MIAMI — He found and bought the car of his dreams, only to have the dealership lure him back and take it away. Today, 21-year-old Christian Mobley says he is out $30,000 and an investigation into what happened is now underway.
“It’s the car I’ve always wanted and I just gave it a shot and this was what happened,” Mobley said.
Mobley spotted a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT online, a car he had long wanted. “Yes, this is a very hard car to find,” he added.
The Grand Cherokee was sitting on the lot at Miami Auto Mall, located at 201 SW 37th Ave. in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood. Mobley bought the vehicle and drove off the lot. But two weeks later, the dealership allegedly lured him back under false pretenses.
“So they asked you to bring the car back, saying they needed to do a rebuild inspection,” Local 10 investigator Jeff Weinsier asked.
“Yes,” Mobley confirmed.
Video recorded by Mobley shows the dealership owner instructing him, “It’s gonna be at the inspection place and I don’t want no problems.”
Mobley was asked to remove all of his possessions from the SUV. The owner added, “I know my people aren’t gonna steal but it might be the other people, you know what I mean? Humans are worse than dogs, humans are f---ed up.”
However, there was never going to be an inspection. Suspicious, Mobley placed a tracker in his Jeep. “It’s not at the rebuild inspection place. It’s at random stores,” Mobley said. “So I follow it and I see a random individual driving the car that I don’t know.”
The real story, according to authorities, is that Miami Auto Mall allegedly returned Mobley’s Grand Cherokee to the original owner because the dealership never paid for it. When the SUV was tracked to a home in Miramar, Mobley called police.
In a TikTok video showing the interaction, a Miramar police officer told Mobley, “They never gave him (the original owner) the money and they have given him the runaround so he was like just give me my car back.”
“So currently I’m out $30,000 in a loan and I’m out of the vehicle that I purchased,” Mobley said.
Mobley added, “Yes. They knew this the whole time. And they’re just lying to my face saying, ‘Oh, we’ll have it back in three to four days.’ They never plan to have it back.”
Weinsier confronted a dealership employee in the office. “Jeff Weinsier with Local 10 News,” he said.
“Yeah, we have no comment,” the employee replied.
“Mr. Mobley? What do you mean, ‘No comment’? You have thirty thousand of his dollars?” Weinsier asked.
“Get off of the property please,” the employee said.
“Nothing to explain?” Weinsier asked
Not only was Weinsier told to leave without explanation, but the dealership also called the police on him.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which licenses dealerships in the state, confirmed the situation is under investigation. Records show nine complaints filed against Miami Auto Mall in the past three years, eight of which involved violations.
The dealership’s front door advertises, “5-star Google rating,” “Customer satisfaction is our priority,” and “Family owned and operated.”
Mobley has a warning for other buyers. “My recommendation is don’t go to small dealerships like this. Go to big-name dealerships. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m young, I just wanted a car and I learned my lesson from there.”
Officials with the Miami Police Department say the situation has been forwarded to detectives in its Economic Crimes Unit for further investigation.
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