Wichita used car dealership barred from selling cars, must pay $85,000, official says
The owner of a used car dealership in west Wichita has been ordered to shut down and pay more than $85,000 for violating state law, court records show.
A default judgment signed by a judge last week prevents Kansas Motor Company, a former dealership at 6717 W. Kellogg, from doing business and orders the business to pay $86,996, including $54,000 in restitution to two customers and $30,000 in penalties.
Court records in another adjudicated suit against the company show the business, which operated under Midwest Wholesale LLC, has been closed for months and that the owner, Seth Collins of Wichita, had “moved all his inventory” to a new location, Auto Infinity at 400 S. West.
The Eagle called Auto Infinity on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, an employee said Collins was busy with a customer and that he was an owner of the business. On Thursday, Joshua Williams, who said he is an owner, answered the phone. He said that Collins never worked there, wasn’t there Wednesday and Collins isn’t an owner. He said Collins is just friends with the owners.
The company’s website and the Kansas Secretary of State website do not list Collins as an owner. Collins did not return a call from The Eagle when a message was left for him at the business Wednesday.
Last week’s default judgment involved a November 2021 trade-in an Illinois man made with his 2012 Dodge Ram for a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. But the company did not provide a title for the Jeep within the required 60 days and didn’t pay off the remaining loan on the Ram, according to court filings.
The Illinois man filed a complaint with the DA’s office in January. The DA filed a suit against Kansas Motor Company in August. The Illinois man still hadn’t received a title by then, court documents say.
A Wichita man purchased the Ram in December 2021 and never got a title. The company also never refunded the man, the August filing says.
Collins is currently facing four charges, three felonies and one misdemeanor, in connection with the sale of the Ram, court records show.
In a separate suit in August, a judge ordered Kansas Motor Company to pay more than $27,000 to a Wichita customer who traded in a 2017 Ford Fusion for a 2008 Ford F-250, court records show. Collins was removed from the lawsuit after a motion filed by his attorney. In that case, the company never paid off the remaining loan on the Fusion. The customer also found out the truck has “major mechanical problems,” the suit says.
Collins, the suit says, agreed to return the Fusion and refund the customer for more than $22,000. When the customer got back the car, it had a “very strong odor” of marijuana, had a nail in the tire and burn marks on the back seat. They never got a refund or money to pay for the damage to the car they got back, the suit says.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office referred questions about Collins to the Kansas Department of Revenue, which licenses dealerships and vehicle salespeople. The KDOR did not respond to questions from The Eagle.
Court records show KDOR has tried multiple times to collect sales taxes totaling tens of thousands of dollars from Kansas Motor Company. A lien for over $18,000 and another for more than $30,000 were both made against the business on the same day in May, court records show.
The business was formed in 2020, according to state records.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 12:04 PM.