Church pays more than $12K for SUV at Atlanta dealership -- and they’ve never gotten it

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read

A local church said a car dealership took thousands of dollars from them but never gave them the van they were promised.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln was on Metropolitan Parkway Friday, where church officials said they haven’t heard from the dealer since paying for the van.

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Barbara Davis said her church, Through Faith We Can Inc., went to Auto Select Automotive to buy a Cadillac Escalade two years ago. The small church needed a multi-passenger vehicle to get to and from events.

They paid the business $12,750 via cashier’s check. They got a receipt showing they paid, but the owner of the business told Davis she couldn’t drive off the lot and that she had to wait three days before the check cleared.

When she got back to the dealership, the gates were locked.

They said they’ve been trying to get the owner of the business in court, but every time the marshals try to serve him, the gates are locked.

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“We didn’t buy it from somebody off the streets, we went to the dealership,” Davis said. “We’re angry. Very angry, because he’s doing this to a church.”

Davis filed a claim with the Fulton County Magistrate Court, which issued a warrant, but Marshals have never been able to get onto the property. They’ve tried at least four times in the last two months.

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Lincoln also tried to get into the property, but it was locked. The phone number was not working.

“It’s not like we’re paying a monthly note, we paid him in cash, and greed hit him,” Davis said. “It’s just a very big headache.”