Car dealer horror stories
11-06-07, 07:51 PM
#16
Lexus Test Driver
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I remember when I was 17 looking at a 1975 Olds 98 going to sell my 74 Chevy Nova I pissed off the salesman when I would not buy that day never did buy the Olds either. Went back to a Toyota dealer wound up at the same building in 1997 salesman playing golf on the showroom floor. (unprofessional)
went for a test drive not the Avalon I wanted but headlight were literally sticking out my a$$ with taillights in my mouth very high pressure threw pen on desk bounced off window (almost broke it) and got the devil questioned out of me by a manager on a stage as to why I am not taking the car.
went for a test drive not the Avalon I wanted but headlight were literally sticking out my a$$ with taillights in my mouth very high pressure threw pen on desk bounced off window (almost broke it) and got the devil questioned out of me by a manager on a stage as to why I am not taking the car.
11-06-07, 08:26 PM
#17
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Once at a Pontiac dealer so many years ago when I was 18...the salesperson and I haggled over a white Pontiac Grand Am turbo.such a nice car back then. Salesman told me to give him $700.00 to show to the finance manager that I was serious.
15 minutes goes by and I walk out and start to look for this guy whom could not be found. After getting everyone there to look for this guy it was found that he stole one of the trucks from the used car section and took my money with him!
Dealership coughed up my $700 on my word and the police were there in short order. Never found out what happened after that. Never did buy that Grand Am after that.
15 minutes goes by and I walk out and start to look for this guy whom could not be found. After getting everyone there to look for this guy it was found that he stole one of the trucks from the used car section and took my money with him!
Dealership coughed up my $700 on my word and the police were there in short order. Never found out what happened after that. Never did buy that Grand Am after that.
11-06-07, 08:29 PM
#18
Lexus Test Driver
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Once at a Pontiac dealer so many years ago when I was 18...the salesperson and I haggled over a white Pontiac Grand Am turbo.such a nice car back then. Salesman told me to give him $700.00 to show to the finance manager that I was serious.
15 minutes goes by and I walk out and start to look for this guy whom could not be found. After getting everyone there to look for this guy it was found that he stole one of the trucks from the used car section and took my money with him! Dealership coughed up my $700 on my word and the police were there in short order. Never found out what happened after that. Never did buy that Grand Am after that.
15 minutes goes by and I walk out and start to look for this guy whom could not be found. After getting everyone there to look for this guy it was found that he stole one of the trucks from the used car section and took my money with him!
Dealership coughed up my $700 on my word and the police were there in short order. Never found out what happened after that. Never did buy that Grand Am after that.
11-06-07, 09:32 PM
#21
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I remember when I was 17 looking at a 1975 Olds 98 going to sell my 74 Chevy Nova I pissed off the salesman when I would not buy that day never did buy the Olds either. Went back to a Toyota dealer wound up at the same building in 1997 salesman playing golf on the showroom floor. (unprofessional)
went for a test drive not the Avalon I wanted but headlight were literally sticking out my a$$ with taillights in my mouth very high pressure threw pen on desk bounced off window (almost broke it) and got the devil questioned out of me by a manager on a stage as to why I am not taking the car.
went for a test drive not the Avalon I wanted but headlight were literally sticking out my a$$ with taillights in my mouth very high pressure threw pen on desk bounced off window (almost broke it) and got the devil questioned out of me by a manager on a stage as to why I am not taking the car.
11-06-07, 10:08 PM
#22
He was 17, went to a dealership looking at a 75 Olds 85(?). He was going to sell his 74 Chevy nova and pissed off the salesman when he didnt buy the car that day, but he never bought it. He we to a toyota dealership and ended up in the same building?? and saw the sales........oh forget it, i got confused
11-06-07, 10:55 PM
#24
This was the story of my dealership experience a couple of months ago that I posted here on CL.
This past weekend, I visited Keyes Van Nuys and it started out great until we got into the pricing. I was looking for an IS250 with Premium Package and I offered them $32,000 OTD and the salesperson would not budge. He offered me $34,700 and saying it was invoice price with ttl. I then pulled out a copy from KBB and told them what they are giving me isn't invoice, it was actually $1500 above incoice. Once I showed them the KBB print out, he was "shocked" to see how low the price was and pretty much called BS on every online website disagreeing with their price. To make a long story short, these ended up telling me to forget all my research and the printout's because their BS and misleading. So before I leave, I told them, "if I get the car for anything lower than their offer, would you beat it or match it?" and he pretty much said "no way, we don't do that here, Lexus is not the car your looking for if that's the price your looking for." I was so mad that this guy thinks he has the right to tell me which car I am looking for and implying I can't afford it. I pretty much said goodbye and just smiled trying not to let the frustartions take over me.
11-07-07, 01:23 AM
#25
She went to the dealership and saw a few used one. She test drove and they said she could keep for the day so she did. Now i didnt go to the dealership the next day but when she got back home, she had the BMW still and was looking for Lawyer. Apparently they filled out the form where she agreed on buying it and she didnt want it. I was kinda crappy and still needed to be serviced. So they were going to sue her and for about 2 days there was so much arguing and end in the end they took the car back there was no case.
This is an old car dealership trick. My brother back in 1987 came home with a brand new 87 Camaro IROC Z. Beautiful car, but if course he really had no money to pay for it so my parents made him take it back. Dealership wouldn't let him give it back, even though they always tell you just take the car home and think about it. Of course they expect you to buy it, but until my mom had to get a lawyer to talk to them they would refuse to give my brothers Accord back and take the Camaro back. However, at least in our state, since there was no transaction of money (No deposit, no down payment, nothing) they had no contract so the eventually took the car back and dropped their lawsuit threat.
Exact same thing happened to my cousin who came home with a Porsche. You'd think he would learn from my brothers experience
The dealership told him the same thing. Leave your car here, take the Porsche home, and if you like it than we can deal. Of course his dad blew a gasket when he came home with the Porsche. He could afford it though as he as an up and coming accountant just starting to make good money. Nonetheless, they tried to return the car the next day and the dealership claimed they already sold his Accord which they thought he put down as a trade in and blah blah. Lawsuits were threatened. Eventually my cousin had to get a lawyer and what do you know? They returned his Accord which they supposedly had originally sold already and took back the car.
11-07-07, 01:31 AM
#26
I drove back to the dealership to get the Imperial back, and after an hour or so of waiting, haggling, threats, and mutual offers to get the cops involved, I finally got the Imperial and drove off the lot. About a block away, I discovered why I had been delayed so long at the dealership: the car had been in the shop - having the speedometer turned back. Our 45K car now showed 33K.
Jay Leno said the dealership pretty much gave the guy anything he wanted.
11-07-07, 09:11 PM
#27
This is an old car dealership trick. My brother back in 1987 came home with a brand new 87 Camaro IROC Z. Beautiful car, but if course he really had no money to pay for it so my parents made him take it back. Dealership wouldn't let him give it back, even though they always tell you just take the car home and think about it. Of course they expect you to buy it, but until my mom had to get a lawyer to talk to them they would refuse to give my brothers Accord back and take the Camaro back. However, at least in our state, since there was no transaction of money (No deposit, no down payment, nothing) they had no contract so the eventually took the car back and dropped their lawsuit threat.
Exact same thing happened to my cousin who came home with a Porsche. You'd think he would learn from my brothers experience The dealership told him the same thing. Leave your car here, take the Porsche home, and if you like it than we can deal. Of course his dad blew a gasket when he came home with the Porsche. He could afford it though as he as an up and coming accountant just starting to make good money. Nonetheless, they tried to return the car the next day and the dealership claimed they already sold his Accord which they thought he put down as a trade in and blah blah. Lawsuits were threatened. Eventually my cousin had to get a lawyer and what do you know? They returned his Accord which they supposedly had originally sold already and took back the car.
Exact same thing happened to my cousin who came home with a Porsche. You'd think he would learn from my brothers experience
The dealership told him the same thing. Leave your car here, take the Porsche home, and if you like it than we can deal. Of course his dad blew a gasket when he came home with the Porsche. He could afford it though as he as an up and coming accountant just starting to make good money. Nonetheless, they tried to return the car the next day and the dealership claimed they already sold his Accord which they thought he put down as a trade in and blah blah. Lawsuits were threatened. Eventually my cousin had to get a lawyer and what do you know? They returned his Accord which they supposedly had originally sold already and took back the car.
11-07-07, 10:14 PM
#28
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Rafferty Subaru of Newtown Square PA is awful. Bought to cars from their and the owner lives (or used to live I guess) in my parent's neighborhood. Tried to reccomend all kinds overpriced service on my LGT, but Im not and idiot. Sold my bro an Impreza that was in a condition it should not have been sold in. Too dangerous and he was nearly killed.
This lead my brother to Lexus of Chester Springs who took nearly 6 months to send him a valid registration so that he could get a license plate. Despite numerous phone calls, they still took their time. Thats not right. We'll stick with Lexus of Wilmington, DE even if they aren't as sharp on their stuff.
This lead my brother to Lexus of Chester Springs who took nearly 6 months to send him a valid registration so that he could get a license plate. Despite numerous phone calls, they still took their time. Thats not right. We'll stick with Lexus of Wilmington, DE even if they aren't as sharp on their stuff.
11-10-07, 01:52 PM
#29
Two incidents stand out....though they are somewhat different from what you and your dad went through.
Once, at a BMW dealership, I was getting ready to test-drive a new Bimmer. They handed me the keys and a dealer-license plate, and when I was out on the back lot looking for the car, standing near a fenced-off area, I suddenly heard the loudest, most vicious-sounding bark and snarl you would ever want to hear. Scared the ****** out of me. I turned around to see this big.....and I mean B-I-G...... German Shepard just on the other side of the fence, not four feet away, obviously attack-trained, just waiting to turn me into a piece of hamburger. His teeth could have been used for the JAWS movie.
I went back inside and mentioned it to the salespeople.....they smiled and said, "Yes, he is very effective.....we don't have much of a thief or vandalism problem here."
The other time involved a dealership in the Tysons Corner area, not far from my house. Apparantly a police sting was in operation...I, of course, was not involved in the sting itself and missed part of it, but got in on part of the spectator part. Apparantly uncover police officers and detectives were posing as drug dealers and offering to buy cars right off the lot and showroom for drug profits (cash). The salespeople said they didn't care.....they were in buisness to sell cars, not be concerned with money laundering or illegal funds. They told the "customers" to just hand over the cash.
Well, within a couple of minutes, a whole slew of FBI agents raided the place.
I got out of there, just in case any bullets flew or they started rounding people up (I don't remember hearing any shots). They made a number of arrests, including two sales managers, but did not actually shut down the dealership. That incident, BTW (and perhaps a few others) led to the "$10,000 rule", now universal in my area, where all cash sales of $10,000 or more, especially for new cars, are recorded with police departments.....even for people that have nothing to to with drugs or money laundering.
Once, at a BMW dealership, I was getting ready to test-drive a new Bimmer. They handed me the keys and a dealer-license plate, and when I was out on the back lot looking for the car, standing near a fenced-off area, I suddenly heard the loudest, most vicious-sounding bark and snarl you would ever want to hear. Scared the ****** out of me. I turned around to see this big.....and I mean B-I-G...... German Shepard just on the other side of the fence, not four feet away, obviously attack-trained, just waiting to turn me into a piece of hamburger. His teeth could have been used for the JAWS movie.
I went back inside and mentioned it to the salespeople.....they smiled and said, "Yes, he is very effective.....we don't have much of a thief or vandalism problem here."
The other time involved a dealership in the Tysons Corner area, not far from my house. Apparantly a police sting was in operation...I, of course, was not involved in the sting itself and missed part of it, but got in on part of the spectator part. Apparantly uncover police officers and detectives were posing as drug dealers and offering to buy cars right off the lot and showroom for drug profits (cash). The salespeople said they didn't care.....they were in buisness to sell cars, not be concerned with money laundering or illegal funds. They told the "customers" to just hand over the cash.
Well, within a couple of minutes, a whole slew of FBI agents raided the place.
I got out of there, just in case any bullets flew or they started rounding people up (I don't remember hearing any shots). They made a number of arrests, including two sales managers, but did not actually shut down the dealership. That incident, BTW (and perhaps a few others) led to the "$10,000 rule", now universal in my area, where all cash sales of $10,000 or more, especially for new cars, are recorded with police departments.....even for people that have nothing to to with drugs or money laundering.
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