Automazing Motor

When you think of a used car salesman, what do you think of? Smarmy salesman who don’t really care about you and just want to sell you a car. While they got you on the hook and are reeling you in, they’ll give you all of the attention you can stand. They’ll tell you whatever you want to hear in order to win your heart, and they’ll tell you absolutely anything, true or not, about the car you’re trying to buy from them if they think it’ll seal the deal.
What other traits does the typical used car salesman personify? Once you sign the paperwork, how accessible are they for followup questions? Typically not, they’re off to the next poor sap to sell them on a car and don’t have time for people that have already signed on the dotted line. And once you get that 1-​owner, little old lady driven, low-​mileage peach home, what do you usually find? It’s not what they said it was. it’s got rust that’s been hastily covered up, a badge on it from a more upscale version of the car, or a nasty leak that they swore it didn’t have.
What happens when you complain about it? They point to all of the fine print in the contract you signed that absolves them of any wrongdoing, or play off the issues as a simple fix, or ignore you altogether, right? Well Automazing Motor Corp represents all of these traits and more. This was not the worst car buying experience of my life, but it’s one of the most humiliating ones. Why? Because I should have known better. Read on, and I will share my experience with Automazing Motor Corp.
I found the 1971 Econoline Van they were selling on eBay almost 2 months ago. It was advertised as «one recently deceased elderly owner, low mileage, original Florida car, kept in a climate controlled garage its entire life.» Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I later found out that they use this description for the majority of their auctions. They basically use a template approach to their auctions. Even so much as to fabricate «our server was down» issues so frequently that it could only be a cover story. Back to the story…
I purchased the vehicle for the full asking price since shipping was included. I was told I would receive the van 8 – 10 days after they received payment. I paid them via their preferred payment method of wire transfer the following day. I followed up with them several times to verify receipt of my payment and it took them a week to get back to me. The email was formatted like a form letter and cited the aforementioned server was down error and told me there would be «good news» for me this weekend. That came and went, and again several ignored emails and voicemails later, I was given another email claiming the shipper could not pick up the van because it exceeded their weight requirements. It’s a stripped out cargo van, it weighs 3600 lbs, or about the same as a typical passenger car, so that was BS. Back to the story…
I continued to follow up via email and got another note saying these guys were at the mercy of the drivers and they were doing everything they could. Well I paid them promptly and they do this for a living, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Once they did get a driver sourced, they gave me the driver’s number and fed me some line about how the driver thought the van was really cool or whatever. When I called the driver he told me it was a rust bucket and that I definitely had some immediate work that I would need to do to keep it from falling apart. Eventually I got the van. And while they promised I would get the paperwork with the van, it was nowhere to be found. 4 phone calls and 3 emails later, they finally acknowledged that they still had the title, cited a «server was down» issue again, and promised to overnight the paperwork. I received the paperwork 7 days after I received the van. So basically it took 5 weeks to get the van and paperwork in order to register it in my name.
Once I got it home, I looked it over, I was suspect of the condition of the van considering the way I was being treated by the dealer. And it turns out I had every right to be. The car was advertised as having only minor surface rust, and nothing so significant to mention. The rust hole in the hood, the significant rust around the windows, and the hastily painted over rust spots in the door sills, all over the body, and around the wheels arches are definitely worth mentioning. When asked about the rust hole in the hood, I was told any body shop could fix that for $ 150. So… does that mean you owe me $ 150? No, I don’t think so. The pictures they provided showed nothing of what I saw when I got it home, and the condition of everything was far worse than I was led to believe.
Overall, I like the van. It’s cool, but there is a LOT more work that I have to do to get it right. And I feel like I was swindled by these automazing con artists. So Buyer Beware! I would avoid at all costs!