Williston Wheels

I was assured that the vehicle was safe, had passed State inspection; that a new catalytic converter had been installed and the exhaust and right rear taillight were repaired in accordance with Vermont inspection standards. As a consumer, I should have a reasonable expectation that a car sold to me, as passing State Inspection should have problem areas already repaired. Jon told me that a CarFax check was made on the used cars he sold but one was not necessary on mine as his partner knew the previous owner, who owned/drove the car most of its life in Rhode Island, and assured me that the frame was intact. 8/01/09 ? 8/26/09 ? I informed Jon via e-mail that the starter freewheeled intermittently, and that the battery was thickly covered with corrosion. He responded that if I brought the car in they would clean the battery terminals. When I brought it in, I asked that the battery and alternator be tested also and Jon assured me that he had done this and that both were OK. On the way home, the car sounded strange so I stopped at the first service station and found that the right rear tire was nearly flat. I inspected the battery and found that it was still covered with corrosion. Later, when I reported the starter problem was continuing, Jon e-mailed me to bring it in and he would install a new battery for $39.00. Concerning the corrosion, Jon wrote: ?I don?t know what to tell you about the battery other then I saw it with my own two eyes being cleaned.? During and beyond this period, I took the car into three independent garages for evaluation. All reported the battery was very low and was greatly corroded. I had the battery replaced at Sears, and since then the starter has been consistently reliable. I bought a CarFax report hoping to contact the former owners for information and found that only one previous owner was listed and that it was a car rental agency. This contradicts Jon?s statement that his partner?s friend [Marie Canales] bought the car used on 4/23/2001. Two garages did a written, detailed evaluation of the car?s overall condition. As one might expect, there were several areas that needed correction but this complaint addresses only those pertinent to what was promised by Jon. Both garages found a very serious split in the passenger side floorboard with some of the carpeting hanging down from it. This would not pass state inspection. They reported that it appeared that the car had been driven over something, like a boulder, that had punctured the floorboard leaving a sizeable split. This suggests prior off-road use. Jon?s recently made exhaust connections to hook up the new catalytic converter were leaking and were mostly held together with cement ? this should be done over correctly. The garage that evaluated this told me that the converter was not made for this car it was what he called, "after market parts". Would never pass state inspection - exhaust leakage taken with the split in the floor would be very dangerous to the driver and passengers. The open split in the undercarriage on the passenger side is only inches from the catalytic converter that Jon said he put in new for the sale to me. It would have been impossible for anyone to miss seeing that split. No reputable mechanic would pass the car for State Inspection in that condition. A small item compared to the above but still important for State Inspection is the broken right rear taillight that was supposed to have been repaired before the sale. Taking the car back to Jon at Williston Wheels to correct the errors and omissions listed above is NOT an option. I have no trust in his word or his mechanical abilities because of Jon?s misstatements, and because of my experience with his garage?s inability to clean battery terminals or install a correctly fitting catalytic converter and connect it properly so that there is NO exhaust leakage. However, he should stand up for the promises he made for the sale and pay for the cost of a reputable mechanic to fix the floorboard, the leaking exhaust/catalytic converter unit and the broken taillight.