Lebada Motors

Lebada Motors responded

Hello, I reached out to my team to speak with them and discover exactly what had happened. My team agreed that yes, there was an oversight and you were came in without us having the vehicle available for viewing – my sincere apologies for that. I wanted to understand how our team was quoting you payments, and I learned that when you were initially being quoted, your trade had not been inspected and your credit had not been checked. These are two factors that can greatly affect the payment. Unfortunately, when your trade was inspected, the value was much less than our initial estimate and you did not qualify for the initial interest rate we had anticipated for you. I sympathize with the distance that you chose to travel to see us, but unfortunately these two factors are well beyond our control. The only way that we could have been more accurate with our payment estimates were to view the trade (which you had not brought with you on the first two visits), and to complete a credit application (which you had declined to do). I’m sorry that the situation happened the way it did. I do appreciate you bringing this to ownership’s attention, as it will help us to improve our processes going forward.

Lebada Motors responded

Hi Katarina, We have responded to your reviews multiple platforms, but once again the information you are providing is not factual. Not only was your vehicle safetied before you took possession, but you were unhappy with the condition of the tires and we replaced them with brand new. We even allowed you to have involvement in choosing the tires that were put on. On August 9th you came in with a group of 5 individuals screaming and yelling at our staff. The owner explained to you calmly that when you decline a warranty and use your vehicle for work, it is expected that your vehicle will suffer more wear and tear. Your spouse asked the owner if he could now put a warranty on the vehicle, well after the purchase and after you had both signed 2 documents declining the warranty options. The owner had originally offered to assist in some way as a courtesy, but after all of the harassment and threats our team has received, we have decided that we will leave it for the courts to decide what assistance we should provide (if any).

Lebada Motors responded

Hi Jenna, Last we spoke to you or your husband ,we had offered to bring your vehicle in for repairs at no cost to you. Your husband Matt seemed very happy with this resolution and we were working towards having this resolved quickly until you called screaming at our staff that you wanted reimbursement for a deposit you had put down on a vacation. While we are happy to work with you to handle any issues that arise with your vehicle, we are not going to be held responsible for your personal life decisions, and we will not tolerate harassment to our staff. After the phone call ended, Matt texted us to advise us that he would be taking the vehicle elsewhere for repairs. Your bill of sale clearly states that for items to be repaired under the safety guarantee, they must be repaired by Lebada Motors. Imagine getting into a car accident and getting your car fixed then sending the bill to Insurance? The world does not work like that we have no idea what was wrong and you cannot just spend a businesses money without their consent. Taking the vehicle elsewhere was your choice, and as such, was done at your own expense.

Jennarose0315 responded

On Saturday June 17th, 2022, we drove our “newly saftied” 2018 Dodge Ram off the Lebada Motors lot – within the first 24 hours, the check engine light came on. Proactively, as lebada motors doesn’t have the best reputation, we scheduled a 45 minute check over the following Monday (June 19th, 2022) with our mechanic to ensure the vehicle was in fact in good working condition as we were leaving Ontario the following Saturday, permanently and traveling Ontario until we were going to settle in PEI in September – All of which we informed Lebada about, our deciding factor to purchase a new vehicle was to ensure our safety while on the road so we talked about it extensively. On Monday June 19, 2022, our mechanics at OK Tire on Bishop Road in Cambridge reviewed the vehicle and gave us information we were not excepting- they stated that this truck never should have passed a legal safety, there was an exhaust leak and that it was quite serious “Exhaust Flex pipe broken from exhaust almost fully”, additionally there was a coolant leak and codes P02EE-00 – Selective catalytic reduction. (He also provided a photo of the flex pipe for reference) We brought this information back to Lebada that same day and they denied having any knowledge of there being any issues when the truck was driven off the lot, we sent them a photo of the flex pipe at their request, and we are quite persistent about having the issue fixed prior to us moving provinces on the weekend. They said they were able to “look at it” Friday and make a diagnosis but ultimately, they would not be able to fix the problem within the week. We were homeless at this point and living out of a trailer in Stoney Creek and were set to start moving provinces that coming week – with multiple campsites and excursion planned and booked for along the way. My husband and the mechanic from Witmer were texting back and forth at this point and had agreed to “look at the vehicle again Friday” We stated that they already knew what was wrong with it since they just saftied it 5 days ago and that it shouldn’t have to be rediagnosed, we’ve sent the mechanic report, we sent the photos, you acknowledged you safetied it, you should be able to purchase the part and do the repair on the Friday – at this point my husband was frustrated that nobody would pick up the phone to call him back so he finally called the sales line and Bobby picked up, My husband asked for Ash, Bobby stated Ash was not available and that he was happy to help – hesitantly, my husband started to explain that he felt we got a hot safety and how serious this was, Bobby and their receptionist started to argue with my husband saying that their mechanic already offered to get it in Friday and we should be grateful, not once did my husband raise his voice as bobby and the receptionist didn’t even let him get a word in. In their response to our review, they keep insisting my husband and I were irate towards them however we were in the middle of our mechanics and there are a handful of people who can provide statements otherwise. The call resulted in Bobby hanging up on my husband with no resolution followed by a text message from their mechanic saying they were no longer available that Friday and would have to be scheduled in the following week, in which we replied that we would have to take it elsewhere as we were no longer in the province after Saturday, and they were failing to right their wrong. They were adamant that the work had to be completed by Witmer Auto otherwise it would void any future warranty on the truck but I kept saying that I didn’t trust their mechanic as I personally had issues with Witmer when I purchased a 2016 GMC from them in 2019 – it required 3 or 4 break changes by Witmer before I finally took it my own mechanic at OK Tire and never had an issue in the remaining 3 years I owned that truck. ( Lebada was Garston Motors then and employed the same key players here, Bobby, Ash, Witmer auto and the receptionist ) I cannot help but feel that once we mentioned a fake or hot safety, Lebada decided they didn’t want to work with us anymore and knowing we were leaving the province didn’t think we would be an issue for them going forward. Please note that Witmer Auto and Lebada Motors are owned by the same person and the only mechanic they have used since before they were Lebada and were Garston Motors…. Given the most recent reviews regarding Lebada and Witmer Auto, another customer of theirs is also claiming publicly that Witmer provided a hot or false safety on their truck as well. That day, put a one-star review online and within an hour they responded with the following. We do not accept customers screaming and Yelling at our staff and being hysterical over a check engine light that came on 2 days later. A 2018 truck with 135kms, has been on the road awhile and unfortunately a safety does not include a crystal ball that tells us there will be a minor exhaust leak. That can happen at anytime and was not there or you would not have picked up your vehicle. This is a very minor repair but when we told you that our shop is booking into next week you both started yelling and then we even said we will fit you in Friday but that still was not good enough as you wanted us to drop everything and get you in. My staff could not even speak because of your yelling and that is unacceptable. Exhaust leak is not a safety concern but obviously we want to fix it but anyone reading this will know know why my staff had to hang up. If you can speak like an adult and be calm we will 100 percent cover this and if you can't come Friday then you can go on your trip and come after you get back. This is a very minor pin hole and will do no damage if its driven like this. We sell used vehicles, there is no such thing as two days they have been on the road for years and years so little things like this happen rarely and we fix them, hence the great reviews from the majority of realistic people. • It was NOT a minor exhaust leak and did happen prior to us picking up our vehicle. They missed it along with many other things. • If it was such a minor repair and you can state that proudly in your response, then why would it need to be re-diagnosed and not just fixed? • You seem to use this “you were yelling at us” claim in every single one of your responses to a negative review about your customer service. That is more telling about you as a company than anything else. But it does not negate their responsibility to correctly safety a vehicle and to right their wrong – they swept us under the rug without a care in the world, despite how they think they were treated we are still human beings and they put our safety at risk for their own pride. “Lastly, this is a very minor pin hole and will do no damage if it’s driven like this” With that line being said, our mechanic was not able to service it before we left so we decided that we would go and have it fixed along the way and knew that we were going to process an OMVIC complaint once we had the final bill for repair. We didn’t finish our trip and the memories made were terrifying at some points. This was not a pin hole, the exhaust pipe was broken all around, and as we drove along it got so hot and caught fire to the DEF System and burned all the sensors resulting in us being left on the side of the road – thousands of miles away from anything normal, we got a computer note saying our engine will stop working in less than 150 Km – we ended up having to get our truck towed from New Brunswick to PEI to where it sat for a couple of weeks while a mechanic could finally look at it. As we drove along, the carbon monoxide travelled into the air and I ended up being hospitalized with CO2 related symptoms, I was treated and when we ran more tests, they advised me that I was pregnant, and it was a good thing I came in when I did… baby and I are doing just fine now! And worse, we are now stuck with a truck that has been nothing but a nightmare to deal with, we aren’t even able to drive it - we have been in damage control ever since we purchased it. I believe they sold this truck knowing it needed all the repairs it did, they ideally priced it for a quick sale, they chose not to do the work on the truck that needed to be done. Since driving this truck off the lot in June 2023 we have put almost $18,000 of repairs into it and have only driven it half the time, we barely made it to our destination safely. 3 months later and they are now doing damage control over the current complaint about them they sent us the following. (sept 14 2023) Hi *****, Last we spoke to you or your husband, we had offered to bring your vehicle in for repairs at no cost to you. Your husband **** seemed very happy with this resolution and we were working towards having this resolved quickly until you called screaming at our staff that you wanted reimbursement for a deposit you had put down on a vacation. While we are happy to work with you to handle any issues that arise with your vehicle, we are not going to be held responsible for your personal life decisions, and we will not tolerate ********** to our staff. After the phone call ended, **** texted us to advise us that he would be taking the vehicle elsewhere for repairs. Your bill of sale clearly states that for items to be repaired under the safety guarantee, they must be repaired by Lebada Motors. Imagine getting into a car accident and getting your car fixed then sending the bill to Insurance? The world does not work like that we have no idea what was wrong. You cannot just spend a business’ money without their consent. Taking the vehicle elsewhere was your choice, and as such, was done at your own expense. I just have no words for them at this point. The issue here was not the yelling, or the “vacation” or the bill of sale, the problem started with the illegal safety and the breach of trust between Lebada, Witmer and our family. They knowingly put a family at risk, and they will not take any responsibility for their lack of professionalism or due diligence – we had a right to safe vehicle, and they took that away from us.