John Dewar's Autosource
Complaint 344874 Details

Don't do business with John Dewar's Autosource (autosource.ca) in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

This dealer violates Ontario law requiring dealers to disclose all fees in any advertisement for a vehicle for sale. Known as Mandatory All-In-Pricing, the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA) states:

“If a dealer’s ad includes a price for a vehicle, that price must include all charges related to the sale of the vehicle. This includes freight and inspection charges, administration fees, other fees/charges, levies and taxes.”

SOURCE:

https://www.omvic.on.ca/portal/DealersSalespersons/MVDARequirements/Advertising/AllInPriceAdvertising.aspx

https://www.omvic.on.ca/portal/NewsPublications/ConsumerLine/2014/tabid/404/aid/217/Default.aspx


In 2010 the Ontario government introduced sweeping new protections for Ontario’s car buyers. One of the most significant changes was the mandatory requirement for registered dealers to advertise all-in prices. This means if a dealer advertises a price for a vehicle, that price MUST include all fees or charges the dealer intends to collect. Examples include:
Freight
PDI – PDE (pre-delivery inspection/expense)
Administration (admin) fees
Government levies (air tax, etc.)
OMVIC fee ($5)
And, if a dealer intends to charge for products or services they have preinstalled on a vehicle, these costs MUST be included in the advertised price of the vehicle. Examples include:
Nitrogen/tire warranty
Security products/services
Fuel
Note: these are not exhaustive lists and are meant as examples only
By LAW, the only additional fees an Ontario dealer can charge are HST and licensing (the cost of vehicle registration and plates), unless the fee is for optional services or products the consumer has requested or agreed to purchase. Further, dealer advertisements must clearly indicate that HST and licensing are extra. These regulations apply equally to both new and used car dealers.

What is an advertisement?
Any inducement to buy or lease is an advertisement. This would include, but is not limited to ads:
in print (newspapers, magazines, etc.)
on the internet (dealer site, online marketplace, etc.)
on social media
on radio or TV
on signs (including those in or on a vehicle itself)

After negotiating a firm price for a vehicle, a customer whom had responded to an advertisement for a vehicle for sale on Autosource.ca, a John Dewar's Autosource Sales Representative and Business Manager jointly attempted to charge the customer:

1) a $499 'Administration Fee' (which, on one document was described as a 'Non-Prime Fee', and on another document, was described as an 'Administration Fee'); AND

2) a '$500 Theft Protection Fee'

when the customer attended at John Dewar's Autosource two weeks later to take delivery of the vehicle.

When questioned about the previously undisclosed fees, the Sales Representative claimed that both fees were not charged by the Dealer, but were purportedly charged by the Bank which had agreed to finance the customer's vehicle. Neither of these fees were either disclosed in the Dealer's advertisement of the vehicle, or to the customer (whether orally or in writing) until the customer discovered them in the documents which the customer was asked to sign when the customer attended John Dewar's Autosource to take delivery of the vehicle.

Such unconscionable, reprehensible, and unethical business and sales practices are illegal, and are subject to strict fines imposed by the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC). However, despite the law, this customer's experience is proof that unscrupulous Dealers such as John Dewar's Autosource still attempt to defraud customers of their hard-earned money.

AVOID JOHN DEWAR'S AUTOSOURCE AT ALL COST.