Mossy Toyota

Used car salesmen are often the butt of jokes, but they are also largely responsible for their own bad rap thanks to gimmicky ads and a penchant for shrill sales pitches loaded with false promises. So, when my 14-year old Toyota truck expired a couple of years ago, I went straight to Mossy Toyota Mission Bay, an established San Diego dealership that I had an existing relationship with. Their mechanics had done a good job servicing my old truck for over five years and I thought the dealership had a solid reputation. They were having a "certified red tag sale," and I thought if I purchased a vehicle at that time, it would further guarantee the auto's reliability. Being that I was a serious customer, I told the salesman that I needed a car for work and was prepared to buy that day. After looking at the two best-priced cars on the lot, I chose to test drive an $8000 2002 Ford Escort with reasonable mileage. I was given a free Auto Check report showing the car had a clean vehicle history, so imagine my surprise when I took it out on the road and quickly felt the car's terrible vibration. It was serious enough to make the steering wheel and dashboard vibrate and the rearview mirror shake. My cool-headed salesman was completely unruffled by this, saying it was no big deal, the car's idle just needed a minor adjustment and that Mossy would fix it for me. He seemed completely familiar with the problem and even knew how to handle it. Three times during the test drive, he showed me how I could press gently on the accelerator with the car in park to stop the shaking and rattling - temporarily. There's a reason I didn't walk away then and there. For over 20 years, I've worked at a major warehouse club where customers are our members and their satisfaction is our top priority. We bend over backwards to make things right for them, no matter what. In my experience, good business means excellent customer service and, remember, I already was a Mossy customer and had never had any complaints with their service - before this. So I believed the salesman's explanation and his promise to repair my "certified" vehicle, but I did tell him I wanted the car fixed before driving it off the lot. He said they could not give me an appointment that day, and I also couldn't get one within the 48-hour window they allow for customers to cancel their purchase. Over the next few weeks, Mossy tried to repair the car several times but could not, and then they ridiculed my request to return the car for the full purchase price. I found help at the Lemon Law Center where I was connected with an attorney and an auto investigator who only needed a single thorough check to learn what Mossy's salesmen and mechanics did not disclose me: The Escort had been completely submerged in water. They had sold me an unusable rusted-out flood car. If that's not bad enough, Mossy's sales contract included a clause that prevents me from suing them in court. This business practice, binding mandatory arbitration, is a fancy name for a dirty, anti-consumer scheme that protects companies from financial liability for all sorts of bad outcomes. I don't really understand how it can be legal, but businesses are able to cheat and lie and then hire their own fake judges who pretend to consider the facts but, nine times out of ten, rule against the little guy. It's really no different than old-fashioned highway robbery. I'm hurt by this experience, and not just in the wallet. My attorney was told by the dealership's attorney that "Mossy wants to take a stand" in my case. A stand against what? Honesty? Fairness? I thought Mossy might eventually accept their responsibility, acknowledge their "mistake" and make things right with me. But this has been going on now for over two years, and it's not over yet. In August of 2007 the court ordered us to arbitration at Mossy's request. Ever since then Mossy has stalled and delayed the arbitration. They re