Car dealer sells worthless warranty

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Eti Jones felt used like the 1999 Chevy Venture van she bought back in June 2009.

Jones bought the van from Benny Tesew of Royalty Auto Sales on Salem Avenue.

Jones said, "He made me feel like I was getting a nice van for the money that I paid for it. He said I was getting a good deal."

Tesew also sold Jones a warranty through Coast to Coast Dealer Services for her van's engine. It cost Jones $1,050 for coverage to last until January 2010.

Jones said, "Well, if I had any problems within the seven months The Coast to Coast would take care of, you know, any type of repairs that I needed."

On September 7th 2009, just four months before the warranty expired, Jones' engine stopped working.

Jones said, "That next day I gave, uh, Benny a call and he told me, he said you only had three months. And I said no, I purchased the seven month warranty."

On the warranty, under engine and transmission, the portion for seven months of coverage was "x'ed" and circled.

"We went back and forth, but then I ended up calling the people again from Coast to Coast and they told me, they said well it really doesn't make any difference if you had three months or seven months, you're not in the system at all, " Jones said.

A letter from Coast to Coast confirmed no money or paperwork ever reached their offices. Jones said reading that letter made her blood boil.

"I'm feeling angry, upset, um, really upset because I'm a single mom, you know, trying to raise my children and you know I spent this money thinking that I'm going to have a reliable vehicle and I didn't," said Jones.

Jones took Tesew to small claims court, where a judge told Tesew, quote, "It sounds like you're running a pretty decent scam actually."

"I said yes. Thank you Jesus. You know, the judge feels the same way that I feel," said Jones.

Court transcripts showed, Jones won her case. Tesew was ordered to pay her $2,835. But, Jones hadn't heard from Tesew since the judgement.

Two weeks ago, 2News Investigator, Kennan Oliphant tried to track Tesew down at his dealership, but he wasn't there. Minutes later, Tesew called. He agreed to meet the next day and to hand over a check to Jones as promised.

"I felt like I did my part of the job and we had a dispute, and we had to go to court and the judge awarded her her money, and now we paid it, her money, and we settled for it," Tesew said.

2News asked him if he was doing things differently at his dealership to make sure no one else lands on the same road as Jones.

"Oh yeah. Yes sir, I don't offer no warranty. Everything I sell is as is and I don't use any of those warranty companies anymore," said Tesew.

After months of waiting, Jones is seeing a brighter future.

"I've been catching the bus, me and my children, and I plan on purchasing a vehicle now. But I'm going to do my homework, my research, and make sure it's a good, reputable care dealer."

In Jones' eyes, it's another case solved by Turn To 2.

"You got your justice served today. Yes I did. Thank you so much. Thank you Jesus and thank you Turn to 2, thank you Kennan," Jones said.

If you're considering buying a warranty on a used car, check with the BBB to make sure the warranty company is legit and has a good record.

Also, ask for a Carfax report to check out the vehicle's history. If you don't get one, walk away from the deal. Finally, bring a mechanic you trust to check out the car you want to buy.