My purchase was negotiated over the internet. I can say that my dealings with the internet sales manager were fine. During the test drive I was reminded that all vehicles sold on the lot had undergone a 50-point inspection. After test driving the vehicle, I noticed some yellow sealant around the frame of the driver's door. I asked about this, and the salesman said that it had been used to fix a leak. To no one's fault but mine, I trusted the salesman.
My car was purchased as-is, with a three-day return policy. On the third day I was about 250 miles away when my ""check gas cap"" dash light came on. I checked the cap, which seemed fine, and then looked in the owner's manual. It said that this was likely caused by a faulty cap and that replacing the cap should fix the problem. And, the ""check engine"" light should come on after a few driving cycles. Well, it did come on and I took the vehicle into my mechanic as I wasn't back in town until the fifth day after I bought the car. The mechanic replaced the cap and the light went off, and all seemed fine. On the sixth day, Houston received up to six inches of rain. That sealant I was told that had fixed the leak? It didn't. So the interior driver's seat and floorboard were soaked, as rainwater had been dripping through the ""fixed"" door frame damage. It took it to a body shop and was quoted anywhere from $345 to replace the seal and remove the old sealant, to $1100 to fix all issues related to the leak.
About five days after the gas cap light had gone off, the light came on again, subsequently followed by the ""check engine"" light. I took the car back to my mechanic who discovered that a gas vapor recovery valve had broken off and was causing the ""check gas cap"" light to come one once the sensor finally activated. My mechanic had placed the new gas cap on earlier and since it caused the gauge light to go off, he didn't investigate further. However, he said that had he got on his hands and knees and looked under the car he would have saw the broken sensor dangling by a wire. The mechanic stated that the previous driver had hit something in the road that flew up and caused the sensor to get snapped off, as there was a dent under the wheel well. And two days later, my battery was dead. And no, I didn't leave lights on or anything like that. And when a group of us went out to eat, I found out that one of the doors in the back cannot be opened from the inside as the handle linkage is broken. This had all occurred within one month of purchasing the vehicle, so who knows what problems I have yet to find or experience. So back to the dealership. Remember, they had put this car through a ""50 point inspection"". Yet somehow no one ever looked under the car. Or checked the battery. Or tried to see if their repair of the leak actually kept the water out. I had conversed with the online salesman after I found the water leak, and his response was they the dealership would only charge $40/hr to fix it, where most shops would charge over $100. Sounded like a good deal, but then I realized they would just take longer to do it in order to make more money. No offer of ""oh wow, we missed that, bring it in and we'll make it right"" was offered. So, despite the good deal I received, I spent just under another $1000 in required repairs. Unfortunately for the dealership they didn't look through the owners manual to see the small note that the previous owner had forgot to remove, complete with the owner's name and telephone number. So, I was able to get the whole background on this car, including information the dealer did not disclose. I will at least have some legal recourse now. Again, I recommend you do not trust this dealership, at least--from my experience--for used cars. If you found a good deal at their location, read this review, and then had a change of heart, please let them know why you won't be purchasing their vehicle. I don't want anyone else having to go through what I went through.
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