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I had Lemon Squad inspect a 1993 Ford Rollback Wrecker in Ft Myers, Fl for me. I live in NY, and figured I'd try them, instead of spending the money to fly down there for something that might not be worth it. They did a full report, and it was more thorough than I expected. They picked out every little thing, including cracked window gaskets. Well, it turned out that they were trying to find every little thing wrong they could to discourage me from buying the truck, because their mechanic that did the inspection went and bought the truck out from under me! That right! He found out how cheap the woman was selling it for, and convinced her to sell it to him.
So, if you are looking to buy a vehicle that is selling at a very good price, beware of this company. Their mechanics are guys looking to make extra money, and one way of doing that is by buying and selling vehicles. I am sure I am not the only one this has happened to. Its just that, first of all, I am a mechanic myself, so they couldn't discourage me from buying it with the little work that it needed, and for the price I was getting it for. Second, I further investigated after the woman that had the truck would not answer or return my phone calls.Not only did I waste the $175 that they charged me, but I feel lost about $4000, which is how much more it will cost me to find another vehicle equivalent to this one.
So, if the vehicle seems like a real good deal, go check it out yourself. Because, if you hire these guys, you may lose it.
I spoke with the owner of Lemon Squad, and this turned out to be a misunderstanding, due to poor communication by the owner of the truck that they had inspected for me. She coincidently sold the car to someone else the day after the inspection. I tried to contact her by phone, text, and email, several times with no response. Since the truck was being sold for $thousands below book value, and the truck was listed for sale for weeks before this, I natrually suspected something. But, after speaking to Mr Dabbs I am confident that his company was not involved.
SCAM! Lemon Squad did not provide a timely car inspection service as advertised. Lemon Squad refuses to give a refund, only a credit for a future inspection. The car was purchased so an inspection is no longer needed. After reading reviews on Lemon Squad, they have done this to many other people and have questionable business practices. The terms of "no refunds" is not clearly stated by Lemon Squad when purchasing. They bury it in pages of "terms and conditions" written in fine print. Lemon Squad FAQ section of website says they aim for inspection time of two days. They did not adhere to this time-frame due to the technician having personal issues. I was forced to drive 9 hours at the last minute and inspect the car myself. Don't penalize me for a problem with YOUR technician. I have all of this documented from saved chat transcripts. What kind of company refuses to refund when the problem is their fault? SCAMMERS!
DO NOT USE LEMON SQUAD. I live in Alabama and wanted to purchase a Mercedes S600 MAYBACH from Miami. The purchase price was over $100, 000 so I decided to hire Lemon Squad to inspect the vehicle so I wouldn’t have to travel to Miami. I purchase the Exotic Inspection and the inspection was performed. The inspector called me and talked for 40 minutes telling me how great the vehicle was and he would be sending the written report by email by tomorrow. He stated there was only one very small chip in the paint and it would take me over a year to find it. The next day I read the report and everything was great. I was still looking at other vehicles…after the inspection I decided to purchase the vehicle, completed all the paper work and scheduled for a transportation company to deliver the vehicle to my house. When the vehicle arrived, I noticed damage to the lower driver side bumper about the size of a quarter. I questioned the driver who presented pictures of the vehicle before he loaded it and the damage was present before he loaded it. I went to the Lemon Squad report and enlarged the picture and the damage was there during the inspection by Lemon Squad. I call the inspector and he admitted he didn’t notice the damage, he apologized but could provide a resolution for the damage. I call the 800 number for Lemon Squad in order the find a resolution to the issue. I talked with a lady who told me there was nothing she could do. She also stated I had 14 days to dispute the report. I told her I live in Alabama and the vehicle was delivered from Miami yesterday (17 days) . I ask for the contact information for the General Manager, the lady said she was the manager….I said I need to speak with the general manager and she told me she was the general manager. I’ve never called an 800 number and the person answering the phone was the general manager. If she was the GM, she needs to take a class on customer service. She kept stating I should noticed the damage in the picture (too small to tell) and it was more than 14 days to file a dispute. The beginning of the process was professional, however the end result was not. Lemon Squad took no responsibility for the damage to the vehicle. Don’t waste your money with LEMON SQUAD.
I do inspections for Lemon Squad and I also have my own inspection company (just me, word of mouth). I have done 200+ inspections for Lemon Squad in a major US city and have never had a problem with either Lemon Squad or the sellers and buyers other than one person saying their sunroof would no longer properly close. I always make sure it closes correctly as part of the inspection process and I leave them fully closed. I specialize in muscle cars and classic cars. It can be very difficult to determine matching numbers (broad spectrum, can be down to diode stampings on a classic Corvette alternator) without having access to a lift (transmission, rear differential) or using tools to gain access to casting numbers (remove valve covers). You also can't expect a guy doing a $149 mobile inspection to bring $20K pro grade scanning equipment to a dealer or a private seller. On the other hand, you most certainly can expect high grade photos to document the car. I take at least 80 (immaculate car), usually 100+ pictures, even for a typical Accord or Camry. Example, pic with finger pointing to general area, then a close up of the imperfection. Easy to get 30 to 40 pics just doing that. You should also expect professional communication. I would never think of speaking to a buyer or seller in a way that is not cordial or professional. And for collector/classic cars, you can't expect a person to be an expert in all makes/marques. I do my best to state the limitations of my knowledge in verbal or written communications. Flip side is I also do my research, typically look for three sources before I consider something factual. Often times buyers have much better specific knowledge of a particular make/model and this is why cordial, professional communication is so important. Two final comments. Everyone has bad days. There are times when I arrive at an inspection where I pause, close my eyes and take a couple deep breaths so I can put 20 miles of brutal rush hour traffic behind me. Someone answering a phone may have just gotten off the phone with a scammer attempting to use a vehicle inspection service to help steal a car. Last comment, please don't expect to get a $600 to $800 classic car inspection for $249.
WOW! Just got off the phone with Denise, Reagan, and Andy. I bought the pre-purchase service but when it comes to signing in to your account you have to agree to their terms and conditions to access your portal.
After reading them, I did not agree with them. So I call them less than 5 minutes after placing my order and got Denise. I told Denise I don't agree to the terms and she says but you agreed with them to pay. I said well you have to agree to a separate set of terms to access your account and I don't agree so cancel everything now, please.
She just hung up.
So I called back and got Reagan who transferred me to her supervisor. He cursed me out saying that he "doesn't want to hear my b---sh-t" (yes, that's what he said) and that he wanted to know what I don't agree with.
Of course, I'm not required to say anything besides "I don't agree with the terms"; I'm the customer. He said "just because you are the customer, doesn't mean you're right."
I hope Yelp will not censor my review because that's exactly what he said to me! I could not believe my ears. He said it 2 times during this call. I say during this call because he called me 2 times after, mansplaining and cursing some more lol (the second time I did not pick up). The first time he called back he said if I am so fragile that the word bs offends me so much he doesn't know how I can survive day-to-day. He said since I was giggling in the first phone call I must not be too upset about his cursing. I'm sure anyone reading this can relate to nervous laughter. I was pretty anxious that someone would be using these words, let alone his tone, with me on a professional call.
While I was on the phone with my bank, I also got a long, conflicting text from them saying that all sales are final, but they will refund in full, and if I want an inspection to use somebody else. They also said I should be nice, because companies like to work with nice people. Weird because I kept my voice down the whole time I was talking to them and wasn't the one using foul language.
Please, do not use them. Use YourMechanic, the only reason I went looking for someone else was because there were no YourMechanics available in the zip code the car was in on the date I needed. Needless to say, I will go with a company that guarantees and stands by their work and doesn't curse at you when you tell them you don't agree with their terms and are not interested in continuing using their site or service.
I was also an inspector, and had done inspections for this company, and honestly, I enjoyed reading the posts, because it all sounds too familiar. Superior inspector pretty much says it, as it is! The smoke blowing he speaks of, is only part of it. The attitude, OMG. I have been in the automotive business for many, many years before Andy was born. I have read on various sites that he's arrogant, condescending, rude, and even childish. Unfortunately, I have to agree! He has no courtesy, no common sense, only a [censor] bites the hand that feeds them. Picture it, the inspectors are out there looking at vehicles, and Lemon squad gets about half of what the consumer pays out for the inspection. If he gets pissed off about something, and it's usually over nothing worth mentioning, you as an inspector will get a phone call from him yelling and screaming and he hangs up on you. Who the hell needs that [censor]! He has no clue, inspectors will not take that crap, and they quit, they won't do the work for him. I have friends that are inspectors in various parts of the country, one of those friends was doing inspections for Lemon squad, Andy called him screaming about something. My friend told him to "go f__k himself and don't call me again". He told me he's an as__ole. Too many inspectors are whimps, and that's what Andy counts on, that they will take the abuse and keep inspecting for him. If more inspectors walked away, Lemon squad will fail. Andy is a failure, as a tech, as a business owner, as a fellow human being. He is not able to handle people, cannot talk to people civilly, he belittles everyone. If it was not for his wife, the doors would have closed long ago. I feel bad for her in a way, because she's stuck with him, but that's her choice and it's her problem. He needs to grow up and show respect for people, but first he needs to respect himself, which will never happen, because he just doesn't get it! Anyone that does inspections for them, are fools, and will get what they deserve when it ends badly.
I used to be an inspector for Lemon Squad. I read these complaints here and on other sites about the nasty attitudes and how they train their inspectors. they dont train anyone to do anything.I stopped doing their inspection because Andy blows smoke up everyones [censor] and delivers nothing he says.He is also not in touch with who does what, He had accused another inspector of doing the one listed above on the classic chevy truck when all the time it was another inspector who didnt have experience in classics. save your money and search for an inspector in the area you are trying to have the car looked at, they will provide a better inspection on a more personal level
Oh no, not another victim. What a shame so many of us used Andy Dabbs Lemon Squad after reading feedback on their own website about how good they do the job, and how qualified his inspectors are. Thank goodness " Complaints Board "and " Yelp" websites do expose Andy Dabbs Lemon Squad's unbiased feedback. {Just a shame most of us don't see this feedback till we are victims}. Some ok, , some really bad. The good saves some very lucky consumer a little money, the bad cost $15, 000. Yes, feels like grand theft auto, and no insurance. I actually thought, , , silly me, , , , that Andy would feel so badly about the situation he left me in and, given time to think about it, { "conscience"] he would have made some realistic offer of reimbursment.. Watch this space, I will sure as hell let you all know the day I get fair compensation.. Don't hold your breath! Beware, not all inspectors are honest, and no insurance? And a CEO that accepts that this is OK?
I'm not a happy customer either. Sent Lemon Squad to inspect a 1966 Mustang Fastback GT, which was not local of course. There were many pictures and Lemon Squad was up front in telling me about the bondo and that it was a poor restoration on the body but the mechanical's were very good. This was supposed to be numbers matching car and asked I asked that this was checked. Well fast forward after taking the car to local shop for some oddities and engine vibration I have found out that it does not have the original engine. Far from it, actually it has a 1970's Ford Torino 302 instead of the 289 it should have. On top of this I had to replace brake lines which were about to fail, front springs, exhaust is shoved up into the body as it has non factory headers. I could go on and on. Needless to say I thought I was doing my due diligence in paying Lemon Squad to tell me what I was getting into with my first classic car purchase which was $31K but I was wrong. The biggest lesson I learned was, if I can't fly or drive to look at the car myself and have a local shop look at it then don't even bother.
BTW, not accusing Rodger from NZ of being a 'cheap-butt', rather trying to make a comparing point with regards to inspection service pricing and buyer expectations.
If a vehicle does not get lifted, it is not going to get inspected. Pictures of surface issues are a cute way to mislead an uninformed public about a vehicle's true condition. A mechanic needs to lift a vehicle, load and unload suspension components, run diagnostics with a REAL SHOP GRADE TOOL (not some $50-$100 cheap emissions monitor/code reader) and utilize elcometers (tools to measure paint thickness on metal surfaces). Price shop for an inspection and you'll certainly get less than your cheap butt bargained for! An inspection service should have litigious culpability and exposure (not hidden behind an LLC, for example) if you get stuck with a mechanical nightmare that was provably junk during its so-called pre-purchase inspection.
I am Rodger from New Zealand.
Steven Paul, I think you hit the nail on the head.
If the man you pay the money doesn't do the inspection, personally, you could be like me, thousands of $ out of pocket.
I used Andy Dabbs Lemon Squad, he employed one of his inspectors to look at a Classic truck in N.C. for me. Special request, no bondo, no rust.
The report recorded no defects, just a query about a rough surface on chassis, which he later clarified, was not a problem, which was correct.
Described as "Show condition, one of the best they had seen" and plenty of photo's that all looked fine.
But when I got the truck it had plenty of bondo and rust, all clearly visible, so not a cover up job by seller. Just a really sub-standard inspection. No photo's taken of 3 worst effected area's and underneath photo's taken just inches away from evidence that would have prevented my purchasing truck .
In the Lemon Squad Inspection photo's they have a photo showing the paint gauge with a good reading just below the door glass. If the inspector had looked 2 feet above this photo, he would have seen exposed bondo, large cracks in it, visible from 10 feet away. Below paint gauge photo, same, bondo ripples in paint, on sill top, new rocker panel welded at rear end, fitted with front end held on by bondo only and drops away an inch out of alignment. Also visible from 10 feet away at least. Bondo and rust in outer edge of floor. Cab support frames from cab mounts, all four, are new, belong to a different model Chev, I believe, bolted to rocker panel end, held with one self tapping screw at cab mount end and because they belong to a different model, they are 4 to 6 inches short and are not welded to mount support. This is because the old frame/crossmembers are rusted out, almost completely, nothing to weld them too. The new ones fit over the top, but again, stick your head under the truck and easy to see, where the old met the new and one shiny self taping screw.
Photo's of coil springs taken by inspector look fine, but they are not, all damaged and different shape and heights, no matching pairs here. Easy to see, I took photo's from a different angle and emailed to Andy, very different from to inspection photo's.
When I emailed Andy with my concerns when the truck arrived, he offered my inspection fee refund.
But I said no, this is serious and it is going to cost me plenty to fix.
He sent a nice little message to the inspector, telling him I had a problem, and to be careful with future inspections.
So I bought a digital camera and sent him photo's of the seriousness of the misssing information in their report. He said he fired the inspector at that time.
I have for months now been trying to get fair compensation from him. He said he was a victim too, and I should take some responsibilty, and if I want to, seek compensation from the inspector not. him. I bave no contract with his inspector, just with him. And he did say, if I pursued his inspector there was no way he should pay anything. Can't win, even though he has sent me an email saying he is sorry for letting me down. Understatement, for sure.
He did send me $1500, { far short of the $8.500 cost expected for bondo and rust removal, buy and fit, springs}, but added he didn't have too, as the disclaimer clause in the purchase an inspection form with Lemon Squad, according to him, means they are not liable for any compensation, other than refunding the fee I paid, regardless of how inaccurate their report is.
I have taken the time to write this in the hope that all you offshore buyers will read it and realise, if Andy Dabbs is correct in his interpretation of his Disclaimer, { I assume he is, it is his company}, they except no responsibility for any ommissions or errors in their report if they get it wrong. In our country, we have fair trading and consumer law that would see me compensated for services or products not provided as advertised.
Now here is a list of the things I have taken responsibility for, {NZ disclaimer law}, I had :no problem with the costs of: Replace Alternator, remove and repair radiator, repair leak in transmission cooler, replace stall converter, replace rear brake drums, all wheel cylinders, master cylinder, brake shoes and some of the piping., rear driveshaft cross, front wheel bearings. About $3000 worth .. A thorough inspection would have noticed, no efffective handbrake of rear brakes, front bearings, I am sure., but I have that in my happy to pay $3000
The inspector even said it was fitted with seat belts, but it wasn't.
The report and the photo's taken was very much in favour of the seller, but I ordered and paid for it... I have an opinion, I am sure anyone reading this does too.
From the firewall forward, with the exception of the radiator, close to show condition, also the tray, but the rest, nothing like it..
I hope this message is not deleted, , as it is meant to better inform overseas buyers in particular of the risk of using a pre-purchase inspection company that has a disclaimer clause that can result in the same result that Andy Dabbs Lemon Squad left me with.
Given up the idea of seeking compensation, but if I can save one other person from making the same mistake, that would be great..
This is the sort of thing that can happen when a national auto inspection company uses contractors in outlying areas. If you are ever looking for a vehicle and want direct 1-on01 communication with the inspector & owner of the company at the same time... Stop by http://www.testdrivetech.net as Steve the owner performs all pre-purchase inspections himself in St Louis, Southern Illinois & Springfield. If Steve can't get to it.. We don't do it.