Auto By Design

Bad product, Bad service (and NOT buyers remorse!) We were looking for a family vehicle, specifically a LandRover, there wasn't anything in my area that was both affordable and low mileage. After searc We were looking for a family vehicle, specifically a LandRover, there wasn't anything in my area that was both affordable and low mileage. After searching many sites, Auto By Design had the vehicle that matched our needs, a 2006 LandRover with low mileage. We drove several hours to the dealership to look at the vehicle. From our initial contact to the purchasing of the vehicle they were very friendly and efficient. We drove off with the vehicle as we were pleased with the initial inspection and upkeep of the vehicle. I was told by Sean (the dealership owner) that the suspension and exhaust were both replaced with new parts, and had the receipts to show it. Three days after purchasing the vehicle the check engine light came on. The code was pulled and read "Catalyst efficiency below threshold". I notified Sean about this and he offered to have his mechanics look at it, but unfortunately, due to the distance we were unable to drive back for his mechanic to look at it. There was a warranty on the vehicle (30 day/1000 mile) by the dealership that covered the engine, however not the exhaust system. Sean "offered me a fair deal" by taking the bill for the replacement part (which was the catalytic converter) while I flipped the bill for the labor to fix it even thought the issue was so soon after we bought it. I was somewhat surprised by this, considering that as a dealer he would like to keep a level of reliability and integrity to the customer by making sure the product WORKS. But legally, Sean did not have to "help me" per se, so I figured that I might as well just deal with the labor bill and move on. I received the part in the mail, and took it to reputable repair shop in my area. The repair shop said it would take 2 hours to fix, but 20 min later I received a phone call that not only did the catalytic converter need to be replaced, but whoever replaced the exhaust system in the first place put in an "off the shelf" mufflers, basically two mufflers put together. The pipes that connected everything were not welded, but clamped together, and the oxygen sensors were not only the incorrect sensors, but even had different thread counts, and had twisted the sensors in to the point where the threads snapped, and were stuck inside (which was the original cause of the check engine light). Instead of costing my $170 and 2 hours, the bill ended up being $800 and 6 hours because of what was done on the exhaust system before we bought it. At this point I'm upset and dissatisfied buying a vehicle that we had to turn around and fix right away on top of negotiating over a few weeks with an established business to help fix the problem. I was relieved to have taken it to a different repair shop to make me aware of the exhaust system issues and not have them "fix" the problem only to have more issues in the future. After I was made aware of the exhaust system issues from the repair shop I called Sean with the new repair cost. I gave him 3 options that could help retain his reputation, at least on our end, after selling us a vehicle that wasn't fixed properly. 1st was to have a complete diagnosis from Land Rover to find other issues and Sean pay any repairs, he declined. 2nd was I return the Land Rover to him and receive a full refund, or 3rd do nothing and have his reputation as a "great dealership" be tarnished. After a few choice words at an elevated temper from him, he agreed to take the Land Rover back. We were on the road to take it back when he called 30 min later stating he changed his mind. He let me know that while he had a chance to "cool off" he spoke with his mechanics and would give me $800 by tacking that onto a price of another vehicle. At this point I told him I still wanted to return the vehicle as I was questioning what else he could be covering up with the vehicle. He accused me of "making him emotional and upset." While I was calm and collected he could do nothing but raise his voice and cut me off, telling me I have "buyer's remorse." We liked the vehicle, just questioning the dealership and their product. Working in retail management for many years, I would bend over backward for ANY customer who felt wronged, because that's good customer service and creates more business in the future. If my product sucked, I would find a solution that worked, even if it meant taking a temporary hit on profits. My experience with Auto By Design ended up being very deplorable. Not all the fault is his, I should have known better, taken it to get inspected by a 3rd party before purchasing. Yet at least a car dealership that is backed by a major auto manufacturer has a reputation to uphold and actually back their product. More