GR Auto Gallery of Grand Rapids

Buyer beware. During the month of May 2017, I purchased a 1982 Mercedes Benz 240D from Gr Auto Gallery. The car was advertised as being in Excellent Condition. Since I have friends that have purchased cars from Gr Auto Gallery and after reading many reviews from the internet, I decided to trust Cory Wade from Gr Auto Gallery. Cory assisted me with the purchase. There were various deal breakers including whether the vehicle had a functional AC that blew cold air. I was informed by Cory that the car did in fact have a functional AC that blew cold air and informed me that the vehicle was in fact in Excellent condition. Through the transaction, communication with Cory was almost non-existent which was a Red Flag. I should have walked away from this transaction due to the poor communication with GR Auto Gallery. But again, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. After transmitting the funds, the real nightmare began when they made arrangements to have the car transported to me in Southern California. They made the arrangements with a transport company called Prestige Transport Inc. and this company was God aweful. I can't tell you how many times I had to call this transport company to try to get any kind of update on the transport of my vehicle to Southern California only to get yelled at by the driver or the main POC at the Prestige. The people at Prestige are obviously foreigners who can barely speak English. And don't get them upset because they have very short fuses. Anyhow, the car ended up getting dropped off at my residence and I was glad to pay Prestige to get them quickly out of my life. That was probably one of the most stressful experiences I've ever had in my life. Again, this is the sort of company that GR Auto Gallery highly recommended which reflects poorly. Anyhow, I was obviously happy upon the arrival of the car. I figured, that I could now enjoy the vehicle. To my surprise, the car had a lot of issues which included the following: 1) driver's door regulator was broken and so the window could not be opened or closed, 2) power booster pump was completely dead (i.e. would not hold suction) making the vehicle a huge safety liability driving it on the road, 3) the speedometer was not functional nor was the odometer and mileage counter, 4) the fuel gauge indicator was stuck and the empty tank light was on although according to GR Auto Gallery, the tank was full, 5) all of the oils in the vehicle including the engine oil, transmission oil, power steering oil, and coolant were all at dangerously low levels, 6) a number of vacuum lines were leaking air in the engine, 7) the main vacuum line that connected to the power booster pump was cracked and had to be replaced, and 8) the AC blows air but not cold. Those are some of the issues that have been identified by my mechanic as needing to be repaired to again make the car safe to drive. To get the AC to blow cold air, the mechanic noted that the AC system would have to be upgraded and that alone would cost an additional $1,200. So needless to say, the car I purchased from GR Auto Gallery was not in the Excellent condition it was advertised in. The car I purchased was not worth what I paid for it. At best, it was probably worth only half of what I paid. I immediately contacted GR Auto Gallery and again, my calls to Cory were not promptly returned. Therefore I spoke with Chris who is the owner of GR Auto Gallery. I asked Chris for a refund which he said was clearly out of the question for him. I asked if they could pick up the car and I could pick a different car which again was out of the question. Chris asked me to take the car to a mechanic to get it diagnosed and get it repaired. Chris noted that he was willing to work with me and would consider reimbursing me $250 if the repair costs were within $1,000 which they are now. I have acted in good faith and have done everything that GR Auto Gallery has suggested but they are leaving me holding the bag alone. I have not heard back from them noting that they will be helping to cover the $250 minimum on their behalf to make the car safe to drive. So GR Auto Gallery doesn't really give folks too many options if you're not happy with the car. To date, I have emailed Cory and Chris all of my receipts for repairs done to date and again, I have not heard anything from either Cory or Chris. To anyone on the internet thinking about purchasing a car from GR Auto Gallery, I am posting this review for your benefit. Buyer be ware. If you do decide to purchase a vehicle from them, either fly out there in person to see the vehicle else get it inspected before purchasing any car from them. Like I said, I have done everything possible to remain professional but my efforts have not been reciprocated by the people who work at Gr Auto Gallery. My transaction has been a nightmare from beginning to end. And it's been two weeks since I got the car and it's still at with the mechanic.