I drove out (about 3 hours from home) for a specif...

I drove out (about 3 hours from home) for a specific car to replace my totaled car - same car, one year newer, I was pretty excited. There was no inspection form with the car, and that should have been the first sign to walk away.

During the test drive, I noticed the brakes were really soft, and there was a lot more road noise than I thought there should be. The serpentine belt was whining, too. When we got back, I checked a front tire and it looked fine; I asked if the tires were new and was told yes, in no uncertain terms. The word yes was used. I mentioned the brakes and they said they should be fine for another few months. They said the belt looked fine.

The financing I already had didn't work out - I could look past that, since the bank wanted one thing, the dealership wanted another. Whatever.

So, I mentioned that the car was going to need the brakes completely redone, and they took some money off the cost of the car. We finish the transaction. I drive the rental car home, a friend drives the new car.

And then I bring it to a garage I trust a day or two later. I find out that only two of the tires are new - the other two are completely worn out. The ones that are new are the wrong size. The brakes need to be replaced. Period, not in a couple months. So my friend drove a car 3 hours that was not safe to be driving. Cool. Cool, we endangered my friend. On top of the brakes and the tires, the serpentine belt needs to be replaced, too. I emailed the salesperson to complain, because really, what are they doing selling a car that needs that level of work? They sent me a check that covered the cost of a tire.

Since buying the car 9 months ago, I've also had to replace the wipers, the battery, the oil filter (that was right away, too, so they didn't even change the oil before selling it?), and the fuel level sensor doesn't work right once it gets to a quarter tank, and tells me it's empty about 5 minutes' drive after it says I have 60 miles to go.

All in all, I felt like this wasn't a good experience in general, and with the reviews online I expected better of the dealership. I specifically didn't buy from a private party because I thought my chances of the business being responsible were better. Very disappointed. My fault for not just buying something local so my garage could make sure I wasn't being lied to.

The two stars versus one is because I appreciate the online communication versus needing to call. They did promptly answer my emails.