Vander Auto Group LLC

Before I get into any details I would like to clarify that Vander Autos LLC & Vander Auto Group LLC aretwo completely separate entities, with two separate physical addresses, two separate phone numbers,two separate emails, and separate in all other regardsThe only thing they have in common is
the owner(who also owns other non-automotive companies not mentioned). First off I would like to apologize for my delayed response in responding to the consumer's complaint.Vander Auto Group's sales/finance manager has been out of the business for a month due to hisdaughters' lost battle with cancer, the administrator has been gone for months caring for her mother,and Vander Autos LLC mechanic has been part time for a month due to his sisters' unexpected death.I'm not trying to provide you with excuses, I'm simply stating the realities of Vander Auto Group LLC andVander Autos LLC current challenges as small companies with limited workforces. Vander Autos LLC: (recipient of the complaint) has never conducted business with *** *** nor hasshe ever visited there or had her vehicle in for service. Vander Auto Group LLC: (Has not received a Revdex.com complaint), but we will go ahead and make thefollowing statement in response to the complaint: We are sorry to hear about the issues *** ***had with her Smart Car that she purchased from usWe are very selective in hand picking cars wechoose to offer to consumers, such the case we pass on thousands of cars every month because they donot meet our criteria. We acquired the Smart Car from Manheim in Florida (World's largest auto auctions) and purchased apost-sale inspection done by them which came with a day warrantyThe smart car passed a completemechanical inspection by their certified mechanics and no issues were foundUpon receiving the vehicleafter shipping from Florida, we had a local mechanic check it out as we do with every vehicle and itpassed that inspection as wellDuring the time we owned the vehicle (a little less than months) wenever had any issues with it. There are several pertinent details *** *** left out in her complaint, so I will try and fill you in thebest to my abilityWhile we do everything we can to make sure a vehicle is sound and safe,unfortunately there is always the unexpected that can happen so we sell every vehicle "as-is" nowarranty expressed or impliedWhile every vehicle is put on our lot "as-is" we do offer service contractsby a 3rd party national company to ensure the consumer financial and automotive peace of mindWeoffered *** *** several of the options we have and she declinedShe signed mulitple documents(see attached) stating that she was aware the vehicle was "as-is". *** *** drove the vehicle over hours home to Cleveland with no issuesAccording to her, thefollowing day the check engine light came on so she drove it to Autozone to take advantage of their freecheck engine light readingThey told her the code they found comes on when the engine is low oncoolant, usually indicating there is a leak of some kind. The next day she decided she wanted to take the car to the local Smart dealership to have themdiagnose the issue as anyone would doBut instead of calling a tow truck, or calling the dealership tosend a tow truck- which most dealerships do for a nominal fee or sometimes even free- she negligentlydrove vehicle for over half an hour with no coolant and upon pulling in to the dealership the vehicle quitrunning and diedIt is common sense if you drive any car a distance for an extended duration, regardlessof make & model it is going to overheat and cause severe damageHad she not driven it and had ittowed we would be discussing repairing a coolant leak, and not potentially replacing an engine. Even though Vander Auto Group LLC does not feel they are responsible for what happened, customersatisfaction is our top priority and we are empathetic to the situationAfter hearing what happened weoffered to ship her recently purchased Smart Car back down to us, and we would replace the engineAllat no cost to her! She declined. After that last conversation, we began to receive harassing and borderline threating calls and messagesfrom *** ***She said things like god is going to take care of us (in a negative way) and we aregoing to go to hellI told the sales manager if these phone calls did not stop, to file a report with thelocal police departmentLuckily for us, we did not hear from her again until receiving this Revdex.comcomplaint. We maintained professionalism through all interactions with the consumer, and went above and beyondto try and satisfy the consumer more than most dealerships would doBut after taking a look at all ofthe details and taking her behavior and attitude into consideration we do not have any additionalresolution other than we wish her the best of luck. Regards,John V*** Vander Auto Group LLC-owner