Get Gephardt: Charges filed against SLC dealership owner after dozens of buyers complain of undelivered titles

SALT LAKE CITY — When Kortnee Smith spotted a 2020 Toyota Camry on the dealership lot, she knew right away that it was the right car for her.

“Good on gas mileage,” she said. “Toyotas are very reliable.

So in June, Smith and her husband paid cash for her 2020 Camry at Eurosports Automotive. But three months later, she still couldn’t get the title.

“No paperwork, no documentation, no plates,” she said.

Her Toyota’s temporary tags had expired by that point, and all she said she got from the dealer were excuses.

“Just hold on,” she said the dealer told her. “Your plates aren’t done yet. Continue to call before you come in because we don’t know if they’ll be here. We don’t want you to have a drive.”

Smith did go to the Department of Motor Vehicles about not getting her title.

“They told me that only the dealership could handle my situation, and I have to get everything from them,” she said. “And the DMV also told us that it wasn’t even put in the system.”

In August, when the calls and emails from Eurosports Automotive stopped altogether, she drove 35 miles to the lot to find out what was up. Turns out, the lot was locked up and closed down.

“And everything was gone,” Smith said. “There were no cars. There were no people. Nothing in the building,” Smith said.

Worried she’d never get her Toyota’s title, she called the KSL Investigators. We took her case to Utah’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division or MVED.

“That was the tip of the iceberg,” Jason Gardner said of the case.

Gardner is the director of policy, planning and public affairs with the Utah State Tax Commission, which oversees MVED. He said over two dozen people filed complaints, saying they bought a car at Eurosports Automotive and couldn’t get it registered with the DMV.

“About $700,000 worth of money in value of vehicles,” he said.

So, what happened?

Gardner said Eurosports Automotive purchased their inventory with lines of credit they had with two separate companies. It’s called floor planning. They’re supposed to pay back those flooring companies when they sell a car, who in turn releases its title so the new owner can get plates. But MVED investigators said Eurosports didn’t always pay up.

“Then the dealership did not use that money to pay off the flooring company, and thus, the flooring company did not release title to the owner,” he said.

Now, prosecutors have filed 10 felony charges against Eurosports Automotive’s owner, Robert Hammers.

“It’s unlikely this dealership will ever open again,” Gardner said.

We contacted Hammers to ask about Smith’s Camry, as well as the charges he now faces. In his response, he declined to comment about the criminal counts. But he did tell us he personally delivered license plates to Smith and her husband shortly after we contacted him.

As for Smith, she said she did receive those plates. And six months after she bought her Toyota, she finally got its title.

“We paid a lot of money for the vehicle, and it was in full.”

As for other Eurosports Automotive buyers, Gardner said the two flooring companies are working to release those titles even though they haven’t been paid.

He said this sort of situation is rare, but buyers should check online reviews of a dealer before buying. Complaints of long waits or not getting titles or plates are red flags.

And if you’re experiencing that with a car you just bought, file a report with the Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division.