Alert! Do Not Buy Used Cars From Tricolor...Barron's: A Used-Car Dealer Raised Millions From ESG Investors. The Customer Complaints Continued

[PeregrineTrader]

So much fraud being uncovered in the car sector at this moment, especially in the used car markets:

https://archive.ph/jJMKP

About one in five cars sold by Tricolor in Texas over the past five years is a vehicle that it had sold at least once before, Barron’s found. One car sold seven times over that period, according to the analysis.

Tricolor has also been the target of more fines and violation notices from motor vehicle and financial regulators in Texas and California—where most of its 50 sales lots are located—than big, national used-car companies that sell far more vehicles, according to state complaint records.

Lapses include selling cars for which the company doesn’t hold title, delayed title transfers, and improper use of temporary license plates, according to citations from state regulators. As Barron’s has previously reported, similar missteps by
Carvana (CVNA) have resulted in past and ongoing suspensions of the company’s license to sell cars in states including Illinois and Michigan. Carvana has responded with lawsuits accusing state officials of overstepping their authority over what it characterizes as paperwork mistakes.

[PeregrineTrader]

From the OP link again:

Tricolor’s prices averaged 46% over KBB’s fair-value estimates. KBB looked at factors including comparable sales around that date involving cars of the same make and model with similar ages and odometer readings to generate its estimates.

In one case, a Tricolor dealership in Houston sold a 2015 Buick Encore SUV with almost 100,000 miles for $25,499. KBB estimated its fair price at just over $11,700.

One invoice reviewed by Barron’s shows Tricolor paying auction company Manheim $14,520 for a 2015 Dodge Durango in January 2018. It was resold by Tricolor two months later, then repossessed, then sold again in October for $23,499, records show.