18 Yr. Old Robbed By Toms River, NJ Car Dealership

My name is Rachel Katz, I am an 18 year old student attending Ocean County College. In July of 2018 I needed to purchase a car to get me to and from college and work. Small used car lots always looked kind of shady to me and I was not comfortable dealing with a stranger selling a car on Craigslist, so it was important to me that I went to a credible and well-known car dealership that was close to where I live. I love Volkswagens, so I ended up going to Toms River Volkswagen on Route 37 in Toms River, NJ. After explaining to the salesman, Tommy, what my needs and budget were and looking at the available used car inventory, I spotted a shiny, blue, Volkswagen Jetta. I immediately knew it was the one I had to buy! After taking it for a test drive and discussing with my Mom, I was super excited and just wanted to get the papers signed and make it mine. I couldn’t have been happier with the car until I brought in to Mr. Tire in Brick, NJ less than a week after my purchase and got some disturbing news. I thought I was just going to Mr. Tire because the car seemed to be pulling a little bit off to the side while driving straight. Upon their inspection, I was informed that the front brakes were not in safe condition and were in need of immediate replacement and 3 of the tires were worn out and needed to be replaced in order for the car to be safe. It was further explained that the front brake pads had 1/32 remaining which basically meant that the pads to rotors was almost metal to metal, AND, the rotors were below specification and needed to be replaced as well. I was devastated. So I did what anyone else in a similar situation would do that just bought a car a few days prior – from a “reputable” dealership... I called Toms River Volkswagen, very upset and frustrated, and spoke to a manager by the name of Dimitri. I simply conveyed what was explained to me by Mr. Tire and asked if he could fix it for me considering I bought the car from them just a week before. He flat out refused to do anything – Absolutely no help whatsoever. ZERO! I had no choice but to replace the brakes, tires and have the wheels properly aligned at my own expense which amounted to $823.30. The car is now having some other problems and is not starting all the time. I had the battery replaced, but that didn’t solve the problem. I’ve missed several days of work because of this, so that’s more money lost, and since the car starts up every time that I bring it over to Mr. Tire, they can’t seem to figure out what the problem is. Last week, I felt like I was in desperate need of help, so I reached out to my Uncle Mark. Once I told my uncle the story, he asked to see all of the documents relating to the vehicle and informed me not only was my car sold to me in unsafe condition without me being informed, the dealership exploited my age and inexperience and ripped me off by much more than I ever could have imagined. I never would have thought that such a clean and successful looking car dealership would not only sell a car to me that was not in safe driving condition, they charged me $499 in document processing fees, which was over and above the motor vehicle fees which were to be expected, they tacked on an additional $398 for some bogus anti-theft protection window etching thing, the car’s wholesale value at the time was no more than $2500 (that would have been with safe working brakes), considering it was only $17,000 when new, had over 77,000 miles, body damage that was poorly covered up, and deep scratches on almost every panel of the car. To my surprise, Uncle Mark wrote a lengthy email to the owner of the dealership, Tom McMenanin, explaining the situation and requesting that they have a meeting at the dealership. Uncle Mark attached documents to the email supporting the fact that I called the dealership several times in the days following my purchase and also included the invoices from Mr. Tire that detailed the services performed on the car following my appeal to Toms River Volkswagen for help. My uncle even took the time to contact the manager of Mr. Tire, Maggie, and requested that she send him an email attesting to the fact that they did the work and described the condition that the tires and brakes were in just days after I purchased the car and sent that to Mr. McMenanin as well. A meeting took place this week with my uncle and 2 managers from the Toms River Volkswagen. I was there too and brought the car with me. Uncle Mark simply requested that they fix my current problem at no charge in light of the fact that they sold me the car with serious safety issues without disclosing these facts and then refused to fix those problems when they were brought to their attention just days later. They angrily turned down my uncle’s suggestion and refused to accept responsibility of any kind. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What they did do, and this came from the General Manager of the dealership, Maurice Joseph Rosenbleeth, known in the dealership as “J.R.” offered me $2,000 for the car. What is even crazier than that, the night before the meeting, the owner of the dealership, Tom McMenamin, emailed documentation to my uncle demonstrating that the car was currently worth between $7000-$9,500, with a fair market price quoted at $8500. Neither I nor my uncle ever had any intention to sell them back the car or ask them to reverse the original sale. The whole thing was hard to believe. All my uncle asked them to do was to fix the current problem that the car is having in consideration of the mistake that they made. He did not ask them to return any money – not even the $398 that I was blatantly robbed of. Uncle Mark explained to them very clearly that he just wanted me to be comfortable with my car and to feel as though I am a valued customer and they basically spit in his face and sent us on our way. My car is no longer reliable which has affected my job and overall sense of security. Also, having been taken advantage of like this, has taken an emotional toll on me. I am now wiped out of money and in need of help. All I want is for my car to be in the condition that would have been in had I purchased it from an honorable seller at the price that I paid. If additional monies are received from this campaign, they will be set aside for the purpose of assisting other victims of Toms River Volkswagen’s hazardous and predatory business practices. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.