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| Carbiz in Maryland Carbiz: Lies, Steals and Chumps Baltimore, Maryland |
| 7th of Dec, 2011 by User370422 |
I purchased a 2008 Lincoln MKX Ultimate Edition with 38,500 miles for $24K, after a $17K trade in of a BWM 325xi and $7K in cash on 8/16/2011 from Carbiz. The next morning (8/17) I noticed a substantial fluid leak under the engine. We reported the concern immediately to Carbiz. At their direction, I drove 3 hours back to Baltimore to have Carbiz service the vehicle. I was given a dated loaner of which we were not comfortable putting our children in for safety concerns – added inconvenience which limited our family to one usable vehicle to travel with children. The dealership claimed a power steering fluid cap was loose, tightened it down and replaced rotors and brakes (an unrelated issue but an example of another major oversight of their so called 120 Point Inspection, that we caught driving it home upon purchase.) As schedules allowed, I drove their loaner car back up, another three hour trip to Baltimore, and picked up our vehicle. When we woke the next morning there were three leaks. We took photos and sent them immediately to Carbiz. We asked to have it checked down here instead of driving another three hours again to bring it to their dealership (each of these trip was putting another 200 miles round trip on the odometer.) Carbiz agreed to have the diagnostic test conducted locally. We took the vehicle to Cheseldine's Monroe at their request. It was evaluated and determined to be a transmission leak. I paid for it and was reimbursed. Carbiz insisted on our bringing the vehicle back to Baltimore to have repairs done at the service provider of their choice – in this instance - Koon's Ford. We were given a 2005 Nissan X-Terra (dented and unkept – filthy actually and another vehicle we couldn’t put our children in.) This time Carbiz dropped off the loaner and picked up our vehicle. Not on a flatbed for tow – so again another 200 miles on the car for the same repair issue. Again, we were without our vehicle for well over week. The vehicle was returned to us after “extensive service†and when we woke the next day there was another leak. We notified Carbiz immediately. At this time we were instructed to take the vehicle to a local Lincoln Dealership for service. Lexington Park Ford/Lincoln diagnosed that the compression seal was replaced incorrectly during the Koon’s service. This dealership had no loaner vehicles so I was taken to Enterprise and rented a Ford Edge (more comparable to our vehicle, at last) – the cost of which was eventually reimbursed by Carbiz. Many times I was contacted by Brian Schriver, a Carbiz employee, and told “I would come out of all of this smelling like a rose.†We repeatedly expressed our frustration and then moved to our concerns and then talked about solutions. I gave them four. Give me $26500 back to cover the cost of the vehicle plus the $800 in tires and $1700 in tax, title & delivery charges we paid, swap vehicles with a similar one on the lot, go to auction and find the exact vehicle or offer me an extended warranty and reimbursement for miles, gas and time wasted. He flat out refused to refund me any money, but would consider the other solutions. I received this email from Evan Berney, "We do not have a return policy at Carbiz but as an exception I would be willing to let you choose another vehicle in our inventory that is the same sale price as the the MKX that you purchased and swap out. I understand your frustration and please understand that we could not anticipate these issues as well. We are doing everything we can to help rectify this situation." Evan Berney
Carbiz Ltd. After 10 more days or so the car was done. When we woke the morning after return -- there were more leaks. Again, we contacted Carbiz immediately. A loaner, newer Toyota Camry was dropped off while the MKX would be repaired, again our vehicle was at the local dealership for a period of 2 weeks. On 12/1/11 the car was returned again after dealing with this issue for the past 3 ½ months. During the third time we returned the vehicle for extensive service we indicated to Carbiz that we were no longer comfortable keeping the vehicle. A vehicle with transmission issues requiring extensive service by professionals that took four times to fix on a newer vehicle with a limited warranty was not what we agreed to nor was it what they represented to us at time of purchase. We wanted to seek out the trade option they had previously mentioned since a full refund was not within their policy. We began watching their sites for new listings. Last week I noticed Carbiz had a 2008 Lincoln MKX Ultimate Edition with a listed 38000 miles listed for $25999. This was not that different from my 2008 Lincoln MKX Ultimate Edition with a listed 38000 miles which was listed for $24999 originally (we paid $24K.) We reached out to them to initiate the “fair trade†that they offered and was told by Carbiz that this was not in fact a fair trade and we would be subject to the difference in price. After researching the Kelley Blue Book values of both cars we determined that our vehicle is worth $28116 and theirs was $28570, a difference of $454. After the 3 ½ months of car repairs, the aggravation of trying to function as two working parents with two children under the age of three with one reliable, safe vehicle, lost time away from work (I am self employed) to initiate the repairs, orchestrate drop offs and pick up vehicles, placing unnecessary miles on a newly purchased vehicle, wasted gas in transport, general frustration, damage to the driveway from the reoccurring leaks, and the simple fact that our new vehicle has been in their possession 5 times more since purchase than it has been with us $454 seems like a nominal cost for the purposes of DOING GOOD BUSINESS not to mention DOING FAIR BUSINESS. Instead, they again denied the “fair trade†swap due, as explained by them this time, to “changing economy.†Everyone knows car dealerships have year-end sales because a new one is coming up and the vehicles will sound a full year older. Four months out and the car still leaks. Surprise, surprise. We don’t believe that we are alone in our frustration with Carbiz. We were told by one employee that a woman in DC is having the same problem. Oddly enough the car still leaks. They are bullshit artists. We are seeking assistance – either through mediation or litigation. I also have 34 pages of emails going back and forth proving the previous paragraphs. |
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