This was the worst car buying experience of my life, and at 58 I have bought and sold many cars. In July 2012 I saw a 2005 Subaru Baja on eBay. I planned to give it to my son for college in the West Virginia mountains. Subarus are safe, reliable and have AWD. I contacted Autos Direct Online and said safety and reliability were my highest priority in a used car. I sought assurances that it was a solid car that could be trusted to get my son back and forth to West Virginia across 200 miles of interstates and tractor-trailers going 75 mph. I was told all their cars are “inspected” and thoroughly checked. The CARFAX report showed no accidents or major issues. I told the salesman I was going to “BUY IT NOW” and he said I could save $200 by taking the deal off-line, to which I agreed, not realizing that it did not give me the company warranty (and also that I would not be able to leave eBay feedback). My son and I flew to Cleveland and were picked up at the hotel the next morning, prepared for a father-son drive home of 7 hours. When we got to the dealer to look over the car, there were immediate questions about the condition which were not represented on the auction listing: the prop rod for the hood was missing, a rear door hinge was broken, there was only one key and no remote, a taillight they had promised to replace was still out; most important, my son (who is no mechanic) said the rear brake drums were heavily rusted and scored. I will admit that I blame myself for sending payment up front to hold the car! My fault! The dealership also looks very different from the polished, professional photos on the website! Had I not already “bought” the car I likely would have passed on it once I saw it, even if it meant forfeiting my deposit and flying back home. I asked the salesman to have the mechanic look at all the brakes again, and he came back shortly saying they would replace the rear rotors and pads but the front ones were fine. So my son and I had about an hour to kill. We got the car back and I signed the papers and I asked for the 30-day 1, 000-mile warranty, since I would have gotten that on the BUY IT NOW bid. The salesman agreed, though his finance manager did not seem very happy about it. We got on the road, my son thrilled with his first “new” car and me keeping my fingers crossed that it would be a safe car for college travels. On the highway we had a shimmy in the steering, and stopped to check the tires – they were all at least 10 or 12 pounds low, so I filled them and the shimmy improved some. I also checked the oil and coolant levels, in light of the poor prep work the dealer had done. We drove for about 4 hours and crossed the Pennsylvania Turnpike without incident, changed drivers, and I turned south on I-70 headed for the Maryland border when suddenly the CHECK ENGINE light came on and the car went dead, at 65 miles an hour. I coasted to the shoulder and we sat for a few minutes in the heat as trucks roared past while I tried to restart the car. I got out to tighten the fuel cap thinking maybe that was the issue, and after a few tries the car started but would not go over 30 on a flat roadway, so we crawled to an exit on the shoulder and called AAA for a tow. I contacted the salesman who asked me to “let him know what happens, ” but as we were still three hours from home, my concern was getting to a repair shop. We got the car to a Maryland Subaru dealer at dark and went to a hotel, and went back to the dealer first thing in the morning. The computer codes showed several engine problems, so the dealer gave us a loaner for the 80-mile drive home -- which we kept for a week while they sorted out the engine and other repairs: all new front brakes and rotors -- the ones on the car (they gave me the old parts) were mismatched, with cracked pads, and would not pass inspection in Maryland or Virginia. Of course my son was disillusioned about the car, and car dealers. I told him that under no circumstances would I trust the car in the condition that it had been sold to us. Once the repairs were done, including rear sway bar links to correct the clunking in the rear suspension, I sunk about $1, 500 in parts and labor in the car to get the engine running and so the vehicle would pass VA safety and emissions inspections. I have receipts. I contacted the salesman several times about the engine warranty but he said, “Sorry, there’s nothing I can do, ” and did not answer my request for specifics about the warranty. In the end I’m thankful I was with my son in the car, instead of sending him off alone on a long trip if the car had been shipped to us, which was one option. The car failed to meet my basic stated desire for a SAFE, RELIABLE vehicle for my son, and the dealership failed to meet any expectations for integrity and honesty – it’s the sort of business that gives “used car dealer” a bad name.