Austin's Affordable Autos
9316 NE Highway 99
VancouverWA98665
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Description
Austin's Affordable Autos was founded in 2002, and is located at 8002 Ne Highway 99 Pmb 44 in Vancouver. Additional information is available at www.austinsaffordableauto.blogspot.com or by contacting Matt Austin at (360) 566-9316.
Member Reviews
Scammed by this dealer. DO NOT BUY A CAR HERE:
History:
Upon arriving at this car lot, we were greeted by a couple of people with paper signs stating they were scammed and not to buy a car here. They told us they were out thousands of dollars because of the dealership's shady practices and were now paying on a car they couldn't drive and could not get the car they traded in back. My wife and I took it as a bad personal experience for them and continued on into the lot. After looking at a few cars, we came across a dark blue 2001 Volvo V70 Cross Country wagon that seats 5 with additional seating to make a 7 seater. Just what we needed for our newly expanded family. We test drove the car, we liked it and eventually put $2000 down and signed the remaining finance agreements totaling just over $6700 with what turned out to be these scam artist, lying, scumbags…. we drove off the lot and headed home. The drive is about 20 minutes from dealer to house. After dropping off my wife and 7 week old son, I immediately took the car out, stopped for gas and had planned on running a few errands. I stopped at the local Arco at the corner of my street and filled the tank. I restarted the car and it instantly started idling horrible, sputtering and stalling out as soon as I step on the gas. This is not a diesel and I pumped the proper gas into the tank. I limped home placing the car in Neutral every time it would stall, restarting and quickly stepping on the gas to thrust the car a few more feet. Made it home finally and called the dealership.
We then contacted Austin’s…. through the few calls we had to make over the next hour, argument after argument, the bottom line in their eyes was that we purchased this car “As is” (and they force you to sign 5 different documents stating this and THEN take your picture with a sign that reads “I just bought this car As Is from Austin’s Auto”). They delivered their opinionated, thieving, dishonest, and scumbag message loud and clear as one salesman was screaming in the background while I was on the phone with another salesman “AS IS MEANS AS IS J@!%!*S”! Amazing customer service.
We took the car to a reputable Volvo mechanic on 9/19/2013 after I attempted to fix a few things myself over the next few days that were showing as error messages on the computer at Cost Less auto parts store. What I fixed was not helping the issue so we decided to take it in to a garage.
The Results from the mechanic is as follows:
1. Right front hose attached to the turbo was completely disconnected to the airflow intake. He fixed it and put a clamp on it.
2. The intake boot on the turbo had a leak. He fixed it and tightened it up.
3. The radiator is newer and whoever put it in did it badly. There was one bolt missing and one that was hand tightened loose. The wiring around the radiator that clips to the car was all broken off… none of the wiring was broken however, but some of the covers were damaged.
4. The mechanic said it looks like someone must have power washed the engine incorrectly because the cover that is normally on the ECU unit was missing, and so was the “air scoop” that keeps the unit cool while driving it. He said it seemed like the ECU had water damage as well.
a. The ECU is the main computer
b. It controls the throttle, the idle, and the turbo
c. It is not communicating to either unit correctly causing malfunctioning idle, misfiring, and other computer related issues.
5. When the engine is cold, the car runs fairly well after all minor things were fixed. As soon as the engine (and the ECU) is heated, the misfiring and bad idle starts.
6. The mechanic also states that the disconnected hoses were absolutely done on purpose to keep the car running smoothly during a short test drive while the engine was fairly cool.
The bottom line:
a. The throttle body will need to be replaced by Volvo: $400 plus labor
b. The ECU will need to be replaced by Volvo: $400 plus labor
c. Both units replaced by Volvo need to by synced with Volvo’s computer. $200 plus labor
d. I already replaced the MAF: $86
e. I already replaced the boost control valve: $68
All in all, it’s looking like in the very least; we’ll be paying around $1500 - $1800 to fix this car within a week of buying it from the dealership. Every online report and every online review I have seen since this fiasco started is saying the same thing we now know…. Never buy a car from these guys. MANY people have been scammed as we have and MANY people have had it worse with vehicle that could not be fixed. These poor people have been left with high interest car payments for years; paying on a car they cannot even drive and all Austin’s can say is “As is means AS IS”.
Something needs to be done about this place. It needs to be shut down. ASAP before more people are scammed. Please investigate them! Help me to show the state of Washington and the city of Vancouver that this business needs to be closed before they sell a vehicle that kills someone and their family.
Upon arriving at this car lot, we were greeted by a couple of people with paper signs stating they were scammed and not to buy a car here. They told us they were out thousands of dollars because of the dealership's shady practices and were now paying on a car they couldn't drive and could not get the car they traded in back. My wife and I took it as a bad personal experience for them and continued on into the lot. After looking at a few cars, we came across a dark blue 2001 Volvo V70 Cross Country wagon that seats 5 with additional seating to make a 7 seater. Just what we needed for our newly expanded family. We test drove the car, we liked it and eventually put $2000 down and signed the remaining finance agreements totaling just over $6700 with what turned out to be these scam artist, lying, scumbags…. we drove off the lot and headed home. The drive is about 20 minutes from dealer to house. After dropping off my wife and 7 week old son, I immediately took the car out, stopped for gas and had planned on running a few errands. I stopped at the local Arco at the corner of my street and filled the tank. I restarted the car and it instantly started idling horrible, sputtering and stalling out as soon as I step on the gas. This is not a diesel and I pumped the proper gas into the tank. I limped home placing the car in Neutral every time it would stall, restarting and quickly stepping on the gas to thrust the car a few more feet. Made it home finally and called the dealership.
We then contacted Austin’s…. through the few calls we had to make over the next hour, argument after argument, the bottom line in their eyes was that we purchased this car “As is” (and they force you to sign 5 different documents stating this and THEN take your picture with a sign that reads “I just bought this car As Is from Austin’s Auto”). They delivered their opinionated, thieving, dishonest, and scumbag message loud and clear as one salesman was screaming in the background while I was on the phone with another salesman “AS IS MEANS AS IS J@!%!*S”! Amazing customer service.
We took the car to a reputable Volvo mechanic on 9/19/2013 after I attempted to fix a few things myself over the next few days that were showing as error messages on the computer at Cost Less auto parts store. What I fixed was not helping the issue so we decided to take it in to a garage.
The Results from the mechanic is as follows:
1. Right front hose attached to the turbo was completely disconnected to the airflow intake. He fixed it and put a clamp on it.
2. The intake boot on the turbo had a leak. He fixed it and tightened it up.
3. The radiator is newer and whoever put it in did it badly. There was one bolt missing and one that was hand tightened loose. The wiring around the radiator that clips to the car was all broken off… none of the wiring was broken however, but some of the covers were damaged.
4. The mechanic said it looks like someone must have power washed the engine incorrectly because the cover that is normally on the ECU unit was missing, and so was the “air scoop” that keeps the unit cool while driving it. He said it seemed like the ECU had water damage as well.
a. The ECU is the main computer
b. It controls the throttle, the idle, and the turbo
c. It is not communicating to either unit correctly causing malfunctioning idle, misfiring, and other computer related issues.
5. When the engine is cold, the car runs fairly well after all minor things were fixed. As soon as the engine (and the ECU) is heated, the misfiring and bad idle starts.
6. The mechanic also states that the disconnected hoses were absolutely done on purpose to keep the car running smoothly during a short test drive while the engine was fairly cool.
The bottom line:
a. The throttle body will need to be replaced by Volvo: $400 plus labor
b. The ECU will need to be replaced by Volvo: $400 plus labor
c. Both units replaced by Volvo need to by synced with Volvo’s computer. $200 plus labor
d. I already replaced the MAF: $86
e. I already replaced the boost control valve: $68
All in all, it’s looking like in the very least; we’ll be paying around $1500 - $1800 to fix this car within a week of buying it from the dealership. Every online report and every online review I have seen since this fiasco started is saying the same thing we now know…. Never buy a car from these guys. MANY people have been scammed as we have and MANY people have had it worse with vehicle that could not be fixed. These poor people have been left with high interest car payments for years; paying on a car they cannot even drive and all Austin’s can say is “As is means AS IS”.
Something needs to be done about this place. It needs to be shut down. ASAP before more people are scammed. Please investigate them! Help me to show the state of Washington and the city of Vancouver that this business needs to be closed before they sell a vehicle that kills someone and their family.
Wonderful service:
I just bought a car from here, and I can't believe how cheap I got it for! I couldn't be happier. It runs and drives perfect and all the staff were so friendly and funny. I will definitely be back here. It's so rare to find a company that treats you like family!
Information from the business
Thank you for shopping with us.
Here at Austins Affordable Autos, we specialize in "Affordable" cars. We approve and carry more in house financing than any dealer in our market in this area.
Here at Austins Affordable Autos, we specialize in "Affordable" cars. We approve and carry more in house financing than any dealer in our market in this area.
Thank you for shopping with us.\n\nHere at Austins Affordable Autos, we specialize in "Affordable" cars. We approve and carry more in house financing than any dealer in our market in this area.
Austins Affordable Autos located at 9316 NE Highway 99 in Vancouver, WA services vehicles for Auto Repair. Call (360) 566-9316 to book an appointment or to hear more about the services of Austins Affordable Autos.
Austin's Affordable Autos has the lowest prices in town on used cars!
