Car scam investigated
Summerville dealership accused of failure to pay liens on trade-ins
The Post and Courier
Old Towne Auto Sales in Summerville seems to have closed its doors.
On the Web
The state Department of Consumer Affairs fields complaints about suspect business practices. To file a report, call 1-800-922-1594. A complaint form and list of resources are available at www.scconsumer.gov.
To offer tips
Police are asking anyone who has had problems with a car bought from Old Towne Auto Sales to bring the paperwork to 300 W. 2nd North St. The Police Department's phone number is 851-4100.
SUMMERVILLE — Troy Benton wanted a new car. He got a financial mess.
The 65-year-old retiree is one of several people who have complained to Summerville police about Old Towne Auto Sales, a local dealership. Instead of a new car, Benton said he still has his old pickup. And he appears to be on the hook for nearly $40,000 in loans and liens.
"I can't afford it," he said. "I don't have no money, and now it's going to mess up my credit."
If anybody else is in the same situation, investigators want to hear from them.
The complaints follow a similar pattern. The transactions included the payoff of a trade-in vehicle and the purchase of another from the lot, according to a news release and police reports. Some buyers told police their old vehicles weren't paid off and that they couldn't register the new ones because of outstanding liens.
Benton's situation began in July when he traded in a 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup for a 2004 Ford Mustang. The dealership was supposed to cover $13,000 remaining on the pickup. Benton took out a $15,000 loan for what he would owe on the Mustang.
About a week ago, he received the first sign of trouble. It came in the mail from a credit union that gave him the original truck loan. They were asking him why he canceled the insurance, so he got back in touch to tell them he sold it.
He soon learned the truck was still in his name, but the Mustang wasn't — and the car had a $10,000 lien on it. He even contacted the car's previous owner, who had traded the car in at the same place.
Nobody from the dealership at 711 W. 5th North St. could be reached for comment Thursday. The offices appeared to be closed, and no cars were left on the front lots.
A telephone number went to a voice message informing callers that the business is closed. A Web site, www.oldtowneautosales.com, still works and advertises "free oil changes for life." There are, however, no vehicles listed on the sites inventory.
Police said reports of suspect transactions date back to May.
The S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs said there are some steps buyers can take to protect themselves after the purchase.
"Unfortunately, if they're already in this, it's going to be an uphill battle," Maria Audas, a public information coordinator, said. "Not impossible, but difficult."
Donna DeMichael, the department's director of consumer services and education, said they are starting to see more complaints about car dealerships not providing good titles or paying off liens on trade-ins. As such, consumers should try to do business with "reputable" dealerships. They can call the Consumer Affairs Department to see if any complaints have been filed before going shopping.
If they find that their trade-in was not paid off, DeMichael recommended calling police. Buyers have the right to go to civil court to sue for conversion or breach of contract. They also have these options if they are unable to get a title for the car they bought.
Some businesses maintain insurance or have a bond to cover these situations, she said. The consumer might be able to file a claim even if the seller has gone out of business.
Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
DanniD (anonymous) says...
"Benton's situation began in July when he traded in a 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup for a 2004 Ford Mustang. The dealership was supposed to cover $13,000 remaining on the pickup. Benton took out a $15,000 loan for what he would owe on the Mustang."
It was a crime to charge to $28K for an 04 Mustang to begin with!!!!
September 19, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnS (anonymous) says...
These folks moved all the cars off their recently. The lot is now empty. It's sad they appeared to have ripped people off. The inventory always had good looking cars.
September 19, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
teeitup (anonymous) says...
I have concluded that thomas1776 is really johnq using another name. Both are an insult to the human race.
September 19, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hotchick (anonymous) says...
I really feel for this guy. Good luck going to civil court to sue. I had a company hire me as a subcontractor for services last year and they stiffed me over $10,000 in the promised payments. The work was performed to the great satisfaction of the client and the client paid the company, but she chose to use the money for some other purpose than to pay those who had performed the work. The amount was too much for small claims court, so I would have had to hire a lawyer and spend a lot of time and money trying to get back what was owed to me. My lawyer finally advised me to "stop throwing good money after bad." I finally just handed it over to a collection agency and am finally seeing a little payment, albeit at the equivalent of about 50 cents on the dollar. The difference here is that I at least knew where the owner lived. Mr. Benton doesn't have a hope to get his money back. And the sad thing is, since it is so hard to prosecute a company in this state, they'll probably set up shop somewhere else and do it again to a new victim.
September 19, 2008 at 8:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
xdrfox (anonymous) says...
This has happened in many Cities across the country..in my City to here in Florida. Never heard about results or if anyone goes to jail. Clerical error or just plain theft.. Sure does mess peoples lives and credit up and cost honest people money..needs to be a insurance paid by car lot owners to do business and let them go after the ones that mistakes/abuse the public.
September 19, 2008 at 8:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
xdrfox (anonymous) says...
DanniD, no difference than the housing and mortgage crisis, everything is over priced compared to wages.
September 19, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
xdrfox (anonymous) says...
SEE ! as AGI is insurance is getting stuck with all the bad mortgages..
September 19, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
xdrfox (anonymous) says...
hotchick, this too is going on all over the country, they get no time or real time for bad business practices.
September 19, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
iceman1978 (anonymous) says...
I work in the car business and know of this place. Always be careful about 'dirt lot' dealerships. They can be here today and gone tomorrow. Most are on the up and up, but do your homework first.
September 19, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
Can they not include the business owners name in this article?
September 19, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sdr35hw (anonymous) says...
Hot chick: Send a 1099 for the work, at least they will have to pay taxes on what you lost
September 19, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
militarywf4lf (anonymous) says...
I heard this guy is in the hospital for trying to commit suicide....someone must know how to reach him and have him charged.
September 19, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
iceman1978 (anonymous) says...
Caveat emptor.
September 19, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kontact (anonymous) says...
I am familiar with the car business too. this is more common than most people think. Especiaslly here in the lowcountry. The economy right now is going to have a lot people do things that they wouldnt normally do. Guys be careful
September 19, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bm1961 (anonymous) says...
Sounds like this guy will easily get away with scamming people out of thousands of dollars thru his auto sales, and there is very little that people will get back. Take a car on trade in, pledge to pay off the balance owed after an agreement is made with the purchase of another car, take the guys cash, and sell his old car right back out again, never paying off the loan, and probably selling the old car claiming the title is clear of any liens. This is an old scam that crooked dealers have been getting away with for years. And the thing about it , this guy will open up under another name, or work somewhere else doing the same thing, unless he gets sent to prison. Thats likely not gonna happen, since white collar criminals seem to always get off easy (except for the Parrish case) Heck, I know of a guy right now who has over 3 MILLION DOLLARS of judgements against him thru crooked car dealings, and still currently works for a large local dealer selling cars to this day selling cars.
September 19, 2008 at 12:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChrisPia (anonymous) says...
The economy is in this down fall because the chickens were garding the hen house. There is absolutely no accountability or enforcement.The Politicians have recently over the decades placed people in charge of these regulatory agencies that have overlooked crimes for the sake of their parties(Republican and Democrat).Now these parties are blaming each other when it collapses....UNTIL the criminals fear getting caught and prosecuted and sentences are lengthened and checks and balances are put into place ,we will not see real change.UNTIL we Hold Our Representatives Accountable and Stop putting these idiots into office we will not see real change.
We need average everyday working people running for offices.....
I had a thought on how to do this..Pay 20 for an entry fee for a Lottery for a political office.Pick the Number out of a Hat.Whomever wins is the office holderfor 4 years. Then Repeat the Process.LOL... It's got to be better than what we have seen.
September 19, 2008 at 12:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
kontact. The economy does not make a person be a thief. It may give them something to use as an excuse. He was probably living way above his means.
September 19, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gococks1985 (anonymous) says...
Sal Rigoroso is a contact name listed on their website in case anyone is interested.
September 19, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gococks1985 (anonymous) says...
Also, if you enter his name on www.411.com, you will see that he is the owner of the dealership and some car warranty place.
September 19, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Get_Real (anonymous) says...
You might be in luck... I looked up the SC Secretary of State's Website and found this:
REGISTERED AGENT NAME: SALVATORE RIGOROSO
ADDRESS: 1715 CONGRESSIONAL BLVD
CITY: SUMMERVILLE
STATE: SC
ZIP: 29483
That's his home address. If he's still there, I would have the Dorchester County Sheriff arrest him as soon as possible.
September 19, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
southerngirl45 (anonymous) says...
posted by suec~can they not include the buisness owners name in this article?Well no they can't suec,because Summerville protects is crooks.There are two kinds of crooks in Summerville.The "trash" and the "political trash".Unless you just know who this Al Parish wannabe is,you can bet his good Summerville name won't be released by the press.It shoud be against the law and made public.
September 19, 2008 at 8:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
elcid81 (anonymous) says...
Looks like another opportunity for a government bailout. So far the bailouts are costing each American over $3,500 in taxes. I honestly hope there is not another bailout, rather hold people accountable for their actions. I like McCain's idea of firing the SEC Chair.
If this happened to me I would be getting $40K out of flesh of this dude. I think I read this once.
"If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare
September 19, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
Posted by teeitup on September 19, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have concluded that thomas1776 is really johnq using another name. Both are an insult to the human race.
No... Thomas hates Obama and JohnQ is an avid supporter
September 20, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hellotoall (anonymous) says...
suec - yes, he is living beyond his means as are most "dirt lot" owners. There are 3 "dirt lot" owners that live in the same neighborhood, on the same street, 3,000-7,000 square ft homes (golf community), including the owner (or previous owner) of Old Towne Auto Sales. Nah, there not doing anything illegal!!!!!!!!!
September 25, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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