Robert M. Look695 Talcottville Rd., Apt. 38 FVernon, Ct 06066 February 1, 2008 To Whom This Concerns:On October 26, 2007 I purchased a used car form Champagne Chevrolet located at 106 Storrs Rd., Willimantic, CT. The car I purchased was a 2006 Toyota Scion Xa (VIN # JTKKT624160****43). It had 21,820 miles on it the day of purchase. I got a 30 day warranty from Champagne Chevrolet plus it was still under the manufactures warranty. I’m not sure what exactly that is…but I know it’s at least 30,000 milesI used my 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier as a trade in. At the time of trade in it had 98,543 miles on it and I was allowed $1300.00 for my trade in. I also made a $100.00 deposit using a credit card…which was applied to the down payment The cost of the 2006 Scion Xa before taxes & finance was $11,999.00.Before buying the car…I took it for a test drive with Champagne Chevrolet salesman Fernando Tirado. I noticed the “check engine” light was on and questioned Fernando Tirado about it. He assured me it was something simple and that it would be taken care of before I bought the car. I asked why a car that year…with only that many miles on it had not been snatched up..?? Fernando Tirado told me that people go to a Chevrolet dealer to buy Chevrolets …not used cars manufactured by another car maker. He also mentioned that the 2006 Scion had been on Champagne’s lot for quite a while.Having purchased three new cars and two used cars (one of which my oldest son purchased there after my advice / referral)…I felt I could trust them….That I would be treated fairly. So…I based this purchase on that and on Champagne salesman Fernando Tirado’s word that the “check engine” was something simple.After waiting two - three days to hear from Champagne salesman Fernando Tirado…I called him inquiring what was taking so long on the “simple” repair. Fernando Tirado told me that because no one was physically waiting at Charles Toyota for the repair…that they were likely putting it aside to work on cars that were physically being waited for. I told Fernando Tirado that the wait was throwing me a “red flag”. He again assured me that it was nothing to get upset about…that it was something simple and that there was (quote)…..”absolutely nothing wrong with the Scion”.On October 22, 2007 Champagne Chevrolet sent the 2006 Scion to Charles Toyota located at 500 West Thames St, Norwich, CT According to the invoice I received…the engine codes were: P043E, P043F, P2401, P2402 and P2419. A recall & repair was also done at this time (TSB EG047-06) The “check engine” light had been taken care of. Supposedly.After finally getting the 2006 Scion Xa on October 26, 2007.….I drove it for 2 weeks (to & from work / 9 miles each way…a visit to my Dad in Burlington, CT / miles ??….30 miles one way maybe & some miscellaneous trips around Vernon) and the “check engine “ light came back on. I called Champagne salesman Fernando Tirado explaining what had happened. He told me…rather than drive it to Champagne Chevrolet and them in turn taking it to Charles Toyota….that I could take it to my local Toyota dealer. After all….it was still under manufactures warranty.So…I called Lynch Toyota of Manchester, CT and made an appointment for November 17, 2007 @ 9:30 AM. After waiting an hour…the service manager at Lynch Toyota approached me and asked if anyone had done any work to the 2006 Scion. I told him no one to my knowledge except Charles Toyota and that I had only owned the car for three weeks at this time. He told me that there were issues under the valve cover , that there were after market parts used, that my so called manufactures warranty may not cover it and that the work needed to be done would require a re-scheduling. I made a tentative appointment for November 27, 2007.After getting home from Lynch Toyota…I called Champagne salesman Fernando Tirado and told him what the service manager at Lynch Toyota told me. He told me he didn’t believe the Lynch Toyota service manager and that he wanted me to get a second opinion. He asked that I call him back November 18, 2007 to find out what Champagne Chevrolet had decided to do about my problem. I called as instructed and was told to bring the 2006 Scion back to them and that they would return it to Charles Toyota in Norwich, CT. I was told that I would be contacted when they (Champagne Chevrolet & Charles Toyota) had an idea what was going on. Finally, on November 21, 2007 around 4:30 PM…Champagne Chevrolet service manager Richard Griffin called me. He told me that Charles Toyota had isolated the problem to cylinder #2 and that it was carbon build up on the valve spring that was throwing the engine code…causing the “check engine” light to come on.. I was told Charles Toyota was going to put something in the cylinder to dissolve the carbon build up and that Champagne Chevrolet service manager Richard Griffin would call me November 23, 2007 to let me know the results. I never received a call from Champagne service manager Richard Griffin on November 23. On November 24, 2007 I called Champagne Chevrolet salesman Fernando Tirado and told him I wasn’t happy about my situation. I told him I had based this purchase on his word that there was “absolutely nothing wrong with the Scion”. He then began to back peddle…telling me he was only a sales person….that he had no way of knowing that the problem was this extensive. I asked why service manager Richard Griffin had not called me as he said he was going to and was told he had not gone to work on November 23. I was told that no one knew what was going on with my 2006 Scion…that I’d have to wait until November 26 to find out what was going on with it. I told Fernando Tirado that this is not what I had purchased. He asked me what I expected when buying a used car…….that this was something that should be expected. I then told him that after my past business at Champagne Chevrolet…and because he’d given me his word that there was “absolutely nothing wrong with the Scion”…that I expected them to step up to the plate and take care of me. I asked him if Champagne Chevrolet had ever exchanged a vehicle after purchase before. I told him that if I didn’t have my 2006 Scion by November 30...that an exchange would be the only thing that would make me happy. I was told they had re-purchased cars before in the past but it was a very difficult thing to do. It sounded highly unlikely an exchange was going to happen….but….that Champagne employees Fernando Tirado, Richard Griffin, Ernie Cagle (floor manager @ Champagne) and Champagne Chevrolet owner CEO Kenneth Champagne were going to sit down and discuss my situation and options sometime on November 26, 2007.On November 26..I called Champagne service manager Richard Griffin at 8:00 AM. When he answered the phone I told him it was myself and I wanted know the status on the Scion. He suddenly acted like the was something wrong with the phone and in a few seconds…hung up on me. So, I used another phone but when I called office…I got his answering machine. I tried to get him to pick up the phone….knowing he was probably sitting right at his desk…ignoring my call. Realizing this…I then left my work place and drove out to Champagne Chevrolet. By the time I got there…it was just after 9:00 AM. When I went into the waiting room and stood right in front of service manager Richard Griffins office…he wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I then went into the salesroom and beckoned salesman Frenando Tirado. He is a good salesman. He handled my son’s used car sale and I sense that he’s a good person. When he came over to me I told him what had just happened in the service department and that I wanted out of the Scion on no uncertain terms. He then told me he would go talk to the next person in charge that could handle this situation. And in a few minutes he ushered me into floor manager Ernie Cagle’s office. Mr. Cagle sat me down and tried to calm me down. I told him the exact same thing I’d just told salesman Fernando Tirado….that I’d had enough of being jerked around. He then made the statement….“We had no idea the engine had been switched. Charles Toyota isn’t going to honor the factory warranty”. He asked me what it would take to make me happy. I told him that Champagne Chevrolet had sold me a misrepresented Scion and that I wanted a complete refund of my investment. That included the Scion loan erased , my $100.00 deposit and my trade back. I told him I wanted the trade in and deposit applied to a new Aveo. He told me they wouldn’t give me my trade in back. That they had a lot of time and money invested in my trade. He told me Champagne would pay all but $500.00 of the Scion loan and that they expected me to pay the remaining $500.00 of the Scion loan. As you can imagine…I protested that proposal. He told me he understood how I felt and that he’d feel the same way if it were him. He told me he was only offering what he had been told to offer me by Kenneth Champagne. I told him that wasn’t going to work and that he had to talk to Ken Champagne….to tell him what I expected them to do to make this right.On November 27 or 28.…Champagne floor manager Ernie Cagle called me at work and asked me to drive out to the Champagne dealership. I fully expected to pick up a new car that day. When I got there Ernie Cagle sat me down in his office and told me that they would pay off the entire Scion and put me in a new car of my choice. He told me they would not refund my trade in and $100.00 deposit…..nor would the trade in and $100.00 deposit be applied to the new car. Realizing I was now dealing with the “dealership from ***” and that further negotiating was futile….I told him to find me a new Aveo. In the back of my mind…I told myself I’d deal with the “shafting” I’d just gotten later and that after the deal was final….I would never return to Champagne Chevrolet.On November 30, 2007 I picked up my new 2008 Aveo. It only cost me $1400.00 more than it would have cost anyone else.That’s what my patronage to Champagne Chevrolet has gotten me.I realize that problems do occur when buying a used car…but not within the first two weeks of ownership.This doesn’t seem legal or like fair business. I do have the receipts of both transactions that can be furnished if neededThank you,Robert Look Robert.loo@***.net860-649-**** PS. I filed a complaint with the CTBBB. For some reason..they ruled in the dealerships favor.