It looks as if there’s nearly by no means a time when a automotive dealership doesn’t do one thing flawed. From promoting a automotive that a buyer introduced in for restore to taking a buyer’s cash after which making them undergo hell to get it again, even merely doing what they’re in enterprise to do can flip into fraud. San Antonio’s KENS 5 stories how one dealership misplaced a buyer’s car to fraud after which anticipated his insurance coverage to cowl it.
Correction: This story initially used a picture of an orange 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 listed on the market on the Chicago Motor Automobiles dealership in Chicago, Illinois. This dealership had nothing to do with this story and we remorse the error.
Again in 2022, Felipe Villarreal bought an orange 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 from a Las Vegas dealership for $90,000. He says it was his dream automotive. Not lengthy after buying it, Villarreal discovered himself in monetary bother and needing cash. That’s when he determined to do a consignment sale on the GT500, as he described to KENS 5.
Sadly after the report inflation in 2022 and several other medical payments, Villarreal simply couldn’t justify the mortgage he nonetheless owed on the car. In October of 2023, Villarreal signed a take care of Hovey Motorcars in Boerne to do a consignment sale. Villarreal mentioned the dealership had been round for a few years and specialised in coping with “high-end” vehicles. “Based mostly on their historical past, and dealing on these costly vehicles, I figured it was a superb match,” Villarreal mentioned. “The automotive was parked within the showroom flooring as we agreed. There have been no take a look at drives.”
Almost a month later, Hovey Motorcars referred to as Villarreal, saying that that they had “excellent news and unhealthy information.” It was all unhealthy information, although. Hovey mentioned they misplaced the automotive in a rip-off deal and had no cash to point out for it, saying a “fraudulent purchaser” had taken the GT500. In a press release to KENS 5, Hovey Motorcars proprietor Rick Hovey Jr. described what occurred, weirdly calling his dealership a sufferer on this as effectively.
On 10-20-2023, a suspect made a $10,000 down fee on the automotive, obtained auto insurance coverage, and was subsequently permitted for a mortgage to finance the steadiness. 5 days after the down fee was made, and in the future after the mortgage transaction was accomplished, Hovey Motorcars acquired a letter informing us that the down fee was made utilizing a stolen bank card. We instantly reported this to the Boerne Police Division. Regardless of our diligent efforts and our twenty-six years of enterprise expertise, we grew to become victims of theft and fraud on this occasion.
Villarreal says he went to the dealership anticipating both his insurance coverage or the seller’s would cowl the automotive’s loss. That’s when Hovey instructed Villarreal he’d must file a declare together with his insurance coverage, and it’s all due to a contract Villarreal signed.
The contract states that Villarreal declared “to have in have an effect on full protection insurance coverage and acknowledge that I’m completely liable for all damages, repairs, and/or theft which may happen to mentioned auto.
It seems to be as if Villarreal is screwed on each side. Hovey Motorcars says their insurance coverage doesn’t cowl the lack of the car as a result of they didn’t personal it. And Villarreal’s insurance coverage has a clause saying it doesn’t cowl consignment gross sales. Insurance coverage Council of Texas Communications Director Wealthy Johnson confirmed to KENS 5 that almost all personal auto insurance coverage doesn’t cowl consignment gross sales. A shopper safety legal professional instructed KENS 5 that Villarreal might sue Hovey Motorcars, however he’d need to show that the seller was negligent. A police report might assist, nevertheless it nonetheless hasn’t been launched by native police.
Villarreal is now caught paying the remaining $60,000 mortgage on a automotive he doesn’t have anymore, hoping that issues work out in his favor. “It seems like somebody hit you actually laborious within the intestine,” he instructed KENS 5.
