DriveTime Automotive Group
reviews and complaints

DO NOT PURCHASE A VEHICLE FROM DRIVETIME. I purchased my vehicle on 6/14/12 and it's first trip to the repair shop was 6/18/12.It'd has been to the shop for repairs 12 more times since. I have replaced the O2 sensors, the catalytic converters, the cam and crank shaft sensors(4 times EACH!) The radiator, the fan clutch, the heater core, the engine, the ignition, the pcm(computer) and now the egr valve. I've incurred out of pocket expenses of$$837 (and counting tomorrow I will pay another 200) for repairs not covered by warranty(this doesn't include what I paid our for rental cars) and have been without my vehicle for 72 (accumulative) days and counting. I've missed numerous days of work due to lack of transportation.I've spent uncountable hours on the phone with their warranty personnel...who are atrocious to deal with. I've had the vehicle to 3 separate repair shops including an authorized dodge dealer. The entire process has been an uphill battle, fighting for coverage for every repair.a gentleman from their warranty dept named Will went so far as to call one of the shops my truck was at and flat out LIE and tell them I was bad mouthing them and was demanding a second opinion when it was the warranty company all along that wanted the second opinion. The vehicle still will not pass emissions(a problem drivetime has been aware of since the day of purchase) and continues to randomly stall(you know, like when you're driving 60mph on the freeway). I cannot rely on my vehicle for the basics let alone any type of road trip or vacation. Their own recommended mechanic said the vehicle is a "death trap..a rolling time bomb" and after spending two hours with me listening to me go into detail about the issues with the vehicle, the manager of the location I purchased it from said today "this is just wrong...you don't do this to people". I've been a loyal customer to drivetime(this is my second vehicle purchased from drivetime, the first one I had minimal problems with)and I'm timely with my payments.This issue was brought to the attention of the following upper management personnel: Nicholas Leuthold, Chris Camp, Joseph Hill and Alexander Burgess with the end result being... in a nutshell..a big fat OH WELL. I spent hours there today attempting to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution to this problem avail. I will now use social media to become the proverbial squeaky wheel. I will contact every local news station I can think of. I will be contacting my councilman, the attorney general's office and my own lawyer. I may not be able to gain satisfaction where my own vehicle is concerned but I can do my part to ensure no one else gets screwed like I did.

My complaint is concerning what we think is deceptive trade practices and negligence regard to the purchase of a used vehicle last year, 11/03/2011 from a used car dealership known in this complaint as Drive Time and Drive Time Finace Company. Our complaint stems from their deceptive advertising promoting free waranty which is basically false, and the high price charged for purchase of used vehicle, also after the purchase deal was closed, the dealership in Houston Texas basically stop communicating with us and every time we tried contacting the sales person who sold us the vehicle to tell them about problems with the vehicle, she was either gone, on another line or some other lame duck excuse not to talk to us. We finally did stop calling hem and started to communicate with the corporate office, Drive Time finance company. Also even though they charged us over $13, 000 for a used 2006 chevrolet malibu maxx, that had a steering problem, missing seat latch, one key, no owners manual, no remote for vehicle which has factory alarm and only driver side door lock, and sticking starter that keeps turning sometime when you start the car. Also when we first informed the company of these problems they finally did say the steering problem was covered under their warranty, so they told us to take the vehicle to one of their certified service shops, in this complaint being NLINE Automotive in Houston, Texas, but later on when we contacted Chevrolet Company about the steering problem which they fixed for us, we were told that NLine automotived wasn't even a GM certifed dealer. This was just about two months ago. But when we first took the car to Nline, they charge us $50 and said they could find nothing wrong with the steering system even though we always knew from when we first noticed the problem because the instrument panel would alays tell us there was a steering problem and when we were on the freeway we could feel the play and rattle in steering column, but the second time we took the car to their dealer, Nline, they said that they did find a steering problem and it the estimate to fix the problem around $900. So at first Drive Time finance said it was no covered under warranty, and then I talked to another customer service agent who told me that it was covered under the supposedly life time free warranty and we needed to go to walmart and pay the $250 to I think they said Nline, and they would pay the rest and add to the loan. By then we really knew that we had been frauded. Also a few weeks ago while unloading the back of the vehicle, the left driver side gate latch slipped from the rusted sock and fell down with great pressure which cause me to fall and injure my already damaged back and hit my friend in the head. I'm now having to see an orthopedic specialist because of my back pain associated with the defective latch. Can furnish pictures. I'm definitly considering filing a federal complaint in U.S. District Court, the Southern District of Texas because This is a company that called us continuosly until they got us to the dealership to sell us a car that they basically chose for us, and after the deal basically neglected to follow thru on promises by their sales person which I feel is totally uneccessary. We realized their free warranty is really not worth the paper it's written on and and their tv ads representing a free warranty with purchase of one of their cars is actually a limited warranty and every time you have a problem with the vehicle you have to pay their certified dealers a $50 diagnostic fee and no telling how much more to actually have the vehicle repaired.
Product Credit product: Vehicle loan

I bought my car in January of 2012 and two day later it was in the shop with the engine light on. To this day it still comes on and now they are saying its a knock sensor and the parts and labor will cost over $1000.00 do to. I wish they had this car back because it has been nothing but a problem from day one. They want to only fix the little things but when it comes to fixing the big issues they don't want to deal with it. My transmission will not shift into overdrive causing me to stay in second gear all the time. This company is a RIP OFF! Do not deal with this company at all. I hate this 2001 Toyota Highlander. I am paying triple what I should be paying.

DriveTime managers in October 2012 agreed to take payment and declare all was in good status for my wifes car payment. An Al Lucero, countered three other managers on their promises over the phone recorded and said that the car was still to be repoed as it was being removed from the airport parking lot that was paid for by my wife. The Lucero at DT declared it was abandoned and waited like thieves to take it as it being transported to her friends home. All my wifes belongings to take to a new cancer research job were confiscated and charged $10 a day, which included her new Phd diploma for cancer research that we PAID dearly in six years of sweat and poverty, because our parents died of cancer and thank God, my wife is gifted to now find a cure.
We have talked to attorneys who say we have an excellent case but want 2500 up front. We dont have that now of course, so we need at least an honest probono attorney to get the car back as well as her clothes and diploma without having to pay them as well. Their representatives and managers on recording have declared she shouldnt have had a repo but this Lucero is just trying to keep his dishonest job and do harm to honest people trying to help others in the world.

this company has been making harassing phone calls to my job and to my cell phone for the past few months now and it needs to stop.i have not missed any payments to them since i had the car from 09/28/2011 til now.this past few moths i have given them everything that i had to try and make a full payment but i was short 2 times so far but they wont stop calling my office and my phone.when i asked them to stop last month they told me that they would call me as much as they want.so i am trying to just put a stop to this..thanks

Bout truck in July 2006, friend also bout a Nissan Altima same time. His car round corner went back and bout it on a sat. I bought my truck that Mon. His catil. converter fell out on wed. My truck eats up front tires every 3 Months. Want pass inspection converters were gutted.Will cost me $700 to fix cause not covered under there warranty. They want help with mechanics few. I had to take truck to shop for repair I thought but was out of gas, gas gauge Lil off cool. No, pull out of lot 2ths mile for gas engine light comes on. Took back think wed. called Cotton Trans. on Church when I took back is when he told me converters needed to be replaced.Nothing bout being gutted. I took to my mechanic when he found problem.Would not pass til I replace them not covered on warranty of course. Got ticket for inspection on Aug 3 2012 for truck not being inspected since April 2011 been driving for over year with no inspection. they gave me a 16inc. spare, truck has17inc. spares useless.

I have been scheduled for an appointment with Drive Time twice; I canceled one and the other one is schedule for this Thursday. After reading all the reviews I will cancel my appointment again. This many people can't possible be wrong. I know each state has their own sales persons and managers but I saw complaints from the location that I was going to visit. I read one comment that sounded just like my experience with them with the application process, so needless to say I will not purchase a vehicle from this company; THANKS TO ALL THE GOOD REVIEWS ON BAD SERVICE!

DriveTime Complaints & Reviews - DriveTime preys on people who need help
Review all DriveTime complaints
DriveTime
Posted: 2007-01-16 by Marissa [send email]

DriveTime preys on people who need help

Complaint Rating:
I purchased a vehicle from DriveTime in October '06. The people in the showroom were very friendly, really too friendly. I bought a vehicle because I needed one. If I could have purchased the same vehicle new, it would have cost me less. The price I paid for the '01 Ford Focus was a rip-off. The bluebook on the vehicle was $3300 less than what I paid for it. I was told the vehicle had just one previous owner, a little old lady in Sarasota.

Why didn't I listen to the horns and sirens that were going off in my head? I needed a car. The check engine light was on when I started the car to leave. When I said something to a salesman outside, he said not to worry, they go off all the time - OK.

With 1 week, I was driving and the gas pedal wouldn't work. The car didn't have any acceleration. A few feet later the car died, on a busy road. When I called DriveTime and asked for help, they said I had to the Warranty Department. I did and they were closed already for the week. It was 3:20 on a Friday afternoon. When I called the store I purchased the vehicle from, the Sales Manager seemed to know exactly what was wrong - the compressor.

This is real nice, I live in FL, it is hot and humid here 11 months of the year. The salesman wouldn't help me and when I spoke with the manager, I was told someone would contact me back, that was 3 weeks ago. I filed a Lemon Law Complaint with the Better Business Bureau but haven't heard anything yet. When I took this car to a real mechanic, I was told: "The oil hasn't been changed in at least 9000 miles, the tires are bare, the compressor is out (like I needed to know that) and the brakes would go out.

Now, when I spoke with someone from the Warranty Department the following Monday, I was told the oil was changed the week before I purchased it, there were new brakes, there were 2 new tires on the car. I'd really like to know where those 2 new tires are, they're not on the vehicle I have. I thought I was the only one who got the shaft, I didn't realize it was everyone who went in there. Also, this car, according to a vehicle history report I received, not the non-existent one from Experian, this vehicle has been bought, repossessed and resold more times than I had the patience to weed through.

DriveTime preys on people like me, who need help. Yes, they do not give a crap about the vehicle they've sold you. But, if you are late on a payment, you'd better have Caller-ID, they are on you like a fly on you know what.

Good Luck. Hopefully after reading this comments from everyone who has been screwed, you too, will not!

DO NOT GO TO THIS DEALERSHIP! RUN! They are a complete ripoff! All they want is to make a fast sale. Mike and Justin are complete idiots. They sold my daughter a car for 16000.00 with a book value of 9000.00. A PT Cruiser with 98k miles on it. They convinced my daughter that this would rebuild her credit and help her out. As a parent I called 3 times while she was there and asked them not to sell her a car. They as much told me to mind my own business. Would you not stop and think if a mother of a 35 year old girl called and told them to not sell her a car that they would see red flags. That night Andrea (in their Arizona customer service department) talked with me and Mike (the Manage) and assured me that if she returned the car the next morning then they would refund her entire down payment. When she got there Justin tells her that company policy is to keep 175.00 for stocking fee and somehow convinced her still... this is the right car for her. Right now, the car is sitting in my driveway with what sounds like starter issues. She has had the car 2 days! 2DAYS! They tell her to call a tow truck. Please run from this place. They are not the only ones that can help you find a new beginning or a car. Run as fast as you can.

According too research I have done on this company, buyers BEWARE. The vehicles that are sold here are NO GOOD. Chances are that you will have MAJOR ISSUES with them. What they do then, is if you default on any payments probbally because the condition of the vehicle and you would not expect MAJOR things to go wrong, they will reposess of coarse then what happens is that the waite A LONG TIME before they SUE YOU. See interest is compounding then your SUED and they go after you, evil like. What starts off as an example a 7.000 (lets say you pay 12, 000) on this dept you will end up being sued for 5-6 times that. Kinda like a title pawn where you NEVER are finished paying.. I believe this is the way they make money... Evil business practices...

Drive Time is not a reputable company regarding selling cars. I bought a 2007 Saturn Relay and it has been nothing but a headache. 12 days after purchase the fuel gauge was messed up and the car started experiencing dangerous stalling on the expressway. About 3 weeks later the brakes went out due to a hole in the line. My concern with the brake line is that there should have been some type of inspection that should have caught the hole in the line. I understand that the car is used but the brake line should have been inspected along with the other major components of the car. Along with the brake line failing, the engine light came on. Now there is something wrong with the transmission, conveniently the warranty does not cover servicing the transmission. But with all of this going on Drive Time expects payments to be made on-time. I have never felt so swindled before dealing with this company. Please don’t ever buy a car from this business because you will regret it in the end. This company preys on people and their financial hardship. Drive Time is also notorious for over charging the customer with the extremely high interest rate.

I had purchased a vehicle in 2008 and was told to make bi-weekly payments of $202.00 and the contract said it would be reported to my 3 credit bureaus as 2 payments a month so that would equal 24 payments a year. I called a year and a half later to purchase a second car from them and they said that my credit only shows 18 payments not 36 positive payments like I was told. I filed a complaint and they just kept saying sorry for the misunderstanding and there was nothing They can do for me! I CALL THAT FRAUD if I would of known back then what i know now I would of gone somewhere else but they made it seem so good to be true and indeed it was just that...

MY SON-IN-LAW AND DAUGHTER BOUGHT A CAR FROM DRIVE TIME. THEY HAVE ALREADY PAID MORE THAN THE CAR IS WORTH, AND HAS SPENT SO MUCH FIXING PROBLEMS ON THE CAR. THEY MAKE A HOLE PAYMENT THE FIRST OF THE MONTH AND BY THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, DRIVE TIME IS CALLING 2 AND 3 TIMES A DAY EVERY DAY FOR A PAYMENT. EVEN THOU THEY HAVE ALREADY HAVE A FULL PAYMENT. THEN CHARGE THEM LATE FEES EVERY MONTH. SO THEY ARE PAYING EVEN MORE FOR THE CAR. THEY HAVE BEEN PAYING ON THIS CAR AROUND 3 YEARS. THEY COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW CAR FOR WHAT THEY HAVE ALREADY PAID ON THIS CAR. DRIVE TIME IS NOTHING BUT A REAP OFF. MY SON EVEN BOUGHT A TRUCK FROM THEM AND HAS A PROBLEMS WITH IT ALSO. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THEM, THEY ARE REAPING OFF PEOPLE.

I helped my daughter, by co-signing for a car loan with Drive Time. I was told that I would need to co-sign to up the income level. My daughter had excellent payment history for first 1 1/2 yrs on the loan, then she lost her job and the timing belt went out on the car. Due to my financial obligations in taking care of family members, I was not able to make the payments on the vehicle nor have the vehicle repaired. We decided to do a voluntary repossession on the vehicle, and tried for over 3 months to get Drive Time to come pick up the car. it was like pulling teeth to get them to understand that we just could not keep the car. Every single day we would get a call from someone and every time had to explain the same story over and over again. Finally they came out to pick up the car. We were told that they would fix the car and resell it and whatever the car sold for, they would take that off the balance of the loan. Well I just got a phone call from their collection company and guess what? They are trying to tag me for the entire amount of the loan that is owed. There is absolutely no way in hades will I ever or recommend Drive Time to anyone again.

I bought a 2008 HHR LS from Drive Time. Back in Feb. 20011. Had it 6 months .Have electrical issues. All started with my relay switches. Bought a relay switch and it has shorted out. Now I have other relays that have went bad. My lights work when they want . There warranty don't cover the relays. Horn has stopped working. Brakes are sounding horrible.
My HHR has almot cut off when I'm driving.. Got stuck because my car wouldn't crank. When driving sometimes it wants to cut off. Have discovered my power windows are going. Everything thats wrong is not covered by there warranty. Called drive time they won't even trade it. Do yourself a favor .Don't go near drive time. You have a better chance going to a buy here pay here lot. I have decide to send the car back . Bad thing about theses cars . Parts are expensive for this vehicle. Will never buy a car from them again. They sell crap. Done research on these Vehicles and there are lots of problems with this vehicle.
Went to a dealership to see if I could trade it. Found out I'm 10, 000 negative. Still owe 15, 400 . Can't even trade it. Hope this helps somebody.