Hi Pat,

Thank you very much for your kind words about my website. They are very much appreciated.

Wow! It's amazing that some dead-beat body man didn't even line up the body post properly when repairing the damage to your vehicle. I'm a former paint & body man and I'm very embarrassed for him! That's like a doctor working on a broken arm and neglecting to realign the bones!

You should contact CARFAX to tell them the car came up clean in their report and tell them about the damage so they can make a record of it. That way, if someone in the future does a report on that VIN they will get info on the damage.

Now, this car dealer should have never sold you this vehicle without first disclosing the fact that it had been wrecked. Of course they will say they didn't know about it, but I'm sure that Auto Nation, being a professional national franchise operation, has procedures in place for inspecting vehicles and determining if they have ever been wrecked.

Then to renege on their 3-day no questions asked money back guarantee is despicable! At least they made an effort to repair the vehicle. That's saying something, I guess!

Good job getting your money back. It's great to see the customer win out for a change!

All my very best to you...

Tony Iorio

Additional Comments From Pat:

You may recall my last email I sent you about the AutoNation dealership-Dallas . . . the deal where I paid with a credit card? Well, they ran a credit report on me! I thought this was very strange . . . anywhere you go and pay for anything, a credit report isn't run.

Plus, they made it a point to state my credit score was such that I could finance anything on the lot. Are they allowed to do this?

Pat

Hi Pat,

These guys at AutoNation had no business running your credit report. The only way they can do it legally is if you give them your written permission.

If you didn't sign a form giving them permission you can report them to your state Attorney General's office. Having your credit report run excessively could have a negative impact on your credit score.

The next dealer you go into simply tell them up front they do not have your permission to run a credit report. Tell them that if they do you will report them. It helps to not let them have your social security number until after the deal is done, and then only if they need it for the title and registration work.

Tony