CAR DEPOT — Local services in Pasadena

The Better Business Bureau closed my case as UNANSWERED because Car Depot refused to respond to multiple BBB requests. This shows exactly how they treat customers after taking your money.

I bought a car from Car Depot in July 2025, and it has been nothing but a nightmare. On the drive home from the dealership, I discovered the horn didn’t even work — a basic safety requirement under California law. Less of 2 months later, the vehicle broke down completely and became inoperable.

Since the breakdown, my car was impounded, I’ve been left zero transportation for over a month, I’ve been dealing with nothing but stress, financial loss, and frustration. What’s even more shocking is that I have sent multiple letters, emails, and messages directly to Car Depot — and I have not received a single response from the owner.

This was my first time buying a vehicle through a dealership, and it will likely be my last. A dealership that sells unsafe cars, refuses to fix them, and ignores its customers after the sale does not deserve anyone’s trust.

UPDATE TO OWNERS COMBATIVE REMARK

Let’s start with the facts — almost everything you said is misleading or false.

The horn issue: The horn did not work the day I drove off the lot. I had to use it and it didn’t work. I called Harmon right away, told me not to worry, he’d have it fixed, as well as the door panel. A mechanic of yours named Tony can vouch that Harmon knew about this.

The extra $800 You mentioned I “failed— the horn and the door panel were never repaired.

The breakdown and tow: Let’s get this part straight too. When my car broke down, I called Harmon again. He said take it to his mechanic — the same line you quoted, “We told you to tow it to one of the facilities we work with.” I had already paid for a tow from where it broke down to my home on Sunday. By Monday, since he refused to help pay for the tow, I tried to drive it myself. It started briefly, then broke down again inside my mobile home park. I had to push it to an open parking space that wasn’t mine while waiting for the tow truck to take it to his mechanic. I stepped away for about ten minutes to use the restroom, and when I came back, the car had been impounded by the park manager — NOT because it was abandoned, but because I wasn’t parked in my assigned spot. And for the record, this wasn’t a “repossession” — it was a private impound situation. Afterward, I called the company and they told me the amount I had to pay to get it released. I had just made my car payment and couldn’t afford the impound fees. I called Harmon — he refused to help. The finance company said they could pay to get it out but would have to keep it until I paid them back. At that point, I told them to pick it up and keep it because the car was a lemon from day one. I released all liability and was done being taken advantage of.

Accountability & integrity: You started off with broken promises and continued with lies. It baffles me to see such a complete lack of honesty, integrity, and accountability from Harmon — and from you, the owner, who I’ve never even met. I DON’T claiming to “know” the horn was working, when you weren’t even there. Not once did I hear that horn during the entire time I was at your lot.

All you’ve really done here is show everyone that you’re skilled at deflecting blame instead of taking responsibility. I won’t be silenced or misled — and I’ll continue sharing the truth so others don’t go...

There’s been a few issues with my transaction with Car Depot.

1. Warranty was not honored. I had a couple of problems within the first day. The flap in the back of the trunk was missing which was noted before leaving the parking lot. Was told I’d get a replacement, never happened. The next issue was that the driver’s side door was broken on the inside. So when you went to lean on the inside door handle to get in, it would collapse so there was nothing to balance yourself unless you did it on the top of the door which is not good for the door. An attempt was made by them to fix it with a whole lot of hot glue but it still broke. The second issue with a warranty was that the main window control on the driver’s side door was not working properly. It would open and close all windows except the rear passenger side. It would open the window but not close it. I had to go to the back door itself to close the window. They told me (the manager, who’s name I believe is Caesar, said that he would send someone to me with the window control and have it fixed by me so I didn’t have to travel again to them. Never happened. Took me 7 weeks before I finally got the master window control after finally pestering them and it wasn’t even the right one. Sigh… so now I have this master control just sitting on my table that I can’t even use and my door and control are still broken.

2. The oil in my car was not changed. It still had the sticker in the car that the last time it was changed was in October of 2021. I bought the car in March. I noticed that there was a leak and so took it in and found out that the mail seal to where the filter was, was stripped so I had to replace it. No, the guy didn’t lie to me. I was standing in the bay talking to him while he was changing it and brought it straight over to me and showed me, explaining that was where the leak was coming from.

3. It’s been 7 weeks and I still don’t have my stickers and DMV registration. I bought one of my cars the week of the pandemic lockdown and got that within a month. That was during LOCKDOWN…. Yet 7 weeks later and still nada. I’m not even sure at this point if the taxes had been paid on it and my stuff submitted to the DMV, which I’m about to drive there and find out.

They asked if I would leave them a good review. I never leave review we until I see if they follow through first, which they have not. These were all things they were made aware of in writing either by text or email. I still have ALL written communication with them that I saved.

Things that I will say that were good. 1) they gave me a descent deal even though I’m left to fix all items on my own now. 2) The car itself is great! I did find damage on it that I didn’t notice before but it doesn’t affect what I want it for. 3) They were nice enough but would be even nicer with follow through.

I am pretty disappointed with these things I had issues with. The whole reason I went to them was all these great reviews. I drove over an hour just to see them. :-/

Would I have done it again? Probably not. Would I recommend?...

CAUTION, CAUTION, CAUTION! This “dealership” is a scam! They sold us a lemon vehicle and will not help us fix it. The 2009 Toyota Corolla was sold to us by Martin, who claimed it was a reliable car. As soon as driving off the lot the tire pressure light came on. 3 days later the car started shaking and overheating. We called the dealer and they told us they would have the mechanic contact us. 3 days later and no one contacted us. We call again and Martin tells us to bring it in. We tell him it’s not drivable and ask if they can provide a tow truck. They say no and don’t offer to pay for us even though the car is under “warranty”. Once we pay for the tow truck and tell them we can have it there on the weekend they say they don’t have room in the lot, so to either park it outside (at our own risk) or take it Monday. After telling them we just want to return the car and get our money back, the sales manager starts being rude and yelling at us for no reason. He starts threatening us by saying, “This will be considered a repo and you won’t get your down payment back.” Martin calls us back and tells us to bring in the car and he will have it fixed. We made the mistake of trusting them. We took the car in, they told us the next day it was ready. According to them the car was overheating due to the radiator cap being damaged. That’s all they replaced. The car continues to over heat and now starts Idling high. We decide to have a mechanic look at it. The mechanic checks the spark plugs and shows us 3 out of the 4 have oil, meaning the head gasket might be bad. We then decide taking it to Toyota and Toyota confirms that the head gasket is blown, the radiator has a crack and that it will cost over $3k to fix it. We notify the financial place. They notify the dealer. The dealer calls us to take in the car to have it fixed. I tell them I need a loner vehicle and they assure me they will provide one. Once I get there, they say they can’t lend me a car and that I have to pay for the repairs out of pocket. THEY SOLD ME A CAR WITH ALL THESE ISSUES AND EXPECT ME TO PAY, WHAT A JOKE! If their mechanic “couldn’t” figure out that this was wrong with the car why would I trust Them again? Scam they will act nice and helpful just to take your money. The car sold to my...