Customers raise another consumer concern about Auto House

SALISBURY, N.C. — Dozens of customers say Auto House sold them vehicles that had been damaged under previous owners, but that the used car dealership didn't tell them about the damage.

North Carolina law says, when you're selling a used vehicle, you have to tell the buyer if you know it 1) is a salvage vehicle, 2) has been in a flood, 3) has been rebuilt, or 4) has been damaged (if the vehicle is fewer than five years old and the damage was more than 25% of the vehicle's fair market value).

Letha Jones, Jodi Wiles, and Ricky and Judy Purvis all bought vehicles from Auto House. Their vehicles were no more than five years old and, according to Carfax, had a history of damage. They all say Auto House didn't tell them about the damage and that they found out later on their own.

"I was mad," Wiles said.

"I mean they could have at least told us," Judy Purvis said.

Auto House has locations in Mooresville and Salisbury. Action 9 obtained a list of the 508 vehicles sold at its Salisbury lot between January and May. Action 9 ran Carfax reports for all of those and found 36 of them had--what Carfax calls--more serious damage.

Legally, Auto House may have had to tell the customers in these cases or it may not have. It depends what the business knew about those vehicles and the extent of their damage.

But, the executive director of the Carolinas Independent Automobile Dealers Association-- John Brown-- says dealers should disclose as much as possible, even if the customer doesn't ask.  "You need to be doing everything you can to know about the instrument that you're trying to sell and to make sure that you disclose that to the customer," he said.

Auto House wouldn't discuss this issue on camera, but emailed Action 9, "Damage disclosure forms are provided to each customer for every vehicle sold.  In fact, Auto House provides services to the consumer far beyond what the law requires.  Auto House posts a vehicle history report on each vehicle in its inventory on its website, free of charge."

At least one customer-- Wiles-- says she complained to Auto House. Wiles says the dealership offered her a trade-in, but that she said no.

No matter where you buy a used vehicle, always:

• Check Auto Check or Carfax (and make sure vehicle identification number is right)
• Go for a test drive
• Have a mechanic you trust inspect it. That may cost you anywhere from $40 - $100, but the peace of mind will be worth it.

Cox Media Group