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
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.
,
They frequently sell cars on on-line and on EBay, under the user name CAROLOGY. Phillip "Curt" Bettiker and Nicholas G. Loukas are the partners. Their Illinois Car Dealer License number is: DL 2144 DRS 1000058292.
Curt is also listed on-line as the owner of Gurnee Garage & Towing, 777 Belle Plaine, Gurnee, IL 60031 847-623-0010.
If you are thinking about buying from them on-line, be sure to have the vehicle inspected and photographed by an independent third party before bidding. The vehicle that we bought on EBay, looked gorgeous in the 70+ pictures that were posted in their EBay ad. It was advertised as being "CLEAN and RECENTLY SERVICED." It turned out that the angles of the photos and image cropping appeared to be manipulated so the flaws were not shown.
There was a delay in shipping the vehicle, so Curt offered to have the vehicle "detailed," since "it was filthy from sitting outside."
When the vehicle arrived, the interior was filthy. There were crumbs, food debris, gum, candy sucker sticks and white animal hair throughout the car. There was even some splatters of blood cast off on the headliner. Of course none of the pictures in their ad were taken up close enough to reveal the messes under the seats and in the nooks and crannies.
Upon delivery we discovered the following items that were not mentioned – though Curt signed a sales agreement stating that all know deficiencies and flaws were disclosed:
Parking brake release handle did not release parking brake.
1/4-3/8" crack in windshield – directly in front of drivers face.
R/F Passenger seat had a large seam that was coming apart – conveniently cropped from EBay images.
Both rear passenger privacy window shades were torn.
Center rear seat belt latch was broken (safety item).
Rough shifts on transmission between 2-3 and 3-4 gears.
Large door ding and paint transfer on R/F passengers door.
Front license plate mount broken.
They kept the mounting screws for the front & rear license plates, so new plates could not be mounted. We had to determine the metric thread pitch and locate screws short enough to not bottom out. 2 threaded holes were so rusty they had to be tapped (re-threaded).
Both engine air filters were FILTHY black.
The cabin air filter was dirty.
Engine oil was only 6 months old, but looked old & rancid.
There was body damage and white paint transfer on the left rear quarter panel.
The local VW dealer charged us over $6,500 to repair the above items. Curt's response was "what do you expect for a 7 year old car?" I own cars that are 20 years old that still look brand new…. All we asked was that the issues be brought to our attention BEFORE the sale.
Curt Bettiker was very responsive during the sale and document transfer (UNTIL HE GOT PAID). However after delivery of the vehicle, when we discovered all of the mechanical and wear issues he became hard to get ahold of. I left 2 voice mails and waited ONE WEEK for a reply, before posting negative feedback on EBay. ONLY THEN did we get a response from him. Of course, none of his messages are sent through EBay's messaging system (no audit trail). He offered to refund $1,500 if we'd retract our negative feedback. Of course, after we accepted that offer, he went dark again.
When he finally responded, he said that he'd only send 1/2 of the money & the other half after the Negative Feedback was withdrawn.
It was the LACK OF AN HONEST REPRESENTATION OF THE VEHICLE'S CONDITION and the CONCEALMENT OF THE FLAWS that irritated us the most. These were items that would be VERY obvious to anyone. They were IN YOUR FACE items. How could you miss a 3-4 inch split in a seam in a leather seat? In fact, our teenage sons (14 & 18) each did an independent inspection and found all of the same items (except for the transmission & parking brake). Curt is the owner of a garage – how can he be so blind & stupid? The only answer is a lack of personal integrity.
POOR SERVICE AFTER THE SALE and TARDY REPLIES TO MESSAGES is to be expected if your experience problems. Says he called or emailed, but there is NO RECORD (yet other emails and calls get through, hmmm ).
Overall, HONESTY and CUSTOMER SERVICE is not their strong suit. I strongly suggest that you have any prospective purchase inspected by a third party BEFORE bidding.