GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan mother and son said they paid $17,000 for an SUV only to learn it needed $13,000 in repairs.
“I was mad,” said Moise Nshizirungu, who discovered the bad news when he took the 2018 Nissan Rogue to a Nissan-certified repair shop after a minor run-in with a deer.
His mother had purchased the SUV months earlier from Lee Auto Export on South Division in Wyoming.
“When the collision shop was trying to fix (the damage from the run-in with the deer), they told us it had been in a bad accident (before),” Nshizirungu explained. “They couldn’t fix it because it had prior damage to it."
Nshizirungu shared his experience with Steve Beukema, who volunteers his time working with refugee families.
It was Beukema who called the Target 8 investigative team.
“This family struggles financially day by day,” Beukema told Target 8. “(They) came from very, very difficult circumstances, living in refugee camps….I am so outraged that a business is allowed to continue using a model of preying upon the most vulnerable among us….I believe this story needs to be told."
Nshizirungu and his mom fled war-ravaged Congo before settling in West Michigan.
"Moise’s mother is working full time trying to provide a decent way of living for the two of them."
When Nshizirungu’s mom needed to buy a car, she brought the teenager along to help with translation.
After test-driving the Rogue at Lee Auto Export, they bought the SUV for $17,000, agreeing to pay the dealership $500 a month.
Nshizirungu said it wasn’t until they signed the paperwork that Lee Auto revealed the SUV had a rebuilt salvage title.
BUYING 'AS-IS' LEAVES YOU UNPROTECTED
His experience offers important lessons for used car buyers in Michigan.
When Nshizirungu’s mother bought the Rogue, she signed a document indicating she’d bought the vehicle “as is.”
Because of that, she had virtually no protection when she learned the Rogue had $13,000 worth of prior damage.
Molly Pham, the longtime office manager at Lee Auto Export, disputes the repair estimate for the prior damage.
“I don’t know why they said $13,000 need to be repaired,” Pham told Target 8. “That is a lot….I have not seen that paperwork.”
Pham said Lee Auto Export fixed the previous damage before declaring the salvage vehicle "rebuilt" and ready for sale.
LEE AUTO APPROVES ITS OWN REPAIR JOBS
It’s a declaration Pham made herself.
She became licensed in collision-related mechanical repair after passing a test through the Michigan Secretary of State.
In addition to approval from a person licensed in mechanical repair, salvage vehicles must also pass an independent inspection before returning to the road.
But the salvage inspector who signed off on the Rogue, a retired police officer, told Target 8 it’s not always possible to assess the quality of repairs without disassembling the vehicle.
He said a salvage inspector's main mission is to ensure vehicles are properly titled, contain no stolen parts and present no safety hazards, like inoperable seat belts.
Target 8 took the Rogue to a shop recommended by salvage inspectors for an additional assessment of the previous damage and Lee Auto Export’s efforts to fix it.
“It’s not rebuilt correctly,” said Kado A. Kado, owner of Rapid Auto Repair and Collison, pointing out defects under the hood. “There are screws that aren’t supposed to be here, just to hold the parts together. As you can see, there’s exposed metal here. There’s rust. So, this should have been replaced. You can kind of cover all of this up with just putting a bumper on. In this case, that’s what they did.”
Kado estimated the Rogue’s worth in its current state at approximately $10,000.
“Wow,” he said when he was told the owners bought it for $17,000. “That’s crazy. That breaks my heart.”
GOOGLE THE VEHICLE ID NUMBER
If Nshizirungu had looked up the Rogue’s Vehicle Identification Number, he could have seen the SUV’s condition when Lee Auto bought it at a salvage auction for $3,800.
In addition to pictures of the vehicle, the auction document listed the Rogue’s mileage (133,451), its retail value ($17,728) and the cost of needed repairs ($13,208).
Pham of Lee Auto Export pointed out that Nshizirungu’s mom signed the salvage disclosure form, indicating she knew the vehicle had previous damage.
“I have them sign and make sure they understand it has been in accident, and I show all them what damage on the car and what needs to be replaced,” Pham explained. “The thing is, I try the best I could to help out. I understand that sometimes you’re unhappy about the car. If you’re not happy with your car, you can always trade in with another car. I always go the extra mile to make sure have customer happy.”
When state regulators investigated the transaction, Lee Auto Export agreed to buy the Rogue back from Nshizirungu’s mom.
The Secretary of State’s office found no wrongdoing on Lee Auto’s part in the case.
MULTIPLE PRIOR CITATIONS
But the state has cited Lee Auto for multiple rule violations in the past and placed the dealership on probation.
Consumer attorney Adam Taub advises against buying vehicles “as is.”
“When you buy a car ‘as is,’ it doesn’t matter whether that car is unsafe,” said Taub in a Zoom interview with Target 8. “It doesn’t matter whether that car is worth one-tenth of what you paid for it. ‘As is’ means you fix it, and you may not be able to afford that.”
Taub said consumers should ask the dealer for a buyer’s guide.
“Make them check the box that says warranty and make sure the warranty covers at the very least the drive train,” Taub said. “You want to get a warranty from the dealer for at least three months and at least 3,000 miles….If they’re not willing to stand behind the products they’re selling in writing, run away.”
Taub said consumers should be particularly wary in Michigan because the state’s consumer protections are among the nation’s weakest.
“Michigan is one of the worst states for protecting consumers,” Taub said. “Basically, what the Michigan Supreme Court did was shut the courthouse door on consumers in the state.”
The National Consumer Law Center calls Michigan and Rhode Island the “terrible two” because their consumer protection laws “have been gutted by court decisions that interpret the statute as being applicable to almost no consumer transactions.”
Before buying a used car, the state of Michigan recommends you have the vehicle independently inspected by a mechanic, which usually runs anywhere from $100 to $200.
The state also urges you to “examine the vehicle using an inspection checklist," obtain a vehicle history report through an online site like Carfax and determine its value by consulting the Kelley Blue Book.