ComplaintsforHigh Minded Motors, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  At the time of purchase of a truck, I was only notified that the radio doesn't work, and the sun roof is broken. After driving the vehicle after purchase, I started to notice a ton of problems with it. I was constantly bringing it to mechanics to fix the issues. Recently, I was driving and the brakes had failed. I was unable to stop at the timing need, but luckily was able to not hurt anyone or myself. After bringing it to the shop, I found out that it was the Vaccum pump for the brakes that completly broke. I had to replace those. That same day, my truck started to make noise, and I then brought it to a mechanic a few days later. After going over the vehicle, the mechanic states that the entire truck needs a engine replacement, which is going to cost me about $16,000. When trying to contact the business owner, I get directly sent to voicemail. I now am having to take other ways to get into contact or get this issue resolved. This engine replacement is doubling my loan that I started with.

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  Good Afternoon. While I am very sorry to hear of issues with a vehicle I sold, I am also very surprised; for a number of reasons. First, I have not had one phone call, voicemail, text message, Facebook message, or any form of communication with this customer since the night he came and picked up his truck. The first indication there was any issue was the email I received from the BBB today. Second, I pride myself on getting every vehicle inspected. Every safety issue is always addressed or it does not get sold at my dealership. If there are remaining items that need fixed, the customer is made aware. Mr. Tonnubari said himself in his complaint that I made him aware of Items that needed fixed. This truck was sold over 6 months ago on 11/1/2023. Since then, the customer has driven it thousands of miles. I can say with complete confidence that the truck was in good working order when it left my dealership. Additionally, the truck was sold in as-is condition, without a warranty or guarantee of any kind. Being 10 years old, with over a quarter million miles on the truck, it can be expected that some parts will need replaced as it is used. I am a fair business man, and if there are any surprises shortly after a sale, I always take care of the customer. Because I was never contacted, and because we are very much past the sale date, and because there are thousands of miles accumulated on the vehicle, I will not be participating in any repairs or issuing a refund of any kind. Attached is the bill of sale indicating our sale agreement and that the vehicle is sold in as-is condition, and also attached is a buyers guide which indicates the vehicle has no factory warranty and is sold as-is. I appreciate your time. 

  Customer response

  05/20/2024

  Complaint: 21718013
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As a dealership or business you're required to provide any issues that are currently wrong with this truck, as per the Fair Trade act, and regards to the "No Contact", i have contacted this business via phone call several times, i even left voice messages and there was no return of contact from this business, i have screenshot proof of that, additionally Mr. Tiffany only noted and listed "Deleted, Loaded and Lifted, Airbag is on, Truck is nice" when listing the vehicle (as you can see in the screenshot) and I when asked in person "is there anything else wrong with the Truck?" he replied "Just the airbags, the radio and the sunroof" which I was fine with, He also said and i quote "I drove this vehicle for about a year, i can confirm its a good vehicle", meaning this used to be his personal Truck that was then Sold under his dealer license. Another addition to this, As a dealer He is required to properly inspect the vehicles like you said, if indeed you're a "fair" business man, and if you did?, it seems he cleared the codes to prevent people from being turned away from purchasing this Truck, in reference to the DTC codes, this was pulled from the truck a month or 2 after i started noticing problems (keep in mind i barely drove the truck around that timeframe), I was getting "Injector failure", "cylinder misfire", "fuel pressure regulator too low/failed", i ended up replacing the fuel pressure regulator because it was the cheapest part of all this, then i contacted Mr. Tiffany and like usual, he does not respond to calls or voicemails. later down the road, almost losing my life to brake failure.
  
  I have almost lost my life, lost a lot of income and acquired debt because of this Truck and the Shameful business caused by High Minded Motors, I would like to be compensated by this business for His failure to uphold his part as a fair businessman
  
  Regards,
  
  Christopher Tonnubari

  Business response

  05/20/2024

  I am at a loss for words. It is hard to defend yourself behind a keyboard when the opposing party is blatantly lying, but I will do my best. As for the representation of my vehicle, I am the most transparent person you'll meet. I get every vehicle inspected and if there is something wrong with it that I did not have repaired, you'll know about it. I am not doubting that the truck has needed some repair since the customer bought it, 6 months ago and over 6000 miles ago. A truck with 260,000 miles will need some repairs, that is common sense. What I don't agree with is the customer doubting my truthfulness. The truck was in excellent shape at the time of sale and despite what the customer has protested here, I never received any contact from them after the sale. My entire business is based around a model of truth and upfront-ness. You can read my reviews online, they don't match with what this customer is describing at all. My business, "High Minded" Motors is based on a synonym for honesty. Moving on to the claim that I owned this car for a year. Complete Rubbish. I obtained this truck from a dealer in Texas as a wholesale trade. It was sold to this customer with a clean Texas Title and a title reassignment to make a Wyoming title. I had this truck in my inventory for a few months and drove it a handful of times to ensure it was a great truck, but never owned it personally. I never made a claim otherwise. any cleared codes would have returned within 150 miles or 10 key cycles, that is the longest any code will take to show up. I worked in Automotive service for 12 years before starting my sales business. I use my background in service and mechanics to ensure each vehicle is solid before it goes up for sale. A cleared code would never take two months to show up. 

  I have attached a few screenshots of customers reviews where I went out of my way to make a situation right. These are customers that contacted me right away, with a genuine concern or issue, and without hesitation I offered to make it right or buy the vehicle back. The bottom line is, I never heard anything from this customer and now, months down the road, with thousands of miles accrued on the vehicle, they are trying to strongarm me into paying them. The integrity of my name means more to me than anything, so it would be a real bummer if the Better Business Bureau decided to put a mark against my business for all to see based on baseless claims and pure lies. I've defended myself and my business to the best of my ability. I will leave it up to you to decide from here. 

  Thank you for your time.

  Preston Tiffany, Owner, High Minded Motors

  Customer response

  05/21/2024

  Complaint: 21718013
  
  Ok then since all of this seems like a joke to you, despite my screenshot evidence and accounts of how everything has been playing out , I cant believe your response to all the evidence provided was saying "lies" and showing reviews from customers,  i would like you to respond and submit the actual INSPECTION REPORT that was performed on this vehicle before you were legally allowed to sell it, if this case is not solved by the BBB, since you want to make a laugh out of things, i will be escalating this beyond them. Thank you!
  
  Regards,
  
  Christopher Tonnubari

  Customer response

  05/21/2024

  This business has claimed 12yrs of professional work and yet only 3 reviews on their business page( and all 3 give 5 star reviews, and that was from only 9 months ago) 3 months before i purchased a truck from him, its funny he keeps claiming all this problem just started at 6000miles after purchase when I've clearly mentioned they happened 1-2 months after it was purchased from him, I am currently gathering receipts from the mechanic from that time frame with evident mileage numbers of when these problems occurred, it seems High Minded motors has gone long enough slithering and evading legal penalties.

  Customer response

  05/22/2024

  Mr. Preston claims that he is a honest and fair businessman and he has great reviews from the customers, He lied and cropped out the fact that he has only had 3 reviews on his page and has been deleting the ones that will negatively impact his business, well as you can see i did some digging and found some of the negative reviews that support my claim and also a screenshot of it and also a screenshot proof of the ONLY 3 reviews he has on his page, very cunning man, I'll give him that, but lying on the Better Business Bureau is very shameful of you, I'll ask that you stop responding with empty words and just calling me a "liar" won't cut it and won't help you evade this problem you have cause me and others. Do the right thing and resolve this issue as quickly as possible or legal action will be  taken. 

  Thank you,

  Christopher Tonnubari

  Business response

  05/22/2024

  I've attached a few pieces of evidence to support my responses. Enclosed in the zipped folder you'll find a copy of the inspection which indicates the items that Mr. Tonnubari acknowledged I informed him of, the Clean Texas Title reassigned to my business "High Minded Motors" and not to my personal self "Preston Tiffany". You'll also find pictures of the dash with the vehicle running in which there is an airbag light illuminated, but no check engine lights at the time of sale. Additionally, You can see what I paid for the vehicle, without any added repairs, service, detail, or diagnostic that I had performed prior to sale. My notes Indicate I had over $26000 into this vehicle and sold it for $22500. Normally, My policy is to offer assistance in repairing vehicles for the first month after sale up to the dollar amount I made in profit. If no profit was made or if the repair exceeds that dollar amount, I offer to buy the vehicle back for the full amount. In this case, I was not contacted in person, or by phone, or electronically and had no indication anything had become an issue. Moreover, I stand behind My knowledge and background in automotive service to think that a truck with 260000 miles would continue to be driven without any added repairs or maintenance. The customer had every opportunity to buy an extended warranty for themselves from a third party to cover such repairs. The customer signed an as-is agreement and being that the customer is over 18 years old, this agreement stands. Again, I do everything I can to help customers after the sale, After all, I would like for them to stay customers. What I cannot get over is this customers lack of taking responsibility for their end of the deal and lying about what has transpired. 

  Thank you for your time,

  Preston Tiffany, Owner, High Minded Motors

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩