J & C Auto Sales 376 Broadway, Newark, NJ 07104

"Great Deals"

"I went into J & C Autos curious about a few classic cars they seem to have added to their inventory. First off it appears that no one on the tiny staff speaks English (which is fine with me since I'm fluent in Spanish, but might be an issue for others). I asked to enter the lot to get a better look at the cars, in question a '66 Mustang and a '87 Camaro IROC-Z. After a delightful 15 minutes of me gawking at the beauties I was approached by a salesman who tried to sell me what was clearly a sub-$1000 lemon (I suppose he didn't think I was as keen as I am in regards to inspecting cars, but even so, a layman could tell it was a junker). I told him I wasn't interested and that I wanted to know more about the other cars. He went and spoke to his "manager" and told me the cars were already sold for $20,000 and $10,000 respectively (either a lie or they caught a pair of Grade-A rubes). He continued to schmooze me and try to sell what was clearly the worst car on the lot to who he assumed was a low-income student. The cars which caught my eye had year and engine spec info on the windshields, but never a price or FTC Buyer's Guide as the other cars do (just an important note: not a single car on the lot has warranty and all are sold as is, so be prepared for a gamble), and I've been watching them daily since those two came in. Further, while both in fair condition as far as collector cars go, they still outclassed every other vehicle on the lot in terms of condition. This leads me to believe a few possibilities: 1. They keep their best and shiniest stock street-side to bring in walk-ins, then steer them to the junkers. 2. They had a customer order the stock and they purchased it from another dealer and had it delivered (unlikely since the cars have been sitting for over a month and still have the year and engine spec info, but the price and Buyer's Guide removed) 3. The lot is part collection, part business, and the sale of lemons or sub-par cars supplements the owner(s)' passion. I'll be sitting on the lot and seeing if those vehicles ever go on sale, and if they do, I'm prepared to retract this review and rewrite it from scratch. Another note: The website is barren of any inventory at all as of the time this was written. Not a single car is shown, and a website devoid of content raises more red flags then no website at all. My recommendation to anyone considering buying from this lot is to know from the get-go what vehicle(s) you are interested in, go over standard inspection procedure, have a beginning and upper limit in terms of price in mind, and don't hesitate to take a test drive onto the highway. Lastly, don't be afraid to articulate your desire and leave if you feel they aren't meeting you half way or treating you the way you think you should be. Don't let them strong-arm you into a vehicle you are not interested in. For the casual or inexperienced car-buyer I suggest you go to a more professional and/or polished lot, they'll definitely have a better stock and you'll have SOME form of safety net."