DENVER — Contact7 is once again investigating complaints against a used car dealership in Denver, Family Trucks and Vans (FTV), located on South Broadway. This inquiry follows a previous Contact7 investigation and centers on accusations that FTV knowingly sold vehicles with undisclosed mechanical problems to the public. The dealership refutes these claims.
Family Trucks and Vans is facing allegations of selling used vehicles with mechanical issues that were either not revealed to buyers prior to purchase or were not properly addressed after the sale, despite customer requests for repairs.
Amanda Frausto-Ruiz, a customer of Family Trucks and Vans, reported experiencing problems shortly after purchasing a 2015 Dodge Journey. “My check engine light came on, and I believe that was two weeks later,” she stated. Her intention was to use the vehicle to transport her four children to school, but the issues escalated rapidly.
“It started leaking. All this oil is from this one,” Frausto-Ruiz explained, indicating significant oil leaks in her driveway. She recounted taking the car back to the dealership’s shop repeatedly over several weeks. Eventually, her husband discovered metal shavings in the vehicle’s oil. According to Frausto-Ruiz, “Dodge actually told us that the car, if it’s having that many problems, the motor might not make it because it’s already knocking.”
Frausto-Ruiz acknowledged purchasing the car “as is.” When asked by Contact7 about her assessment of the vehicle she bought, she responded, “A lemon.”
Mounting Customer Complaints Against Family Trucks and Vans
Following Contact7’s investigation into The Sharpest Rides, numerous viewers contacted the news station to share their own negative experiences with vehicles purchased from Family Trucks and Vans.
One customer reported that the vehicle she bought was sold with “full of recalls,” including airbag and seat belt malfunctions. Another customer claimed that a truck they purchased was repossessed before they even made their first payment and then the dealership attempted to resell the same vehicle back to her.
Family Trucks and Vans has also been the subject of multiple “misrepresentation” investigations by the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Auto Industry Division, with at least three investigations in the past two years.
Documents from one investigation, obtained by Contact7 through a Colorado Open Records Act request, detail a complaint alleging the dealership “failed to disclose to her that the Dodge truck he purchased from them was imported from Canada and thus all of the factory warranties were deemed null and void.”
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) website also indicates a “pattern of complaint” against Family Trucks and Vans, noting that the dealership “failed to repair damages that were identified prior to the sale.”
Family Trucks and Vans Defends Dealership Practices
Naiche Sedillos, General Manager of Family Trucks and Vans, addressed the complaints in an interview with Contact7. “We wouldn’t be in business that long at the same location if we didn’t do things right,” Sedillos asserted.
Sedillos characterized the complaints as minimal in comparison to the dealership’s long operating history. “The volume of cars we’ve sold in 43 years, I’d say it’s just a few [complaints]. It’s minor,” he stated.
RAW: Interview with Family Trucks and Vans General Manager Naiche Sedillos
When questioned about the dealership’s accountability for vehicles that develop problems shortly after purchase, considering FTV sells all cars “as is,” Sedillos responded, “No, we shouldn’t be accountable,” highlighting that warranties are available to customers at the time of sale as an option to mitigate such risks.
Connection to The Sharpest Rides Dealership
The issues raised against Family Trucks and Vans and Sedillos’ responses echo a prior Contact7 investigation into The Sharpest Rides dealership.
“It’s a pre-owned vehicle. It’s got moving parts and oil, and things happen,” Robert Lipp, General Manager of Sharpest Rides, stated in a similar defense during the November investigation.
Kevin Sharp owns The Sharpest Rides. Jon Sharp, his father, is the owner of Family Trucks and Vans. According to Sedillos, “There’s not any other connection really than that,” between the two dealerships.
However, both Family Trucks and Vans and The Sharpest Rides utilize the same vehicle repair facility, The Sharpest Automotive.
When Contact7’s Gruenauer inquired, “You share a repair shop?” Sedillos admitted, “We do, in a sense.”
Concerns Regarding Shared Repair Shop
The Sharpest Automotive is the same repair shop where Ruben Castillo, a former employee, previously worked. Castillo spoke to Contact7 in November during the initial Sharpest Rides investigation.
When asked if he was instructed to return vehicles with mechanical problems back to the sales lot for resale, Castillo confirmed, “Correct,” claiming this occurred repeatedly during his 2.5 years of employment.
Contact7 questioned Sedillo if this practice meant potentially flawed vehicles could have been returned to Family Trucks and Vans for sale. “Possibly,” he conceded.
Sedillo insisted that Family Trucks and Vans has not engaged in any wrongdoing, emphasizing their charitable donations and efforts to assist customers with poor credit. He denied allegations that the dealership ever clears check engine lights to conceal vehicle defects or sells vehicles with known issues without proper disclosure.
Despite these assurances, Amanda Frausto-Ruiz remains stuck with a problematic vehicle. “I’m going to be paying for a car that’s not working,” she lamented, highlighting the ongoing predicament faced by customers who purchased vehicles from Family Trucks and Vans in Denver.
Previous Contact7 Investigations on The Sharpest Rides:
