Pittsburgh-area family alleges Ohio car dealership sold them faulty wheelchair transport van
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Butler County family has been pleading for help after spending thousands of dollars to help their daughter, who uses a wheelchair.
The family's problem, their car, is in their driveway, and won't budge. They claim they are stuck with an $11,000 bill and a vehicle that is essentially a paperweight.
Lisa and Scott Geibel needed a wheelchair transport van to help their 33-year-old daughter, Catie, who is in stage 4 renal failure.
Lisa Geibel says for Catie to get a kidney transplant, she needed a special transport van.
"After her transplant, she will now not be able to lift herself because the way the operation is done, they're afraid it would mess up the viable organ they're going to give her," Lisa Geibel said.
With no van, the family started looking for options. A new van can cost up to $90,000. They looked for the cheapest alternative.
That led the family to 1st Quality Auto Mall in Tallmadge, Ohio, and a man named Ranko Veslinovic, who deals in used transport vans.
Lisa Geibel says Veslinovic told the family that for $11,000, he could put them in a 2010 Chrysler van as is.
"The outside appearance looked great, and the inside looked great," Lisa said.
The family says the dealership could put the vehicle on a lift so they could inspect underneath, but were told there was already a vehicle on there, so they couldn't do it.
The Geibels didn't even make it home before the car broke down, and once they went to get it inspected in Pennsylvania, they found other issues.
"There's a hole in the frame that's filled with puddy. There are holes in the floor. There's rust, it's covered with black spray paint and tar and looks to be spray foam insulation," Lisa Geibel.
The Geibels called 1st Quality Auto Mall, asking the dealership to fix the issues. The Geibels say their salesman, Veslinovic, told them all sales are final.
"It's as is, and basically, he's not doing anything," Lisa Geibel said.
The family contacted the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, who said it was an Ohio matter, and to call them. They told the Geibels they'd like to help, but Ohio legislation differs from Pennsylvania.
"Ohio has an as-is law that protects the dealer, not the consumer," Lisa Geibel said.
KDKA-TV reached out to Veslinovic. He told KDKA-TV over the phone that the Geibels signed the paperwork, knew what they were buying, and the business didn't guarantee anything.
He went on to say, "I was just here to sell the vehicle. We're not Walmart. We don't take returns."
Veslinovic says he's just a man trying to run a business. Lisa Geibel disagrees.
"He's pretty much become a predator of people with disabilities at this point," Lisa Geibel said.
For now, the Geibels are out $11,000 and don't have a van Catie needs to get her transplant.
"You put your head down and just keep going," Lisa said.