Hello all. I wanted to get some advice from my fellow members on an issue that i am currently dealing with. I just bought my 02 gs430 in Dec from Mclean Auto Imports. Little did i know that the two owners of the delearship were having an internal dispute which i got caught in the middle of. They had some type of falling out and it took me about two and a half months to get my title because of one of the owners being uncooperative and they are suing each other. Funny thing is, both of the guys are blood related brothers and one of the brothers claims that the other one has taken money from the dealership and used it for personal expenses and so forth. Anyway, when i purchased the car, i paid $1400 for taxes to them because they were supposed to take care of everything such as going to the DMV, paying the taxes, getting my tags and everything. It never worked out like that, when i finally got my title, i had to go to the DMV myself and get my own tags, plus pay $1400 out of my pockets again to cover the taxes so that i could receive my tags. I keep calling one of the owners back telling him to refund my money but he keeps saying that they have lawyers involved, and i need to be patient while they get all of this other stuff hashed out. He keeps telling me they have court dates, and then they are delayed and so forth.I live in Maryland and the Dealership is in Virginia. Is there any avenue where i can go without spending money on a lawyer to get my money back? Please help me if you can. Thanks

 

Unfortunately you will most likely have to file a suit against the business. Go to small claims court in the area you bought the car and file a small claims case against them. I am not real sure what amount you can sue for but I am sure you can sue for at least $1400 through small claims. Once they get served with the paper work of a law suit, they will get you your money. I think it will cost you like $50 or something to file the case. There may be some attorney's on this site that can clarify this for you.

 

Va. has a very good bus. bureau. you can contact. Did you pay the money cash, charge or finance. If you charged or finance it you may have a recourse with credit card company or the bank you finance the car through. Sorry about the mess you are caught up in. Good Luck. Oh by the way were you located in Maryland? If you don't mind me asking.

 

Perhaps you can contact the Better Business Bureau. (www.bbb.com)

Whenever I had a problem with a sales or anything business related, BBB comes to the rescue


Not sure if they work with your case, but you might as well file a complaint since it's no charge that I know of.

 

I didn't finance the cost of the taxes, i paid for that with my debit card to the dealership. Thanks for everyones help. Are there any lawyers in here who could provide some input? I am usually around the Bowie area in Maryland. I think i'll give the BBB a call also. I just don't want to go through the hassle of going to small claims court. I just got off of the phone with the other brother of the dealership and he is claiming that he has nothing to do with the business anymore, his other brother got a restraining order on him and he owes him including other customers and employees a bunch of money. This is getting to be a headache!

 

If you paid through debit card go to your bank and explain to them. I mean they may be able to give you some good advise.

 

please dont take this as legal advice, and there's no attorney-client privilege here (legal disclaimer for myself)

OK, first off unless the business has ties to Maryland you have to file any court proceedings in Virginia, due to the due process clause (14th ammendment, and the International Shoe case minimum contacts rule). Secondly, to recoup these costs, you can contact one of the attorneys currently involved in the claim and inform them of your situation. Usually in these types of proceedings, the corporations bank accounts are frozen, and therefore you'll have to present yourself as a creditor in this type of situation. As a creditor, you will collect first prior to the funds being dispersed.

Call your bank as well. Inform them of the situation, and what you need to do so you can have them put the money back into your account, and the bank subrogate against the dealership for their costs. The bank can afford attorneys, and for you to get one for $1,400 is gonna be tough to find an attorney willing to work on the claim. Also, this can be classified as a fraudulent act, so contacting your local District Attorney may be a feasible choice as well, along with contacting your local authorities. There's deffinently tort issues in here, and if you can find an attorney that will file the claim while trying to recoup costs from the dealership, that may be the most advantagous thing to do.

If ya got any questions as to what I said above, feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to give you whatever insight I can. Just beware this isn't meant to be legal advice or recommendation to take any actions, and I cant be held responsible for what's done. There's also no attorney-client privilege here with it being a forum and multiple third parties available. Im just giving some facts and info that may try and help you out.