ComplaintsforAuto Universe

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My boyfriend and I purchased a vehicle last Saturday so we've had if for about 10 days now. It has been problem after problem with this vehicle so I read through the contract. As I'm reading I see that they put down that we only put $1000 down when we handed them $1500 cash. I am in the process of filing a police report as I'm writing this.

  Business response

  07/02/2024

  Hello ******, 
  Please see below my draft response to ****************. We honestly feel that given the clear threat by the customer about a police complaint this matter should not be on BBB. But, if you all insist we will respond. 
  We are attaching the support documents with BBB which we do not wish to share publicly. 
  Kindly reach out to ***** at ************ for additional information. 
  Thanks and regards, 
  ***************************
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ****************,
  
  We are deeply concerned and disappointed by the false accusations and the threat of a police report you have made against Auto Universe. To address your complaint in detail:
  
  Financing and Down Payment: You and your boyfriend applied for financing, and we worked diligently with the financial institution to secure your approval. The financial institution approved your car loan with a $1000 down payment.
  
  Transparency and Documentation: In the finance office, you were provided with all the necessary paperwork to read and sign. Our finance manager thoroughly and verbally explained each line item on your documents. In addition, you also had a conversation with a representative from the financial institution, where the down payment and loan terms were reviewed with you.
  
  Down Payment Procedure: Your boyfriend handed over $1000 in cash to the finance manager. The cash was counted in your presence, and you were provided with a receipt for the down payment of $1000. This was done transparently and in accordance with all standard procedures.
  
  Given these points, it is highly disappointing and unacceptable that after our extensive efforts to ensure transparency and due diligence, you are now accusing us of theft. We categorically deny any wrongdoing and assert that we have followed all protocols to the letter.
  
  We have all the necessary paperwork signed by you and your boyfriend, which we are attaching here as evidence of our compliance and transparency. We do not appreciate being falsely accused and threatened with police complaints.
  
  Auto Universe will firmly respond to these baseless allegations and any attempts to defame our business. We stand by our integrity and the professionalism with which we handle all transactions.
  
  Sincerely,
  Auto Universe

  Business response

  07/02/2024

  
  ****************,
  
  We are deeply concerned and disappointed by the false accusations and the threat of a police report you have made against Auto Universe. To address your complaint in detail:
  
  Financing and Down Payment: You and your boyfriend applied for financing, and we worked diligently with the financial institution to secure your approval. The financial institution approved your car loan with a $1000 down payment.
  
  Transparency and Documentation: In the finance office, you were provided with all the necessary paperwork to read and sign. Our finance manager thoroughly and verbally explained each line item on your documents. In addition, you also had a conversation with a representative from the financial institution, where the down payment and loan terms were reviewed with you.
  
  Down Payment Procedure: Your boyfriend counted and  handed over $1000 in cash to the finance manager. This cash was counted again by our finance manager in your presence, and you were provided with a receipt for the down payment of $1000. This was done transparently and in accordance with all standard procedures.
  
  Given these points, it is highly disappointing and unacceptable that after our extensive efforts to ensure transparency and due diligence, you are now accusing us of theft. We categorically deny any wrongdoing and assert that we have followed all protocols to the letter.
  
  We have all the necessary paperwork signed by you and your boyfriend, which we are attaching here as evidence of our compliance and transparency. We do not appreciate being falsely accused and threatened with police complaints.
  
  Auto Universe will firmly respond to these baseless allegations and any attempts to defame our business. We stand by our integrity and the professionalism with which we handle all transactions.
  
  Sincerely,
  Auto Universe

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought a car from them and also trusted them to fix on the car when it had issue which was one of my worst mistakes!! I took my car in with miner issues and left with major issues (a new motor which Id 5-6 thousand dollars) and they havent offered any help or didnt offer to refund me.. I paid thousands of dollars to them and still left with a broken car !! Please DO NOT BUY A VEHICLE FROM THIS COMPANY!! If you are out of town do not purchase a vehicle from this company..PLEASE be mindful of the racist and most cruel hearted manager *****.. I am also in the process of finding me a good lawyer for my car, suffering and pain and all other thing that went on while I suffered and waited for answers.. AND YES I WILL POST ABOUT THIS EVERYWHERE TO WARN OTHERS !!

  Business response

  02/22/2023

  ********************** car was serviced at our dealership in early 2022. Later ***************** experienced some issues with the engine and accused our service team of her engine troubles. This was brought to the owner's attention and by this time the service manager who had overseen the repairs was no longer working with the company. In an attempt to resolve this complaint and as a courtesy to our valued customer, we offered to fix the engine at our dealership for free labor, and she was responsible just for the parts.  
  ****************** decided to take her car elsewhere where she said it was cheaper,  we agreed to write her the check for the labor. We wrote a check to her on 06/22/2022 which she accepted as Final Settlement and cashed the check right away. 

  ****************** visited our dealership again a couple of times in October of 2022 looking to buy another vehicle which did not work out for her given her circumstances.  During her subsequent visits, ****************** never brought up any concerns about the said vehicle. 

  Once ****************** accepted the final settlement we had no visibility or control over where she took her vehicle, and what she did with it. Just the fact that she considered our dealership for her future business is proof enough that she was happy with the settlement and her complaints now are just baseless. 

  Thank you,

  PS. -We are happy to provide the proof of the settlement upon request.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went to purchase a ******** **** from this dealership. I put $15,000 as a down payment. They allowed me to take the vehicle home with me without finance being finalized. After two months of them trying to ************** and could not they wanted me to bring the vehicle back. But told me they was going to keep my down payment due to the vehicle getting hit by another car for which the other person was at fault. The other person insurance is willing to pay to have the car fixed but the dealership says they do not want anyone else to fix it but their own company. I advised them that my down payment is just that a down payment and that they can not hold my money. Once i give them their car they need to give me my money back.

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  ************ bought the 2021 Mercedes GLC 300 from us (Auto Universe) on 12/06/2022. At the time she was conditionally approved, subject to banks' verification of her income, identity, employment, etc.  She also signed the Conditional Delivery Agreement (Document is attached) fully understanding the conditional approval, failing which, she would need to return the vehicle in the same as condition it was delivered to her. *********** failed her Income verification and her funding was denied by the bank on 12/19/2022. On her request, we tried with other banks to get her approved. At this time she once again signed. the Conditional Delivery Agreement. Unfortunately, the 2nd bank could not get her to her verify her income either and her financing was denied AGAIN. ************ was kept in the loop about her situation and in the first week of January she knew she needed to bring the vehicle back failing all these verifications.  
  
  We informed ************ via text, phone, and emails of her failing bank verifications, and requested her to bring the vehicle back. At this point, she informed us that the car was in an accident while in her possession. We requested her to bring the car to the dealership for our service and body shop to inspect the vehicle and have her Insurance access the damage. We also promised a refund of her deposit after inspecting the car for damages, and after her insurance pays for the accident repairs, as agreed upon on the terms of conditional delivery of the vehicle. 
  
  ************ gave us a runaround for 3 weeks and did not involve her insurance until we informed her that she is leaving us with no other choice other than repossessing the vehicle. At this time her insurance agency or the insurance of the person at fault called us to seek permission to inspect the vehicle at our dealership, which we agreed to, but the Vehicle was never brought back to us. ************ stopped by the dealership once and demanded that we give her the deposit back before we can even inspect the vehicle and left abruptly taking the car back with her.
  
  Had ************ complied with the terms of the sale and co-operated with us in time this issue would have been resolved a long time back. We have all the documented and recorded proof of our conversations with *************  At this time we are in the process of getting the vehicle repossessed and this is her final opportunity to bring the vehicle back to avoid paying repossession fees.
  
  Let us be very clear- Auto Universe is least interested in keeping **************** deposit, but to get a refund ************ will need to bring the car back, let her insurance assess, and pay for the damages on the car and we need to be satisfied that unreasonable miles were not put on the car after we informed her of failing the verification and banks denials of her loan. Thank you.

  Customer response

  01/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 18810341
  
  I am rejecting this response because:it was not three days before they contacted me about not being approved it was a week or so later. They have me sending years of tax paperwork.  Bring in checkstubs with condition that i was approved only that the lender needed these extra pieces of information. They kept promising me i was approved with different interest rates but it never happen. Then the started calling and emailing me threatening me. They demanded i bring the vehicle right now. I explained to them that i could not leave work. The only day i have free was on the weekend. I broke the vehicle over the weekend and one of the managers act as if they knew nothing about me bringing the vehicle so i left. I was told by ****** which is a manager i would not get my money back that they was going to charge for excessive milage wear and tear and the accident. When i tried to give them insurance information i was told by the owner that he did not and could not talk to them since the car was in my possession when the accident occurred. I told them i could have the car fixed by the insurance company and i was told no they would fix it themselves and until it was fixed no money would be given back to me. I have spoken to them several times about this car with rude threats and disrespectful response given towards me. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Todays date is 12/30/2022 Ive been very patient with the owner of Auto Universe to fix my truck! I found out today that they will not be fixing my truck because they cant find any maintenance records! We have nothing to do what their maintenance people didnt leave for the new maintenance lady. I have all my paperwork to prove that Auto Universe is responsible for my truck to be fix. We are still paying them for a truck we cant even drive. I have never meet such a non reliable company ever. Auto Universe is a business where no one needs to go to, the owner dont care about his customers, he is very rude to us, he has a bad nonchalant attitude, he is mean & he just dont care! I am paying for a truck that I cant drive or get fix because he refuse to take care his responsibilities of fixing my truck! I refuse to continue on going back & forth with ********* new service lady ************************* who just came in on this problem! She has no ideal what she is doing or what is going on! My truck been in the shop there for over six months, its almost another year. So what Im going to do is go farther than the ********************************** I have had enough! The people they had there before in the service department was lazy and never did their jobs when continuing complaining to the owner he Ignored us thats why we are where we are today because no one cared! So with that, Im done & I will continue to complain about auto Universe The owner, & the service department ************************* the person who is in charged, her words not mines! I WILL NOT STOP COMPLAINING until the owner fix my truck

  Business response

  01/13/2023

  Hello,
  We are happy to respond to the falsified accusations made by MS. ********************************;in this review but,  at this time the customer has decided to take a legal route. Because, **************************** is wanting to take this matter to court we cannot comment on any reviews or comments made by ****************** on a public platform and for the same reason, we will request BBB to not publish the review as it is now a legal matter. 
  
  
  We are happy to share the screenshot of her text to our team member with her intent to involve an attorney, which we will email directly to BBB team to protect her phone number from being shared on public platform.
  
  Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2015 dodge Challenger from Auto Universe on July 15, 2022. The following day my checking engine light came on and I took it to ******** for a diagnostic. I took the car back to the dealership for it to be fixed along with some other issues I noticed. The issues were my door speaker, right mirror, and the thermostat regular. The thermostat regular is what came up on the diagnostic reading nothing else. Once those issues were fixed, I started up my car and the checking engine light comes on again. Now they are saying it's an issue with my 4th cylinder misfiring. So I let them keep the car for a few days. Unfortunately days turned into weeks then months. I have to call them for updates on my car. They don't reach out to me at all. They were supposed to take my car to dodge but that was delayed and the service manager "***********************" lied and said it was there. And the reason I know he was lying is due to the fact that I would call him weekly about my car and he would tell me that it was at dodge being worked on but it never made it there because whomever they had to tow it never took it because they "couldn't find the dealership" so my car was lost in transit for a week. I just want my car fixed and I don't feel like it has been made a priority at all. And I have already paid 2 months on my note and I've only driven my car for a week at the most. Also every time I call it's something new that's wrong with the car that's wasn't discussed prior each conversation. I would like my car fixed immediately along with 2 months of my monthly payment given back to me because I haven't even driven my car in months. Also the salesman ***************************** can attest to all of these claims that I have stated.

  Business response

  11/21/2022

  Hello Sir, yes you bought this challenger from ** on July 15th and you bought it in AS_IS condition which you purchased after due diligence, In spite of selling the vehicle in AS IS condition we extended our help to fix the vehicle and most importantly you were immediately put in a 2020 Model Loaner Vehicle. 
  Your car was fixed and when the light came back again we offered to send it to Dodge Dealership to take care of the recalls which were potentially causing the light to come up. Unfortunately, dodge towed the wrong vehicle from our lot causing delay and confusion for a couple of days. It took dodge 3-4 weeks to service your car and even during that time you were still in the Loaner Vehicle. Sir, we cannot offer you any compensation what so ever one because the car was sold AS- IS and secondly because you were never without a vehicle even for a single day.

*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. ↩