Automotive News - February 11, 2008 - (Page 52) 52 • FEBRUARY 11, 2008 ‘MR. BIG VOLUME’ CRAIG HARTLEY J.R. Todd thought he bought a new Chevrolet Tahoe in 2003. But when he went to trade it in, he was told that the vehicle was leased — and was way over its allotted mileage. His story is on Page 56. Heard is Chevy’s sales king — but many customers aren’t cheering Files of regulators, Better Business Bureaus bulge with tales of woe April Wortham awortham@crain.com Bill Heard calls himself “Mr. Big Volume,” and the title seems appropriate. He’s the top-selling Chevrolet dealer worldwide and owner of the fourth-largest privately held U.S. dealership group. In 2006, that meant retail sales for Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. of 46,683 new vehicles, or 3,112 per dealership. But Heard’s critics — and there are many — say the Mr. Big Volume moniker more aptly reflects the volume of complaints against his 15 dealerships. “They say they’re the world’s largest Chevy dealer, but they are also the most complaint-ridden dealership in our files,” says Dan Parsons, president of the Better Business Bu- reau of Greater Houston & South Texas. It’s a pattern repeated across the seven states in which Heard does business. In the past three years, Heard’s dealerships have generated 573 complaints with local BBBs. Most deal with advertising and sales practices, and the number reflects only those complaints that a BBB decided had sufficient merit to pursue. Some of the allegations: In 2003, J.R. Todd bought — he thought — a Chevy Tahoe from Bill Heard Chevrolet in Sugar Land, Texas. When he tried to trade it in three years later, he was told he was actually leasing the SUV. He sued, saying none of the documents he signed identified the deal as a lease (see story, Page 56). The Georgia Office of Consumer dealer, but they are also the most complaint-ridden dealership in our files. DAN PARSONS “ They say they’re the world’s largest Chevy Better Business Bureau, Houston ” eral Motors threatened to yank Heard’s franchise at one Georgia store after a flier labeled “urgent potential recall notification” was mailed to 10,000 Georgia consumers. The flier urged them to schedule a safety inspection. In fact, there was no recall; it was a come-on to get people in the door. Not unusual Neither Bill Heard nor his representatives agreed to be interviewed. Heard’s lawyer, Dent Morton, said in an e-mail to Automotive News that the number of complaints against Heard’s dealerships aren’t out of line, given the group’s volume: sales of 70,000 new and used vehicles annually and service to 225,000. see HEARD, Page 54 Affairs has accused Heard of intentionally misleading consumers and is seeking a jaw-dropping $50 million in penalties. In 2000, a Heard dealership outside Nashville mailed Spanish-language notices to 15,000 residents with Hispanic surnames, saying they had won airline tickets to destinations such as Hawaii and Florida. The disclosure that they had to pay for a hotel room to get the airline ticket was in English. At the Nashville Better Business Bureau, complaints were so numerous at one point that a staff member was assigned full time to pursue complaints against Heard’s local store. And consumers weren’t the only ones who were miffed.In 2006, Gen-
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