C3 Auto — Local services in Plano

My Mother-in-law (Jeanne Gindle) purchased a 2013 Subaru Forester from C3 Auto Plano back in August 2019. Her son Jeremy ended up paying cash for the car because my Mother-in-law's credit wasn't "best of the best" for a good finance rate. In lieu of paying her son back from the purchase price a little over $9,000.00. The interior and exterior was in pretty good shape for the vehicle being over 130,000 miles and drove decent as well as she stated.

After my Mother-in-law had the vehicle a little over 2 months, the Forester developed a knocking sound. They told me this when she and my wife got home (they carpooled together daily being close to each other's work). I checked the oil and barely a drip on the end of the dipstick was shown. So I drove my car to the auto parts store and purchased a 5 quart jug of synthetic oil, got home and it took about 3 1/2 quarts to get it back to full again.

As the months went by, the oil was disappearing faster and faster leaving more and more pools of oil where my Mother-in-law would park at her work that she told me. Pretty soon, I had to check her oil every Saturday adding 2 to 3 quarts that day to get it back to the fill line.

I asked her to get a bottle of Lucas Oil Stop Leak to help slow down the leak. It did help some only having to add 1 to 2 quarts per week but still added a bottle of Lucas per month due to the oil loss. If it was leaking out the oil, it was definitely losing the Lucas oil treatment as well.

Fast forward to June 4, 2020 (10 months later), my Mother-in-law told me her Forester blew a large plume of white smoke when starting the car at her work and cleared up not long after. Also, she smelled exhaust inside her car heading home. She picked up my daughter from daycare that evening too. I could smell the exhaust/gas smell when opening the right rear passenger door where my daughter was in her car seat.

The next day I had my Mother-in-law take my car to work while I looked at hers. There was alot of oil covering the driver side engine compartment fender well, hood and radiator. Checked the oil on the dipstick and it showed nothing. I was shocked!

I took a further look at the radiator reservoir (this is where the reservoir was just covered in oil). I opened the cap and it was BLACK! I stuck my finger in there, smelled of it and it was completely filled with oil! I continued to remove the radiator cap and it was oil sitting on top.

So yes, the oil was flowing into the radiator as well (no telling how long this had been going on) and was pretty upset and mad. Most likely the cause? Bad head gasket and or cracked head.

So in the 10 months my Mother-in-law bought the car for over $9 grand at C3 Auto, will have to sink another $4,000 to $5,000 for a rebuild motor to be installed. Plus the additional cost of a new radiator, and hopefully the tech will be available to flush out the heater core and not needing to replace it as well.

It's a shame that C3 Auto would take advantage of a 63 year old woman. My best guess during it's detail at the sales lot washed/sprayed the undercarriage as well, because the top of the motor was clean as a whistle when looking under the hood two months later from the motor knocking while checking the oil on the dipstick which barely showed. This would also explain why there wasn't any sign of oil pools at first until she drove it around a couple of months...

Though I've seen a lot of good reviews from C3 Auto and I'm sure other customers have had good luck with their vehicles. But my Mother-in-law definitely got a lemon from this dealership.

Word of advice to the customer wherever you purchase a used car anywhere, please, please check all the fluids and take a look under the engine if it looks cleaner than normal. Also, have your personal mechanic give it a Once-Over knowing you will have a dependable vehicle.

I'm not sure if C3 Auto in Plano will reach out to my Mother-in-law's vehicle ordeal to do what's right as a Christian Based Company. It's definitely a Sin what they...

We first found C3 auto about 1.5 to 2 years ago. It was a blessing that we found this dealership, let me just start with that. First off they are the most honest and straight forward dealership with their prices(used or new) that I or my wife have ever had the pleasure to deal with. A lot of dealerships will post prices online to reel you in and then have execuse after execuse as to why that price was nowhere near what they are offering you in person, NOT C3! Next and by far my favorite part of C3 is Daniele, truly one of the most humble and genuine humans I have met in a LONG time. When we first came in to C3, we needed a bigger car/suv to fit our 2 girls and all their sports equipment into a comfortably. That mission was a success and we bought a 2011 Buick Enclave with Daniele’s help and guidance. Daniele is definitely a family man and his authentic energy and kindness shines when he talks to you or your kids. He asked them their names the first time we all met and anytime they come in with me or mom he always gives them a high-five and asks them by name how they are doing and about their sports teams. Daniel also will do whatever he can within his ability to get you inside the car that you are looking to purchase. Another above and beyond experience we have had is our vehicle had a “ticking” noise a few months after we purchased our first car through C3, a 2011 Buick enclave, yep we got the bigger car that we needed. Well I called Daniele and asked if he could possibly take a look at it and without hesitation he told me “bring it up today or tomorrow” w/e is best for my schedule. Sure enough we did and within one work day we had our car back home and the ticking noise was repaired and he even referred us to a mechanic down the street from C3, who was just as great as Daniel and the whole C3 team. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago and I wreck my vehicle and she was almost to the end of her “car life” so instead of putting 2000+ into a car with 185K miles I knew what to do, call Daniele and see what we could do for me. I’m an uber driver and no car means no income, so right away I told him I needed the best deal on a car AND I needed to drive off the lot with it the same day as my accident. Well Daniel put on his Superman cape and saved the day. I drove off the lot that day in a 2011 Kia forte w/ only 85k miles on it, I couldn’t believe he did it AGAIN! Now fast forward a couple days and my car is running great but the same “ticking” sound in my forte as it was in the enclave was there, and it caused the AC to act up a bit, sure enough I called Daniel and told him what was happening and of course he says “bring her up Saturday” I dropped the car off on a Saturday and had it back by Monday morning and the ticking and AC were fixed and blowing even colder air than before. He also said due to a little bit of distance from my house to the shop, he would take care of my 1st oil change to help with the gas usage. Just another way Daniel goes above and beyond for his customers. All in all I will shop C3 for my next truck purchase, kids, cars, wife’s car(whenever that may be) and refer all my friends to this business. If you get the chance to do business with C3...

Here's is an update. After reading my review the owner called me personally for he was very concerned about my negative review. I also need to say that I did not call C3 Auto before I wrote my previous review. Since our conversation, I was offered without asking a partial reimbursement for the cost of the repair and the blown tire of which I accepted and was very thankful. He also offered his shop for the bumper repair and assistance for pretty much anything. I live near Austin so some planning on my part needs to be done. My remarks questioning Aggie Honor Code was totally out of place and should not have been written. I apologize for my remarks. The owner does have honesty and integrity, characteristics that Aggies exemplify. He lives The Aggie Code.... and I would return to C3 Auto to purchase another car or truck. C3 Auto is a very reputable dealer.

Buyer beware, I recommend that you have an outside mechanic check/inspect the car that you be interested in. The cars are detailed and minor dings are dressed up as to not show. The sales reps are pleasant and I guess somewhat smooth. Here is my lousy experience with my 2001 Lexus IS 300 with 86,000 miles that I bought form C3. A rather large horrible oil leak was hidden from me. The detailing and cleaning of the motor covered up the (1)Valve Cover leak, which should have been easily visible when one raises the hood. The other massive oil leak, which one could not easily see came from behind the (2)timing cover, the Cam O Ring Seal. The Cam Seal was a big leak and was leaving 6-7" puddles on my driveway. Anyway, that leak was huge and I am sure C3 Auto knew about the leaks. Again, the car was so detailed and cleaned that the oil leaks could not be seen and no oil spots were on the ground. Nor, was I informed about any of the leaks. Next, the right rear bumper cover looked fine at the sales office but 3 days later the bumper cover "popped out". I discovered three broken clips and I am still working on this one. Tires, the owner said that the tires were new and the they appeared new with all the tire dressing on them. So, I had a blow out yesterday right rear tire with my 3 year old in the backseat, 75 miles an hour on IH35 near Waco. So, much for new tires. I wonder where the tires came from? The owner is an Aggie, so much for the Aggie Honor Code which calls for honesty and integrity, characteristics that Aggies have supposed to exemplify. He also should take the signed jersey of Manziel off the wall for obvious reasons. Extra $$$ so far---Tire $150.00, Timing Belt Service $1495.00 There are some satisfied customers but I am not one of them. Just check and inspect your used car very...