Plaintiffs claim hidden fees in car purchases

BROWNSVILLE — A group of car buyers is suing a local auto dealer, alleging it charged them an unknown fee without providing any benefit in return.

The lawsuit against Cardenas Motors Inc., 1500 N. Expressway 77/83, accuses the company of “misleading or deceptive acts or practices” and seeks to recoup the fee and secure other damages for the plaintiffs.

The Zavaletta Law Firm filed the suit Wednesday on behalf of eight individuals who bought nine used vehicles from the dealer. They claim Cardenas Motors charged them a fee for which they received no goods or services in exchange.

Andy Hagan, general manager at the dealership, declined to comment on the allegations, saying he hadn’t been served with an official copy of the lawsuit.

The fee at issue is listed on the buyer’s orders for the vehicles as “VIN REG” and ranges from $392.18 to $798.18, said Peter Zavaletta, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

VIN usually refers to a vehicle identification number, a unique 17-digit number assigned to each vehicle built after 1981.

Zavaletta said VIN REG is listed next to the line for other taxes, under the state motor vehicle sales tax and over the license or registration fee.

According to the lawsuit, “Plaintiff did not request that charge, wasn’t told what it was for and received no benefit for having paid or agreeing to pay said charge. …

“From its placement in the buyer’s order, Plaintiff was led to believe by representations made by the owners … or employees of defendant that the VIN REG charge was mandatory, non optional fee or tax.”

The Brownsville Herald on Thursday provided Hagan, the general manager of the dealership, with a copy of the lawsuit; however, he declined to comment Friday, saying he wanted to be officially served with the suit before making any statement on the allegations.

The lawsuit claims Cardenas Motors violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices - Consumer Protection Act through the “passing of goods or services as those of another … causing confusion or misunderstanding about the source of goods or services.”

According to court documents, the plaintiffs are asking the court to award them “out-of-pocket damages … lost profits, settlement expenses, costs of mitigation and lost time.”

The suit also seeks additional damages of up to “three times the amount of economic and mental anguish damages suffered by each Plaintiff.”

Cardenas Motors has faced some significant challenges recently.

The company received word from Chrysler two months ago that it was one of 789 of the automaker’s dealerships that would no longer be selling Chrysler vehicles. A representative of the dealership said at the time that the lot would continue to sell Buick and GMC autos.

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Ildefonso Ortiz is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.