Used Car Consigner Cheated Hundreds of Clients Out of Half a Million Bucks
A San Francisco Bay area luxury car consignment service owner will be released from prison in March. He’s serving a six-month term for lying to clients about how much their used cars sold for and pocketing the difference. Despite the crime, Walter Dawydiak has assisted prosecutors with his case. His years of fibbing grossed him an extra $541,864.
Dawydiak started his business, Cars Sawydiak, after running a small taxi stand. Mercury News reports that his showroom grew to employ 20 people. His line of business was selling luxury cars for folks who couldn’t or didn’t want to sell themselves. His pitches promised clientele that his team would fetch a higher selling point than they could on their own.
After years of secretive skimming, his practices were discovered. Since then, he’s worked to reveal many details of the fault, although an exact number of victims was impossible to nail down due to lack of recordkeeping. Estimates are between 100 and 500 clients receiving less than the sale price of their car.
According to Wheels for Wishes, car consigners charge either a flat fee or a percentage of the sale. If you’re looking to use a consignment service, you should clarify the agreement terms and be sure to calculate fees and takeaway amounts.
Research consigner reputation before entering into anything formal. Ensure that contracted clientele is happy and that purchasing customer service marks are high. This will better ensure that the sale of your car is as quick and painless as possible.
You should also remain the vehicle owner until any car loan is paid off and the title is transferred to the buyer.
Most luxury car consignment services go above and beyond to provide outstanding experiences to vehicle owners and buyers. Without good service, these businesses don’t last.
