I posted my Audi for sale on this blog and on the local Craigslist. A few days later I received a call on my answering machine from someone named Allen saying he had a buyer for my car. My car is a bit unique so that piqued my interest. It also sounded too good to be true, so I decided to do some research before I called them.
Allen had a bit of a mushmouth (and no last name) and I couldn’t understand what company he represented, but I looked up the phone number and found out it’s Longwood Industries. His message also says it’s a 501(c)(3) company. When I went to their website, the only thing I found about cars was a sales site, similar to AutoTrader.com. It looks like the majority of their business is selling marketing items like tote bags. I also found no Allen (or Alan) listed in their directory.
The interesting thing about Allen’s message is both my and my husband’s impression was that he already had a buyer for my car. But on listening to the message carefully, it says he matches buyers and sellers and thinks he has some people that are going to be interested in my car. That’s not the same thing. It’s also a recorded message, which I didn’t realize the first time I listened to it (very obvious on replay because of a long silence at the beginning).
I ran a search for the terms “anyone used longwood industries to sell car” and hit upon a BMW message boardtalking about it. The gist of the BMW discussion is that it’s basically a service just like Auto Trader, only more expensive and misleading in it’s advertising. They don’t have buyers lined up for your car, they just have a website promoting the cars listed for sale. They supposedly offer an all- or most-of-your-money back guarantee if the car doesn’t sell, but people reported issues receiving the refund. Some people did report successful sales through them, though.
According to the Roanoke BBB site, they do have a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, but they haven’t been evaluated in relation to BBB standards for charitable accountability because they don’t publicly solicit funds (I guess my answering machine isn’t public). It also means they can call you even if you’re on the no-call list, since charities aren’t bound by it.
The Roanoke BBB has processed 104 complaints in the last three years on Longwood Industries. The majority of the complaints deal with refund or exchange issues. I’m curious if that refers to the promotional products they make, or if it’s the refund they offer for the car ad. I’m leaning towards the car ad.
Now, to put the number of complaints in perspective: Houston Chevy dealer Bill Heard (who bills itself as the #1 Chevy dealer in the world) has had 94 complaints in three years. John Eagle Acura (of Houston) whom I personally had a bad experience with but didn’t file a complaint about, has 5 complaints in the past three years. Baker Jackson Nissan (of North Houston) has four complaints in three years. And most importantly, Autotrader.com has had 15 complaints in three years.
As bad as all that sounds for Longwood, it’s not a scam because they do have a legitimate website for selling cars and apparently you can get your money back as promised, even if it’s not easy. That means it’s just a typical sales pitch, and a craftily worded one at that. I personally don’t care for them harvesting phone numbers from Craigslist (I doubt they got my number from my blog) – that alone is a good reason not to call them.
Longwood Industries mission statement is to assist disabled local residents develop work skills. That’s a great cause – it’s just a shame they choose to further it with misleading telemarketing calls and a terrible BBB record.
I’ll be sticking with Craigslist.
Brad is now Matt and they’ve lowered the price to $149.00. I was very very suspicious and checked them out online. Thanks for all of your comments. BTW – anyone looking for a 99 Chevy S10?
I can’t thank you guys enough for this info. I have 2 cars on Craigslist and I was contacted by Longwood ind. to sell my car. I had just been considering AutoTrader when I got a call from them. I’m glad I did some research before I got scammed into using them. Thanks again.
I unfortunately did not research this company as the rest of you and I wish I had. I actually did use their services and paid the $200.00. I did not receive 1 call or email or interested buyer on my car. After the expiration of the 9 months I did everything right for my refund and it took several phone calls and emails and after 7 additional months I received a refund for $169.00. They keep $30.00 for an administration fee. I would really like to know what they administered besides processing my $30.00 dollars into some asshole’s pocket. Don’t use this site.
My husband and I listed our Toyota Camry with Longwood Industries as well as AutoTrader.com. We sold the car to someone who found it through AutoTrader. We initially submitted the refund request to Longwood Industries “too soon” to receive the refund. They sent the paperwork back with a note to that effect. So we waited until allotted time had passed and resubmitted. That was in January. Not refund has been received as of April. I did finally remember to call to ask about it, and was told, “I don’t know why this refund hasn’t been processed yet, but I will process it today.” Sounds like they were counting on us forgetting about it!
I would advise against using their service. As many other comments have mentioned, AutoTrader.com is a more reliable and more effective way of selling your car.