Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/05/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sold me a vehicle that ran 3000 miles before loosing oil pressure,

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/17/2024

  The customer purchased a ********** with over 138k miles 5 months ago. We inspect and service our vehicles prior to sale to the best of our ability. In this case, we spent over $2500 in the service department before offering the vehicle for sale. We offer and recommend vehicle service contracts at time of sale to our customers so that any major future repairs will be covered; he declined the offer of a service contract. Used vehicles are machines, and machines occasionally have issues. The customer contacted us last month and left a message for me. Before I could respond, he took to social media and blasted us on a review. In spite of this, I reached out to him to discuss his problem. Even though he elected to purchase the truck "as-is" with no warranty, I offered to have him bring the truck to my service department. He refused. Throughout the phone call he yelled and insulted me and our company. I repeatedly implored him to stop and asked again if he would allow us to look at it. He refused. After more insults and inflammatory language, I told him I was finished with the discussion. After I hung up, he called back again and made derogatory comments to the random employee that just happened to answer the phone. I can understand him being upset if he has a problem with his truck, but he bought the truck five months ago with no warranty. He wouldn't allow us to look at it, so I don't know what he expected. His behavior is unnaceptable, so he is no longer welcome here because some employees now feel threatened by his aggressive behavior. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/09/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a 2019 ***** Silverado 1500 January of 2022, and financed it with ENT credit union. January of 2023, I totaled the vehicle. My insurance paid out, and $3,200 of the extended warranty was left. I've contacted Street Smart Auto Brokers numerous times, and contacted my credit union to resolve the issue. Every time, I've been told that the bank has to send over information. So, I spent an entire day going back and forth between the bank and Street Smart getting everything set up for them to send the remaining warranty amount to to ********, Street Smart is telling me they've sent it but they have NO RECORD nor can they show me that they sent the payment. ENT is telling me they don't have it. Meanwhile I'm stuck making payments for a warranty on a vehicle I don't own. And the person I've had to talk to at Street Smart is extremely rude and unhelpful. How can you say you sent a payment to a banking facility and have NO record to show for it? This is my last step before small claims court.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/11/2024

  I am sorry that ******************** still has concerns about her service contract refund. We cancelled the service contract and mailed Ent a check that was cashed by them on 11/17/2023. The check was a prorated refund of $2222.48. Ent informed us that they did not refund the money to ********************, but they applied it to the remaining balance on her loan. When ******************** purchased her truck, she opted for *** insurance which would usually cover negative equity in the event of a total loss. We researched and found out that the *** policy was terminated on February 2, 2023. It looks like a claim was filed, so I am unsure as to why she still shows an outstanding balance on the loan. We recommend that she contact Ent and the *** provider (***************** ************) directly. If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

  Respectfully,

  *******************, owner, Street Smart Auto Brokers

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a car on October 31st 2023, a couple of days later I noticed that the key fab wasn't working to lock the doors. I talked to ***, the person who sold me the car and he said he would see what they could do. He called me back on Nov 3 and said to bring it into their garage. The garage said the actuator in every door including the trunk is broken and to fix it would cost $2,600. Considering that I just bought the car I would've hoped that they would take care of the cost of the repair or else they should have disclosed that information to me before I purchased the vehicle. After the mechanic spoke with the owner he said the owner wasn't going to make the repairs. I called and spoke with another sales person at the dealership, *******, and he told me a few days later that the owner wanted me to drop off the car again at their mechanic, they wanted me to leave it there for 1-2 days. On the 2nd day they called and said they confirmed it was all of the actuators that needed to be replaced (which we already knew..) and that the owner still wasn't going to take care of it. I'm not sure why I had to waste my time bringing it in for a second time only to receive the same information but also I would like them to take care of the costs to repair the doors and trunk. They shouldn't have sold me a car that I can't lock.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/08/2024

  Here is what I understand about the customer *********************************** vehicle:
  
  She purchased the Prius on October 31st. There were no issues with the door actuators at that time, but after the purchase she told us that the keyless remote was not working. Since we had replaced the fob prior to the sale, we knew that the part was under warranty. If it was faulty, it would be replaced. Two weeks after she purchased it, she brought it to the shop. At that time she said that she had issues with the vehicle holding a charge, so we replaced the battery. She also told us that she had someone jumpstart the car once when it wouldn't start. Please note that prior to this, she had only said that the remote wouldn't lock the doors. She never told us that the doors would not lock manually, because they did. We had the vehicle on the lot for several weeks before she purchased it, and it locked and unlocked just fine. When we replaced the battery, we confirmed that all 5 doors did not lock or unlock either with or without the fob. We had two different mechanics look at it, and they were baffled. Actuators will wear out, but they do not all quit simultaneously. We had ******************** bring the vehicle back in for further diagnosis. At this time we temporarily replaced one of the actuators to confirm that it was bad-- it was. We informed ******************** that her car would need five new lock actuators.
  
  ******************** bought a 2013 Prius with 142k miles on it, and she declined to purchase an extended service agreement at the time of the sale. The door actuators were working when she purchased it. Several days after the sale, she called to say that her fob stopped working. She did not say she was unable to lock the car from the inside. Assuming the fob was faulty, we told her we would look at it. When she brought it in to have the battery replaced, she told us the car had been jumpstarted. It is probable that whoever jumpstarted the car cross-jumped the vehicle. This means that they attached the positive cable to the negative post and vice versa. This is speculation, because we cannot know for sure. It would be an odd coincidence though if the dead battery and jumpstarting were not related. Never in 35 years have I ever seen all 4-5 actuators in a vehicle go bad at the same time; there had to be an impetus such as a bad electric shock. She bought the car "as-is" with no warranty, and she knew that. Something caused all five actuators to fail simultaneously after the purchase. We assume it was cross-jumped. 
  
  We offered to replace all five actuators to the car at cost, but we cannot replace the parts that failed after the purchase due to an outside influence. We stand ready to assist. 
  
  Please contact me if you have any other questions.
  
  Respectfully,
  *******************
  Owner
  Street Smart Auto Brokers

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 20998314
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am rejecting the business response because their information regarding this issue is incorrect; I still believe that they should remedy the problem. 
  I informed *** at street Smart Auto the day after I purchased the vehicle that the key fob didn't work, not "several days after the sale". I had to go back the day after the sale because I had to finish up paperwork that I hadn't finished the night before. On Halloween (date of purchase) my dog had surgery and that evening I had to pick him up from the vet which was close to the time that the car dealership closed. That is why I wasn't able to finish the paperwork the night of purchase. After we got home I noticed the issue with the door locks. I highly doubt that every door actuator could have failed in just a few hours after purchase which says to me that they weren't working properly when I bought the car. I made it very clear to Ray what issues I was experiencing, that I could in fact lock every door manually from the inside but that the key fob wouldn't lock or unlock the doors as well as the auto lock button on the front doors from the inside not functioning. After taking a look at the car and taking apart the 2 key fobs *** suggested to me that I bring the car into a ****** dealership because to him it sounded like the key fob needed to be replaced but you're claiming that the key fob had been "replaced prior to the sale and that the part was under warranty". If that is the case then why would I be told that I needed to pay to replace it myself? 
  I never once mentioned having any problems with the car holding a charge, because I never experienced that. Nor have I had any instances where the car needed to be jumpstarted, the information that street smart believes to be true is entirely inaccurate. While I was at the street smart auto mechanic for them to diagnose what was wrong with the locks they informed me that the battery needed to be replaced so, I paid for that to be done. When the mechanic, *******, informed me that the battery needed replacing I mentioned to him that I noticed the car doesn't make any sounds to alert me that the headlights are still on when I'm getting out of the it and I thought maybe I had left them on and that might be why the battery charge tested low? Perhaps this information I shared somehow was misinterpreted as needing to have the car jumpstarted?? However, once again, I have never had this car jumpstarted. Your speculation about why all of the actuators had gone out might be true if the car was jumpstarted before the purchase? 
  I believe that the dealership has a false understanding of this issue and whether or not they realize that there was a problem with the locks of the doors before selling the car to me, I believe they should be taking on the responsibility of making it right by replacing the door actuators.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/06/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 30th I made a deal with Street Smart Auto Brokers involving my 2016 TLX in trade for one 2017 MDX the deal was for $27,000 and my car valued at $14,900, I was negotiating with ******* who also pushed his warranty witch I initially declined, he then pushed it again for half the price $1,800 witch I then decided to get. This part is all on me. I was rushed through paperwork, and this is normal when salespeople are trying to take advantage of someone, after getting home I noticed he charged me $2,000 more than agreed price and double charged me $500. for something else witch, I believe to be a mistake. It then took a month of bugging this place to get reimbursed $500. and countless excuses. This Is The best Part; I recently find out they never activated my warranty or paid the $1800 to activate it and after numerus attempts to find out why I'm now being Ignored completely. This is by far the WORST Car buying experience I've ever had!!! Crazy thing is I explained how I just wanted a fair deal to start with, first thing I ever said.They contently didn't include warranty paperwork like they do this sort of thing a lot.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/08/2023

  ************** is accurate on a couple points but not on others. He did not pay $2000 more than the agreed upon price. The price is the internet market price, and that never changed. Perhaps he is confused about the amount financed, but the price never changed. He was inadvertently overcharged a $499 accessory fee due to *******'s error. Our business manager was off that day, and ******* attempted to complete the paperwork himself since ************** is from out of town. We didn't want him to have to come back. Once that mistake ****** to our attention, we corrected the error and refunded the double charge. Also, there was no "month of bugging" or "countless excuses". That is a complete fabrication. Once we figured out that the contract included the fee twice, we fixed it. As far as the warranty activation, we remitted the money for the policy two weeks after the purchase. The warranty company cashed our check and never let us know that the check was short $30.00 due to a surcharge. When ************** emailed me, I investigated the situation. The warranty company never informed us that they needed another $30.00, so we assumed all was well. Once we knew what the problem was, I immediately overnighted the check to the warranty company. His warranty is active. Although I regret the two errors we made, they were corrected as soon as they were discovered. I personally emailed ************** back to let him know the warranty issue was handled. There was no ill intent. We have a reputation for selling better cars at better prices while creating a more stress-free buying experience. Obviously in this case we fell short of that objective, but we corrected the errors as soon as we could.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************