Michael J. Auto Sales

Down payment too high not satisfied with them at all didn't think highly of their finance officer didn't think highly of their finance officer More

This dealer had 20 trucks listed on the website. I drove 2 hours from columbus and there were only 4 on the lot and they were not anywhere near as nice as advertised. Everything on the lot is overpriced and 2 hours from columbus and there were only 4 on the lot and they were not anywhere near as nice as advertised. Everything on the lot is overpriced and rusted out... It seemed to my friend and I that this company shows things to get people to the lot and dont have most of what they show, and misrepresent the things they do have. Total waste of time this place. More

I would strongly recommend against visiting Michael J’s Auto Sales (also called Weinle Motorsports). In my experience, while they may seem very nice, they are either ignorant of the damages in the cars th Auto Sales (also called Weinle Motorsports). In my experience, while they may seem very nice, they are either ignorant of the damages in the cars they sell (or even worse, actively try to cover up this damage at the expense of the customer). They also do not stand by their offer of a warrantee (in my case, simply refusing to return the many calls I made). There is apparently a pattern of this behavior that many customers have experienced. The Details: I purchased a 2008 Saturn VUE from Michael J’s Auto Sales / Weinle Motorsports on Saturday, Nov 7, 2020. They had described the car as “running great”. At that time, the check engine light was on and during the test drive the car seemed to have some small trouble shifting properly. I was assured by the sales associate (who hooked up a scanner to the car) that it was just a sensor issue. Later in my interaction, I asked about a warrantee for the car and was told “we are working on that and I will give you a call in a few days”. I did not sign any “as is” or “no warrantee” paperwork. I was told not to decline the warrantee since I was interested in it. On Wednesday, Nov 11th, I went to a Certified Saturn Service center about the check engine light. They hooked up their sensor to the car and immediately told me that what they saw wasn’t good, but they would need to manually check a few things to determine the exact problem. 20-30 minutes later, they told me they had very bad news. The Timing Chain had been jumped. In addition there was an oil leak (which answered why there was oil on my driveway). There might also be a problem with the Pressure Control Solenoid (however, this might be due to the timing chain issue). They also showed me how the timing chain was so stretched and slack that it was actually rubbing the engine block itself and significantly wore it down (it should be tight and at least an inch or so away from the engine). They told me that they thought it was unethical for anyone to have sold or misrepresented this car as “running great”, and that it should have been immediately obvious to anyone with any mechanical knowledge that there were huge problems with this car. At this point, the manufacturer recommends an engine replacement (there is no “fix” for the damage that has been done). Finally, I will point out that the service center did not find any sensors that were bad or needed replacing. I immediately contacted Michael J’s Auto Sales about the issue and was told that since I drove the car off the lot, that there was nothing they could do. I asked about the warrantee that was offered and was told there was no such warrantee and that I had signed papers to this effect. When I pointed out I didn’t sign such papers, and after the person on the phone checked, he immediately went silent and then, after a pause, said he would get back to me. Since then, I have made 13 calls to the dealership over the past 7 days and the person I supposedly need to talk to is never there and never calls me back. I should also point out that, after I purchased the car, but before I went to the mechanic, I had contacted NVP Warranty (a company that provides aftermarket warranties for used cars). The previous car I purchased elsewhere had such a warranty that came with the car. They were originally very excited I gave them a call and eager to work with the dealer to get me set up with something. However, upon a quick investigation, they shared with me that they used to work with Michael J’s Auto Sales/Weinle Motorsports to provide these warranties, but “they no longer do business with them”. I did not get specifics, but I got the impression that there was an inordinately high volume of lemons that were coming out of this used car dealership. The Summary: Michael J’s Auto Sales/Weinle Motorsports, at best, seems to not check their cars that they sell for issues before they label them as “running great”. At worst, they knowingly and intentionally hide serious problems with the cars they sell and misrepresent them in order to scam their customers. Either way, this is not a dealership that you want to buy a car from. In addition, they don’t stand by their promise of a warranty and seem to actively dodge calls from customers that they have scammed. Finally, based on my conversation with NVP Warranty, it seems that this situation that is common for this dealership. So, I guess if you are a mechanic yourself, and have the ability to look into the car (on their lot and before you buy the car) to confirm that the car is what you expect, then this might be an option for you. However, for most people, I would strongly advise against buying anything from this dealership. I am happy to talk more about my experience if you need additional information. Final Point: Before posting this, I shared the above review with the owner (Mike Weinle) via an email from his website. This, finally got a response from the dealership (8 emails in fact). It was his opinion that the location I had brought the Saturn to was scamming me or that I damaged the car myself. He also told me that old timing chains are supposed to wear at the engine over time, that they jump all the time, and that when they do it isn’t a big deal. The last is factually incorrect (timing chains are supposed to be tight and should never drag on the engine, a timing chain generally should last the life of the car, and when they do jump it causes a significant problem for the car as the engine is no longer firing in sync and if not immediately fixed can lead to significant engine damage… a car that has a timing chain that has jumped is not considered drivable). As for the comment on “I was getting scammed” or “I did the damage myself”, I am not sure how either is possible given that I saw the damage with my own eyes and that I didn’t have the car long enough to cause the amount of damage that was present. He had no response to any of these points. Further, he did confirm that he bought the car in an auction on Friday, Nov 6 and sold it to me the next day; and that his dealership did not have time to look at the car before they sold it (so, I assume it is not their policy to perform any checks on cars they buy before they sell them). He did not comment on what level of evaluation his dealership made to certify it as “running great” (but given that he confirmed that they did not look at it, I must assume he just took the word of the auction site he bought it from). He also asserted that the car was sold “as is” even though I was promised a warranty and wasn’t given paperwork (and certainly didn’t sign any) stating it was sold “as is”. He did not have an answer to why the “sensor issue” that his employee found with their scanner magically went away before it was serviced by the Certified Saturn Service Center. Finally, he did not comment on why NVP Warranty now refuses to do business with him (so, I assume it is as I suspected, and a high rate of lemons are sold from this dealership). In summary, his email responses only seemed to reinforce to me that this dealership is either negligent/ignorant of the state of their cars they sell, or (worse) intentionally try to hide issues with their cars from their customers. More