Car dealership made millions from deceptive contracts and language divide, suit says

Lauren Liebhaber
·2 min read

A used-car dealership is accused of profiting millions from fraudulent and deceptive business practices, Minnesota officials said.

On April 23, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Midwest Car Search, alleging the business profited by illegally charging for service contracts, falsely advertising and selling cars as “certified,” and failing to provide sales information in the primary language of the buyer.

“Affording your life is tough enough without bad actors taking advantage of you,” the attorney general said in an April 23 news release announcing the lawsuit.

The suit said Midwest Car Search illegally claimed “all” of its used cars were “certified,” but sales data confirmed none of the 3,245 cars sold between 2017 and 2022 qualified as such, according to state law.

McClatchy News reached out to Midwest Car Search for comment on April 24 but did not immediately hear back.

Midwest Car Search is also accused of signing up buyers for “vehicle service contracts” without their consent, costing customers over $1,500 on average, the complaint said.

Even buyers who declined the contract were charged for it, the suit alleges.

A review of 200 sales revealed the dealership “did not disclose even one of these vehicle service contracts to consumers in the manner required by Minnesota law,” according to the lawsuit.

The dealership profited $4.5 million from fraudulent vehicle service contracts alone, according to the complaint.

The attorney general said the dealership also operated under an unregistered trade name — “Coches MN” — to target Spanish-speaking customers, conducting sales in Spanish, but only providing contracts in English.

According to Minnesota law, if the sale of a vehicle was conducted in Spanish, a Buyer’s Guide must be provided in Spanish to ensure “consumers are appropriately informed of the terms of a sale,” the suit said.

“MCS routinely failed to provide any Buyer’s Guides, mandated disclosures, or other documents in Spanish,” according to the lawsuit.

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