A Consumer Awareness Archive · Bay St. Louis, MS

Shifty's Used Cars Watch

SHIFTY'S
USED CAR WATCH
Buyer Beware
SHIFTY'S
USED CAR WATCH

Home of broken promises & zero accountability.

A consumer warning about Thrifty's Used Cars & Tires LLC of 5061 Whitney St., Bay St. Louis, Mississippi — where every complaint is met with an excuse from Mr. Henry, and never a fix. We don't paraphrase. We let customers — and the dealer's own replies — speak for themselves.

Receipts

By the Numbers

All figures pulled directly from the dealership's BBB profile and from the owner's own published responses to customer complaints.

9

BBB complaints in last 3 yrs

6

BBB complaints closed last 12 mo

≈ 360 / yr

Self-reported repossessions / yr

≈ 40% of cars sold

Self-reported repo rate

"I will say to you we repossess 40% of the cars we sell for nonpayment of contract. We sell over 900 cars a year. We repossess over 360 cars a year."

— Owner's reply to BBB Complaint, March 23, 2026
The Excuse Machine

Meet Mr. Henryan excuse for every complaint.

Read the BBB record and a pattern jumps off the page: every complaint gets a reply, and every reply blames the customer, the weather, the mechanic, the tow lot, the bank — anyone but the dealership. Promises to “make it right” rarely turn into refunds, repairs, or returned belongings.

Mr. Henry, owner of Thrifty's Used Cars & Tires LLC
Mr. Henry · Owner

“They were behind on payments.”

What customers actually report

Customers produce receipts and texts showing they were current — or only days late — when the car was towed.

“The car was sold AS-IS.”

What customers actually report

Used as a blanket shield even when buyers report failures within 24 hours and undisclosed prior damage.

“We offered to fix it.”

What customers actually report

Buyers describe weeks without a vehicle, then being told to resume payments on a car they never got back.

“That’s not our policy.”

What customers actually report

Personal belongings — including kids' car seats, birth certificates, and Social Security cards — held until fees are paid.

“We repossess 40% of cars we sell.”

What customers actually report

Owner's own words. That's roughly 360 families per year losing the vehicle they're paying for.

“The customer is mistaken.”

What customers actually report

The same complaints — coolant leaks, bad wiring, surprise tows, withheld property — repeat across years and unrelated buyers.

Patterns summarized from the BBB customer reviews and complaint responses cited in the sections below. Read the originals and judge for yourself.

Verbatim · Cited

Negative Customer Reviews

Every 1-star BBB customer review on file. Quotes are verbatim; BBB's own redactions appear as bracketed words and replaced tokens. Click each citation to verify on bbb.org.

On the Record

Formal BBB Complaints

Filed and answered through the Better Business Bureau. Excerpted verbatim from the published initial complaint text.

1★ Review

Anonymous Complainant

Mar 17, 2026 · BBB Complaint · Delivery Issues · Answered

I purchased and financed a 2008 Volkswagen New Beetle through in-house financing from Thrifty Used Cars & Tires, LLC in Bay St. Louis, MS. My vehicle was towed without my authorization from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and transported to the dealer's lot in Mississippi. At the time of towing, my personal belongings were left inside the vehicle... I have made repeated requests for the return of my property... The owner and staff have ignored my communications, refused to provide documentation or explanation, and have not returned my property... My missing property includes an orange book sack with important documents, clothing, and black boots — including my children's birth certificates, my Social Security card and number, as well as my children's Social Security numbers.
1★ Review

Anonymous Complainant

Jul 31, 2025 · BBB Complaint · Service or Repair Issues · Answered

I bought a car from Thrifty Used Cars and drove it for about two and a half months. One day... when I got back in the car, the lights [didn't] work... When I opened the hood, I saw the wires to the lights were just loosely taped and hazardous. That could've started a fire... wires under my feet, which later came apart while I was driving and caused the car to completely shut off. A car almost hit me... they tried to say I got a car repossessed which isn't true... On top of that they repoed the non working car without my permission... I wasn't even one payment behind and today they called me asking for a payment to a car they took.
1★ Review

Anonymous Complainant

Jun 21, 2024 · BBB Complaint · Product Issues · Answered

I paid the business a total of 3800 or so after taxes and title for a 2009 Audi A4! After 5 days it gave me trouble with the engine and started throwing me many codes... No one was willing to service the vehicle for me at all because of the type of car it is. Well all along (Thrifty) knew what the problem was that was wrong with the car and still failed to inform me of this after many attempts of asking them to try to service it or let me get another vehicle! Well they tricked me into getting the car towed to the business and never heard from them for 2 days... they got agitated and rudely told me to leave or they would call the police for trespassing.
Read Wider

Negative reviews on other platforms

We only republish reviews verbatim when we can cite a stable public URL. The platforms below host additional first-hand customer feedback we could not legally mirror here — please read them at the source and judge for yourself.

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Paste the verbatim text and a link to the original review using the report form below — we’ll review it and, if it checks out against the public source, add it to this page with full citation.

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Your Turn

File a complaint or correct the record.

Bought a car from Thrifty's and got burned? Tell your story below and we'll help you push it straight to the BBB, Google, and Mississippi state regulators in one click. See something on this page that's wrong or out of date? Use the same form to flag it — we read every report.

We do not auto-post on your behalf. BBB and Google require you to submit from your own account — we just hand you a pre-filled summary on your clipboard.

Tell us what happened. We'll save your report and help you submit it to the BBB, Google, and MS state regulators in one click.

Before you sign…

  • Ask for a CarFax in writing — multiple complainants say none were provided.
  • Read the “AS IS” and 7-day warranty paperwork carefully.
  • Photograph your personal items before any test drive or drop-off.
  • Know your state's repossession-notice and right-to-cure laws — several complaints allege none were provided.
  • File your own complaint with the BBB and the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission if you've been wronged.