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For about a year I had been planning to buy a used car. I had no doubt that Russ and Catia Martin’s service was the best way to go. For $250 they offered a great service in finding cars for ex pats. Several letters to this site said they were good, so when I was ready I called them. BUT WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR ABOUT THEIR AFTER SALES SERVICE.
First impressions were great. In fact I found the car I wanted at the first dealership Catia took me to. She helped me make the transfers and buy insurance and I was ready to give her a glowing recommendation.
I drove the car as far as Cartago where it died only a few hours after the purchase. The dealer asked me to get it back to his garage and he would repair it under the warranty.
I know things like this can happen with used cars but I was happy that he was willing to repair it. But the repairs dragged on –and on –and on for two full months. It was always “manyana.”
I called Catia Martin more than twenty times. I always reached a recording. SHE NEVER CALLED ME BACK. I WAS ON MY OWN.
I have been told that the car is now ready. But I’m back in the States and will not really know until I get back to San Jose in another two weeks. But the fact is that I did not have the use of my car for a full two months. Meanwhile I was paying the insurance for it and having to rent cars.
I called Scott and he sent Russ and Catia an email asking them to contact me but even that did not stir them.
I did not rush to judgment. I am in no way vindictive. I’m not even angry. I’m just very badly disappointed. I have given them two full months to show some interest and they have never responded. I do not like to spoil anyone’s business, but at the same time I think I have a moral obligation to warn others. Maybe there was little they could do about the situation but at the very least they could have returned my phone calls. They had my $250 and that apparently was the end of their interest.
Is this the kind of service you are looking for? If so here’s his website http://autos.fijatevos.com/english.html
Wow. That’s disappointing as I planned to use there service. I hope they respond with some explanation?
I am disappointed also, I considered using them when I come down in Oct. We will be there for 10 weeks, then permanently in Jan. I hate buying cars in the U.S., let alone buying one in CR without being fluent in Spanish yet, or knowing my way around. I would really hate to get ripped off on such an expensive purchase.
Shaun
Hi all, I don’t post much here but we have handled a few clients from Scott’s site in the last year and with no complaints and good recommendations when people have asked about us. In my opinion, David is being unfair not only to the dealer but also to us. For example, he never mentioned that the dealer picked up the Montero from David’s hotel in the Sabana that same day and gave him $200 for a rental! David left the country and when he returned the dealer gave him a loaner for 3 days, at which time David left the country. When David returned the dealer gave him another loaner car that David did not like, so he exchanged it for another. Which was also rejected and so the dealer gave him another $500 for a rental car.
David states that “I called Catia Martin more than twenty times. I always reached a recording. SHE NEVER CALLED ME BACK. I WAS ON MY OWN.” I specifically remember only 1 message that David left, and Kattia returned that call and spoke with David. She remembers clearly because he screamed at her. He might also recall a later time that she called him at the Hotel Presidente to discuss the situation.
We have monitored the situation closely, and if we have been unable to reach David we have spoken with his partner Carl, possibly they have not communicated ? In our view the dealer has been transparent and has fixed the car. For those interested, here is my take:
– The dealer Herbert received the 1994 Montero as a trade-in, and he believed it to be very
well cared for and maintained, also mechanically sound.– David test drove the car and also believed it to be in excellent condition.
Kattia also thought it was a very nice vehicle, considering the age.– Unfortunately, the car overheated on the drive to Turrialba and required repair. Which the dealer is doing with no questions asked. As a result of overheating, the car required an engine overhaul, which is a time consuming repair.
– In the meantime the dealer has also provided David with a replacement vehicle.
In my humble opinion the dealer has more than complied with standing behind the vehicle and also with taking care of his customer. Clearly neither the dealer nor David can be happy with everything that has happened, but I am not sure what more David expects the dealer to do. Obviously he wants the use of the car he has purchased, but I
sincerely believe the dealer is doing everything he can to resolve this matter as quickly as possibly.On July 16th David met with the dealer, who explained what was going on with the car. The dealer told us that David seemed willing to have a little more patience. As I explained in my email today to David, Kattia was at the dealer on July 25th and the car was ready for pick up. She called Carl the same day, and he was going to go get it, but never showed.
I would be happy to go into further details, I would be happy to hear any suggestions as to what more we or the dealer might have done given the situation.
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NOTE FROM SCOTT OLIVER: This may be obvious to some but just in case, this posting is Russ Martin responding ….
Kattia has made a good point to follow up on this. Every used car dealer is required to give a 30 day guarantee on the motor and transmission. Many dealers are very responsible about this and some are not. Normally clients find easily reparable problems, but sometimes the repairs are larger. In our experience we have had 2 PASS clients who had problems with the motor that required an overhaul, and in both cases the dealer has come through.
However, no other used car dealer (that I know of) would actually pay for a rental car. Very, very few would even offer a loaner car.
We have posted testimonials from satisfied clients and information about the service we offer here:
http://www.wheelscr.com/Russ seems to be trying to defend the dealer. At no time did I complain about the dealer. I can’t believe that Herbert made any money on this transaction and he has actually promised to pay for the car rentals which no American dealer would do. So he is really blameless. The only complaint I have with the dealer is that he took two months to do what should have been done in less than a week. But I don’t think I ever mentioned a problem with the dealer did I?
My problem was with Kattia and Russ’s lack of concern. Kattia may have contacted the dealer but neither Russ not Kattia has ever expressed any concern for me and they ignored my phone calls. Yes, I did not count the two calls Russ mentions. But in each of those calls Kattia promised to call me back in a few minutes and failed to do so. In my opinion then, they did not constitute phone calls. They were just promises to make a phone call. They even ignored Scott’s request for them to call me. WHY?
Perhaps legally they didn’t have to do anything more for me. I don’t know. But wouldn’t you think they would have been concerned and at least called to ask if they could help – or something?
I don’t want this thing to be blown out of proportion but I did think that people should know my experience.
FYI: If your car ever starts to over heat; pull over and shut it down ASAP!!!! This can save you from ruining your engine and leave you with just a minor repair.
I’m certainly not taking sides in this issue, but I do have a point to make. One of the risks associated with buying an older vehicle is the availability of parts. If this is a 1994 model, then it’s seventeen years old. And if it was not commonly imported to Costa Rica, either new or used, then the parts problem can be serious.
I am not surprised that it took two months to get this engine overhauled. Recently, I’ve had to resort to buying water filters for my brand new LG refrigerator from a U.S. source because the Costa Rican LG parts folks cannot supply them. Imagine what the situation will be like in 2024.
I’m sorry, I thought that this was a complaint:
“… But the repairs dragged on –and on –and on for two full months. It was always “manyana.”
But I am glad that we both agree that the dealer has done his part.“The only complaint I have with the dealer is that he took two months to do what should have been done in less than a week.”
I’m not sure how anyone can think an engine overhaul should be ready in a week. The fact of the matter is that the car was ready in about 1 month. After a few weeks Kattia was concerned and asked the dealer why it was taking so long. He said that a big part of the delay was that several parts had to be sent to other shops (like the Matamoros precision machinists). The dealer was actually on the way to deliver the car to David at his hotel, but he heard a noise he didn’t like. So he decided it was better to not deliver the car in that condition and returned it to the shop.
But David’s main point is that even though we performed the service offered on our website and that he was fully satisfied with that service, we basically ran for cover when the car broke down. I strongly disagree, but I believe that this is just a misunderstanding because there were other people involved in the communication and obviously David was not aware of what we were doing to monitor the situation.
I apologize for this and in hindsight it is obvious that I should have emailed David at every contact with his partner or the dealer in order to keep him informed. Carl told us that he was David’s partner in Costa Rica and that he was going to handle the matter and we assumed that David would be aware of what we were doing.
For example, David mentions that he called Scott to complain. Scott emailed me immediately, however I did not pick up email that day until the afternoon. Upon receiving Scott’s email I called the dealer to see what was going on. I emailed Scott back that the dealer “I did reach Herbert and it appears that he met David today around 2 pm. He said that after they talked David was pretty understanding and was willing to have a little more patience, hopefully the car is ready on
Wednesday. Stay tuned for details…”Now I did not copy David on this email, I guess thinking that since he was at the meeting he did not need to be informed of the meeting.
I would also like to point out that David is not easy to reach. On many occasions Kattia tried to reach David on his cell phone and it was out of service or went unanswered. I know everyone may not believe this, but in *some* areas of Costa Rica cell phone coverage is spotty 😉 In that case Kattia would call Carl, who would generally answer. In any case Carl speaks fluent Spanish, so it is easier for Kattia to speak with him by telephone. In addition he was frequently out of the country.
Again, I realize that David is upset because the car he purchased was defective. And if we had abandoned him I would agree that he was not getting the service he deserved. I hope he will believe what I stated here, that we were in communication with Carl and the dealer continuously over the last 2 months. Kattia even spoke with Carl when we were at the amusement park for my 4 year old daughter’s birthday! I hope he will accept our apology for not emailing him each time we spoke with Carl or the dealer.
On the other hand, I believe that he should stop for a minute and be thankful that he did contract our services. A gasoline powered 1994 Montero at $8000 can be readily found on the Internet or in La Nacion. The Ticos don’t want them because of the high fuel costs. David was concerned about having a good car to show property to his clients in, not so much about expensive gasoline. If he had purchased this car from any individual he would be out of luck and out of pocket. If he had purchased this car from one of the disreputable used car dealers in Costa Rica they would never pay for his rental car and they would never overhaul the engine. He probably would have had the car back in a few days, but in what condition?
THIS THREAD IS NOW CLOSED
I would like to thank Russ Martin and David Rushton for their gentlemanly conduct in
discussing this issue and hope that we have all learned something here.Things don’t always go right in life even with the professionals that are recommended at WeLoveCostaRica.com however, as this dialog clearly shows, we are more than happy to try and get the parties involved to talk about it and resolve the problem.
Best wishes
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com
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