Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Pritchard Family Auto Stores's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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Pritchard Family Auto Stores has 7 locations, listed below.

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  Pritchard Family Auto Stores

  1 Teamquest Way Clear Lake, IA 50428

  
• 

  Pritchard's of Belmond

  216 River Ave N Belmond, IA 50421-1035

  
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  Forest City Auto Center

  826 Highway 69 N Forest City, IA 50436-1072

  
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  Chrysler of Forest City

  1445 Highway 69 S Forest City, IA 50436-2163

  
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  Pritchard's Lake Chevrolet

  3005 Willow Creek Ct Clear Lake, IA 50428-8515

  

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:11/07/2024

  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.

  We bought a used 2022 Chrysler Pacifica from Pritchard Lake car dealership in mid June 2024. A couple days after we purchased the vehicle the check engine light came on. We called them to let them know what was going on and they were very helpful. We brought the car up and they did a diagnostic to find there was a small evap leak. A few weeks later the light came back on for the same issue. We called them again and took the vehicle back to the dealership, which is over an hour away, for them to fix it again. We had the car for 3 months just before the light came back on again. We took the vehicle up for a third time and to get it checked out. They did the diagnostic and it was the evap leak but it wasn't in the same spot as the last two times. They put the vehicle on a lift and found major body damage. Due to the damage on the bottom of the car, the evaporation line was gouged and had a small hole causing the evaporation leak. They did not fix the problem because they said we had hit something to cause the damage. We have not hit or ran over a single thing with this vehicle. We are very frustrated that they will not fix it and were sold a car with damage. I called the ** of the dealership and talked to him about the situation and he seamed willing to help. All he requested us to do was to get a quote from a body shop and we would go from there. The next week we got it into the body shop to get a quote. The quote came back at over $8,800 and said the vehicle may not be safe to drive. I called the ** back the same day and he switched his motive completely. He was not trying to be helpful at all and continued to tell me that I needed to go through insurance to get it resolved. We believe that the damage to the car was there before us and known about because the clamp on the evaporation line had been replaced with an aftermarket clamp. We are looking for our money back from the vehicle or for the dealership to fix the problem that came with the vehicle they sold us.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2025

  Dear **** ********,
  
  We are in receipt of the BBB Complaint about our business received on 11/6/2024, ID ********. Our response to the customer complaint is set out in this letter.
  Pritchard Auto Company did assist Customer with two check engine light repairs related to an evaporator leak. A few weeks later Customer brought the car in for another check engine light. 
  Pursuant our Repair Order Jobs History on the vehicle, ** Number ******, the customer brought the vehicle in for a check engine light. The ** is dated September 26, 2024. The ** states, "***CAUSE pulled the vehicle into the shop and performed a diagnostic scan to find code p0456 EVAP small leak, removed the engine cover and performed an inspection of the evap lines a [and][sic] purge valve to find no obvious concerns. [r]aised the vehicle on a hoist to perform an inspection to find the underbody of the car has severe damage and there is an evap line included in the damage.[c]ustomer informed. [a]dvised to run through insurance."  
  We advised the customer to submit to insurance since the damage to the underbody of the vehicle was not covered by the vehicle warranty.  
  At the time of the sale, there was no significant damage to the vehicle pursuant to the attached CarFax Report. The CarFax report showed that there was minor damage reported at the front end of the vehicle, but none rose to the level of a damage disclosure. CarFax defines "minor damage" as "[G]enerally minor damage is cosmetic (including dents and scratches), may only require reconditioning,and typically does not comprise a vehicle's operation and/or safety."  The vehicle appears to have been adequately serviced by its two prior owners, and Pritchards ******* of Forest City. The CarFax is clean.
  At the time of purchase of the vehicle, the purchasers (***) were presented with IDOT Form ******, Motor Vehicle Damage Disclosure Statement. The Damage Disclosure statement did not indicate that the vehicle was a salvage vehicle (lost 70% of its value if the sale took place on or after July 1, 2021) . The purchasers acknowledged and signed the form on 6/21/2024.
  According to the Buyer's Guide which is posted on the window of the vehicle for sale, the warranty states that there is a limited warranty which states, "[T]he dealer will pay 100% of the labor and 100% of the parts for the covered systems that fail during the warranty period." Customer was provided a copy of this limited warranty at the time of purchase.
  Systems Covered by the limited manufacturer's warranty included Powertrain. The warranty also notes that a dealer service contract may be purchased. The purchaser did buy a Pritchard ************** Train Program warranty which provides protection starting 90 days after the purchase or ***** miles, whichever comes first.  When the vehicle damage was discovered, The Pritchard ************** Train Program was in effect. 
  The "powertrain" is the system of components that transfer power from the engine to the wheels to make the car move. The major components of the powertrain include the engine, transmission,driveshaft, differential and axles. The powertrain warranty covers the cost of repairing or replacing a part that fails due to a manufacturing defect or failure, not damage due to operation of the vehicle.  Damage due to vehicle operation or accident is covered by the owner's insurer. The owners signed an acknowledgement at the time of sale listing ********** as their insurer.
  At the time the vehicle was purchased, the purchaser acknowledged that Pritchards did not owe the owner anything. The "We Owe" form was signed by purchaser on June 21, 2024. In other words, the customer did not make any demands for repairs or reconditioning at the time of purchase.
  Further, the Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement signed by purchaser on 6/21/2024 contains a warranty disclaimer as set forth below:
  
  We bring this up so that it is clear that upon taking custody of the vehicle, it was in an "as is" condition but that the limited power train warranty from the manufacturer or Pritchards would be in effect per their terms and conditions. While we understand that the customer is disappointed to know that the vehicle has incurred damage which has caused the evap part damage, the damage clearly falls outside the scope of the limited warranties. For that reason, Customer was advised to visit a body shop and make an insurance claim.
  
  Pritchards does not believe that it **** the purchaser any money to fix the damage the underbody because such damage was not due to a manufacturer defect or fault. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** Pritchard