ComplaintsforSterling Auto Imports

• Initial Complaint

  01/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 14th,2022 I traveled from Pennsylvania to Virginia to visit Empire Auto Imports in hopes to buy a 2017 *** ****. On this day it was discovered after the test drive that the driver side halogen light bulb rings were dim and also the air conditioning unit was blowing out semi cool air. I notified the salesman of these two major concerns, and he informed me that the lights were working and the visual was due to " the way the sunlight was shining on front of the car". He assured me that he was certain of the reasoning that the lighting looked dim. He assured me the car was in perfect shape and if i was interested in purchasing the car i would get a bumper to bumper warranty that would cover anything that would go wrong with the car with the exception of normal wear and tear. Regarding my concens for the hot air blowing from the air conditioner, he then assured me that he would have the AC recharged and and all unforeseen problems with the car would be fixed prior to me picking the car up, if I was interested. At that time we could not agree on a purchase price because the car was advertised online ranging from $25,200 -$27,999, *** stated the reasons for the price climb was for repairs to be done to the inside, cosmetic damage and the inner door handle. I then returned to PA and received several phone calls throughout the week in an attempt to negotiate a fair price. I returned on 4/21 to purchase the car and sign paperwork. *** claimed to have fixed the air conditioner, the halo lighting and put money into the cosmetic repairs later to find out that the inner door handle and the headrest were painted and glued together. The door handle and the headrest are presently at its original form. The halo light had to be fixed several times. The air conditioning unit has major expensive issues that are presently being worked on that are NOT covered by the" B to B warranty". I have records of diagnostics, repairs and reciepts totaling over $3000.00 

  Business response

  02/09/2023

  HELLO, this customer and her son bought a car from us over 6 months ago. when they first came to the store the son was VERY RUDE and continuously disrespected my sales staff. I (***) decided to step in and kindly let the gentleman know we will not do business if he cant be calm and respectful. I also reminded him that he DO NOT HAVE TO BUY THE CAR. the reason for this was he kept trying to use ANGER and DISRESPECT to buy his way into a better deal. He told us all the CONS on the "AS IS" vehicle and i explained to him it is a used car and it will have some dings even though this car was clean. he proceeded to test drive the car and liked it. AGAIN he tried to bully and disrespect us to get a better deal and i asked him to leave. He proceed to leave us a FALSE review on the internt and i called him and explained that he was telling a lie. His mother than decided to call me personally and ADMIT that her son "can over react at times and be childish" and that he really likes the car and just wants to drive off with it. He agreed to remove the review and they agreed from there to purchase the car. I am NOT the company that runs the warranty claims and this customer decided to buy a OPTIONAL COVERAGE. Empire Auto Imports is not responsible for for what ******** will cover. The contract was bought and signed and all the paper stating that is available to show. As far as repairs on the car this is the FIRST time myself or my staff has heard from these folks in 6 months so we are blindsided. 

  Customer response

  02/12/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have phone msgs and recorded phone calls from the business discussing problems with the car.  The conversations that took place with the manager/*** were disrespectful and non business like.  I no longer wanted to engage in any conversations with *** due to his negativity and disrespect   My correspondence with his company is documented several days/weeks after the car was purchased. The company assured me that the vehicle will be covered bumper to bumper which was not true.  Also I have issues relating to the paperwork. My opinion is if the company was reputable they would have made an attempt to render these problems in the beginning. I am out well over 3000 (receipts) and the bill continues to climb as of yesterday the rear view mirror fell off as i was driving  only for me to take it to a shop and find out that it was taped on.  I have a 480 car payment that is due every month and the car continues to be problematic.  I believe that that dealer should be held accountable for these repairs or exchange the vehicle for a more reliable effective efficient vehicle. I am only asking to be treated fairly and with respect. The comments that were made by *** were childish ,rude and not relevant to a resolution I have receipts for all work done and diagnostic from a reputable *** dealer.  The car should he considered a lemon and should have been priced substantially lower.  The prices also dont match. The advertisement is conflicting. Thank you 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On July 29,2022 I purchased a 2007 ***** *** SUV from the dealership (Empire Auto Imports) in Sterling. I paid cash for the vehicle with no financing, loans etc. I was told at the time of purchase that the title for the vehicle I purchased would be sent to me in the mail in about two weeks. Today is December 8, 2022 and I have yet to receive said title. At the time of purchase I was issued 30 day temporary tags which expired on 8.28.2022. I had not received my title at that time and called the dealership and was given the run around...lied to and told that "they were working on getting me my title". I was then once again issued another set of thirty day tags. Those tags expired at the end of September 2022...and then they did it all over again for the months of October and November 2022. Constantly telling me that they would get me my title. According to them (Empire) they were trying to get my title from the DMV in the state of South Carolina. After looking into what it took to get a title renewal in that state it confirmed that the dealership had been lying to me the entire time. After complaining consistently over the past months I was basically told that it was nothing that they were going to do to resolve this issue. They did offer to take the car back and give me 85 percent of what I paid for it initially...minus 59 cents per mile that I have put on the car since owning it. According to the manager I spoke with...this was the law..?? Also... I tried to have them issue me another 30 day tag in hopes that they would work out the problem..?? I was told that THE SYSTEM would not issue them another tag. So...as of today...my car has dead tags...and the dealership basically told me that is my problem. Due to their negligence I can only drive my car at the risk of breaking the law. This situation also prevents me from parking at the complex where I often reside...and from parking on the city streets where I can get ticketed or towed. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I cant even trade in or sale MY CAR , that I own, because I do not have the title. I am requesting that an investigation be launched immediately to provide some kind of resolution to this problem. I paid for the car and I rightfully should have my title as promised. I believe my title should have been issued to me 45 days after purchase. I cannot properly register my car with the VA DMV...I cant get tags...I cant sell or trade my car in if I chose to. And the persons responsible have SHOWN me that the dont care and are not trying to assist me in fixing the problem. It seems that the are trying to rip me off by forcing me to sell the car back to them at a fraction of the cost I paid....so they can resell it again at higher price....!! Its ridiculous and unprofessional for them to not provide me with something that is rightfully mine...!! I am really in a bad space by not being able to drive...park...sell or register my car....!! I appreciate someone looking into the matter and helping me...and also assuring that this dealership NEVER does this to another consumer..... Thank you....respectfully......******************* Ph ************ E.mail *****************

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  Hello, i am aware of the claims that are being made by ************* and i think it is unfair. things like this happen in our line of business all the time and we have ZERO control over it. ************* purchased a chiecle from my company and the title was sold in the mail at the orginal owners house. This was not a virginia title it is a south corlina title. once the duplicate was ordered by the orginal owner that traded the vhicle in he claimed he misplaced the title in the mail. We than had to get our tag and title department to transfer the paperwork to Empire Auto Imports and now we are waiting to hear back from the SOUTH CAROLINA DMV department. this matter is not in our hands BUT i have offered ************** the opton to return the car which is what a dealership can do if we can not provide a title. the only respnse we get from him is yelling, threats of coming here and hurting us, and just total disrespct so we choose not to deal with it any furture. He has proceeded to sue my company but he doesnt understand all the paper work he signed mentions all the laws to him clearly. i have personalty tried to him him myself and we cant get anywhere with him. all we do is offer to buy the car back from him or he can wait for the title. those are the only two options by law he has. if there is anything else i can answer or help with please let me know. thank you! 

  *****************************

  Customer response

  12/27/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  The business response is filled with LIES and OUTRIGHT FALSE ACCUSATIONS and absolutely no resolution. Never once did I THREATEN anyone...and its quite obvious that the true character of this **** BOUND business and owner is self evident. The fact remains that NOTHING he stated in his rebuttal compensates for the mishandling and malpractice of his business..!! After MONTHS of being lied to..and constantly told MY TITLE was forthcoming...he still has NO ANSWER..!@ Im still driving on dead tags. I still cannot REGISTER my car and get the proper tags etc. For him to create a false narrative accusing me of threats etc. makes it plain to see that he is trying to make excuses by shifting the blame off of himself and his SHADY BUSINESS in a futile attempt to make it as if I'm the CAUSE OR REASON for his inept business practice(s). EMPIRE IMPORTS needs to be INVESTIGATED and the business shut down for illegal activities and ripping people off. How can he tell me what HE IS going to give me for my car....and then add TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT...!!  I paid for the car...Im entitled to my title..AS PROMISED. It's been FIVE MONTHS that he has jerked me around....and now he is attempting to JERK THE BBB around as well...!! Im asking you to STEP IN and correct this travesty of business...to prevent anyone else from having to go through this unsettling..stressful type of situation again.   Thank you...
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************
  

  Business response

  01/25/2023

  I DONT KNOW WHY THIS CUSTOMER IS STILL MAD OR TRYING TO FILL THIS STORY WITH MORE LIES. EVERYTHING ON OUR END WAS DONE AND I HAVE THE TEXT MESSAGES PROVING IT. PLEASE DOPE THIS BECAUSE AT THIS POINT I FEEL HE IS JUST TRYINGTO BRING A LOCAL BUSINESS DOWN. HE HAS GOTTEN HIS TITLE AND HIS TAGS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE DONE AT DMV BY himself! Tell us why here...

• Initial Complaint

  01/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My daughter purchased a car from this dealership 2-months ago, she traded her car in **** and gave them a down payment for 3000.00 they only gave her 2- weeks paper tags, till this day we have no tags, they aren't answering the phone, and I'm going up there Dec 6th with the police. I have spoken to someone over 2- months ago, he was rude, because when she purchased the car one day later the lights came on and said service A-B , then they told her she is responsible to get it fixed after one day of having the car, and they didn't give her any warranty. When they stated it will be one.

*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. ↩