Customers of used car dealership Bidlane say they never got paid, cars missing

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- If you sold your used car to the company Bidlane, you might have chosen the official Kelley Blue Book Buy Center, with locations throughout Southern California, because they tell customers "we pay more."

But dozens of customers tell Eyewitness News they haven't been paid at all.

"I got my car on Jan. 17 and someone from another car dealership had recommended that I come here, saying they would offer a few hundred dollars more than what CarMax would offer," said Maria, who didn't want to share her last name. She doesn't know the whereabouts of her car.

"My daughter-in-law has an Audi A3, and we have no idea where it is located or what is going on with it right now even though she sold it to Bidlane," said Dean Sao, whose daughter-in-law never got paid.

Bidlane's locations, including Woodland Hills, Burbank and Pasadena, are now ghost towns.

Eyewitness News tried to contact the Bidlane locations in Los Angeles, but had no luck. When you visit Bidlane Pasadena on Google, it says temporarily closed. When you try and call the business, all it does is ring.

"He said to wait a day to deposit the check. So, I waited the day. Then, it went through and I ended up getting a notice from the bank that there was not sufficient funds," Maria said. "I called Bidlane to see what's going on. No answer. I came here to the space in Pasadena. Nobody is here. It's all locked up."

Eyewitness News met a man, who is a member of the private Facebook group Bidlane Fraud Case, shared a check he received from Bidlane that bounced. He's owed $82,000.

Eyewitness News reached out to multiple Bidlane locations and their corporate offices, but did not hear back. A message on their website says "As of January 29, 2024, Bidlane LLC has halted all purchasing of used vehicles. We are winding down our used vehicle dealership business. Customers with pending transactions: Please email support@bidlane.com."

"I believe this company is going belly up and filing Chapter 11, but you know what, as recently as this week they were still taking offers on cars, so this sounds like some kind of scam they're running at this point," Sao said. "For these individuals to take advantage of these hard-working, caring individuals is just wrong and the district attorney should investigate this."