Woman Buys Chevrolet Tahoe. Then Her Wheel Flies Off. Then The Dealership Ghosts Her—After Agreeing To Take Accountability

A used car buyer has called out a dealership for snubbing a financial arrangement they made after one of the wheels flew off her ride.

Kayln Mitchell (@kaylynmitchell78) says a Missouri-based car seller gave her a used 2015 Chevy Tahoe with a glaring ball joint issue—one that culminated in one of its wheels coming undone as her husband was driving it.

“My Car Guy Auto Group in Springfield, Missouri: My husband and I recently purchased a vehicle from this dealership. We noticed a few small repairs at first; no big deal. We went ahead and took care of those; it was a used vehicle,” she tells her viewers in her post.

However, it didn’t take long for additional problems with the car to manifest, starting with a very scary incident.

“About a month ago, we were driving down the road, and our front tire just fell completely off the vehicle. We had it towed to a repair shop here where we lived,” she relayed.

The service tech’s assessment of the car revealed additional problems, according to Mitchell.

“That then informed us that the passenger tire was about to fall off as well. The mechanic at My Car Guy Auto Group had put the wrong ball joints on our vehicle,” she stated.

Upon this discovery, Mitchell said that she and her husband decided to contact the used car dealer to address the issue. After some back-and-forth, she says that she was able to get the car seller to at least cover the cost of their out-of-pocket insurance costs.

“We had called them, and after playing the blame game for a little bit, they finally accepted a bit of accountability and agreed to pay our insurance deductible,” she told her followers.

The Silent Treatment

After coming to this agreement, Mitchell said she and her husband went ahead and got the car they bought from My Car Auto Group fixed. But when they rang them up to try and get the deductible cash, they were met with crickets.

“The vehicle’s repaired, and now that it’s time to call the shop and pay, the dealership has completely ghosted us,” she relayed.

Unfortunately, the out-of-nowhere expenses have soured her family’s summer fun, Mitchell says.

“Now, my husband and I are left with thousands of dollars of debt on top of the vehicle that we purchased, and we have missed out on our entire summer plans. It’s just been an all-around bad ordeal. If you’re looking for a vehicle in the area, I would not recommend My Car Guy Auto Group … zero stars for these guys,” she says at the end of her clip.

Motor1 has reached out to My Car Guy Auto Group via email for further comment.

My Car Guy Auto Group Reviews

According to the company’s Google profile, the used dealer has a 4.4 out of 5-star rating with 194 reviews. One person who gave the dealer a 2-star review wrote that the used vehicle they purchased overheated soon after buying it. The business replied to her assessment stating that they were “sad to see … this negative review after [they] … replaced a thermostat and a coolant temperature sensor for free” on the car.

Another person who left a 1-star review said that they bought a whip that “had nothing but problems," including a bad transmission. Again, My Car Guy Auto Group responded to the customer, stating that they had “a service guarantee with” the dealer. However, My Car Guy Auto Group claims they’ve never once visited the shop to give its mechanics a chance to determine what’s wrong with the vehicle.

Some of the more recent reviews on Google reference Mitchell’s issues with the car, including a write-up from Mitchell herself.

“This raunchy dealership sold my family a 2015 Tahoe LTZ that their mechanic put the wrong ball joints on,” she penned. In her write-up, she mentions that she declined offers from the auto group to have the car towed to their business to repair the ride as she wasn’t confident in their service work.

Mitchell went on to write in her Google review that she initially sought $6,500 for the full repair quote. This way her insurance company wouldn’t pursue the small business with a lawsuit. However, after My Car Guy Auto Group promised to do the same work for 50% of the cost, she instead asked for $2,838, which is the cost of the deductible. That’s because, as Mitchell explained several times throughout her review, she and her family trusted the work of another mechanic instead.

Can Used Car Dealerships Be Held Liable For Any Damage After A Sale?

While many new vehicles come with warranties that cover manufacturer’s defects and issues that arise while a car’s on the road, the same may not be true for used vehicles. In fact, “as-is” auto sale agreements often indicate that once a car is sold to a buyer, then the customer is responsible for any repairs it may need.

Again, the nature of the as-is sale contract must be scrutinized. If there’s verbiage in there that states the buyer’s signature indicates they’re taking the responsibility of any unforeseen defects, then the customer is out of luck. However, if this isn’t stipulated in the sale documentation, and the buyer can prove there were undisclosed defects with the vehicle prior to the sale, then they may have a case against whoever they purchased the car from, Up Counsel writes.

And when it comes to the sale of used cars, again, if a dealership sells a vehicle with a limited warranty, car buyers need to evaluate the agreement they signed to see what is and isn’t deemed a liability on the seller’s behalf. Moreover, in instances of car sales without warranties, Newsome Law writes that buyers can still go after dealerships for problems with their cars. The legal group said that proving negligence can go a long way in a dispute. I.e., if Mitchell can prove that My Car Guy Auto Group indeed put the wrong ball joints on the vehicle and was responsible for damage, she may have a case for legal remediation.

Motor1 has also reached out to Mitchell via TikTok direct message for further comment. We will update this story if she responds.