Rodd Sala Park Ward Motors Sold a lemon..2004 BMW 745i with bad engine AND transmission for $9K on Ebay cary Illinois

 Purchased a 2004 BMW 745i on ebay in February of 2013 from Mr Sala; winning bid was $8,976. Had several email conversations with the seller regarding condition of vehicle, etc. Seller stated that vehicle had just been checked out by mechanic and only needed a few minor repairs to the tune of $900. Also stated that he would provide the reciept for such as well as the Carfax report.

$1500 deposit was given after auction ended with balance paid upon pickup of vehicle. Car did not start up right away when i went to drive it which was a bad sign but seller assured me it was probably because of the cold...He jumped the car with his truck and it started right up.. To his credit, he was very patient while i had some issues with the rest of the payment which I did have the funds but was unable to paypal them to him at his office as planned due to issues with my paypal account. After running around to several places, was finally able to withdraw majority of the balance with approx $900 remaining which I promised to mail a check or money order to him. He trusted me on this and I in turn trusted him as he seemed such an honest and trustworthy person...

Fast forward;

May of 2013... Took vehicle to BMW for routine oil change and diagnostic of check engine light... The look on the service rep's face was devastating when she came out to give me the news... She started by asking me when I bought the vechicle and if I could get my money back.. I knew the rest would not be good news. She then handed me a diagnostic report with estimated repairs costs of almost $11K which is more than I paid and more than the vehicle is worth.. In short, bad engine and transmission problems that WERE definitely in place before I bought the vechicle. The extent of damage according to BMW was not such that could have just occurred since my purchase and definitely would have been discovered upon the inspection that Mr Sala had put the vehicle through before the sale..( if it was in fact a legitimate inspection as he stated to me that this mechanic was HIS mechanic in my own assumption; his friend )

I brought this fact to Mr Sala regarding the condition of the car via email to which he replied that it was very rude of me to accuse him of knowing about any mechanical problems before the sale and how dare I say such a thing. I told him that I am fully aware of what buying a used car entails but that he gave written and verbal/implication that the vechicle was in good condition and that the only reason for the somewhat high mileage was because the previous owner was a traveling salesman and used the car for work but took very good care of the vehicle.

Since our last conversation, the vehicle is inoperable. The transmission has gone out and the engine is next. It is blowing out blue smoke and burning oil faster than you could imagine. I am devastated as I worked 2 jobs to save for this vehicle and am now without a car and without my $8,976 plus other expenses. I have been renting a vechicle for the last 6-8 wks to the tune of almost $1500 as I don't have the cash to go out and purchase another vehicle right now nor am in a position to finance one... I feel very betrayed and hurt that there are such dishonest people who take advantage of hardworking people like me. I do plan to further pursue the matter but wanted to tell my story so that someone else may benefit from it...