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I purchased a 2007 Mazda5 certified from The Auto Place. My contact states I have a bumper to bumper warranty excl. transmission and engine.
Within a few days of driving, I was experiencing severe swaying when going over bumps.
I had it inspected elsewhere and they have advised that the vehicle should not have passed safety certification due to two problems which will cost over $1000 to fix.
I contacted The Auto Place several times to allow them to rectify this. However, Sam said that they will not honor the warranty and it is my problem - they will not fix it.
Be very careful about buying anything from The Auto Place. They revealed an accident on the vehicle AFTER we had already paid the deposit and now this. Don't buy a car there.
Now that I have not taken this matter sitting down, as they would have hoped, The Auto Place is changing their tune.
They are now saying they will repair the vehicle as per the warranty. In fact, they are now claiming in writing that they never said they would not honor the warranty - which is not true - on Friday, Sam actually said explicitly to me on the phone that they would not honour the warranty and told me not to contact them again.
Clearly, they were not happy that I used the internet to bring attention to their business practices. I will update this post again if/when they repair the vehicle.
BTW - comment about my agreement to warranty excl. transmission and engine - I know, I know - I tell you, never again will I deal in this manner especially with this company.
The Auto Place has begrudgingly fixed my vehicle, however, the whole time they acted like they were doing me a favour. So, although it is finally fixed, I did not have a car for 2 weeks because of their initial refusal to honour the warranty. In addition, when I picked up my car, Sam sarcastically thanked me profusely. He said that because of all of the trouble that he has had with me (! - really?) that he is no longer giving people warranties on some of the cars he sells so that when there are problems a few days later, he won't have any responsibility for fixing it. Wow! So, be warned! This is not the dealership to buy your vehicle from.
I'm not going to address this any further. The Ministry of Transportation has advised me that they will be conducting a further investigation into the Mazda dealership's certification process. Unfortunately, they have no authority over The Auto Place which actually sold me the vehicle. The Ministry of Transportation has told me in writing that the car was unsafe. He was going to take the plates off of the car physically but the mechanic agreed to keep the vehicle on his property. They only didn't actually take the plates off of the car because they left in under the authority of the mechanic and advised the mechanic that he could not release it until it was towed or fixed. Regarding my husband being back, it is only due to my husband being away that I was not totally inconvenienced by this whole mess. I was able to drive his car instead. But for 2 weeks, the car sat at the mechanic's under the order of the Ministry of Transportation until The Auto Place finally agreed to fix it. Sam acts like he fixed the car as a favour or a goodwill gesture when he actually was LEGALLY OBLIGATED to fix the vehicle because of the warranty he gave me. I am happy the car is finally fixed but other people should beware because if you buy at The Auto Place, even if you get a warranty, you will have to fight them to actually fix the vehicle. If you don't get a warranty, which Sam says he is trying to avoid now (because of me), you are really going to be screwed.
My car is fixed and there has been nothing to gain for me to update this post but there is everything to lose for The Auto Place.
I will respond again to point out the flaws and simple ignorance in The Auto Place's recent post.
1) The Ministry of Transportation did order the car off of the road due to being unsafe. I was unable to drive it for 2 weeks in total. No charges or fines have been laid because I filed outside of Toronto and the case has been transferred to a Toronto Ministry of Labour enforcement officer. So, don't worry Sam - Mazda will be investigated and charged appropriately. I have an email from the Ministry of Transportation which supports this and I have forward this to The Auto Place so he knows that he is lying above.
2) Wow! The fact that you would say that I was "taking advantage" you buy trying to pay for my car with a credit card. First of all, you had no problem taking my credit card for the deposit so that you can ensure you caught a sucker to buy your unsafe car. Second, we were never told to pay in any other manner so we drove 45 min with 2 kids in the car to pick up the car any make payment by credit card and our payment was refused. I was very annoyed because of the inconvenience and you realized you were in the wrong and delivered the car to us the next day. We had no trouble producing the bank draft at that time so it had nothing to do with us having "no money" and everything to do with you not telling us. Third, I think the fact that I can pay for a car on a credit card should give everyone an idea that I am a person with excellent credit so thank you for pointing that out to everyone here.
3) You have shown yourself here on this post to be a bad business person by calling a customer a liar and trying to find every angle possible to shed me in a bad light. As a business person, you can defend yourself without being nasty.
4) The Auto Place gave me a bumper to bumper warranty - including the bad shock. He keeps acting like he did all the fixes as a favour when in fact he was obligated to because of the warranty. And clearly, they were not happy about having to do it. The only reason he fixed it is because I wouldn't stand for it and threatened to take him to court.
My whole purpose in continuing to update these posts has been to warn other potential customers against The Auto Place and the way you do business. Your responses here throughout have been an excellent characterization of your business ethics. I was actually going to just leave this however, since you continue to spout lies to try and save face in front of potential customers, I will be pursuing this further. I will ensure that I continue my complaint with the Better Business Bureau and I will be talking to the Ministry of Transportation in Toronto to make sure appropriate charges are laid and fines levied. I will not be replying to this post any longer as i am having a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Thanks, very helpful review. I was going to visit them but won't do it now
Buyer Beware! Please read the reviews! The Auto Place IS doing botched safety and e-tests. I bought a vehicle last October, and I now am in the market for a new one because it has cost me so much. My engine light literally came on the day that I drove it home from the dealer. I noticed the wheel bearing grinding THE DAY I drove the vehicle home from the dealer. I had a list of things that should have been caught on the safety. I called Sam about it, they did fix a broken seatbelt and the rear defrost which was not working but refused to do the wheel bearing. When you go to him with an issue, he DOES become very rude. Finally, I went to the mechanic that did the safety. He looked at the vehicle, agreed the bearing should be fixed but refused to do it because Sam was not going to cover the cost. I threatened to report him to the ministry and he begged me not to as this was "the way he makes a living". After several visits, phone calls, realizing I was not going away he agreed to fix the wheel bearing. He told me himself: Do NOT deal with Sam in the future. He is a crook. Since, many things have come up with the vehicle. Some should have been caught on an e-test. Please search elsewhere for a vehicle!
The Auto Dome guy just doesn't get it! You appear to have tried to not honour the warranty and then acted like a saint when he fixed it under the pressure of bad p.r. or being sued. Who cares how she paid for the car or the fact she gets air miles. Follow her advice and don't take the chance.
It seems every time you claim this is the last post and than it continues with a new prolonged story. I strongly suggest do the necessary follow up since we have done nothing wrong, to worry about and for your kind information I have been polite and reasonable enough with you however, it was you who started writing LIES after LIES and accusing us, and I am sure you don't expect me to reward you for being unethical and dishonest. I totally understand your passion for writing blogs but maybe it is time to change directions and look for a new theme as everybody understands good from the bad and they dont need your professional advise. Finally just to make you feel better our business has improved with our new found fame that you tried to bring about and people clearly comprehend as to how you are trying to twist the facts for no good reason. Thank You for that.
The Ministry of Transport either deems a car to be safe or unsafe and their jurisdiction stops there. If the car is unsafe they remove the plate and proceed with charging the company and the liscenced mechanic who certified the vehicle accordingly. But in this instance for some strange reason there has been no charges laid, there has been no complaints filed and the officer from Ministry of Transport called Mazda Dealership and claimed that the customer thinks the car is drifting in the back when she goes over a bump and if possible could they look into the situation. When Mazda re-inspected the vehicle they found nothing wrong and customers claim as to vehicle being unsafe was totally false and a LIE. However since I did promise the client that the shock would be changed I went out of my way to do so and in return for a Thank You she keeps ups with accusing me furthermore. For your kind information we are still selling cars with Warranty and hundreds and hundreds of people whose references are readily available did not have a problem except for you who right from the start wanted to take advantage, like showing up to pay for the car with credit card so she could "accumelate points" and started lying that we dont have the money and when I made it clear that you will have to pay the charges which the banks charge, she said OOPS you know what now I have the money. Than she pushed me to deliver the car in Pickering, so I had to close my business to accomodate her and be nice to her and drop the car there for her, "So I could get paid" and after that began the nightmares and intimidating tactics with no end to it. Well I think that itself explains everything and for your kind information we are here to stay for long and it is not our practice to "screw people" and we have far more happier people with good experiences when they bought their car, compared to one that has caused us only aggravation and misery.
The vehicle was certified at Mazda dealership and all necessary reports and receipt available for inspection. Later on she claimed her mechanic says the rear shock is leaking and it is a 1000$ job. We asked her to take it to Mazda dealership and if they say it needs replacement we will take care of it as it is within the 36 day warranty. She refused and claimed the vehicle is unsafe and claimed the ministry of transport has taken the plate off the car, "Total Lie". She called me that 2 weeks later after trying intimidating tactics and writing lie after lies on various websites that my husband will be back from his trip and I need the car so can you please fix the problem. As a gesture of goodwill I agreed to take care of the problem and I spent 400$ for fixing the car at Mazda dealership and after doing all this she is still unhappy. Well I can do as much as I can do but I don't think she paid 30000$ for a brand new car but just a third for a used car that still I went out of my way to satisfy her for claims that were wrong and unsubstantiated. I strongly recommend next time please " buy a brand new car so you dont go around blaming people for wrong reasons".