Action 9: Multiple customers accuse car dealer of failing to disclose damage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Multiple customers are suing a large Charlotte car dealership.

They accuse Adams Auto Group of deceptive practices. Their lawsuits say Adams didn't tell them the vehicles they bought had been seriously damaged and they say Adams knew it.

One of those customers, Monica Cotton, bought a 2010 Honda Accord at Adams. "He gave me a clean Carfax, so I didn't think any problems were with the car," she told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. She bought it, but, a few months later, says she noticed paint coming off. "It's upsetting. That's the car I wanted. I was excited about it and I was let down," she said.

She decided to trade it in at another dealer. That dealer ran an Auto Check report, instead of Carfax. It shows the car had "structural damage" before she bought it. Cotton insists Adams never did disclose that.

In fact, Cotton's lawsuit claims Adams even gave her a disclosure document saying her car had not been damaged in a wreck.

"It was a big slap in the face," she said. "I feel cheated."

According to Kelley Blue Book, a 2010 Honda Accord in good condition is worth around $7,500.  Cotton's lawsuit says she thought the car wasn't damaged and worth a lot more.

Cotton's the fifth customer to take Adams to court since 2013, claiming Adams failed to disclose damage to them. Another customer's lawsuit claims her car had been in "not one, but two wrecks" before she bought it and that the vehicle had "frame damage."

Another customer's suit claims his vehicle "sustained wreck damage" before he bought it, that the damage was "significant," that the damage impacted the seat belt and airbags, and that a different dealership even told him not to drive the vehicle "due to safety concerns."

Adams told Stoogenke it doesn't comment on "pending legal matters."  So I read its legal responses to the lawsuits.  They say "denied" to the customers' claims.

North Carolina law says if the vehicle is up to 5 years old and has been in a wreck and the repairs would cost more than 25 percent of the vehicle's value, the seller must disclose the damage to the buyer.  "It's just not a total buyer beware market anymore," the head of the Carolinas Independent Automobile Dealers Association, John Brown, said.  "The rule of thumb is disclose, disclose, disclose."

One of the five customers who sued settled with Adams, but, because of that settlement agreement, can't share details.  The other four, including Cotton, are moving forward in court.

Adams has lots on South Boulevard, North Tryon Street and Independence Boulevard.

Cox Media Group