ORLANDO, Fla. — A Seminole county man claims he paid thousands of dollars for a car warranty, but the car dealership never provided the warranty.
Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal found the dealership is also under investigation by the state and facing a handful of lawsuits by other customers.
For Brendon Spalding, a Lamborghini was a dream car.
Spalding said, “I remember, yeah, in third grade, saying, ‘I’m going to have one one day.’”
After an extensive search, he found the 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo advertised at Lux Auto Group in Apopka.
“It came across. Then it was a good deal. And after like a week or two of negotiating, they came to the price that I wanted,” he told Action 9.
The price he paid in full, included more than $8400 for a two-year, 30-thousand-mile warranty. Spalding was even given a piece of paper with the service contract policy number. A few weeks later, he contacted the warranty company with questions about cancelling it within the 60-day window allowed under Florida law. That’s when the company informed him that he had no warranty.
“I paid for that. They (Lux Auto Group) took my money, it came in, and they never sent it off. So, they made an extra $8,500 and I have no warranty. Pretty shady business,” Spalding said.
The warranty company confirmed to Action 9 that Lux Auto Group never paid them to put a new policy on Brendon Spalding’s Lamborghini. Spalding claims the dealership has refused to refund the money.
He said, “So, for six weeks now, I’ve been trying to deal with Angel Martinez, the owner of Lux Auto Group, to get my money back and he’s completely dodged me. It’s been a nightmare.”
When the Action 9 team showed up at Lux Auto Group, it appeared to be out of business. The doors were locked, and no one answered. No one answered at the DeLand home of Lux Auto Group’s owner Angel Martinez either.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is investigating 17 separate complaints against Lux Auto Group LLC. It’s also in the process of taking administrative action against the company for abandoning its location. The company has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau with some customers complaining they never even received the titles to their cars. Lux Auto Group is facing at least six lawsuits as well. Two of the lawsuits also name owner, Angel Martinez, with the plaintiff’s claiming the business owes them money, too.
Brendon Spalding wants others to be aware of what he’s going through with Lux Auto Group.
Spalding said, “That keeps me up at night, and anytime finance comes up or whatnot, I’m thinking, ‘That guy still has $8,500 of my money.’”
After Spalding reached out to Action 9, he said Angel Martinez called him and told him he’s in the process of closing the business. He said Martinez recommended he try to get his money back from a state fund for victims of bad practices by car dealerships.
The business phone number was no longer working when Action 9′s Jeff Deal tried to call Lux Auto Group and Angel Martinez has not responded to his email either.
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