Audi owner blames salesperson for $10,000 damage during test drive, car dealer denies claims
A car owner who wanted to sell his Audi is stuck with a $10,000 repair bill after the vehicle was damaged during a test drive on Sept 17.
Stomper Koon blamed the salesperson working for the car dealer that he consigned his car to.
"I recently consigned my car to a car dealer, Monster Motors Alliance (MMA)," recounted the Stomper.
"At first, everything seemed good as they provided a live stream to promote my car and responded quite quickly to arrange for potential buyers."
MMA also posted on its Facebook page on July 22 photos of the Stomper's car, an Audi A7 modified to look like an Audi RS7.
"However, things took a turn one night when they took my car for a test drive by a potential buyer," continued the car owner.
"They let the person 'hard drive' the car. My car is a renewed COE car. It doesn't take a very bright person to know it cannot be driven like that. It was driven like going for a drag race with multiple 'pulls' along a two-way road and the hard acceleration continued when the car reached the main road."
The Stomper explained that a "pull" refers to an "acceleration attempt".
"Compared to normal driving, a 'pull' is driving fast with harder throttle. I could see from the video the car was moving forward very fast and hear it revving at higher RPM," he said.
"I could see from the dashcam footage that there was excessive speed, which I thought was not necessary for test-driving.
"The car was later stuck at a traffic junction and was not able to start. It was towed to a workshop. The engine was severely damaged with an almost $10,000 repair cost."
In response to a Stomp query, MMA denied the claims made by the Stomper and pointed to the company's online reply to the Stomper's negative Google review.
MMA said in the reply: "Thank you for bringing this very difficult situation to our attention.
"We are deeply sorry that your vehicle broke down during a test drive we facilitated. We understand the significant stress and financial burden this has caused you, and we sincerely apologize for the frustration you've experienced with the resolution process.
"We want to clarify the circumstances for the public. The test drive was conducted with a potential buyer for your consigned vehicle when a sudden mechanical failure occurred, with our salesperson Jo in the front passenger seat.
"The vehicle was driven in a normal manner. We have since learned that this specific model and year (age) can be prone to such failures, which are unrelated to the test drive itself. As the consignment agent, we were not involved in the vehicle's prior maintenance history.
"Our commitment to our clients, however, does not end there. In an effort to support you during this time, we immediately reached out to our network of trusted workshop partners and secured a repair option for you at a significantly reduced cost of $7,500 - a 25 per cent saving from the market rate you initially found.
"We regret that our efforts have not yet led to a resolution you find acceptable."
The Stomper disputed MMA's reply.
He said: "I agree that this car model has its quirks, but during my ownership, the issues were never this severe. It's hard to believe this was a coincidence, as he claimed.
"Our disagreement here is that Monster Motors Alliance felt that the test drive was normal, and I was just unlucky the car broke down.
"In my opinion, the test drive was hard and very excessive in throttle, given that it is already a 13- to 14-year-old car."
The Stomper added that his intention was not to defame MMA but to highlight the attitude of its salesperson, Jo.
"When Jo was seated beside the test driver, he could have moderated the driving," said the car owner.
"In all my past car purchases, dealers would guide test drivers and ensure safe moderate driving, never directing them to a straight road to rev and speed, especially knowing it's a COE car with age-related limitations.
"The car was driving perfectly fine under my care. Once Jo took the car, he should have exercised responsibility and not allowed the test driver to drive so aggressively. The test driver was not yet the owner of the vehicle."
When the Stomper messaged Jo about the repairs, the salesperson took things "too lightly", according to the car owner.
"I told him that the repair bill rests entirely on me. Then he mocked me by saying that a Ferrari repair would cost less and my trust in him completely eroded," said the Stomper, who shared a screenshot of the messages.
"I could not risk sending the car to his so-called workshop when $7,500 was already quoted just for the engine alone, not with gearbox and engine as he claimed for that Ferrari.
"All this was without his mechanic even inspecting my car. I had offered them to come and assess my car at the current workshop, but to this day, they have not shown up.
"Furthermore, once the engine was opened, I would have no control over any additional costs the workshop might impose. Although he claimed that his shop wouldn't keep adding new charges, the trust had already been broken and the repair costs still weigh 100 per cent on me."
But that wasn't all.
"To make matters worse, the very next day after the incident, Jo returned with an offer that significantly undervalued the car," claimed the Stomper.
"He requested about $7,000 off the listed price on Sgcarmart, claiming that if the car only had a minor issue, the buyer would take it for $84,000, provided I covered the repair costs.
"Really nonsensical here. None of us anticipated that the engine damage from the test drive would be so severe."
On Oct 6, the car owner told Stomp: "My car has been at the workshop for about two weeks now waiting for Monster Motors to have a resolution, but since they pushed away everything, I have no choice but to commence with repairs. I must be fair to the workshop who has helped me."
He reiterated: "I am not here to defame the dealer.
"I just wanted to present the facts and warn others. Especially those who did not sign any agreement to hold the dealer responsible."
