by Stephen Rivers
- Florida dealer sold a Jeep SRT then allegedly took it back.
- Buyer tracked SUV and saw a stranger driving it around town.
- The vehicle was reportedly returned to its original owner.
Buying a car is supposed to be an exciting time, a good reason for a victory lap, and that’s all the more true when the vehicle in question has an SRT badge on it. That’s what 21-year-old Christian Mobley thought he was in for when he bought a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT for $30,000, a celebratory milestone, with horsepower to match.
Instead, a few weeks later, the tables turned, the high-performance SUV ended up back with its previous owner, and Mobley lost not only his dream car but also the $30,000 he paid for it.
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According to multiple local reports, Mobley purchased the Grand Cherokee SRT from Miami Auto Mall, located in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood, after finding it listed online. The naturally aspirated people mover features a 475-horsepower (354 kW) V8, an eight-speed gearbox, and four-wheel drive.
The appeal is obvious, particularly for a young enthusiast like Mobley. Unfortunately, the thrill didn’t last long.
What Happened to the SRT?
Some two weeks after the purchase, the dealer allegedly asked him to bring the vehicle back in for a “rebuild inspection”. Evidently, the dealer, who Mobley video recorded, instructed him to remove all of his personal belongings from the vehicle prior to bringing it in for the inspection.
Suspicious of that demand, Mobley placed a tracker in the vehicle and quickly discovered that it wasn’t an inspection shop, soon after handing it over.
“It’s at random stores. So I follow it, and I see a random individual driving the car that I don’t know,” he told Local10. Authorities report that Miami Auto Mall actually returned the SUV to its previous owner after it couldn’t come up with the cash to pay the seller.
Now, Mobley says he’s out the cash and his dream car. “So currently I’m out $30,000 in a loan and I’m out of the vehicle that I purchased,” Mobley said. “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 planned to have it back.”
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An officer explaining the situation to Mobley said in a video “they used the vehicle to swindle you out of your money.” Miami Auto Mall declined to comment on the situation and actually called police on journalists who were on site asking for information.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issues dealer licenses. It says that Miami Auto Mall is now under investigation and has nine complaints against it already. Officers have also forwarded information about the case to detectives in their economic crimes unit.
