Reader beware: This review is about to get extremely detailed.. If you don’t feel like reading on, here are some highlights: False advertising of a vehicle in “Like New” condition, failure to make (numerous) repairs through their personal mechanic, dishonesty about said repairs, lying about covering costs, skirting of responsibility, lots of anger, and frustration.
**Update: They are currently trying to have my profile removed from Facebook because I left an honest review on their page**
Initially, I was not going to leave a chronological review for this establishment. Upon receiving the dishonest response message, I feel as though I am obligated to do so now.
In March of 2015 I sold my Volvo, and needed to find a vehicle fairly quickly. Not wanting a Swedish car anymore, I decided that a Subaru fit my needs exactly. I spent a few weeks shopping at used car dealers in the area, until I finally resorted to Craigslist. I saw Autorama’s posting for a “Like New” 2006 Subaru Forester with “Low Miles.” I jumped at this ad, and went to test drive the car at Autorama.
The test drive went well, and I really liked the car, everything except this loud whistle that occurred every time I accelerated to about 3000 RPMs. We went back to the lot for further inspection. After chatting about the possibilities, we noticed that the car was leaking oil underneath the head gasket. This is a common problem with ‘06 Subaru models, and Brian said that he would take care of the issue. Brian replaced the timing belt, water pump, head gasket, and the cam & crankshaft seals, as well as put new tires on it. They also replaced the VALVE COVER GASKET. Great, I thought! I asked to bring the car to my mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection in order to see if there was anything else wrong. As it turns out, there was a small hole in the exhaust system causing the squealing. The fix would be replacing the entire exhaust, and my mechanic recommended that it wasn’t really necessary to fix ASAP. We never tested the A/C unit, because I had already told him that I had tested the heat.
Back on the lot, I brought the hole in the exhaust to their attention, I was told to “not worry about” a $200 fix, and I could do that on my own because I am purchasing the car in “As is” condition. When asked several times if there was anything else I should know about the car, the response was always the same, “No, not at all, this is a great car.” That should have been my first red flag...
I purchased the vehicle for $12,196.00 on March 27, 2015. I paid cash.
On April 6, 2015, the power steering essentially crapped out. I had driven the car fewer than 100 miles at that point. I contacted Brian about it, and he said he would “help me out” by giving me his discounted rate at the mechanic. I paid $235.00 to replace the power steering pump (to this day, it still has issues).
In July of 2015, again only after a few hundred miles of driving, I found out that the A/C did not blow cold air. I contacted them about fixing the air conditioner. I was told to use their mechanic yet again for the fix. I had the A/C serviced fo $60: replaced an o-ring and recharged with freon. The A/C blew cold air for approximately 2 days. At this point, I can not believe all of the repairs that have been done on this “Like New” car. These guys had to have known about some of these issues beforehand! I again contacted Brian that the A/C was not fixed, and expressed my concern that there may be a bigger issue with the A/C unit, and that possibly this was something they knew about. I was told that I was out-of-line for insinuating that a used car dealer was anything but honest…
AutoRama, INC. Reviews
Reader beware: This review is about to get extremely detailed.. If you don’t feel like reading on, here are some highlights: False advertising of a vehicle in “Like New” condition, failure to make (numerous) repairs through their personal mechanic, dishonesty about said repairs, lying about covering costs, skirting of responsibility, lots of anger, and frustration.
**Update: They are currently trying to have my profile removed from Facebook because I left an honest review on their page**
Initially, I was not going to leave a chronological review for this establishment. Upon receiving the dishonest response message, I feel as though I am obligated to do so now.
In March of 2015 I sold my Volvo, and needed to find a vehicle fairly quickly. Not wanting a Swedish car anymore, I decided that a Subaru fit my needs exactly. I spent a few weeks shopping at used car dealers in the area, until I finally resorted to Craigslist. I saw Autorama’s posting for a “Like New” 2006 Subaru Forester with “Low Miles.” I jumped at this ad, and went to test drive the car at Autorama.
The test drive went well, and I really liked the car, everything except this loud whistle that occurred every time I accelerated to about 3000 RPMs. We went back to the lot for further inspection. After chatting about the possibilities, we noticed that the car was leaking oil underneath the head gasket. This is a common problem with ‘06 Subaru models, and Brian said that he would take care of the issue. Brian replaced the timing belt, water pump, head gasket, and the cam & crankshaft seals, as well as put new tires on it. They also replaced the VALVE COVER GASKET. Great, I thought! I asked to bring the car to my mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection in order to see if there was anything else wrong. As it turns out, there was a small hole in the exhaust system causing the squealing. The fix would be replacing the entire exhaust, and my mechanic recommended that it wasn’t really necessary to fix ASAP. We never tested the A/C unit, because I had already told him that I had tested the heat.
Back on the lot, I brought the hole in the exhaust to their attention, I was told to “not worry about” a $200 fix, and I could do that on my own because I am purchasing the car in “As is” condition. When asked several times if there was anything else I should know about the car, the response was always the same, “No, not at all, this is a great car.” That should have been my first red flag...
I purchased the vehicle for $12,196.00 on March 27, 2015. I paid cash.
On April 6, 2015, the power steering essentially crapped out. I had driven the car fewer than 100 miles at that point. I contacted Brian about it, and he said he would “help me out” by giving me his discounted rate at the mechanic. I paid $235.00 to replace the power steering pump (to this day, it still has issues).
In July of 2015, again only after a few hundred miles of driving, I found out that the A/C did not blow cold air. I contacted them about fixing the air conditioner. I was told to use their mechanic yet again for the fix. I had the A/C serviced fo $60: replaced an o-ring and recharged with freon. The A/C blew cold air for approximately 2 days. At this point, I can not believe all of the repairs that have been done on this “Like New” car. These guys had to have known about some of these issues beforehand! I again contacted Brian that the A/C was not fixed, and expressed my concern that there may be a bigger issue with the A/C unit, and that possibly this was something they knew about. I was told that I was out-of-line for insinuating that a used car dealer was anything but honest…