Car purchase in Ocoee leading to lawsuits

A kind gesture from one Winter Garden family to a struggling college student has erupted into two potential lawsuits.

Winter Garden resident and Boys 2 Men Mentoring volunteer Jeremy Waller and his wife, Angela, assisted Gaboreius Baldwin in buying a car to get him to and from his college campus in Tallahassee. They purchased a 2015 Nissan Sentra from A1 Motors in Ocoee.

But as soon as Baldwin drove off the lot, problems began to surface. And on his way back to school, it broke down on Interstate 75.

The transmission had failed.

The Wallers reached out to A1 Motors owner Ahmid Rahman, but because the vehicle was purchased as-is and without a warranty, he would not allow them to return it for a refund.

Jeremy Waller met Baldwin through Boys 2 Men — a nonprofit organization that helps boys ages 10 to 18 on their journey to manhood. Baldwin, now 19, is no longer in the program, but the Wallers consider him to be family.

That’s why, when he asked for the Wallers’ assistance, they were happy to help.

“I was walking,” he said. “I was able to make the walk to work because it was so close to my house, but the walk to school was 2.5 miles, so you know, making that walk everyday is good for exercise, but it gets exhausting at some point.” 

After searching for cars, Jeremy Waller found A1 Motors and decided to look at a 2015 Nissan Sentra listed for $5,550. The car had about 80,000 miles on it and looked clean. 

Baldwin took the bus from Tallahassee to take a look at the car with the Wallers Wednesday, Sept. 10. 

“It didn’t look like it had been ragged out or anything,” Jeremy Waller said. “So, they let us drive it around, but it’s just this circle, so you only drive about 15 to 20 mph.”

After no apparent issues, they decided to purchase the car. 

“But the thing is, not even five hours after purchasing the car, it was having problems,” Baldwin said. “A light came on (the dashboard), so I immediately called (Jeremy Waller) and he told me to send a picture of the odometer and the light, to show the dealership like, ‘Hey, the car we haven’t driven that much — within five hours of us purchasing it — has the Check Engine light on.” 

The same night, Baldwin took the car to an AutoZone store. An employee ran a diagnostic and showed the issue to be the mass air flow intake sensor. 

Jeremy Waller contacted Rahman about the issue.

“He’s immediately like, ‘Nope, when you leave the lot, it’s on you, things happen, I can’t control what happens to the car,’” Jeremy Waller said.

Rahman said the trio knew when purchasing the car that it had no warranty, and he did not accept returns. 

“If the car broke down on you, it’s your fault,” he said. “The car had no Check Engine lights on when they purchased the car.” 

Rahman pointed the Wallers to a YouTube video on how to fix the faulty sensor, and Waller did the following day. 

Once that code was clear, Baldwin said he thought it was safe to take the trip back to Tallahassee to attend school the next day. 

“I took the trip back, and the car ended up breaking down on me halfway through, when I got to Gainesville,” Baldwin said. “It dropped from 70 mph all the way down to 15 mph.” 

Baldwin then called a tow truck, which was not available to come to him. 

He was stranded. 

Baldwin was stuck on the highway until his brother came.

Rahman said that doesn’t make sense. 

“Why would you drive it to Tallahassee?” he questioned. 

Baldwin had a Nissan dealership look at the car Sept. 15. The diagnosis: Transmission is shot; $7,000 repair.

“I immediately hit the dealer up and said, ‘Hey, look, I just took it to Nissan and Nissan themselves said the transmission is shot, and it has to be completely replaced at $7,000, so here’s the quote,’” Jeremy Waller said. “I just want to return the car.’” 

Rahman said things will happen to used cars and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the transmission. 

“It’s a 10-year-old car; anything is possible,” he said. 

Now, Baldwin continues with good faith by continuing to work and study. 

“Hopefully, I do have a car one day soon,” he said. “I’m just shocked that they would sell me a car like that. It was a real dangerous situation. Why would they put someone in that situation?” 

Both parties are seeking legal action. 

HOW TO HELP

The Wallers have set up a GoFundMe to assist Gaboreius Baldwin. For more information, visit bit.ly/46xAbOZ.