North Hills car dealership sued by Pennsylvania attorney general
The State Attorney General’s Office is suing a North Hills car dealership, alleging the business defrauded customers by selling them a vehicle with known problems. A Pittsburgh woman told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 she fell victim to the alleged practice this week when she bought a car. The lawsuit was filed by Deputy State’s Attorney Jaimie George in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Friday. It is alleged that North Hills Auto Mall and its owner Regis Mannke are violating state motor vehicle regulations and the Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit alleged that the company claims the vehicles are in good condition and under warranty, but the attorney general̵[ads1]7;s office released a statement saying in part, “The dealer had classified the vehicles as being sold ‘as is,’ and the ‘warranty’ was actually a limited service contract from a third party.” The statement goes on to say if a seller knows a car has serious problems before selling it, that’s against state law, even if the car is sold “as is.” Zandra Specter, 80, said she bought a car for $10,000 at North Hills Auto Mall on Camp Horne Road on Wednesday and was given a 72-hour return policy. “He assured me the car was in good shape, and just a perfect little car,” Specter said. After driving the car home, Specter said it was obvious something was wrong with the car. “I got home and the whole way home the car just kept knocking and knocking,” Specter said. She took it to a mechanic. “He said the brakes were bad, and he showed me in the hatchback, that the area is musty. It smells like it was wet, and there’s a broken brake light,” Specter said. Since Wednesday, Specter said she has made several attempts to to contact the business for a refund but have not received a call back and that the 72 hour period ends on Saturday. “They are taking advantage of you because they can and I even told them I am really desperate for a car , and I shouldn’t have said that, but they made me feel comfortable,” Specter said. The lawsuit asks the court to make Mannke and North Hills Auto Mall pay restitution to all customers who suffered losses, be barred from selling cars in Pennsylvania, paying $1,000 for each violation of the Consumer Protection Act and paying $3,000 for each violation involving a customer over the age of 60. The business also allegedly required a deposit of at least $500 to secure a vehicle before purchase and offered no refunds although sales fell through. Necessary documentation, such as the purchase agreement and warranty information, was allegedly not provided to the customers. “I hope the lawsuit accomplishes something and I hope whoever is in charge of that location puts an end to this,” Specter said.Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reached out to the business Friday for comment before closing, but was told they were closing early for the day. The Attorney General’s Office requests that if you have been a victim of North Hills Auto Mall, file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection by calling 800-441-2555 or emailing scams@attorneygeneral.gov. Repair facilities, dealers or others who may have information about the alleged business practices are also asked to contact the agency.
The State Attorney General’s Office is suing a North Hills car dealership, alleging the business is deceiving customers by selling them a vehicle with known problems.
A Pittsburgh woman told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 she fell victim to the alleged practice this week when she bought a car.
The lawsuit was filed by Deputy State’s Attorney Jaimie George in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Friday. It is alleged that North Hills Auto Mall and its owner Regis Mannke are violating state motor vehicle regulations and the Consumer Protection Act.
The lawsuit alleged that the business claims the vehicles are in good condition and under warranty, but the attorney general’s office released a statement saying in part, “The dealer had classified the vehicles as sold ‘as is,’ and the ‘warranty’ was actually a limited service contract from a third party .”
The statement goes on to say that if a seller knows a car has serious problems before it is sold, it is against state law, even if the car is sold “as is.”
Zandra Specter, 80, said she bought a car for $10,000 at North Hills Auto Mall on Camp Horne Road on Wednesday and was given a 72-hour return policy.
“He assured me the car was in good shape, and just a perfect little car,” Specter said.
After driving the car home, Specter said it was obvious something was wrong with the car.
“I got home and the whole way home the car just kept knocking and knocking,” Specter said.
She took it to a mechanic.
“He said the brakes are bad and he showed me in the hatchback, that area is moldy. It smells like it was wet and there’s a broken brake light,” Specter said.
Since Wednesday, Specter said she has made several attempts to contact the business to get the money back, but has not received a call back and that the 72-hour period ends on Saturday.
“They take advantage of you because they can, and I even told them I’m really desperate for a car, and I shouldn’t have said that, but they made me feel comfortable,” Specter said.
The lawsuit asks the court to make Mannke and North Hills Auto Mall pay restitution to all customers who suffered losses, be banned from selling cars in Pennsylvania, pay $1,000 for each violation of the Consumer Protection Act, and pay $3,000 for each violation involving a customer over 60 years of age.
The business also allegedly required deposits of at least $500 to secure a vehicle before purchase and did not provide refunds even if the sale fell through. Necessary documentation, such as the purchase agreement and warranty information, was allegedly not provided to the customers.
“I hope that the lawsuit achieves something and I hope whoever is in charge of that place puts a stop to this,” Specter said.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reached out to the business Friday for comment before the close of business, but was told they were closing early for the day.
The Attorney General’s Office requests that if you have been a victim of North Hills Auto Mall, file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection by calling 800-441-2555 or emailing scams@attorneygeneral.gov. Repair facilities, dealers or others who may have information about the alleged business practices are also asked to contact the agency.
