The buyer of a racy used Maserati sold in Rockland County says the costs quickly accelerated after he left the showroom.
Emil M. Zapata Pimentel claims that Dylan Joseph Motors of West Nyack used deceptive business practices to jack up the price of a 2019 Maserati Levante luxury midsize SUV, in a complaint filed Oct. 20 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
It was only when he received the financing documents from Bank of America, Pimentel alleges, that he discovered extra charges had been hidden from him and “the cost of the vehicle had skyrocketed.”
The dealer, which operates as Alfa Romeo Maserati of Manhattan, did not respond to a message asking for its version of events.
Pimentel says the Maserati was advertised at $54,000, and when he went to the showroom on Aug. 12 he agreed to pay that price with a $5,000 down payment.
A financing agent that he knows only as “Julio” presented him with an electronic signature pad and told him where to sign.
Pimentel claims that he was given no sales documents and offered no opportunity to review the documents. He was handed the keys to the car and drove away.
But when he received the financing agreement from Bank of America, he saw that the price had ballooned by $20,000, or 37%.
The sales price was now $63,0000.01, the complaint states, and a $7,500 service contract and $3,500 maintenance plan had been added to the deal.
Pimentel says he never agreed to buy a service contract or maintenance plan and would not have bought the car if he had been presented with all of the terms and  costs.
He accuses the dealer of violating the federal Truth in Lending Act by allegedly failing to disclose the terms of the loan clearly and conspicuously.
He also charges violations of the state Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, deceptive trade practices, false advertising and fraud, “because the dealer knew that it had inflated the cost of the vehicle.”
He is asking the court to award him up to $11,000 in damages, void the financing agreement and bar the dealer and bank from recovering any charges under the agreement.
Pimentel is represented by Nyack attorney Robert J. Nahoum.
