Tiffany Searight works two jobs, just put her oldest son through college, and wanted to do something special for her youngest when he graduated high school. What she got instead was a months-long nightmare involving a Long Island dealership, a lender chasing her for payments on a car she never drove, and a credit score taking hits for something that was not her fault. The story has all the ingredients of a cautionary tale, and it ended only after a news crew showed up at the dealership in person.
The car in question was found online through Regal Autohaus, a dealership on Long Island. Searight made the more than six-hour drive from her home near Rochester, put down a $3,300 deposit, signed a financing agreement with third-party lender Westlake Financial, and left without the vehicle. The dealership told her the car needed an oil change and would be ready soon. That was on December 26.
It was not ready soon. What followed was a string of shifting explanations, a second long drive that turned up no car on the lot, police involvement, a third trip with her father, and ultimately a call to CBS News New York when nothing else worked. The whole ordeal stretched across several months and multiple states, all for a gift that should have taken one afternoon to sort out.
By the time it was resolved, Searight had made three round trips totaling well over 2,000 miles, absorbed the stress of watching her credit score drop, and dealt with collection-style pressure from a lender over a loan tied to a car she had never received. The resolution only came after a reporter physically walked into the dealership with her. That is a lot of effort for a graduation present.
What Happened at the Dealership
The initial excuse of an oil change quickly expanded into a list of mechanical issues. Searight documented the explanations in a January email to the dealership, noting that the reasons kept shifting, from a weak pulley to a malfunctioning sensor. When she made the second trip to Long Island on January 12 to pick the car up herself, it was not even there. She called the police, who documented the salesman saying she had been told about maintenance needs and that she would be contacted when the vehicle was ready.
By March, with no refund and no resolution, Searight and her father drove down again. This time, she also had CBS News New York’s investigative reporter Mahsa Saeidi with her. When Saeidi approached the salesman directly and asked about the situation, his response was to tell them they could not be on the lot and that the customer was “taken care of.” She was not, at that point, taken care of.
After Searight and her father went inside, however, things moved quickly. The dealership provided a FedEx shipping label for a check covering the full $3,300 deposit, gave her $400 to offset her travel costs, and drafted a document canceling the purchase agreement on the spot. The involvement of a television news camera has a remarkable way of accelerating paperwork.
The Lender’s Role Made Things Worse
One of the more frustrating layers of this situation was what happened on the financing side. Searight reached out to Westlake Financial asking to have the loan canceled, which is a completely reasonable request when the car the loan was meant to pay for does not exist in your possession. Westlake told her a fraud review had been filed but that the loan would remain open until the dealership returned the applicable finance charge.
In other words, the lender’s hands were tied to the dealership’s action, and since the dealership was not acting, Searight was left in limbo. When she refused to make payments on a car she did not have, her credit score suffered. That is a direct financial consequence for a consumer who did everything right.
This kind of situation highlights a real gap in how auto financing works. The loan is issued, money changes hands between the lender and dealership, and the consumer is left holding responsibility for debt tied to a product they never received. Consumers in this position often have little immediate recourse until the dealership formally unwinds the deal.
What We Can Learn From This Situation
There are some practical takeaways here that go beyond this one case. First, never leave a dealership without the product you paid for if you can avoid it. If a deposit is required before the car is ready, get a written agreement spelling out exactly what happens to that deposit and what the timeline looks like if delivery does not happen.
Second, document everything. Searight did this well, keeping email records of every excuse and every communication. That paper trail was critical to her case.
Third, loop in your lender early and in writing if something goes wrong. Westlake Financial’s process required the dealership to act before the loan could be canceled, but having a documented fraud review on file meant the situation was at least being tracked.
Finally, and this one matters, consumer protection resources exist. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed an open investigation into Regal Autohaus. State DMV offices, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general offices all handle complaints about dealership misconduct. Filing those complaints costs nothing and creates a record that can affect the dealership’s license.
How It All Ended
The check cleared. Searight confirmed to CBS News New York that the $3,300 came through, the loan was removed from both her credit report and her son’s, and her son eventually got a car through other means. She described feeling like a weight had lifted.
The story ended well, but it required a months-long fight, thousands of miles of driving, and the involvement of a local news investigative unit to get there. Most consumers in similar situations do not have a reporter to call. That is why knowing your rights and documenting everything from day one matters as much as it does. Regal Autohaus did not respond further after the settlement, and Westlake Financial declined to comment publicly. The state investigation remains ongoing.