Charleston Auto Liquidators
2025-12-01T21:40:46.450Z
I called this dealership about a 2015 Audi SQ5 they had listed. I’m an out-of-state buyer, fully pre-approved by my credit union, and I’ve been searching for this exact spec for a long time. I was ready to purchase this car this week, pending some vetting prior to purchase. I spoke with Tom, who was polite and straightforward. No issues there.My rating is 3 stars because buyers — especially out-of-state buyers — should be aware of a few things.I asked for a very standard pre-purchase inspection at a local shop literally down the street (less than a minute away, visible from their lot). I tried to make it easy on the dealership as to avoid them giving any excuse of "it's too far away, we can't drive that far, etc.". However, I was told by the salesperson "We don't need you to make it easy for us, our cars sell all the time as-is". The dealership refused to drive the car over, citing a “strict policy” that no vehicle can leave the property for these things. They said I could do a mobile inspection on-site, but every single qualified shop in the area requires the vehicle at their facility to inspect it properly. This was a huge red flag.When I called that shop myself, they warned me that customers who bought cars from this dealer had brought vehicles in within days needing major repairs and to not do business with them. Not something you want to hear when you’re about to spend thousands of dollars on a used car sight-unseen.What surprised me even more was that after pushing for an inspection, the salesperson casually mentioned the car had a check engine light — something that wasn’t disclosed earlier. He then told me it probably “wasn’t the right car for me” and that it would “sell regardless of its issues.” To me, that came across as the dealership being much more comfortable selling to people who don’t look too closely or ask too many questions.This is a dealership that mostly sells trucks with high mileage and issues (minor or not), so I can't really trust their word since they aren't going to be as familiar with this brand or platform. Last thing I'd want is to purchase a vehicle sight unseen and ship the vehicle 1,200 miles just to have it unloaded with more issues than were disclosed.For the record, I never once complained about the price. I made it clear that if the vehicle passed inspection, I was ready to buy it and arrange shipping immediately. I just needed basic due diligence — something any reputable dealer should be willing to help with, especially when the inspection shop is literally across the street.Staff was friendly, and communication was fast, but the unwillingness to accommodate even the simplest inspection request, paired with what I heard from the local mechanic and the last-minute CEL disclosure, made me back out.Having worked at a similar dealership in the past, I know how these places operate and even the shady ones are usually willing to accommodate a basic inspection. Clearly they didn't want the business enough and/or know that the car has more issues than I'd be happy with and didn't want it documented, or whatever it may be.If you’re local and can test-drive and inspect a car yourself, you might have a fine experience. But if you’re out of state or want to verify the condition of a vehicle before buying, this probably isn’t the right place.
I called this dealership about a 2015 Audi SQ5 they had listed. I’m an out-of-state buyer, fully pre-approved by my credit union, and I’ve been search... More