Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Alars, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Alars, Inc.

  15875 Stewartsville Road Vinton, VA 24179

  
• 

  Alars, Inc.

  11240 Stewartsville Road Vinton, VA 24179-5200

  

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:06/07/2024

  Type:Product 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.

  My Husband purchased a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee from Alars Inc. on February 29, 2024 we started having issues with the Air conditioner shortly after, then 3 months later the 1st gear in the Transmission is gone. He purchased the Warranty which I have attached but they only want to cover $2000 of a $4500 estimate. WE DO NOT HAVE $2500 THAT'S WHY WE HAVE ALWAYS PURCHASED THE WARRANTIES WITH THE VEHICLES WE HAVE PURCHASED FROM THEM. He went to speak with the Owner of Alars on June 6, 2024 & AL told him it was his problem & he wasn't doing anymore favors. (What favors??) We just wanted the car fixed. WHY HAVE THE WARRANTY IF A SERIOUS ISSUE ISN'T GOING TO BE FIXED????? Then he treats my husband like dirt for wanting the car fixed that they sold. He was told when he got it they hadn't had time to drive it or check things & if he had any problems with it just come by & let them know which he did. The Owner Al told ***** who worked on the car for the A/C not to put anymore work into the car. Al also told my Husband that he hadn't paid anything on the A/C that they had worked on twice. ISN'T THAT WHAT THE WARRANTY IS FOR THAT THEY PUSH ON EVERYBODY??????? This is not how you run a Business. My husband has known these people for many years & for him to be done this way isn't saying much for them on their end. NOT TO MENTION CHARGING 19% INTEREST ON THEIR VEHICLES. We have taken the vehicle back to them but it needs to be repaired we don't want anyone else getting ******* over by them or treated the way my Husband has been treated.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/10/2024

  We are sorry to hear about your experience. We strive to make our customers happy and to help them out. We allowed you to get the vehicle without any money down to help you out considering the situation of your last car being totaled. We do advise everyone to get the warranty. However it is through a third party that you have to contact to set up getting any warranty work done to the vehicle. The warranty only covers certain items on the vehicle; which we do explain when we offer it to the customer. Air condition is not one of the things that the warranty covers. It does however cover the transmission. The owner advised you to contact the warranty company to get that repaired. We even provided you with the warranty representative's name and personal phone number to get the issue resolved. Instead of doing that however you chose to voluntarily drop the vehicle back off to us. The warranty would have covered your transmission issues. Other than that you do sign an as is form when you purchase a used vehicle from us. We always check, drive and completely service and state inspect our vehicles before we sale them. We did offer you resolutions to the issues you were having. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  Put 2,000 down. Vehicle relay switch wasn't plugged in when I went to test drive. Then how did they move it out of the shop. The low beam lights didn't work had to take it back. The truck cab isn't accessible and no tool has been provided. How did it pass inspection if the lights weren't working. Then it says low oil pressure stop engine. So i try to unlatch the hood .the hood snaps and is bungee corded down now. Took it to Them he came out to my truck I wasn't wve able to get out of the truck. He said he would refund my money and I could shop somewhere else to call a ride. He wouldn't sell me anything else. It seems intentional. Now they haven't taken my payment out my account for he vehicle and I think they are going to take it back after refusing to fix wat is wrong with it.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2023

   The matter regarding Ms. ********* and the vehicle she purchased from us has been resolved here in our office. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2022

  Type:Delivery 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.

  I paid my car off that i was financing threw the stated company when i filled out all the documents at the purchase date i was told i would get my spare key after the car was paid off i paid the vehicle off last month and asked for the key the woman at the roanoke location told me that it was on record that i had a spear key but she couldnt find it so i called up their yesterday to see if my title had finally came in and it did i so i asked ***** if they found my key he told me “ i can come get the title but their aint no key for me and thats the only answer i have for you” so im going today to by a new key because the origional key broke and the cheapest i can find a key fab and programmed to my vehicle is $300 and i dont feel im responsible to replace what they agreed i would have once the vehicle was paid off its not my first problems with this company iv involved the bbb on two other occasion’s

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2022

  Hi, *****.  We would like to apologize for your negative experience at Alars.  During your many calls and visits to our office requesting a spare key, we were unable to locate nor see that any spare key to this vehicle ever existed.  During the sale process, an extensive number of customers inquire whether their vehicle comes with a spare key.  In these instances, we do tell them that IF there is a spare key, we will hold that key until the vehicle is paid off.  This is our policy as a company in the chance that a customer defaults in their loan and must have their vehicle repossessed.The sales manager at the location that you spoke to promptly addressed your concerns during one of your in-office visits and without hesitation, stepped away to look for said key.  When no key was found, we then began to check at our ******* store on the chance it had been left there after the two incidences from 3/08/21 and 9/17/21 occurred.  Upon further investigation, the order sheets placed on the two dates above, show there had not been a spare.The record you are mentioning, is a section used for the collections office to keep notes on each account for future reference between the finance company.  As you can imagine, over four years of notes on a singular account could accumulate errors or mis-typings.After nearly a dozen impertinent visits and calls where our employees assured you, we did not have a spare key, unfortunately there was no other answer possible to give you.Most vehicles purchased new through a dealership would likely come with a spare key.  As the vehicle in question is over 13 years old with numerous owners, there would be no way to know when or if one had ever existed before we purchased it through local auction.  Since these vehicles are used, most of them do not have spares.  And we do not make them unless it is our only option to recover a vehicle.Unfortunately, we were not able to locate any previous complaints you’ve had with us to address them.  If you can stop by one of our locations, we’d be glad to provide you with a copy of your account history and our attempts to keep the contract open.  The As-Is portion of your contract shows that we are not responsible for any general upkeep on the vehicle being purchased.  Therefore, there will not be any settlement or refunds.  The customer has possession of their title, and we no longer have interest in the vehicle nor customer. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Regards, ***** ******* When my vehicle was repossessed after I made a promise date to pay the account I had to come into the store and get my car seat out of the backseat I didn’t have my main key on me so I used the spare key provided by allars got the car seats out and gave the spare key back to the clerk. After the car was paid off i asked the woman at the Roanoke location if they had the spear. She told me she can see where their was a spear on account it just couldn't be located so I'm not understanding how now your saying their was no key when i in-fact have used it before. You received everything i owed on the car now uphold your end and give me the spear key that you promised to provide on the first financing day or this can be taken to small claims court 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2022

  *****, your account shows that the vehicle had been sent out for repossession 7 days after your broken promise date.  Any other account in the same condition would have been sent for at the end of the business day on the day promised.  Your account was worked with well beyond what it should have been. We have many ways to open locked vehicles without keys although I’m unsure why you would have come to collect belongings without bringing your key.  We generally require the key for the customer to collect property. Although there is no record that the vehicle ever had a spare key, even back when we purchased it at the end of 2018, we have searched numerous times.  When a customer pays a vehicle off, we automatically pull the account file to check if there had been a spare.  After this routine, you were informed that there was no spare key, but we would be glad to double-check with Cascade since it had once been repossessed.  Upon checking, they also concluded that there had never been any record of a spare. Again, on the day of purchase, customers are told that IF the vehicle has a spare key, they will receive it at the time of payoff.  There is never a guarantee or promise of a spare key, nor is it in any binding contract paperwork. If you wish to pursue small courts for a nonexistent spare key on a 13-year-old used vehicle with numerous previous owners and no documentation whatsoever, you are free to do so.  But please be advised that we do have legal paperwork binding you to an additional vehicle, a 2007 Dodge Nitro that had to be turned over to repossession as well.  The contract you signed and agreed to which follows both Virginia and Federal law states that we have the right to pursue any remedy permitted by law to collect your unpaid balance. We would be more than glad to bring all related contracts and their breach history. Thanks.