RENTON, Wash. — Customers accuse Sunset Cars of Renton of selling cars that quickly break down, then refusing to make things right.
Amy Perfect has become an amateur mechanic of sorts to keep track of all the issues with the BMW X5 she bought from Sunset a year and a half ago. She said the car immediately started breaking down.
“I would (have) at my own expense have the car towed [to Sunset], and I was told nothing’s going on, it’s fine,” Perfect said.
However, another issue would pop up. Eventually, Perfect had other mechanics take a look. She found out there were issues with the transmission and someone had damaged the engine while trying to make repairs. Perfect said Sunset’s owner refused to pay for the repairs.
“He basically told me to come get my ‘piece of crap car’ that he sold me off his lot and never call again,” she said.
What happened to Perfect has happened to others. Sunset has an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau, which cites reports of similar negative experiences. The state Attorney General’s Office has 38 complaints on file.
A manager for Sunset would only talk on the phone and would not comment on the apparent pattern of selling cars with problems. The manager did say that the dealership tried to treat Perfect fairly. He said they forgave $4,000 worth of debt on her daughter’s car, which was bought from Sunset. In return, he said Perfect agreed to avoid further legal action. Perfect called that transaction “strong arming.”
“My daughter called to make her in-house financing payment, and they refused it, and said they were coming to pick up her vehicle and their words were: ‘because your mom is suing us,’” Perfect said.
She said she felt she had no choice but to sign the document.
“I don’t care about the money as much as they’re doing this time and time again,” she said.