PM Public Motors Orange County
Complaint 30397 Details

complaint against:
PM Public Motors Orange County
2114 East 1st St, suite C
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(800) 923-9195

I attempted to purchase a car from PM Public Motors Orange County for the price they clearly specified in the companies autotrader.com advertisement, but after traveling to the company’s car lot and attempting to purchase the car, they refused to sell it to me for the price advertised. They demanded thousands of dollars more for the car than the price advertised. The car was advertised for $5,900 by PM Public Motors Orange County in autotrader.com, but they asked me for $12,000 for it. I insisted that they sell if for the price advertised, and they eventually stated that they would not sell it to me for less than $9,700, and that this price was their bottom line. They wanted $4,000 more that they price they advertised the car for.

List of legal complaints against PM Public Motors Orange County
1) PM Public Motors Orange County offers cars for sale for a specific price in advertisements on Autotrader.com, and then refuses to sell the car for the price listed in the ad. They will only sell customers the car for significantly more money, thousands of dollars more.

2) Cars are advertised for sale in their ad for a specified price, but only after customers travel to their car lot, pick out, test drive, and make an offer on a car do customers find out that they must bid against other customers in an anonymous online auction in order to purchase the car, they may not simply show us and buy the car as inferred by the ad.

3) Though the ads do state that additional charges will be added to the sale price of your car, PM Public Motors Orange County will not disclose specifically what the additional charges will be until the customer has made a signed offer in writing on the car they wish to purchase. Customers must make an offer on a car, sign that offer on a written form, and they are informed what additional charges will be added to the amount they offered for the car. These additional charges are not what drove the price of the car up above the price in their advertisement, they wanted $4,000 more for the car than the price they advertised plus their additional charges.

4) Telephone conversations with PM Public Motors Orange County staff to not suggest that customers will do anything but arrive at the lot, examine the car they want, and then pay for the car. No mention is made of entering an auctioning against online bidders when the customer wishes to purchase the car advertised. Additionally, phone personal state flat out to the customer that the price advertised is just what the company is asking, and that most customers can bargain with the company to get a price even lover than the one advertised.

5) All PM Public Motors Orange County advertisements in Autotrader.com guarantee the buyer that they will be getting both “The price that [the buyer] wants”, as well as a low price in general for the vehicle. However, prices demanded for the cars they sell are significantly (thousands of dollars) higher than the norm for sales of a similar used vehicle in the area, and far above the blue book value for the car, by thousands of dollars.

I gave the company several opportunities to sell me the car for the advertised price plus all of their own additional charges, and they refused every time.


Here is a complete rundown of my encounter with PM Public Motors Orange County.
I viewed an ad for a 2007 Ford Focus online at autotrader.com. The Ad stated that PM Public Motors Orange County was selling the car for $5,900. The ad stated plainly and clearly that the car was for sale for $5,900. The add did not mention that an auction must be entered in order to purchase the car, that the car would not be sold for the price mentioned in the ad, or that a 3rd party actually owned the car that PM Public Motors Orange County was offering for sale. The Ad did state that additional charges would be applied to the sale price of the car, but did not mention how much those additional charges would cost the customer.

I looked at several other similar ads by PM Public Motors Orange County, and they each offered similar deals on used cars for a price close to the blue book value of the car, similar to the pricing scheme on the car I wised to purchase. None of the companies’ ads mentioned having to purchase the car in an auction, that the vehicle was currently owned by another party such as a bank and not owned by the PM Public Motors Orange County, or that you would be required to pay any price other than the price listed in the ad plus additional fees.

I called the PM Public Motors Orange County and enquired about the car, and the companies employee on the phone informed me that the price in the ad was only the asking price that that the sales person would “work with me” to get a cheaper price if I needed it, and that most customers get their car for a price less than the one advertised. It was stated plainly, not simply implied, that I could get the car for a price even cheaper than the asking price on the web site. I was then asked to make an appointment to come in and see the cars. I made an appointment.

I arrived at PM Public Motors Orange County and as greeted by a person at a desk who verified that I was on the “Guest List” (had an appointment) for that day. They found a sales person who then showed me the car I wished to purchase. I inspected the car, review the cars records, took it for a test drive, and then informed the sales person that I was ready to purchase the car.

I was then taken inside the PM Public Motors Orange County building, where I was told I could make an offer on the car. The sales person then told me that I needed to fill out a written offer form declaring how much I would pay for the car, and that only after I filled out, signed, and dated my offer would PM Public Motors Orange County disclose to me how much I would be paying them in additional fees in addition to the amount I offered. They refused to disclose the additional fees amount until I made an offer and signed the offer form.

I made an offer on the car for $5,500, $400 less than the amount the car was advertised for, as was suggested by the PM Public Motors Orange County employee over the phone with me earlier.

I was then told by my PM Public Motors Orange County sales person that the additional fees would be the tax and title for the car (as is usual in a car purchase) plus and additional 3% of the amount I bid for the companies profit ($150), plus $85 for the smog check that had been done on the car, plus $300 because the company fills out paperwork on the car in order to sell it to me. In total I would be paying $535 in addition to the $5,500 I bid for the car.

I was then told this my written bid amount would be given to people at a computer who would enter me into an online auction with other people online who also wanted the car, and I would be competing against them to get it. This was the first I had herd that I was participating in an auction, and not just purchasing the car. My written bid was taken to the computer people, they supposedly entered my bid, and a few minuets later the sales person came back with a counter offer, stated that the “owners” of the car (a bank) had declined my bid, and that they wanted $12,000 for the car, more than double the price advertised. I stated that I wanted the car for the price advertised, $5,900 plus additional fees, and filled out another bid signed bid form. This was taken to the computer, and again a few minuets later my bid was refused and a counter offer was give for about the same amount as the original counter offer. I complained, stating that the car was clearly advertised for $5,900 plus fees, and I wanted the car for that amount. I brought the ad with and showed it to them, but they would not give me that car for the price specified in the ad, or even close to that price. The sales person they said that he could get the car for me for $9,700, but that was the absolute lowest price they would sell me the car for. I then left the building.

In the parking lot a sales manager for PM Public Motors Orange County called out for me to wait, and then told me he though we could work something out. He then brought me back inside, inspected the same vehicle I wanted to purchase with me again, I filled out another signed bid form for $5,900, and he told me he though the could work it out and get me that price, the price the car was originally advertised for. He returned some time later with another counter offer, stating again that the lowest price I could purchase the car for would be $9,700 plus additional fees. I said no and left the building.

Conclusion
In total I spent about 4 hours at PM Public Motors Orange County trying to purchase a car for the price the company advertised it for. I gave the company several opportunities to sell me the car for the price advertised, plus all of their additional fees, and they refused every time. This appears to be a case of false advertising, bait and switch, and a number of other illegal and unethical practices on the part of PM Public Motors Orange County.