A Colorado man has charged Carvana with selling him a stolen, damaged car.
Dennis Atencio purchased a white 2019 GMC Terrain from Carvana on December 18, 2020, after making a $300 down payment and financing the vehicle for more than $22,000 through loan servicer Acceptance Corp., according to a July 30 complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in Adams County and reviewed by FOX Business.
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The lawsuit claims that a repossession business named Anytime Towing came up at Atencio’s front door on June 23, 2021, to remove the car from his driveway. After Atencio indicated to the repossession agent that he was up-to-date on his payments to Bridgecrest, he found that the vehicle was being repossessed on behalf of Hertz Corporation.
Hertz was charged with civil theft and trespass to chattel or the use of property without the owner’s consent.
Atencio was told by the Denver Sheriff’s Department on July 29, 2021, that the vehicle had been confiscated on July 22 and was being held by authorities in Memphis, Tennessee.
The car was stolen from Hertz on May 6, 2020, three months before Atencio acquired it, according to a police report received and reviewed by FOX Business. According to a Hertz spokeswoman, the company was aware of the matter and was investigating.
On May 5, 2020, a CarFax car history check found an odometer reading in Long Beach, California. Additionally, it was discovered that the car had previously been exposed to other titles. On August 9, Atencio retrieved the automobile after presenting his driver’s license and CarFax report. On August 12, he issued a warrant for a vehicle inspection.
FOX Business analyzed the SOS Inspections vehicle condition report, which indicated that the Terrain was judged hazardous to drive owing to prior collision damage that had been improperly repaired. Numerous flaws were found in the study, including wrinkled sheet metal, missing fasteners, and a faulty radiator.
Atencio’s attorney, Matthew Osborne, confirmed to FOX Business that a two-day arbitration hearing had been planned for the end of March in the Carvana case.
“We want Carvana to be held accountable for its actions so that they stop doing this to people. The only way to do that is to go to trial. If we win at trial and it goes public, then hopefully the executives at Carvana will hear the message and change their ways,” Osborne stated.
FOX Business’s several queries to Carvana went unanswered.
According to its website, all of its cars undergo a 150-point examination, which looks at everything from tire tread depth to brake pad thickness, exterior paint condition, and Bluetooth compatibility. The firm underlines that it does not sell vehicles that have been involved in an accident or have structural or frame damage.
Carvana has received over 3,300 consumer complaints in the previous three years, with over 2,000 of them resolved in the last year, as per Better Business Bureau.
