Hutchinson: Buyer beware when shopping for cars online
Randy Hutchinson
Randy Hutchinson is the President and CEO of the BBB of the Mid-South, serving 28 counties in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. He graduated from Western Maryland College and has an MBA from Wilmington College.
If you’re going to buy a car sight unseen (other than pictures) from a dealer, it becomes ever more important that the dealer has a good reputation for delivering on its promises.
Vroom, one of the largest online-only dealers, doesn’t meet that test.
Vroom is based in Texas and sells cars nationwide. It sold almost 75,000 in 2021, a 117% increase over 2020, but the company’s rapid growth has contributed to a host of problems with customers and regulators.
The Better Business Bureau in Houston issued an alert about Vroom in August 2021, citing receipt of 1,696 complaints in the prior 12 months and 1,817 in the prior three years.
As I’m writing this column, those numbers are 3,947 and 6,099, respectively. The company has an F rating.
Vroom customers have complained about delays in cars being delivered, damage or other condition problems that weren’t evident in online photos, problems with trade-ins, warranty issues, and non-responsiveness when customers seek help.
The most common complaint concerns Vroom’s failure to deliver the necessary paperwork to get permanent tags and registrations in a timely manner.
A Cordova consumer said, “I purchased my car from Vroom on November 24, 2021. I have yet to receive my title and registration. It is now almost 5 months without my permanent tags.”
Many Vroom customers say their car just sits in the garage because they’re afraid they’ll be stopped by the police and ticketed if they drive it with expired temporary tags.
The Texas Attorney General sued Vroom in April regarding the paperwork delays and alleged misrepresentations regarding vehicle history and condition and financing terms.
The company has paid $137,000 in fines, $1,000 per violation, to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in two separate settlements involving complaints about delayed paperwork.
Mid-Southerners filed 64 complaints about Vroom in the 12-month period ending in August 2022. Most complaints concerned not getting registration and tags paperwork in a timely fashion.
One customer had difficulty canceling an extended warranty and another who canceled the sale all together kept getting billed by the company that financed the purchase.
Vroom isn’t the only online dealer that has run afoul of its customers and government agencies. You should do your best to inspect and test drive a car before consummating the deal.
If you’re buying it from an online-only dealer, be sure you understand the return and refund policy and that the dealer’s reputation indicates it will stand behind the policy.
Arrange for delivery during the day. Some Vroom customers complained that cars were delivered at night, and they didn’t notice condition problems until the next day.
Be equally cautious about buying a car advertised on Craigslist or another online marketplace. Red flags include a seller you can’t meet in person and/or who asks for payment through a wire transfer or a reloadable debit or gift card.
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