PASADENA, Texas – Customers of a Pasadena used car lot are sharing their stories of alleged lies, deception, and sale of vehicles with more problems than miles.
Our reporting on Strawberry Road Auto Sales in Pasadena began last week after a tip came through to our KPRC 2 Help Desk.
Reporter Gage Goulding and Photojournalist Oscar Chavez interviewed a young, single mother who had her downpayment, $1,500, taken by the dealership. She never got keys to a car or a refund.
When Goulding and Chavez went undercover to see if they’d also be treated the same way, they found otherwise. When they revealed their identity, they were led to car lot manager David Estrada, who physically assaulted them.
VIDEO: KPRC 2 reporter, photojournalist assaulted while doing story on used car lot in Pasadena
It turns out there’s a long list of violations with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, complaints with the Better Business Bureau, and even lawsuits filed against the car lot.
Victims share their stories
This week, we invited those victims to our studios for a group conversation about their experiences, their stories, and what they learned so you won’t make the same mistake that they did.
“My story, it’s basically manipulation and premeditated,” said Tevin Conner, who made the trip from Austin.
That’s the theme of many stories here. People lied to or otherwise deceived into believing that the vehicle they were buying was a good vehicle in working order. Instead, the vehicle had problem after problem, sometimes rendering the vehicle unusable.
“I had transmission issues, a clutch on my transmission went out. And then also I had AC issues,” said Lucille Ross of Houston.
“I ended up with a car with a leaking engine oil coolant, leaking windshield wiper, bad brakes, none of the tires match and God knows what other issues,” added Tina Baxter of Katy.
“Somebody changed the codes and it’s tens of thousands of dollars that is pretty much totaled,” said Esmeralda Benavidez of LaPorte.
They come from all parts of our area, all walks of live, and all kinds of backgrounds.
There is no one single type of victim in this story.
They’re our neighbors, coworkers, and friends. People just like you.
They were all looking for a good deal on a good car.
“I feel like they really did take like a big vantage on me because they knew that I was in need of something,” Ross said.
Out of the six people sitting in on the group conversation, there were four vehicle purchases.
Only Ross is still driving her car, but only after she poured thousands into the car to make it drivable.
“It’s so least like two grand,” she said.
“Once they have their money, then it’s a different ball game,” Benavidez added.
Esmeralda and her husband, Donny, haven’t seen their SUV in a few years. They took it back to the car lot and left it.
A lawsuit they filed said the car was practically totaled after someone messed with the internal computer programming.
However, they still see the monthly bill come out of their bank account.
Esmeralda: “Almost $1,000.”
Gage: “Wow. On a vehicle, that’s a paperweight, pretty much?”
Donny: “And we try to make it right. We try to make it right, going over there about 2 to 3 times and told them, ‘Just give me my money back and everything. We’ll give you your car back. We’ll call it even.’ They didn’t want to do it then, either.”
That’s the other similarity between the cases: when there’s a problem, the car lot doesn’t seem to have the fix.
“They gave me a loner. I had that for almost a month. And they finally called me and said that the car was fixed and that I could pick it up,” Baxter said. “On my way home, the car was stalling. When I picked it up the second time, I barely made it home with the car and I told them I was bringing it back.”
Tevin: “You just get scolded and they just toss their hands up and show you away.”
Gage: “Was there anything that you heard in somebody else’s story that was like, yep, that red flag for me to that I heard that same thing?”
Esmeralda: “Number one, we have to go back to them because there’s something wrong with the vehicle.”
Donny: “And if you leave your car, they try to sell it to someone else.”
Gage: “Really?”
Donny: “Yes, they did. They try to be reached out to us and they try to sell the car to someone else.”
Tevin: “I had the same thing happen. Somebody forged my signature for a Koncept Motors. We never got back anything that we had from that vehicle. And then they end up selling to one guy. So let’s get another guy in the contract.
They each know they got duped.
Now they want to make sure you don’t follow in their footsteps, offering these bits of advice:
Esmeralda: “I need it in writing to make sure that there’s nothing going on, you know, and just ask those questions. Like about the Carfax. Has it been an accident?”
Lucille: “Just take that extra step and look at look out for these car dealerships, because, you know, a lot of them nowadays are just like wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Tina: “I would say ask them if you can take the car to do a diagnostic check before you give them any money to see if it’s actually in the condition that they say it is.”
While these are all good tips on ways to go above and beyond, attorney Ashley Thomson of Thomson and Dunkel Law says you don’t need to.
“It is not incumbent upon you to become a subject matter expert and something that you’re going to go buy,” she said. “It is not incumbent upon you to become a subject matter expert and something that you’re going to go buy.”
Before you guy buy a new car, keep an eye out for these red flags:
Tevin: “If you are able to get your hands on a contract, please make sure you read through that contract.”
Tina: “If your intuition tells you that something is not right. Take your time. Don’t proceed.”
Esmeralda: “Once they have their money, then it’s a different ball game. Like now. It’s not the friendly person that was, you know, showing you the car and telling you about it.”
How to protect yourself
We created a complete guide full of great resources for buying a new or used car, whether it’s from a big-name dealership, a small car lot, or even on Facebook Marketplace.
Check out the guide here.
