I ordered a car with John Early and Color Cars guarantee. The car showed up in terrible condition with vehicle damage and repairs needed. John told me that "It's only money" and that I was being too picky. I later found out that the vehicle I recieved has FRAME RUST and PRIOR ACCIDENT history. However John said "no harm, no foul" and offered no assistance through the guarantee. I now find out that the vehicle he provided me was not even the correct model that I paid for. John delivered a BASE model and I was told it was an upgraded model. John replied "no harm, no foul" to this also.

The vehicle inspection that John Early offers through Color Cars sends your AUCTION purchased car to a DEALER for inspection. Any repair over $500 is negotiable through the protection process. However, with 100,000 miles on a used car, the dealer only came up with $350 accessory belt to replace. Conveniently this repair is paid by the customer. 6 weeks later I had another oil change and found out the timing belt needed to be replaced and the rear brake calipers were failed with no pad left. I have now spent $3000 fixing my LIKE NEW vehicle from Color Cars.

John went so far as to say that the wheels on the vehicle had a beautiful amount of shine on them. When I recieved my vehicle, the wheels were corroded with the cost to repair $400. The tires had a dangerous amount of tread left and had to be replaced immediately. The door dings, hood damage and broken body pieces cost $400 to repair.

The car came with 1 key, no alarm fob, no owners manual, all interior pieces that are removeable were missing. Cost of $250 for the dealer to reprogram and provided a second key, another $60 per remote fob, another $100 for interior trim pieces.

To all this John Early from Color Cars tells me "It's only money" and he is sorry to have worked with me. However there is no guarantee that my car is not even the right model, no guarantee that my car is in even FAIR condition. John spoke to me of a value of a car that is above Excellent Condition, and bases his sales off of a number higher than even the highest NADA or KBB value.

John Early repeately lied to me, misrepresented the vehicle, the purchase process, and the vehicle itself. John Early and Color Cars provided the terrible used car experience I tried so hard to avoid. If anyone has friends at the state, I would be happy to provide evidence against his license.


Notice my tag below still says "2003 SR5 Sport V8 4x4" from my first registration as I was lead to believe I purchased a Sport Edition, but told at delivery that the hood scoop came out in 2004 and that there are models known as SR5 Sport Editions. I didn't find out I didn't have XREAS and other standard sport options until 2 months later. John, if you want to make this right..."it's only money".

MY EMAIL TO JOHN EARLY at COLOR CARS in SARASOTA, NOKOMIS:

If you could, please make sure John get's this email. It's the weekend and I didn't want to bother him, but I'd like to know what his opinion on this is.

The 4Runner I received is not a Sport Edition as represented. It is specifically missing some standard equipement that came on the 2003 Toyota 4Runner Sport.

Standard Equipment on the 2003 Sport Edition includes...
hood scoop
P265/65/R17 white outline tires on 17" aluminum alloy wheels with 17" alloy spare
sport edition badging
silver painted, grille, door handles, license garnish, roof rails
X-REAS shocks
integrated fog lamps
leather-wrapped steering wheel with satellite stereo and cruise controls
silver tone shift knob
high-contrast seat fabrics
color-keyed heated power exterior mirrors


It does not have the XREAS suspension, it does not have the hood scoop, it does not have steering wheel audio controls, it is even labeled as an SR5. For some reason both Carfax and Toyota name it as an SR5/Sport, but without question it is an SR5.

I've done a lot of research on this, and it has taken me until now to find out this definitive answer.

I'm surprised the Toyota dealer in Sarasota didn't say anyting about the discrepency, especially since the mechanic owns the same model.

Please give me a call...I'm curious on your take on this and any possible solutions.

Thank you,

Matt Lewis


HIS RESPONSE:

Sport vs. SR5 Tuesday, August 17, 2010 2:48 PMFrom: "John Early" Add sender to ContactsTo: [email protected]: "colorcars Bealer"

Hello Matt Lewis,

I received your email concerning "Sport" vs. SR5.


The difficulty of distinction rests in the fact that Toyota does not put distinquishing characters in the VIN for these vehicles.

Accordingly, all computer systems "see" them as the same.

We made no distinction when we acquired on your behalf. An SR5 or a Sport or a Limited for that matter would have worked. As such we did not care what we obtained.

By the book (NADA) there is only a theoretical difference of $450 higher for a Sport. A vehicle of that age however is more influenced by condition than label or equipment. As such many SR5 units will book out higher than Sports.

All valuation parameters when we acquired (we did not pay too much because we thought we were buying a Sport).

Interestingly, no concern was raised by Toyota.

The real question though was would we have tossed the vehicle back had we recognized the difference at the time. The answer to that question would have been a resounding "no". If we had brought it to the auction's attention at that point and requested a cancellation, they would have obliged.

In short what we have here is "no fault, no foul".


Regards,

John Early

I'm trying to decipher how the car became legally yours and how and when money changed hands in this situation. I'm sure other guys can more clearly state the exact difference between an SR5 and a Sport for us, and the main issue here should be that if you didn't get a Sport there should be some sort of contract that nullifies the sale.

I can see better now how things unfolded. It can be tricky once money starts moving and you place some amount of trust in a business (as we are prone to do). Interesting that he is based up here in Nova Scotia.

Actually, there's a shady looking place in New Brunswick I came across when I was looking for a 4Runner recently with a really nice one on the lot--but it was suspiciously cheap and was leading me to think it had been brought out of the southern U.S. (Texas) and might have had some troubles.Gotta watch for American flood cars sneaking up here.

If you have the flood bit in writing it would be interesting to run a Carfax on it if you think there is any way possible you could get your money back. It'd be worth opening a door panel to see what that looks like inside. Someone might even have a spare Carfax check kicking around--I know I should have bought five instead of two, because the price of five is cheaper than running two separate ones. I wouldn't have needed those other three--I could have given them away. As fast as you can type the VIN you can see a full Carfax on the net.

Unfortunately, Pilotmatt is not being truthful in his presentation. For anyone who is interested, I will provide them with the contacts and documentation to independently verify the facts. The following should be known:

1. Pilotmatt did not order a "Sport" edition. He did not even restrict his order to a Toyota product. He ordered a 4X4 SUV of virtually any brand, with a preference for a Toyota 4Runner, any type of 4Runner.

2. Prior to acquisition Pilotmatt was apprised of an accident incident report on Carfax. He then authorized the acquisition. The completion of the transaction was subject to the auction verifying no damage other than cosmetic and that the vehicle was mechanically and electrically sound. The auction confirmed this. Cramer Toyota of Venice, FL confirmed this
also. He was also shown the Carfax in his file prior to paying his balance and taking delivery.

3.If the reader is to believe Pilotmatt, to do so, he must accept Pilotmatt's theoretical assertion that 3 independent businesses must be in "cahoots". For what conspiratorial purpose one must speculate, but in Pilotmatt's world it is obvious that all were out to defraud and deceive him.

4. To reitterate, 3 professional businesses determined independently that this vehicle was in
"like-new" condition, free of collision and flood results, and mechanically and electrically sound.

5. Pilottmatt as living proof of the vehicle's condition, was able to get in and drive from south Florida to Minnesota without incident, no breakdowns or malfunctions. Several thousand miles later he is faced with routine maintenance on an eight year old vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it. Incidently, his auction cost plus commission placed him in the $12,500 category for a vehicle that sells new approaching and exceeding the 30,000 mark. His actual acquisition cost placed him about $1200 under NADA retail for similar vehicles

6. Lastly, Pilotmatt brings forward three complaints as proof that he should have read more reviews before doing business. One says that the experience the third time was not as good as the first two, but notes the vehicle is fine, but the shipping took too long. Another from 2002 complaining that the vehicle had manufacturer warranty claims which were fixed for free and a third was another person who had to have brake pads installed even though the Ford inspection had told him they were not needed. We have been at this for 23 years and I think what we have is proof that you cannot satisfy everyone. Rest assured however that we make every sensible effort to do so. The last time I checked our rating with the Better Business Bureau was "A". It is our intention to keep it that way. We will let the facts speak for themselves. John T. Early, III ColorCars...experienced automobiles.