Sam's Auto

Buyers beware! Sam and his daughter, Alianna, sold us a vehicle with a head gasket problem, and they won’t stand behind the sale. We test drove a 2012 Toyota Prius V from their lot and read the Carfax. All seemed well. Because it had nearly 170K miles on it, we felt their price of $8,900 was steep. We had two high-mileage vehicles in good running order to trade in, but they only offered us $500 each for them. When I asked if they have any wiggle room, Alianna discussed it with her father. They offered to reduce it by $750 if we would forego the 30-day warranty they normally offer for the engine and parts, and a 6-month warranty for the hybrid battery. That should have been our first sign that they did not want to stand behind this car. After we bought the car, we moved out of state. Two weeks later, the car started shuddering. Then the check engine light came on, as did the thermometer alert on the dash. The local garage thought it was the spark plugs and the coils and they gave us an estimate of $500 to fix it. I called and talked to Alianna, who referred me to Sam. After some pressure, he offered me half of the $500, rather than the $400 he owed (the warranty had a $100 deductible). I accepted because I thought it would be all that I would get. Turns out the spark plugs were not the problem. When we discovered it was the head gasket, I called up Sam and said we were not sure it was worth repairing the head gasket given the cost of nearly $5k. He said, "Oh no, you're going to need a new car!" He asked me what I wanted to do, and I said we'd like for him to reimburse us for the sale of the car, and he said, "Oh no!" I asked what he would suggest, and he merely repeated, "You're going to need a new car!" I asked him if he thought he was going to wash his hands of it, and he declared, "YUP!!!" I told him he wasn't going to get away with that. The car got worse. We were losing our coolant out the tailpipe, and the shuddering increased. A mechanic told us about a product called K-Seal that one can put into the coolant chamber that will temporarily seal the cracks in a head gasket. Because we didn't have the funds to fix the car, we used it. The check engine light went off, there was no steam coming through the tailpipe, and the shuddering stopped. We were hoping we could get the car to go a bit longer while we pull together the funds to pay for the repair, or else buy a new vehicle. No such luck. The car left me on the side of the highway. We have a loaner car while we try to figure out what to do. Alianna and Sam knew this car had a head gasket problem if Sam is a competent mechanic. We could have tried selling the car when the symptoms were gone, but we couldn't bring ourselves to pass this problem on to the next unsuspecting buyer. Kindness is to meant be passed on, not dishonesty. I posted a review a week ago, and received a public response from Sam’s Auto almost immediately, claiming he had not heard from me since the spark plugs, and if he had, he would have made it right. That is like a double lie… doing a dishonest thing, and then later lying that he did any such thing. I texted him and started from the beginning, describing the predicament we are in with the car, and asked what he will do to make it right. He called me up immediately and offered that if we haul the dead car down to him and pay for all the parts, he would fix it for us. I said that was not acceptable, and then I said I would text him so that he doesn’t develop selective amnesia again. He then offered that if we haul the car to him, he will pay us what we paid for it, minus the taxes and fees. I said we don’t have a way to transport the vehicle, and that even if we did, he could change his mind. I said the offer was acceptable if he would find a way to haul it back to Sam’s Auto. He has not responded. Sam (and his daughter Alianna) cannot be trusted to stand behind the cars they sell. I end how I started: Buyers Beware!

I looked at a Prius here and test drove it. No one accompanied me on the drive so that was respectful. The low tire pressure light came on and I just took that as a sign to pass. Nice staff, no issues. They sell higher mileage cars so they won’t know every issue with every vehicle. Get it reviewed by your mechanic first but that goes for any vehicle with this high in mileage. Wish they provided carfax or something though.

Found a beautiful Prius on their lot for a reasonable price. Asked them if there were any known issues with it. They said no. They allowed us to take it to a local Toyota dealership for a check up which cost us just over $200. Toyota dealership found an obvious head gasket engine oil leak. Also found a serious engine coolant leak. Would have cost us thousands of dollars in the next year or so to fix. There is no way, with all of their talk about professional detailing and mechanical expertise that Sam’s did not know about this. Would’ve been a whole lot easier if they just admitted it before we spent $200 to find out about it. Honestly, it’s the best $200 we’ve ever spent. Taught us to stay away from this used car dealer.

He sold me junk with bad transmission couldn’t even make it home from him! Called him he told me to change oil filters on transmission cost me $250 more. Took me 3 weeks to settle he charged me $500 to take it back! I lost with everything paperwork repairs plus $500 to him about 1000. Trash place should’ve left when I saw it !

We take our cars here to get serviced normally, but i've never bought a vehicle from here. I was excited when they got in a van of the make/model that we've been looking for.. I called the night before, Sam confirmed they still had it, and I set up an apt to go in the next morning. We test drove it, fell in love and they were able to get everything together quickly, and we left with a new van in under an hour! Answered our questions about the vehicle, but didn't pressure us to buy, or talk us into anything.. I love this place and how honest Sam is!! Will keep bringing our vehicles here to be serviced.

When they get mad at your for looking at a car for longer than 15 minutes then almost refuse to let you test drive another vehicle when you come back on a different day. Plus, the racial statements they make towards a specific ethnicity. I’ll never step foot on this lot again. However, I got to stand my ground for the first time, and I shocked myself on how forceful I got with that tall big bully.

Sam's Auto is growing because they do great work and explain exactly what is going on. They offered me a used replacement part for my prius dash saving me over $300 dollars. Sam's understands the benefits of EV's and hybrids and excels at working on and selling these vehicles. Sam even offers free EV charging at his lot.

I had a great experience with Sam. This is a great place to get a used prius and have an experienced mechanic to work on it. My gut feeling, Sam is an honest, hardworking guy, and I would do business with him again when the time comes to purchase another vehicle.