Another Colorado "*******" bites the bullet

[Sticks]

State shuts down car dealership for false advertising

Written by: Deborah Sherman, I-Team Reporter created: 12/30/2003 4:33:23 PM

updated: 12/30/2003 5:26:09 PM

















GOLDEN - Dozens of people shopping for new cars or trying to get their old ones repaired were turned away at Christopher's Dodge World in Golden on Tuesday. The Colorado Dealer Licensing Board closed down the auto dealership because of false advertising.







9NEWS I-Team Reporter Deborah Sherman talks with Christopher's Dodge World customers. 5 p. m. Dec. 30, 2003.



The board said it closed the business after finding serious violations. The dealership was also fined $70,000 and put on one year's probation for not making full disclosure in at least four of its newspaper ads.



Postal worker Joe Zuniga says the dealership told him on Monday that his car was fixed and to pick it up on Tuesday, but even the service department is closed.



I live at 120th and Federal and theres no way I can get back and forth to work in the next few days,Zuniga said. It's a big inconvenience for me. "



Customer after customer came and went. Even an employee who showed up to work learned the hard way it had been shut down.



9NEWS has learned the dealership has a history of violations. Last year, it was fined $23,000 and put on one-year probation for similar advertising violations.



In 2000, the dealership had to pay a complainant more than $1,600 to resolve a dispute.



This time, the state says anyone who may have been misled by the ads has a chance of getting their money back.



"If there's an ad in the paper that says the car is $10,000 and they actually charge $12,000, well the consumer can come down here and file a complaint and we can get it resolved, said Mary Marvin of the Colorado Dealer Licensing Board. Nine times out of 10, the dealership refunds the money. "



Nothing on the dealership's answering machine says it's been shut down for two days, so customers continue to show up.



9NEWS has not been able to reach owner Christopher Hall or his attorney for comment.

 

[aphat426]

HA HA HA i have done business with them and had nothing but problems. it's great to see that the state is interested in the problems that consumers have with the auto buying industry. I feel bad for anybody that has their car there for service . are they closed permenatly or just until fines are paid? I am waiting for that to happen to a dealership here (the chopper) I hope that all the people that are doing business with them get taken care of and not just left out in the cold. I can't wait to move back to colorado, i don't like it here

 

[Sticks]

It reads like they will open back up in a couple of days. Got their proverbial hand slapped. The fall out from the news and all those that got screwed on their purchase has yet to be seen.



This is the place that I bought my truck. Haggled with them for three weeks.



Service - Frosty day in hell that I would ever take my truck there. Made that decision back in March of '02 when I ran into the Gomer diesel mechanic that made me stop going to John Elway Southwest. Then I had a 2500 auto. To quote "If you are driving your truck down a hill with a trailer and you need to slow down a little, just take it out of overdrive. If you need to slow down some more, take it down a gear. If you still need to slow down take it down another gear. "



Are you following this? What gear did I just shift into?...



"And if you think that you are still going a little fast, then just take it down again. "



... By my count, I just shifted into either neutral or reverse, towing a trailer down a mountain pass. This is one nimrod that should have stayed in Texas (no offense guys) After his little tutorial on how to go down a mountain (like he would know) he confessed in me that he would never go any faster than 45 down Eisenhower empty, let alone with a trailer (for those of you not familiar with Colorado, this is the main artery over the Continental divide at 10,500 feet).



This combined with their accessories shop that cut my wire harness for the tailgate running lights rather than unplug it when they put on the spray in bed liner. They did'nt even hook it back up, they just shoved the wires up in the tailgate, and the other end they stuffed up in a nook under the bed. I had a hell of a time finding it.

 

[klenger]

Glad I did't buy from them. Is it OK to call them a $tealer in this case?



My '04. 5 will be my 3rd truck from Broadway Dodge. It's even worth a trip from Tucson to Denver to get it.

 

[me4osu]

Well, I'm just another dimwit from Texas, but I went down the West side of Eisenhower doing 65 unloaded on dry pavement and 45 one time on slush.



Both times people with CO plates were passing me like I was standing still.

 

[fkovalski]

QUOTE: "Is it OK to call them a $tealer in this case?"





Hey, If the shoe fits...

 

[Sticks]

Originally posted by fkovalski

QUOTE: "Is it OK to call them a $tealer in this case?"





Hey, If the shoe fits...

You will note the edit ******* in the subject line... .

 

[fkovalski]

Hey sticks-

Did you type in the uppercase "8" or did you type in the "s" word and the website censored your original post?



i. e. Does the site automatically censor the "s" word?

 

[Sticks]

Yes, the site automatically censors that word out. There was a rash of members that were using the word, and some other members started to take offense. A decision was made by management that the word "Steal-er" (no hyphen) would be banned.



This is one case where shoe fits rather well.

 

[jwdeeming]

So are they STILL a Five Star Dealer? What do you have to do to lose that? Is one of the stars even just a little tarnished while your name is being plastered all over the paper?



Can't help but grin just a little after our last episode with them... .

and I do mean LAST.

 

[mgoncalves]

Originally posted by jwdeeming

So are they STILL a Five Star Dealer?

Are you kidding? They'll probably get another star, be the first 6 star dealer.





Jwdeeming, did you see a dark grey Dodge in Berthoud wave to you about two weeks ago? I thought I saw you driving East on main, but I have never met you so I'm not sure .





Matt

 

[aphat426]

On a side note i just noticed that a few of you are from the berthoud/ loveland area. ( I went to berthoud high) How much is done on the 287 by pass? we were there last spring and they had alot done. I think they had just started the part where it is going to join up by Hog Wild, by campion. I can't wait to be back, only 6 more months.

 

[KBennett]

I got my truck from these guys. I felt I got an honest and fair deal, pretty close to what tomeygun has been offering lately, but I did have to haggle for it.

I have not had any problems with the truck but they just sent me a free oil change card and I was going to take it in after the new year. Has anyone had any specific problems with Christopher? I thought I read somewhere that they had high ratings for their service department.

 

[jwdeeming]

LOL @ Six Star Dealer! Maybe this can be the new TDR code word for bad ones that won't get sensored.



Matt - I do remember waving at a grey Dodge. You'd know my truck - I haven't seen anybody else with the same truck/bumper combo I have. That Ranchand sticks out quite a bit. Guess we should go rack up the score on the Colorado forum, eh?



aphat - I haven't seen a schedule for the 287 bypass yet, but they are working hard on the southern junction area just below the Berthoud Curve. I don't know how to guess but it looks to me like they still have a long way to go. When did you go to BHS? My daughter is a freshman there now.



KBennett - my wife bought her first truck - a used v10 gasser from Christopher and thought she was treated pretty well. That's why she went back when I finally convinced her she could only go to heaven driving a diesel. Since then, she hasn't been too pleased, especially after a couple trips to the service dept. You can read about one of those in my thread on the 3rd Gen Eng/Tran forum about her clutch going out.



I don't know. You could probably send 10 people to the same dealer and they'd have 10 different experiences. By default, if I have to go to a dealer for anything, I expect the worst - that way I'm not disappointed. I wouldn't write off a dealer based on one or two bad reports, but the article at the start of this thread is pretty telling.



I bought mine at the Longmont dealer. Sales guy was ok but my surprise came in the finance office. I thought things were supposed to be simpler when you brought your own financing to the table - wrong! That guy managed to have me thoroughly disgusted before I got out of there.



KB - go a head and use that free oil change, but if your experience is anything like the free oil changes I got at Longmont, it'll convince you to do them yourself. I got four freebies, and the average wait was 2 hours each. Diesels take a lot of oil and I guess sometimes you have to wait for a couple more dinosaurs to rot... .

 

[duaneparks]

Originally posted by me4osu

Well, I'm just another dimwit from Texas, but I went down the West side of Eisenhower doing 65 unloaded on dry pavement and 45 one time on slush.



Both times people with CO plates were passing me like I was standing still.

Yet another TX dimwit here... this past May we hit the west side of Eisenhower - 70 to 75 in a rental Taurus, and we were holding up traffic. No slush though...



45? We'd have been run OVER.



Duane

 

[KBennett]

jwdeeming, I saw your thread about the clutch and it tarnished my image of Christopher and Dodge. If it had been my wife Dodge would have replaced the clutch and sent her flowers after she ripped them a new one.

When we were signing the papers, they asked if we wanted any of the "extended" warranty plans. She told the guy what he could do with his warranties and what would happen if we had to bring the truck back for any work. I think it's stupid for a dealer to offer those silly warranties on a vehicle you just spent 30K+ on. It makes the purchase look like a bad decision. The "American" car companies need to get their head out of the sand and start standing behind their product. I owned a Saturn and really like their customer service, they bent over backwards for the customer.



I did the first oil change at 3K myself and will probably let them do the second at 7K for free. After that I will change it myself every 6K or 3 months.

 

[aphat426]

jwdeeming- I graduated in 97. I bought my truck from the longmont dealer also. I had the same prob with the finance guy, salesmen was great.

 

[fkovalski]

You'd think that calling a "6" star dealer a "steeler" (sic) would be a compliment. afterall, it's synonimous with a great Pittsburg football team! (ouch!) Apologies to those fine folks in that fine city in Pennsylvania in associating them with a "ste aler. "

 

[jwdeeming]

According to one of the online slang dictionaries, to "six" someone is to take them forcefully from behind. There's potential here - six star dealer...

 

[KBennett]

Originally posted by jwdeeming

According to one of the online slang dictionaries, to "six" someone is to take them forcefully from behind. There's potential here - six star dealer...

Six star dealer =