LACKS ETHICS, CONCEALS THE TRUTH.
Carology, Inc is really an LLC.
Illinois Used Car Dealer Lic #DL2144 DRS1000058292
Co-Owners:
Phillip Curtis (Curt) Bettiker
Nicholas G. Loukas
Addresses:
2338 N Seeley Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
3535 Washington Street #100, Gurnee, IL 60031
Office Phone Number:
773-717-2277
Curt Bettiker also owns GURNEE GARAGE & TOWING at 777 Belle Plaine, Gurnee, IL 60031 847-623-0010
Carology sells used cars on the internet, primarily EBay, under the user name "Carology."
We bought a car from them via EBay. The vehicle was advertised as being "Clean & Recently Serviced." The 75 pictures showed a car that was in good shape.
They even signed a statement that every known mechanical and cosmetic defect was disclosed.
The vehicle arrived a month later. Upon inspection, we realized that the vehicle was not "clean." In fact, it was filthy. It was full of white animal hair, food crumbs & debris, sticks from candy suckers. No one had cleaned under the seats in years. Every nook & cranny of the door & instrument panels were caked with crumbs & debris.
We took the vehicle to the local dealer. Upon inspection, they advised that the vehicle had not been "recently serviced." The air filters were dirty, the cabin air filter had never been changed, and there were mechanical issues.
We noticed immediately that the transmission was slipping & shifting oddly. The dealer was able to repair the problem for $1,100.
The parking brake release handle would not release the brake pedal ($250). The front windshield had a crack in it, right in front of the drivers face ($700). In the pictures, their dealer license plates concealed damage to the front end - a broken license plate bracket and dented and scratched chrome grill surround ($400). A large ding in the R/F passengers door ($100) and torn rear passenger door window shades ($650/pair) were also noted. They had cropped out of their pictures a 4" tear in the leather of the R/F passenger seat ($400).
In the images, some the angles of the shots caused glare on the left rear bumper. Upon delivery it turned out that the glare was concealing damage to the painted plastic bumper ($700). The paint was cracked in a starburst & probably would have not shown up in an image anyway. However, it is clearly visible to the naked eye.
All of these flaws in and of themselves are not catastrophic. However all totaled, the "Clean and Recently Serviced" vehicle with "no known" defects required almost $6,000 of repairs. Had they been honest and listed these minor defects, all would have been okay.
It is the deceit and dishonesty that irritated us. We attempted to contact "Curt" for TWO WEEKS, through EBay's messaging system and via his cell phone. He had gone dark.
Only after we left negative feedback on EBay, did we receive a reply from him. He offered to send us $1500 towards the repairs, but ONLY AFTER we retracted the negative feedback. There was prior feedback about Curt promising refunds and not following through. I wasn't going to become another one of his suckers.
Any vehicle you are even thinking about buying from Carology, you should have inspected by an Independent Third Party. Have your inspector thoroughly photograph the vehicle and test every component for proper operation.
I'm sure that they too will discover that Carology is a master of disguise.
