A news story of a scandalous car sale from a Carvana in North Carolina resurfaced online, and one Detroit car salesman wants to inform the public about a potential problem.
On April 12, Lindsberg Pettway, an auto advisor at Feldman Chevrolet in Livonia, Michigan, posted an alarming news report to his Instagram account about Jason Scott, a North Carolina man who paid $68,000 for a Maserati SUV at a local Carvana. In November 2022, the army veteran purchased the vehicle as a gift for his wife and he later discovered that the Maserati was stolen.
“Can you believe this actually happened before?!!! 🤯 It’s been reported that a man bought a stolen Maserati from Carvana for 68k!! I’ve heard this isn’t the first time this has happened,” Lindsberg captioned the post.
Scott discovered the SUV was stolen after taking it to the Maserati dealer to be serviced in February 2023. The paperwork for the Maserati SUV stated that the model year was 2021, but after an investigation and parts being removed with serial numbers, it was discovered the car was produced in 2017. The service department technicians also noted that the VIN had been altered.
“When they check the VIN number on the chassis, that’s when they saw that it was a stolen vehicle. VIN on the car, on the window and the car door was different,” the duped man explained.
The dealership notified the police, and officers questioned Scott about the shady Maserati. He explained that he purchased the car from Carvana and even provided paperwork for the transaction. He was released.
But to Scott’s chagrin, police confiscated the stolen Maserati. He immediately contacted the nationwide online auto dealership. Jason’s conversation with Carvana didn’t go as planned. He was expecting an immediate solution after showing proof of police seizure, and he was still without a vehicle.
“She said, ‘Well, we can’t trade the vehicle back in until you bring the vehicle back.’ I said, ‘I can’t bring the vehicle back.’ I said, ‘The police have the vehicle,’” the customer expressed. “They (weren’t_ responding back to anything at all.”
Scott wants Carvana to pay him $1 million, his down payment, and the two monthly payments that were made.
Carvana finally responded with a statement, including a denial that the Maserati was a stolen vehicle. Although the company received Scott’s letter, it only offered $1000 for the inconvenience.
“When Carvana acquired this vehicle, someone had taken sophisticated criminal steps to steal and alter the vehicle, and we’re taking all the necessary steps to make it right for our customer in this rare instance.”
“I know they say they have 150-point inspections. I want them to have 151. Check to see if the vehicle is stolen. The last thing I want anybody to do is to get caught late at night on some strange road in the backcountry, and they can’t verify it, and they look at that person as a criminal,” he said about Carvana’s alleged verification system.
The North Carolina Attorney General is actively investigating 130 grievances against the company.
The Arizona-based company is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Over the past three years, Carvana has amassed over 5,500 complaints. In 2022, the State of Michigan revoked the company’s business license. It’s the third state to do so Illinois and North Carolina susp,ended Carvana’s license for six months.