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Clay Cooley Auto Group

Clay Cooley Auto Group review: Auto Swindlers 6

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4:04 pm EDT
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Purchased my car in July 2007 after speaking with sales rep. via phone calls for a few weeks. Was told I qualified for a "new" program that gives second chances to deserving customers attempting to rebuild credit. For $1000 down I could choose from over 20+ new/barely preowned vehicles that would count towards all 3 credit bureaus and in return I after making payments on time after 6- 12 months I could refinance OR I could trade in for a another car. Well, long story short I drove home with a HUGELY overpriced '02 PT Cruiser AS IS, but promised it had no defects so after 6 months, I can trade in or finance at a lower rate. I felt as though because of my credit this was the only option for me. I drove the car home and it overheated as soon as I pulled into the driveway. Clay Cooley would not take the car back because legally the car was now mine, even if I had it less than 24 hours. They told me that it just needed the fluids changed. As it turns out, it overheated about 4 x's when I discovered they sold me the car with a hole in the radiator. Very very dangerous, but hey they got their $$$ so they didn't care. Please whoever reads this...BE CAREFUL! After 3-4 months of timely payments they then sold my account to Bayquest/Affiliated Financial. (They are even more of a nightmare- check my complaint filed under "Bayquest" on this site...always losing payments, counting $ towards interest and not principle, etc...)Learn from my mistakes...
1. Always get a Carfax report. If they won't gie you one - LEAVE ..no scratch that - RUN!
2. If they offer a sweet deal like the one I was offered (6-12 months refinance) get it in writing.
3. Ask probing questions about their option to sell your account to a different company AFTER you've purchased from them.

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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

6 comments
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Brittany M
, US
Feb 22, 2018 2:26 pm EST

My husband and I went to the clay Cooley Mitsubishi in Arlington to see about trading in our car we purchased from them over a year ago. We were assisted by a representative, she was nice. However, when she told us we weren’t able to trade in our car because it was through the in house program, we told her we were told by multiple clay Cooley reps that were able to trade in within 12-15 months of having the vehicle if we made our payments. She told us she will talk to her boss and have him speak to us. So as I waited with my two children, my husband stepped outside to take a phone call. Five minutes passed and her boss storms out of the office yelling in front of everyone in the building saying “if they don’t have $6, 000-$7, 000 they can’t trade in nothing!” And he stormed into another room and never acknowledged us at all.

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quincyg
, US
Sep 22, 2016 11:04 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am buying a Chevy Malibu from them. I have nothing but praise for them. Mr.Harvey was and is a very professional and proficient salesman. I had one small problem with my car. The remote fob was broken. They didnt have to...but they had a guy come and reprogram my car and got me one for free. I am 100% happy with my car, and the service. Go to the Clay Cooley off of IH-20...ask for John Harvey. They will do right by you.

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Toby Grace
, US
Jan 27, 2017 1:17 pm EST
Replying to comment of quincyg

Beware doing business with this car dealership! They can't even pay their bills! They bought tires from our company and can't pay. Some of the bills are 8 and even 10 months old and still we have received no payment. Can you image how a car dealership with this kind of integrity will treat you? We are having to file a lawsuit against them now to try and retrieve our money. Who knows if they will be in business a couple months from now? All I know is that they CAN'T PAY! Now imagine a scenario of going to buy a nice car at Clay Cooley Nissan, the car or SUV you always wanted. Then a week or two after you buy it you wake up and find out that the car or SUV you bought from them is in your driveway sitting on blocks with no wheels or tires on it! Then maybe you might call Clay Cooley Nissan to try and find out why your wheels and tires were repossessed off of your truck or SUV through no fault of your own, and then maybe they are no longer in business because they got sued by so many companies for failure to pay their bills that it was just too much for them? Do business with a company like this AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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Tyneeo
Austin, US
Nov 15, 2014 9:54 pm EST

How did you get out of the car or did you have to finish the payments? I'm in the same boat and will be paying $24k for a car which is worth $6 if that. I have already paid $12k and cannot find my way out of this scam.

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Martha Pardo
Dallas, US
Feb 27, 2012 7:28 pm EST

This goes for lovescars62 that obviously works for Clay Cooley and that responds to all the bad reviews against Clay Cooley. I've been reading all the bad reviews from Clay Cooley and from personal experience of doing business with them I can guarantee that most of them are legitimate complaints. Clay Cooley is a dealership that takes advantage of people that need a car and have bad credit. My advice to people that have bad credit is to buy a cash car for the mean time until you better your credit. Clay Cooley sells used cars that are terribly in bad conditions and a week or month later from purchasing a car they break down and after that you're on your own. Not only do you have to pay your car note but also end up paying for car repairs that are too high to be able to afford. Life isn't perfect and people go through hardships do to circumstances in life. It's not always better to blame a car dealership for peoples misgivings but it would be nice if Clay Cooley sold reliable cars for people to purchase then maybe you guys wouldn't have 31 complaints on BBB.

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lovescars62
LAS VEGAS, US
Jul 14, 2009 12:35 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

It looks like you have bad credit. You didn't buy a warranty. You bought a vehicle as-is. You act as if you never bought a car before. It is always better to blame a car dealer for your misgivings than taking a look at yourself. Pay your bills on time...and go buy a new car!