When you buy a car, you expect everything to be fine after you drive away: You sign a sales agreement, the dealer takes the money, and you get a car. The worst-case scenario you might encounter afterwards often lead to damage, accidents or having to bring the car home because you are not approved. But as an associate of Georgia ABC WSB-TV Reportedly, one man received an even bigger surprise after making a purchase.
Demetrius Howard bought an Audi A6 from Evolution Cars in Conyers, Georgia in late 2022. Seven months later, police came to his home to question him about the aforementioned Audi A6. In the body camera footage reviewed by WSBit shows police questioning Howard about the car.
“The car you are driving is there. Where did you get that car?” co-pilot asked Howard on the video.
“I bought it at Evolution Cars,” Howard said.
“Did you have all your papers?” The minister asked.
“Yes, sir,” Howard said.
“I’ve been paying my payments since I got the car,” Howard said.
“It has nothing to do with you, you won’t get in trouble, I promise you,” the officer told Howard on the side-camera video.
Turns out the car was reported stolen in Ohio. Howard said he was initially concerned that police would assume he was involved in the incident. And it looks like the police may have put a lot of thought into it. In the video, Howard’s mother supports him like the police asked him about the second car papers.
“So you already own ownership of this car?” The minister asked.
“Yes,” Howard’s mother said. “I showed the officer the title. I showed him the purchase date.”
According to the article, the police informed Howard that they would have to take the car. From there, the situation with the Audi turned out to be more complicated than expected. Authorities said the vehicle was reported stolen in March 2022, Two months ago Howard bought it. And for some reason, he was able to register it even though it didn’t show up in the Georgia Department of Driver Services system.
Worse yet, Evolution Cars won’t do anything about it. Dealers say Howard it’s “not their problem.” When the WSB asked about it, the response from the dealer manager, Luis Diaz, was rather dry:
“We made an agreement. We did due diligence with the state of Georgia, what they asked of us to verify the car wasn’t stolen. We have to go through our own processes and procedures according to state guidelines.
Howard contacted Wells Fargo Auto Finance – the bank he funded the Audi through – the only organization that bothered to help this guy. They told Howard they would refund him and help him fix his credit. As for Howard, he took Evolution Cars to court, where a judge ordered the dealer paid him $4,500.
