KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Shamonte Johnson has to pour two gallons of water into her car every time she drives it.
She can’t drive far because as soon as she pours the water in, it rains back out.
It’s bad news for any car owner but particularly for Shamonte who exhausted her savings when she bought the car just two weeks ago.
“I really thought I was getting a good car for the price I was paying,” she said.
She said she paid $3,200 for a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica with about 170,000 miles, which is about double what it’s worth.
Shamonte said the guy who sold it to her, Rick Scott of Rick’s Auto Outlet on East 31st Street in Kansas City, promised her the car would be reliable for her and her three children but that didn’t turn out to be true, said Sister Berta.
Sister Berta is the owner of Operation Break Through, a daycare that helps struggling moms like Shamonte. Sister Berta was the one who told Fox 4 Problem Solver’s about Shamonte’s predicament.
Shamonte, 22, spent her youth in foster care. She said she is determined to give her own children a better life. Last year, Shamonte learned how to read. Now she is studying for her GED and has taken classes to become a certified nursing assistant. Shamonte said without a working car, she won’t be able to find work.
She said she asked Rick’s Auto Outlet to take the car back, but they refused.
FOX 4 paid a visit to Rick’s. The man in charge Rick Scott told us he wouldn’t fix the car until Shamonte paid him the remaining $500 she owed him, which makes the total price of the crippled Chrysler $3700.
“It was as is when she bought the car,” Scott said.
Fox 4 Problem Solvers reminded Scott that under Missouri law even a car sold as is can’t be misrepresented to a customer as a reliable car if it clearly isn’t.
Scott insisted he had no idea it was in such bad shape when he sold the car. He told us that Shamonte could keep the rest of the money she owed him and pay someone else to fix the car. But Shamonte doesn’t have the money to pay for a repair that could easily exceed $500 and most car shops won’t accept a payment plan.
Fortunately Fox 4 Problem Solvers knew of a dealership with a huge heart: Victory Automotive on State Street in Kansas City , Kansas.
Owner Eric Gentry towed Shamonte’s car to his shop at his expense and offered to repair it for free.
“This really tugged at my heart because I heard this woman had some children and needed some help with her car and this felt like the right thing to do to get involved,” said Gentry, who also operates a food pantry on his car lot.
Shamonte said that when she heard the news she was overwhelmed and relieved that she no longer has to worry.