Consumer complaint received 2026-05-22 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: Lendmark Financial Services
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I purchased a car on XX/XX/year> from a small car dealer in XXXX XXXX. I live in XXXX, so it was a XXXX XXXX XXXX, and both the dealer and the finance place he set me up with hurried XXXX the entire process, so much that when I arrived at dealership ( XXXX XXXX ) the dealer even stated, I got paperwork ready, I needed to be out of here an hour ago and after signing papers he literally tossed keys at me and said thanks for doing business. I wasnt hesitant because I had asked prior to purchasing if the car had any leaks, check engine lights, or issues that would need attention soon. XXXX assured me the car had been gone over by his mechanic and that there was nothing wrong with the car, not even a leak, no warning lights and that it drove great. In the earliest of messages he states that its stock with a ton of maintenance at a local XXXX shop. I drove the car home XXXX hours, noting a faint whirring sound. I didnt get home until late that evening so first thing the next morning I had my teenage son look it over and see what he thought about the sound I assumed was from the turbo and we found that it was over XXXX quarts low on oil, the dipstick was literally dry, the reservoir for the coolant was empty and the car had a significant oil leak that was hidden by the skid plate. Concerned that damage may already have occurred, we called dealership back that morning and requested to just return the car and told him of what we had found and that we had video and pictures. I even offered to have it towed back up to dealership as it was a long distance and I didnt want to further risk engine damage. At first he stated he was not in the business of breaking contracts and became short and asked if we thought he was a liar. After my son calmly stated we werent implying he was lying, just stating what we had found then XXXX said he would have his mechanic, the same one that allegedly initially looked the car over, to check it out and make sure no damage had occurred. I offered a second time to have the car towed, but again he said he felt it was fine to drive the car and that towing it would just be another expense he would not cover. So I was told the soonest the mechanic could see it was that Friday, the XXXX, 3 days after we called about the issues I am a night nurse and often on call and have to be at hospital in a moments notice so I missed XXXX days of work d/t no car, not to mention my son has had several bad XXXX that have landed us in the ER in the last XXXX months and I was without any transportation to in case of emergency. I reluctantly agreed and made the XXXX XXXX XXXX again that Friday to see his mechanic. The mechanic did not check anything the XXXX dealership said he would need to in order to definitively say the turbo or engine did not have any damage from low oil, in fact they stated it was likely it would have had some damage, instead he drove it around the block, said hed call when it was done and we watched from down the block as the car sat in XXXX place with no one doing anything with it for over XXXX hours, we confronted mechanic who finally admitted that if it were his daughter purchasing this car and found that the oil was that low he would return it. We reached out to XXXX at the dealership after we got the car to tell him that we had found and he hung up on us when we called and after we arrived at the dealership he closed the blinds and didnt answer the door. We sat outside for XXXX minutes and he never would answer phone or door again. We ended up getting home that day after XXXX hours on the road and dealing with this. After all the stress that day my son had another big XXXX that his doctor attributes to the stress from this and my being upset. I purchased the vehicle with XXXX miles on the odometer and it started showing check engine codes indicating cam shaft issues and possible turbo failure at XXXX miles, XXXX of which was spent on road back and forth to the dealership in an attempt to rectify the situation which was not accomplished whatsoever. I again attempted to reach out to dealer but to no avail. I am now without a vehicle at all and have a loan for over {$8000.00} for a car I drove XXXX days and XXXX that I wished to return the day after purchasing due to false information about the car prior to buying. I am trying to see what recourse I have at this point. The following is the cost of this ordeal thus far : The initial purchase of car {$8000.00} Fluids : oil, coolant : {$35.00} Gas to and from mechanic and dealership when trying to rectify issues : {$130.00} ( XXXX miles, XXXX @ $ XXXX ) 2 days of missed work : XXXX hour shifts @ $ XXXX {$1500.00} Rental car until I had enough money again to buy a different vehicle : $ XXXX x 19 days ( XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) {$430.00} Tow from where car broke down : XXXX miles ( hook up/base fee {$120.00}, XXXX @ $ XXXX, and afterhours/weekend {$50.00} ) {$250.00} Total of {$10000.00} + the cost of legal fees, as well as certified mail : {$30.00}, so far

Company response to consumer: Untimely response