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Paul Blanco's Fresh Start Credit Program Reviews
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Reviewed Feb. 20, 2022
First of all, my fiance came here after we were hit by another person and that car was totalled. The money we got from the insurance company was going to be out down payment. We called and were "approved" over the phone before we went to the dealership. Once there, we met "Happy Bob", as he called himself. He said all the right things after we told him our budget and the kind of car we were looking for. He assured us that he could find something within our budget and asked us to come outside as he had found something within our budget that we would love. Keep in mind, this is the first car that my fiance and I had purchased through a dealership and we had no credit at this time.
Happy Bob drives a beautiful, red 2015 Nissan Altima out and tell us it's within our budget. We agreed and he goes in and says he'll start the approval process. After an hour, he comes back and says that he found one bank only that would approve us for the loan but only if we can bring in another $1500 in 2 weeks. We were hesitant, but needed a car badly for work (we both commuted in opposite directions so 2 cars was a must). We hesitantly agree and he tells us that the payment was going to be $525 a month. Both of us were again hesitant, as this was MUCH more than we were looking to pay, but Happy Bob explained that we can agree to the loan now, and after 6 on time payments we can refinance the car for half the amount and bring my car payment down by half. Again, we were hesitant but thought that only 6 months can't be bad. So we agreed.
As we're signing the paperwork, I keep asking what the total amount with financing is and Happy Bob tells us that it'll be on the paperwork that we have when we leave. We hadn't noticed that it was on the paperwork, but his hands kept covering it. We come back with the $1500 two weeks later, but also have questions about the amount. The price on the window was $17,999 for a car that was already a year old and used at that time and didn't have any amenities, but after financing it was well over $30,000!!! We were told that we had to wait the 6 months then refinance and there was nothing we could do. We came back at 6 months and were told that we couldn't refinance!!!! Even though we hadn't missed a payment and were always on time.
"Happy Bob" was no longer with Paul Blanco and the salesmen that were there had no idea what we were talking about and told us that they don't refinance cars. So we were stuck with this awful loan for 6 years. We tried to refinance with other banks, but because of our no credit, or limited credit at that time, we were denied. Then the transmission started acting up. So we went to the dealership as we had purchased the warranty. Only to find out that it expired after one year or 3,000 miles. Whichever came first. So we had to go directly to the Nissan dealership and pay out of pocket. We did regular maintenance on this car and then started having major issues. Purchased a new alternator, as after 2 batteries in a year the car kept dying.
After the new alternator, the battery still kept acting up and dying. 4 batteries in a year!! The catalytic converter had a hole punched in it when we left the dealership and they wouldn't change/replace it. So we had to replace it. Then COVID happened and my fiance lost his job and only I was working. I paid the car for 2 years alone and then all the issues with the car started to pile up and I had to put all I could afford into repairs. I called the finance company to explain the problem and that there were major repairs being done on the car and that the payments that I missed would get paid once the repairs were finished. They wouldn't agree and on Thursday, Feb. 17, they repo'ed the car.
Now I still have 9k left owing on this piece of junk that was financed for well above what it should've been and my credit is beyond damaged at this point. They are scammers and use people who are inexperienced or middle class as their prey. They're PREDATORS and should be shut down immediately. It's a hard lesson learned, but I encourage anyone thinking of going to Paul Blanco to STAY AWAY!!!
Reviewed Sept. 19, 2021
Blanco himself came over to finalize contract to which he explained comprehensive coverage that I found out was 2500 plus a gap fee of 500. So, 3000 grand extra added to my now above asking price of jeep, says any and all repairs I would need would be covered as long as I took my car back to his dealership for the repairs. Lies all lies. How can I do that when he is no longer in business and my local jeep dealership can't get my suspension repair problems covered.
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Reviewed Sept. 25, 2019
The warranty I purchased I have never received any information for. I've had the car for a year. And this is the second car from this dealer. I traded on the 1st car I traded back in after finding out it was a lemon. Now I am paying for the remainder of the 1st car and the total for the second and a warranty $2500.00 that I have even received. I now have a high payment and a car I'm paying too much for and I'm stuck in this contract. Thank you Paul Blanco.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2019
Paul Blanco ad on TV is totally false. They are not willing to help if you have challenged credit. We came in there to buy a car with one in mind to be told later that we could only get into the cars they wanted. Not only do they not listen to you but tell you they can only put you in the car of their choosing. So they pick out a car. It wasn’t bad. Told us to take it home that it was a done deal, all the paperwork would be ready Tomorrow, to bring the car back and they would detail it, and also to call it a wash on my car, let it get repoed as they can’t come after me for the balance. I found out later this is ** they can. We bring the car back the next day and sit for 2 hours. All of a sudden we not approved when my husband has almost a 600 credit score and we clear over 100,000 a year.
Then the sales associate tells us the opposite of what the guy said the day before. They tried to sell a car stating it was 45,000 and were offering it for 30,000 at 19.99%. I have never had that high percentage. I did my research and found the car was only worth 24,000. It was being oversold and with the percentage rate when it was paid off I would be paying 52,000. The payment I told them I was looking for was not listened to. I wanted to stay in the 500 range and they were taking me to almost 730 a month. Also the down payment increase from the 1500 I agreed to 1750. We felt like we lost 2 days here thinking we were getting a good deal and a car.
When we brought it back they acted like they didn’t care and the salesman agreed that the car was overpriced and you could get a 2019 for the same price. Why we came there in the first place was my credit was low. I told them I was disputing invalid information and that my score would increase. Funny thing is in the two days the dispute was completed and my score rose to almost a 600. But because they lied about everything I decided not to buy with them and go with Chevrolet. Do not go here. They will feed you wrong information while getting your hopes up. The ads on the tv and radio lie. They are not a fresh start program, and the funny thing is you wouldn’t finance a family that makes over 100,000 but you will to the people who are bums that had their garbage bags full of clothes out the front door or the welfare mom who only gets 523 dollars a month. What a crock of ** this company is.
Reviewed Jan. 15, 2019
I bought an SUV. It was making a noise. It sounded like an off road tire. Their mechanic said it was normal and last month I took it to the Toyota dealer. The problem was the rear diff coupling and the price to fix it was going to be over 3 thousand. The warranty that Paul Blanco put on the SUV didn’t cover that part and now everyone washes their hands.
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2019
I bought my car two years ago. A Jeep Patriot. It had 28,000 miles on it and it was a rental car. I will never buy another car from Paul Blanco again. They got me with the interest rate and the price of the car. I should’ve checked Blue Book before I drove off the lot or made the deal. It’s only two years and my car is worth half of what I paid for it so I couldn’t even trade it in if I wanted to and it sounds like the transmission may be going out soon.
Reviewed Nov. 14, 2018
I came here thinking these people are all about a fresh start. These people are all about money and leaving their customers in a sham... You will be lucky to get a car in good condition as all their cars are used. The boss are money hungry and only care about customers leaving good reviews. They are a scam. Trust me.
Reviewed Sept. 9, 2018
This place is a sham. They use the hard sell and act as if they are doing you a favor. I had my own lender and they said they didn't go through that lender. When I didn't want to take delivery that day they got really pushy and aggressive. I asked them to clean up the car a bit and when I came back the next day they hadn't done a thing. When I asked for the spare key they told me there wasn't one. It took over a month to get a spare key. The customer service department consists of one lady and only returned my calls (5) when I threatened to withhold the second half of my down payment. I wish I had know all this before I went in. To sum up Paul Blanco's BOGUS car company in two words. STAY AWAY.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2018
Was under the assumption that I was going to have a new car today. They had a deal but all of a sudden they stated that the bank cannot financed. Asked me after having me ring a bell out of me and my children under the assumption that we were going to have a car. I spent two days working on this situation to get no results to walk out of there Carless. I'm disappointed with the customer service sales reps. They acted as if they were not willing to help. This company is a total scam con artist. Very rude dealership. It's sad how they lie and manipulate people run your credit do hard increase to be lied to. They even had us ring a bell to not walk away with any type of vehicle. It's all lies, manipulation. Sad situation.
Reviewed May 17, 2018
My husband went in to buy a car. Everything they advertise is false. I ended up having to buy the car that they picked out for me. I was told after everything... that the car had frame damage. I had no choice but to take the car they picked for me. I was told if anything was wrong with the car they will fix within first 30 days. First the trunk would not open, then the transmission started slipping, then the fumes started coming into car and this was day 2. I dropped off car and they said they would take for a test drive and to Chevy. A week later I was told via text the car was done. The car has been there 9 days and they fixed trunk and took for a test drive. They took the car for a long drive on the highway. When the problems happen at slow speeds. The owner of the company is out of the country and her assistant Eva took a week to call back. Eva is obnoxious and insists you let her talk but does not show you same respect.
Paul Blanco's Fresh Start Credit Program Company Information
- Company Name:
- Paul Blanco Good Car Company
- Year Founded:
- 2008
- Fax:
- 7146221182
- Website:
- www.paulblanco.com
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