Complaint Review: Pinellas Auto Brokers - St Petersburg Florida

I will be the FIRST to say we should be able to TRUST each and every car dealer, but in the REAL WORLD that aspect of retail is best defined as "The Sleazy American Car Business".  Because of their well deserved reputation, we as consumers need to be SMART CONSUMERS and rely on US to protect ourselves.  Do they look forward to repeat business?  Many don't.  To many in that sleazy business, their M. O. is they have one chance to make money on you.  If that means lying to you, then so be it because they know you won't be back.  This is especially true in new car sales.  This is the nature of the car business.  Unless we a granted some type of miracle, the sleazy factor in the car business will be around till the end of time. 

There are some very useful and helpful comments here.  Yes, you should always have your own mechanic check out the vehicle before you buy it, especially if it is being sold "As-Is".  I think there is a concept missing here, and that concept is that any company should stand behind their product if they want their business to grow.  Do they want 1 time customers or customers that come back multiple times?  Do they want good positive reviews and their customers sending their friends over, or do they want ripoff reports and bad reviews with customers vowing to take legal action, etc.  Of course the legal end of it is solidly on the lot's favor, car was as-is.....who cares!  Nobody builds a successful business by ripping people off and then standing on legal ground, that's a sure way to just stay in business long enough before it catches up with you.  Stand by your product, be honest, sell a quality product, make it right when it's wrong, treat people with respect, and you will get customers for life.

    I'm kind of suprised that one who claims to be a law student is making claims of "They told me..." in the face of a written contract.   Since you are not claiming a warranty, I'm assuming that you bought this vehicle "as is" and signed the federally mandated buyers guide that explicitly states that the car is sold "as is" with no implied warranties.

   If the seller is holding these written agreements with your signature, how far do you think you can get trying to claim a verbal addendum to a written contract? 

   I have no doubt you got hosed on this deal.   What surprises me is that this usually happens to people who do not bother read the contract they are signing.   

   If you do decide to file, you may (or may not) get a nuisance settlement, but if they decide not to budge, you appear to be on shaky legal ground.

The concept of having a mechanic check the car before buying is not difficult to grasp. Having

a conscience numb enough to lie to the mother of a newborn and tell her a

"mechanic checked the car and everything is good" IS hard for me to

grasp. It wasn't smart to believe a used car salesmen, however I have a

positive outlook on life and people that tends to make me overly trusting.

   Since you are interested; I do have some money, because I do things like; buy

and drive used cars instead of signing off for years of payments for a

"better" or new car. I have never had any problems before, however I

should've known just by the way these people look that they are crooks. The as

is papers were signed based on false pretenses. As for the attorney; I never

mentioned one. I am a law student and although I havent passed the bar I am

confident that I can handle this case for myself. I have plenty of witnesses

and statements from others who were treated similarly. If I do need an

attorney's help I could get it. I will sue not just for myself but because I feel I should take the initiative and help prevent this from happening to others who maybe more helpless.

    Your interest in this seems odd, and your assumptions

lead me to believe you may be Ms. Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong or someone else from

the dealership? OR are you just someone with way too much time on your hands?

Interesting. You know a mechanic to take the car to AFTER the problem starts. The time to have the mechanic look at the car is BEFORE you buy it. I guess that must be a hard concept to grasp. Now you have all this money to pay an attorney and you claim you're suing them. Why didn't you use that money for a better car and mechanic to check out for you? If your paperwork says "as is" then it means what it says. In the final analysis, yes they probably sold you junk and did cover up the engine problems. But you did fail to be a smart consumer and have the car checked out by your own mechanic BEFORE buying it.