Keisy Fernandez has accused Affordable Motors Car Dealership of Miami, Florida of fraud, news sources report. Fernandez claims that she bought a vehicle from the dealership last year, only to recently learn that the vehicle's odometer had been rolled back over 100,000 miles sometime before she bought it. A spokesperson for Affordable Motors denies that the dealership was responsible for the inaccurate odometer. It is unclear whether Fernandez will file a suit against the dealership or whether any other victims will come forward.
According to reports, Fernandez purchased a 2006 Chrysler from Affordable Motors in April 2012. At the time of the purchase, the Chrysler's odometer read 56,447 miles, sources. However, the vehicle's certificate read "not actual" next to the mileage, indicating the mileage was inaccurate or unknown. "That is absolutely a red flag,'' a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokesperson said. "It screams, 'buyer beware.'"
Several months after Fernandez purchased the Chrysler, she decided to trade it in for a newer vehicle. Another dealership offered to purchase the car, but soon discovered that the mileage was grossly inaccurate. The dealership did a routine check and learned the Chrysler actually had 187,677 miles on the odometer, sources indicate.
Fernandez, afraid that she had been scammed, called Affordable Motors and confronted them about the Chrysler's mileage. Affordable Motors refuted the claim and said that a previous owner had tampered with the car's odometer. "There was a problem before us," Felisberto "Felix" Sanchez, a spokesperson for Affordable Motors, said. "The problem was not us. [Fernandez is] probably right, but the problem was with a previous out-of-town dealer." It is not clear whether this claim has been substantiated.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires dealerships to take precautions in these sorts of situations. If a car's mileage in accurate, the dealer is legally required to disclose the true mileage of the car to potential buyers, sources indicate. Although Affordable Motors did reportedly write "not actual" on the Chrysler's certificate, it is unclear whether they made the actual mileage of the car clear to Fernandez at the time of purchase.
