissatisfaction.
  
  At American Federal Auto, we pride ourselves on our rigorous vehicle inspection and repair process before any vehicle is sold. We want to assure you that, at the time of the sale, the vehicle was fully inspected and confirmed to be in proper working order. While we make every effort to prevent any unforeseen issues, it is impossible for us to predict future problems that may arise.
  
  To ensure customer satisfaction, we provide a warranty with all our vehicles, which covers half the cost of any necessary repairs after the sale. In your specific case, we sympathize with the unexpected repair needs and offered to cover the entire repair bill, exceeding the obligations outlined in our warranty. Our intention was to promptly resolve the issue and demonstrate our commitment to your satisfaction.
  
  Regarding the issue of our staff's alleged belligerence, we deeply regret any negative experiences you may have encountered during your interactions with us. Providing exceptional customer service is paramount to us, and we apologize if there were any miscommunications or misunderstandings. We always strive to treat our customers with the utmost respect and professionalism.
  
  The complexity of the repairs exceeded our initial expectations, as the job required a significant amount of time and the procurement of hard-to-find parts. Despite these unforeseen circumstances, we presented you with two options that aimed to address your needs efficiently. These options included a 50% refund of your down payment or the opportunity to apply the full down payment t*****s the purchase of another vehicle, should you not wish to wait for the repairs to be completed.
  
  We want to emphasize that our efforts have gone beyond the obligations outlined in our contracts. Multiple staff members even sacrificed their personal time by coming in on their day off to accommodate your appointments. Unfortunately, you arrived several hours late for these appointments, which created further challenges considering our employees' scheduled meetings on their day off.
  
  If you require any additional information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. We value your satisfaction as our customer and are committed to resolving these issues to the best of our abilities.
  
  Thank you for your understanding and patience throughout this process.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Hailey H*****
  General Manager
  American Federal Auto, LLC

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/06/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am still being lied to by this company in regards to their "rigorous inspections" because I do not see how it is possible to have done an inspection on a car that was duck tapped on the bottom.  Or on the other one that didn't even have working blinkers. And me being late was because of having to arrange a ride and the only employee me being late on their day off was Hailey and I didnt even have to deal with her that day.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ***

  Business Response

  Date: 07/10/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:

  
  Thank you for your response regarding the issues raised by the customer. We appreciate the opportunity to address their concerns.

  
  We understand the customer's frustration and regret any inconvenience caused. Our team has diligently investigated the reported issues and taken appropriate measures to resolve them promptly. We have made every effort to provide satisfactory solutions and have gone above and beyond to rectify the situation.

  
  However, it is important to note that based on our policies and after careful consideration of the circumstances, we are unable to offer a refund in this case. We believe that we have provided appropriate compensation and taken necessary steps to make amends for the inconveniences faced by the customer.

  
  We value our customers' satisfaction and strive to improve our services continuously. We are committed to learning from this experience and implementing measures to prevent similar issues in the future.

  
  Should the customer have any further concerns or questions, we encourage them to reach out to us directly at 843-771-5978.

  
  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

  
  Sincerely,
  Hailey H*****
  General Manager
  American Federal Auto, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  12/17/2019, financed a Saturn Ion 2 from this business, the total price for the car is $10,199.43, as of today (10/13/2022), I've paid $12,053 and feel I shouldn't have to pay another dime. Went today(10/13/2022), to the office and spoke with Paula about it, and she told me Devon(owner) would personally call me and would fix the situation, which he did not. I called this afternoon, was told my payment sheet I was given on the first day I got the car was inaccurate, which states that as of 3/26/2021, the car is paid for, and they sent me another one through email stating that my car won't be paid for now until October 2023. Prior to this, August 2022, I have 33 emails between Vanessa Hernandez and myself discussing this matter, she told me to go into the office because there have been other clients they have done this to. Nobody has called me, my account has now been given to a new accountant, they've extended my payment history, which I knew nothing of until today, they haven't honored my 50/50 warranty on my car at all, which has caused me to buy my own parts due to them padding charges for repairs and labor and I had to pay the total bill. I have my car paperwork, payment sheet I got from day one, paper and email reciepts, I've filed a complaint with FTC, STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND NOW YOU.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/02/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/10/19) */ This is a simple interest loan. We utilize standardized finance software, and it calculates all payments and interest according to regulations. The customer was delinquent on payments; also had some payments deferred to the end of the loan. If the customer paid every payment on time in full, the original payment schedule and amount would reflect what is on the documents at the time of sale. Late fees, deferred payments and additional accumulated interest is what caused the increase amount and term. We performed a full review of the account, and everything is accurate. We have explained this to the customer several times in person and over the phone. Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/10/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have not been deliwuent on my payments, I only had 3 deferred payments, which I feel has been paid for already with the amount I've already paid over the cost of the car. When I went into the office and showed Paula all my paperwork and she seen the payment plan I was given from day one, she immediately jumped on the phone with ******* *********, who was my accountant and now not, she spoke in Spanish to her, refused to put her on speaker phone. Then once she hung up with *******, she then called Devon, and told him that I have my paperwork there in front of her showing my cat is paid for, and also refused to put him on speaker phone so I could speak with him, she then hung up and told me he would personally look at my account and personally call me to get this matter fixed. When not hearing anything from him, I called the office and they had their sales person Tiana tell me that my first payment sheet was not accurate and had ******* send me a payment history report that was totally different from the next one she sent, and that my account was given to someone named Fanita. I have contacted consumer affairs and they are now working on the case and have all information I have. My car was actually paid for 3/26/2021, and so far I have paid 49 months and it was only 32 months, they haven't even honored my 50/50 warranty on my car, and the total for the car was 10,199.63 and as of to date I've paid close to $13,000. All I want is my title and they know they are scamming people, and ******* ********* even told me I'm not the first person they've done this to. I WANT MY TITLE AND AEAY FROM THESE PEOPLE....

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/29/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 8, 2022 I bought a car from American federal auto I was sold the car was in the running condition but as it turns out I was lied to I put $1500 down on it and had nothing but problems a flat tire check engine light ABS light and every other light in the car came on AC didn't work . I was in my right by law to take the car back within three days to have it fixed properly every time I went back there I got a run around they told me I had to put it under warranty which I was not paying for a car that was sold to me not running properly in the first place I called and called again but no one return my calls or emails I did have a months to return it and get my money back but they kept avoiding me I made my payment I came out of work on August 23, 2022 and they took my car it was not there they gave me no warning . they kept all my belongings in the car and will not return them I will not there this morning Saturday, August 27 and there are still avoiding me about giving my the Longies back and my $1500 back these people are scammers and they need to be stopped. They also gave me a key that broke and I could not start the car two months I still don't have tags and they're making me pay extra 500 for that which I never received the tags

  Business Response

  Date: 09/08/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2022/09/08) */ This account has been reviewed to ensure we handled this situation as amicably as possible. The customer has been very difficult to work with and find a solution that would be agreeable to both parties. American Federal Auto, LLC has honored our contract, and even offered to go above and beyond our contractual obligations to try and appease the situation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 14, 2022/09/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) They were the ones who were difficult to deal with they sold me a car with many problems and refused to fix it they want me to put under warranty and pay for it but I refuse because I was lied to about what was wrong with the car when I bought it. I tried many times to contact them with the issues that was wrong but they ignored me I went up there several times but the salesman was never there so they say. they never even register the car I called DMV and told me it was never registered in my name so I never got tags it's been two months. They did not go above and beyond all they did was ignored me when I told the problems with a card and I was not paying to fix it. The car had a flat tire whenever I headlight was out Also the brakes were bad. So they have the skills bumper-to-bumper warranty to make the customer page and fix it when they sell their cars in bad condition. What time is it has nothing but bad reviews on the website they done this to many people. they took my $1.500 down on the car and clearly Took advantage of that. and they are saying there are no used car lemon laws but my attorney told me otherwise. I have every email I sent them with no response and I was clearly within my rights to take the car back but they ignored me the whole time Business Response /* (4000, 18, 2022/09/09) */ We did not take the sales paperwork out of the vehicle, our documents are e-signed, so she received a copy to her email when she purchased the vehicle. Also, when the vehicle was cleaned just a couple of days ago, the detailer brought in the folder with all of the paperwork in it saying he found it while cleaning. We did not refuse any service under our warranty. We were willing to stand behind our contract and warranty in every way. If she has an attorney claiming there is a lemon law on a used vehicles in South Carolina, she should strongly consider retaining new council. The legislation is very clear, there is only a lemon law on new vehicles. We have already informed the customer that after the initial packet of title work was turned in, they requested some additional items. Also as we have already informed the customer, if she wants the title and registration process to finalize through the DMV, she would need to come back in to finish some very simple paperwork. If she does not want the process finalized, we can refund her the cost of titling and registering the vehicle. In our 13 years in business, I don't believe we have ever had a customer spew such filth and lies as this. Her accusations do not hold water. We work with our customer on a one by one basis if there they deal like there is a problem and try to work out an agreeable compromise, we take our customer service very seriously! We have attempted to communicate with Mrs ******* to no avail, no reason can be brought to the table. At this juncture, all we can do is stand behind our treatment of the customer in accordance with our contracts and the laws of the land. There can be no evidence or proof brought forward that would show us in the wrong. We would be 100% confident in defending ourselves in a court of law if the customer so desires to escalate things to that point. Consumer Response /* (2000, 25, 2022/09/12) */ This issue has been resolved company has offered to make a deal so this place will be close by me

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/05/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  07/22/2022 , I put down 800.00. I bought the car July 21, 3 days later the car over heated. I called the company to let them know. They told me it's nothing they can do. They had to come pick the car up and now they are saying I will have to pay $300 and I haven't even had the car for 2 weeks. This is unfair and I just learned they over charge me for the car . Also they said it would be a repo. I most definitely feel this is not right because I came to them thinking they were professionals and they were going to sell me a good car. It was definitely a lemon.i just want my deposit back at least half. I didn't even have the car for a week before it was acting up. I thought I was going to professionals that wouldnt have taken advantage of me because I'm young, don't know alot about cars. I'm a single mom and I work hard for every penny.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2022/08/19) */ All of our vehicle are inspected and repaired before we sell them, and at the time of the sell the vehicle was functioning properly. There is no way for us to predict if a problem may occur in the future. All of our vehicles are also sold with a warranty in which we cover half of the repair bill if the vehicle does need any work after it is sold. This customer had an overheating issue and it was towed to a mechanic shop. We informed the customer that she did not leave the keys with the vehicle so it cannot be diagnosed until she brought us the key, it took her several days to finally get the key to the shop. The shop informed us that the radiator hose blew, which would have been a very inexpensive repair, but the customer kept driving the vehicle after it was overheating and blew the head gasket on the motor. On this particular vehicle it is less expensive to replace the entire motor rather than attempt to repair it. By any car warranty standards this would cause a warranty claim to be rejected due to customer negligence. If she had pulled over immediately after the vehicle started overheating it would have been as simple as replacing the hose. We went above and beyond and offered to still cover it under warranty and pay for half of the repair bill to replace the motor. The customer has been belligerent to our staff throughout our interactions. The customer is very delinquent on her payments. If she could catch up on her car loan payments, we would continue to stand by our offer of covering the repair under warranty. We have only gone above and beyond what any of our contracts would require us to do. If you would like more information, feel free to reach back out. Thank You, Chris H*****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  paid the 100.000 deductible on 06/06/22 paid 298.00 06/14/22 towards agreed arrangement with Paula for two payments of 298.00, The car has been at the shop for almost three weeks , with every excuse from the part has been lost in the mail, to it will be fixed the monday, yet here we are 3 weeks later and no part and no car a payment on the car is due and no one knows anything from the General Manager to the staff on where the part for the car is. they stated the part arrived to another location yet why is it taking almost a week for the part to travel from one location to another, I have been hung up on from staff to GM, NO ONE HAS ANSWERS, I HAVE SPENT MONEY ON UBERS AND CABS TO GET BACK AND FORTH TO MY TRAVELING LOCATIONS I WOULD LIKE TO FIND A RESOLUTION SO I CAN PAY OFF MY MY DEBIT WITH THESE SHARKS AND NEVER DO BUSINESSS WITH PAULA AND HER GANG AGAIN

  Business Response

  Date: 07/07/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/06/28) */ While we have been very apologetic about the situation, it was out of our hands completely. The company that we ordered the part from had the address down wrong. The part was then returned to them and had to be sent again. While we understand the customers frustration with the situation, our employees are trained to not take abuse in person or over the phone and are advised to terminate a conversation with any person doing so until such a time that a rational conversation can be had. Our company handled everything as quickly and professionally as possible, the shipping delays were out of our hands.