Lawsuit: Bristol dealer sold, re-sold car with defective engine

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has filed a lawsuit against a Rhode Island car dealership for alleged deceptive sales and advertising practices.

King Phillip Motors of Bristol and its managers Neil and Tammy DeAlmeida are accused of selling a vehicle with a defective engine, buying back the vehicle and reselling it to another customer without making any repairs.

According to the first customer, he purchased a GMC Acadia from the dealer, which broke down in traffic the following day while his 16-year-old child was driving.

Neil DeAlmeida allegedly blamed the customer for the vehicle’s failure and became verbally abusive.

After a DMV investigation and third-party diagnosis of a failing engine, the defendants agreed to buy back the vehicle.

The defendants are further accused of re-selling the same vehicle to another customer without making any needed repairs.

The DMV later ordered the defendants to buy back the vehicle.

Also in the lawsuit, the defendant allegedly sold a separate vehicle to another customer which immediately showed a check engine light.

The customer attempted to have King Phillip Motors fix the issue nine times, but the repairs were refused.

According to the customer, Mr. DeAlmeida became physically threatening to him and told him that neither an attorney or the DMV “could do a thing about it.”

The Office of the Attorney General is seeking a court order to bar the defendants from further unfair and deceptive practices, as well as civil penalties for each violation.