Complaint Review: Pinellas Auto Brokers - st petersburg Florida

 On the evening of February 23, 2016 my family and I went shopping for a mini van with cash in hand. We met a salesman by the name of Mike at Pinellas Auto Brokers in St Petersburg FL who showed us a few vehicles that fit our needs and budget. We showed interest in a 2004 Nissan Quest and asked for a test drive. Upon my inspection under the hood, exterior, interior and test drive, my wife and I decided to purchase it. Everything through out my test drive was sound and I believed as well as told by Mike that the van was in great condition and there were no existing issues. We understood that there was no warranty, however, we did not expect to have immediate issues driving off the lot. We completed all paperwork and handed over $3716.00 in cash for our new van out the door.

I drove it a few blocks down the street to a gas station since it was extremely low. After pumping gas I proceeded to drive home. The van then started to Rev and shift hard just driving the speed limit on a local road. Upon the transmission shifting, the tires screeched. I thought that maybe the fluid levels were low so I checked when I got home. They were completely full to level. Seeing as the dealer was closing when we left, I knew there was nothing I could do until morning. I figured that face to face would be best so my wife, children and I headed back to the dealer. We first approached the man who sold it to us, Mike but he told us there was nothing he could do and that we needed to talk to Brian the manager, across the street in the office. We went over to the office where we were told Brian wasn't in and that he would be in "later" . We asked that he be called and we were told no. So we headed back over to Mike to express our frustration and to see if he could call Brian. We were again told no and to come back later. The phone in another salesman's hand rang and he told us that Brian was back in the office. So back to the office we went where Brian told us to drive the van out front for his "mechanic" to look at. Said mechanic did not have the proper code reader for our van and Brian told us to go down the street to a mechanic and that all expenses were on us. Unsatisfied, we asked for a refund since it hadn't even been 24 hours and we were having serious issues. Brian told us it wasn't his problem and compared out auto purchase to buying a used microwave at a yard sale. We continued to calmly express our displeasure to no avail. Brian didn't want to hear it. It was not his problem. We were instructed to leave or be sprayed with pepper spray.

We stepped outside and called our local sheriff'sheriff's office who sent out two officers. They spoke to us one on one and then together, still to no avail. The officer explained that while it was crappy, there was nothing he could do. No law was broken and he asked us to leave the property. As a one income family of six this is complete devastation. That was all the money we had for a vehicle and now we are stuck with a lemon. Even if there isn't anything that can be done to help us, it's important for others to hear our story so it doesn't happen to anyone else. These people need to be stopped. They are crooks who don't care about their customers or the vehicles they sell. Please do not buy from Pinellas Auto Brokers!