Lencore Group

In May 2011, I purchased a 2002 Volvo from North Jersey Auto Mall also known as Lencore Auto Group of Paterson, NJ after seeing it listed on eBay. I had extensive telephone conversations with Lenny ** who verbally represented the automobile in excellent physical condition and in perfect mechanical shape during each telephone call before and after the purchase. Lenny insisted the automobile was worth high blue book because the car was low mileage and was flawless, mint and without any scratches, dents or dings. He said he drove the car several times, taking it home to show his wife because the car was just like brand new even though it was a 2002 model.

Before the car was shipped to me in California, Lenny cautioned to be sure to check the car for body damage and rock chips by the auto shipper when you get it. This car is perfect and doesn't have a scratch. I called Lenny immediately upon receiving the car to express my concern on the physical and mechanical condition. There were obvious signs of body damage and the car drove with a significant vibration. Lenny initially denied any physical body damages and wanted me to pursue an insurance claim with the auto shipper saying it was their fault. He continued to claim the car was perfect when it left and that damage had to be caused by the shipper and to make an insurance claim for damages with the shipper.

However, shipping records from Corporate Auto Movers, signed by Lenny's staff clearly call out significant pre-existing body damage including obvious signs of an accident repair and re-spray on the left side and dents on both right side driver and passenger doors. Lenny backed down only after being presented with the signed shipping records showing pre-existing damages. I have an estimate to repair the body damage of $2,081.61. Additionally I spent $1,436.72 to replace a defective front driveshaft and left side mirror motor and electrical assembly that caused shorts when the car was unlocked remotely. Both issues were easily detected from the first moment I drove the car and repairs were required for safe vehicle operation. I believe these issues were so obvious that they should have been known by others driving the car beforehand.

Lenny initially said he would provide monetary compensation to fix the vehicle and make me happy. However, repeated efforts to resolve this claim with Lenny were unsuccessful. Ultimately I took Lenny ** and Lencore Auto Group to Small Claims Court in NJ and settled. There was one other party suing Lencore the same day I was there. Lencore has a BBB rating of F which is not unexpected given the numerous online posts. Lenny ** and Bobby ** are expert salesmen and masters of the con. They are advantaged when selling to out-of-state purchasers.

My vehicle had major defects: smoking, transmission slipping, transmission failure warnings, bad stereo, and car was misrepresented. I haven't had the vehicle for more than two months due to numerous issues, like water damage etc. I went to pick up vehicle in NJ. It was a road hazard.

Lencore auto group should be shut down and the owners should be investigated for fraud and other unsavory practices. So far, I am out of $8,000 for a car I drove for about two weeks.

Warning: Never buy a car from Lencore Auto Group without seeing it in person and having it inspected by your own mechanic or a reputable dealer! This used car dealership, Lencore Auto Group, and its two primary sales people, Leonard ** and Robert ** (AKA Lenny ** and Bobby **) are not to be trusted. They grossly misrepresented a car for sale to me and I have ample documentation to prove it. I stupidly bought a car from them sight unseen and uninspected as I trusted their words and a false Carfax they provided!

Yes, the Carfax they emailed me was misleading and quite possibly manipulated with a graphics program of some kind! Carfax was no help in getting the dispute resolved. Carfax is nothing more than a reporting company that can provide misleading information with no liability. I will write here in lengthy detail what Lencore did hoping this will protect others from my fate of being another one of their cheated victims. Please read this carefully for your own protection!

The car I bought from them was a 1999 Mercedes S500 Grand Edition with 50,489 miles for $16,000 including $650 shipping from NJ to IL. At the time, I owned this exact same model with 97,000 miles and I wanted to replace it with a lower mileage, better condition vehicle. Since I knew the vehicle and based on the Carfax and Lencore's representations in writing and verbally, I thought I could purchase the car and have it shipped to me sight unseen. How completely stupid in dealing with Lencore! As soon as the car was delivered, I knew it was a grossly misrepresented vehicle. I was a trusting fool and they were dishonest.

I called Lenny immediately and told him I wanted my money back and would ship the car back. He said they wouldn't do it and offered to "sell it for me on consignment". I would never be involved in such a dishonest misrepresentation, so I refused this offer and had to keep the car. I was supposed to be getting the following described car as they presented it in their written ad: (1) A four year unlimited nationwide warranty and their free 3-month Lencore warranty; (2) a "showroom shine" finish; (3) "Carfax Certified and 100% Carfax Guaranteed" which showed, and Lenny confirmed, was bought from a Florida auto dealer that sold used Bentleys and other high-end vehicles; (4) "Brand New Tires"; (5) All electronic components in working condition; (6) Car is barely broken in.

What I ended up getting was a car that:

(1) had no warranty at all because after carefully reviewing the coverage terms, I chose to not take the very limited and poorly rated Penn Warranty (which is not "bumper-to-bumper" as Bobby described it) to reduce the car's price by $1,400. Lencore would then not give me their advertised "free 3-month" Lencore warranty at all as "I didn't live near their dealership and they could not do any warranty repair work if needed." Therefore, when I didn't accept their terrible Penn warranty, they told me their Lencore warranty wouldn't apply as I was an out-of-state purchaser.

(2) It was repainted in several sections at different times with sun fade differences, had numerous dings and scratches, several rust spots, a leaky sunroof and trunk.

(3) It had a false Carfax! The used Bentley dealer in Florida told me he never took the car in or had ever seen a car like that in over a year. I called the used Bentley dealer when I saw on the back of the car's title that it was traded in or sold to a CarMax dealer in Florida. The CarMax dealer immediately auctioned it off as the car's condition upon closer inspection did not meet their standards. A local Florida car trader then bought it at the CarMax auction and he re-sold it at auction in Pennsylvania to Lencore. What a difference in history between Lencore's purported purchase from the used Bentley dealership and their actual purchase at the Pennsylvania auction! Carfax has no liability for their erroneous report.

(4) It had three of the four "Brand New Tires" that were almost seven years old (which could be told from the manufacture production date stamped from 2003) and had severe dry rot. The fourth "Brand New Tire" was not the correct size, did not match the other three and had a repair plug sticking out of it!

(5) It had electric problems relating to two mirrors that were completely broken and needed to be replaced; two power windows; the power trunk closing which didn't work and constantly drained the battery which I replaced twice; and numerous other electric malfunction codes!

(6) It had a front spring broken completely in half making it dangerous to drive; needed rear accumulator balls and struts which were making a creaking noise over every dip and bump; had a consistent light grey stain in the carpeting across the entire bottom and several inches up the sides of each of the four passenger sections leading me to think it may have been in flood water at some time.

After being given an $8,500+ estimated cost to repair the car from two different mechanics, I had the two front springs replaced for safety purposes, had the trunk fixed to stop it from draining the battery and put in two new batteries. I spent about $1,500 in repairs and $1,300 in sales tax/title registration costs so I could get rid of the car. I drove the car about 250 miles and ethically sold it for $9,500 after explaining to the buyer what the car needed for repairs that I knew of. My loss on this auto purchase from Lencore was $16,000 + 1,500 + 1,300 - 9,500 = $9,300. I drove the car about 250 miles only to repair it to make it safe to drive and then sell it! Please learn from my mistake!

I honestly believe that I will no longer get any financial help with the repairs, but I want to report the incident so that other consumers will be more wary. Replace tail light lenses $200 Replace 4 tires (4X 49.95 +mounting, blancing, and tax) is 265.14 Alignment $55.00 TOTAL $520.14 I was asking for $200 for the lenses and 2 tires $132 for a total of $332.

1-A Carfax report showing exactly what the dealer represented about the car must be run and provided before I would take delivery, 2-All maintenance records would be made available, 3-Proof of one owner, and exact odometer reading was necessary as the offer I made was based on a one owner, no accident, non-smoking vehicle with the mileage of 44,000 miles. A price based on the aforementioned was agreed upon and delivery of the vehicle would take place after Lencore fixed the ceiling upholstery which was ungluded.

I arranged to pick up the car on Tuesday, July 21 again on the condition that all of the aforementioned information was provided to me and accurate. When I arrived to complete the transaction and requested all of the agreed upon information, Lencore lied about the vehicle's mileage, a reporting of a previous accident, and number of previous owners. They refused to refund my deposit of $500. I was forced to call the Paterson Police Department and will be taking legal action.