Complaint Review: Transit Plus Inc. - Alantic Beach Florida

This message is to inform you about a situation that I recently had with the company, "TRANSIT PLUS, Inc.", which is located in Jacksonville, Florida (Atlantic beach, Fl) From an E Bay auction, I purchased a 1997 GMC Savanna Tiara Emerald 1500 van. This is a Full sized, customized van which has been customized to adapt a wheelchair. In the description of the van from e bay, it lists that the van is functional and had NO PROBLEMS to speak of and the vehicle would pass inspection.

I would like to acknowledge, that after I won the auction and paid (in full) $8,800.00 and have gotten the vehicle, then waiting an extra MONTH for the TITLE and the necessary paperwork for me to register the vehicle and start the necessary mechanical inspections of the van. I've come to find that the description that was posted upon E BAY was FALSE!

When I received the van, the appearance was "FLAWLESS" and it looked like the vehicle was properly taken care of. I (like anyone else) thought that I may have a few MINOR problems to deal with, and that wouldn't have been any problems with me.

However, once title was received (which took a few weeks, after vehicle was shipped), my mechanic did the inspection of the van and found that there was existing problems (which I have documentation for) with the van. 1. There was a broken FUEL GAGE, 2. There was improper air flow with the engine (which could lead to more serious problems), 3. The transmission on the van was in the process of shattering! The vehicle wasn't going into gear properly and it had hesitations developing. It was told to me that even though a transmission is failing, the vehicle should be able to go into "REVERSE". In this case going into "REVERSE" was a problem within itself! If I had chosen to try and do a NYS INSPECTION on the van before repairs.. The vehicle WOULD NOT PASS!

Now, I understand that the vehicle was a "USED" vehicle and the van had over 130,000 miles upon it and I also expected to do some "MINOR" work upon the van, but addressing those above mentioned problems, to me, doesn't fall under the "MINOR" category! The cost of the repairs cost me $2,200.00 and I feel that I should not have to be responsible for such an expense!

There was several attempts sent to "TRANSIT PLUS, INC." stating the above problems and to no avail, there was NO RESPONSE! Trying to received adequate justification, I went to "SQUARE TRADE" from E BAY, and "TRANSIT PLUS, INC." took the stance of.. "The vehicle was purchased under the agreement that it was listed as an "AS IS" contract and I (the buyer) chose to refuse the "TEMP TAGS" OPTION. I (the buyer) chose to have the vehicle shipped by a separate shipping company and the bottomline is that I (the buyer) purchased a $17,000.00 vehicle for $8,800.00 and they feel that they aren't responsible for the expense!"

My view is this, YES the "BLUE BOOK" value of this vehicle may be $13,000.00 (in MINT condition) and with the changes of the extended roof and wheelchair ramp, you may raise the price to approximately $16,000.00 (depending which company you choose to deal with for the installation), However I feel that this is an insult to my character and I'M BEING RIPPED OFF!

I'm a person who is in a WHEELCHAIR and the purchase for this van isn't a "LUXURY ITEM" for me, it's a "NECESSITY ITEM!" I don't have the finances to purchase a "NEW" vehicle from a DEALER. I feel that the product that I purchase should be a "WORKING PRODUCT" (which was described in the auction's description) and I feel that I should get back the $2,200.00 that I had to spend to get the vehicle in WORKING CONDITION!I feel that this is more than a "SELLER trying to PASS THE WOOL OVER THE EYES OF THE BUYER," but its a connection with the fact of a HUGE COMPANY LYING about a product and FORCING the BUYER to DEAL with THEIR MISTAKES!

Christopher

Forest Hills, New York
U.S.A.