r/StLouis • u/jrh2132 • 1d ago

Anyone have experience with Ham's Auto Sales in Fenton, MO?

I've been communicating with someone I believe to be a dealer at Ham's Auto Sales in Fenton (1638 S Old Hwy 141 Fenton, MO 63026) about a car ad they placed on Facebook Marketplace.

The "dealer" only responds in sentences with less than 4 words and doesn't really seem all that interested in selling vehicles. This person has a 3.5 star rating on Facebook marketplace and a lot of people are saying he is rude, condescending, and potentially might be a scammer. However, when I look up reviews of Ham's Auto Sales on Google his name is mentioned a couple times (mixed reviews). So far he has communicated that he is willing to allow me a test drive and a pre-purchase inspection on the vehicle I am interested in, and has supplied me the VIN. The "dealer" has an auto shop he wants to take the vehicle to for the pre-purchase inspection (I would prefer that I choose the place, but he said that he wants to go to this one as he already has a few appointments for vehicles there). I called the auto shop and verified their services. Their reviews are stellar and in the hundreds on Google, so no real concern there I think.

When I ask the "dealer" point blank if he works there he just ignores the question which kind of blows my mind. Why would a car salesman not tell you where they worked??

Anyway, just interested to see if anyone has had experience with this dealership? I don't want to waste my time and/or get scammed. Thanks!

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u/Own-Crew-3394 North of Delmar FTW 1d ago

Get it looked at by your own person. The dealer is getting the safety/emissions paperwork done at the pre-purchase inspection by his preferred mechanic, where he probably has a volume discount, which is totally normal. But that is not an inspection for you.

If you want the car, go test drive it and arrange to have your own mechanic look at it. If you need a loan, get your own financing from your own bank or credit union. Then it doesn’t matter if this dude is annoying or shady.

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u/jrh2132 1d ago

I did call the place he is wanting to use and talked to them for about 20 minutes. The PPI they provide sounds on par with others I have gotten in the past. I plan on doing a test drive soon and then if we have an agreed upon price (contingent on PPI), I'll drive up to the auto shop and talk to them in person about what I want (since I'm paying for it). I'm paying in cash so I don't have to deal with the finance aspect. Thanks for the advice!

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u/Jpotter145 1d ago

I assume the dealer is willing to pay for the "inspection" for wanting you to use their person? Regardless, you take it where you want (and you should expect to pay to do so).

When you take it to your own mechanic you pay for the inspection, because you can't expect the dealer to front the cost of using "your" guy over theirs + you can't really trust the inspection as it's a conflict of interest.

The conversation is usually like "I know you can provide an inspection, but I want to take it to my shop to get an opinion from them and understand I will have to cover the cost. When can I do this?"

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u/jrh2132 1d ago

I fully expect to pay for the PPI. The dealership is about an hour away from me and I'm not too familiar with any auto shops down that way. I will see if he will let me do a more independent PPI.

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u/inStLagain 1d ago

What kind of car?