Worst dealership story
05-30-11, 10:55 AM
#46
hmmm My IS250 was about 34k before tax and I have navigation so I also agree it seems over priced. It seems weird that they didnt sell you the car if everything was already set up- I purchased my SC430 from Bonita Springs Infiniti and we drove after work to get it- that morning I had my credit union approve my loadn, trade in and such and get in touch with the bank. All I did was go pick up the car- however when I did they asked me to write a personal check for the value of the car minues trade in since I was leaving the RX300- they simply voided and mailed me the check back when my bank wired them the money that next morning.
05-30-11, 11:06 AM
#47
Look at it from the dealer side, somebody negotiates the price over the phone, agrees on the car, and then comes in with a paper check that looks dodgy. Something tweaked them that this could be a scam when phony checks are all over the place. IT HAPPENS, and they have probably been a victim before. So they nix the deal to protect themselves. The reason was NOT because of a possibility of a bad review, it was they didn't believe the check or the buyer was authentic from the beginning. The situation degraded over the period while the check was being authenticated, who knows what was said during the heat of the moment. Shake it off and move on. And you might want to think of how you are going to do this in the future. Also, are there any negatives in your credit file that would raise a flag to them? Even though you are paying cash they probably took a peek at your FICO score during the signing phase. Issues there? Repo's, bad credit, bankruptcy, late pays? It all is taken into account these days.
I say don't let them get away with it. Scream it from the top of every tower!
05-30-11, 11:06 AM
#48
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Thread Starter
It wasnt the 2500 per say, it was he had no form or contract so I could see I would be getting my money back. He just wanted to swipe my debit card right there.
05-30-11, 11:10 AM
#49
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Thread Starter
Its a felony to write a bad check over a certain amount, and for a car would include theft. They already ran the credit check, verified who I was. I said this because I offered to write a personal check.
05-30-11, 06:19 PM
#53
The dealers mistake is he should have got you to sign a credit application instead of asking for $2500 deposit.
Your mistake was not offering the deposit. As long as the sales papers have the correct value of the car, they can't keep your money because the paper trail will show you paid the price plus 2,500. Your paranoia probably made them paranoid too.
When I buy cars I don't use a cashiers check. I pay by personal check, and also submit a credit application which they can use if my check doesn't clear. After my check clears they tear up the credit app. That's standard procedure that almost every dealer follows.
05-30-11, 11:49 PM
#54
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Thread Starter
Both you and the dealer made a mistake.
The dealers mistake is he should have got you to sign a credit application instead of asking for $2500 deposit.
Your mistake was not offering the deposit. As long as the sales papers have the correct value of the car, they can't keep your money because the paper trail will show you paid the price plus 2,500. Your paranoia probably made them paranoid too.
When I buy cars I don't use a cashiers check. I pay by personal check, and also submit a credit application which they can use if my check doesn't clear. After my check clears they tear up the credit app. That's standard procedure that almost every dealer follows.
The dealers mistake is he should have got you to sign a credit application instead of asking for $2500 deposit.
Your mistake was not offering the deposit. As long as the sales papers have the correct value of the car, they can't keep your money because the paper trail will show you paid the price plus 2,500. Your paranoia probably made them paranoid too.
When I buy cars I don't use a cashiers check. I pay by personal check, and also submit a credit application which they can use if my check doesn't clear. After my check clears they tear up the credit app. That's standard procedure that almost every dealer follows.
05-31-11, 01:16 AM
#56
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Interesting thread and sorry to hear about your poor experience. I am from the UK and when you buy a car here, the car is not released until the funds are clear in the dealership bank account. The other option we have here is a direct bank transfer where your bank transfers the cash directly to the far end account. Is this option not availible in the USA?
Hope you get the right car you want.
Hope you get the right car you want.
05-31-11, 07:06 AM
#58
I would have signed the credit app, consider they already done a credit check...no problem. If there was a form I could have looked at for the deposit VS him just wanting to swipe my card then and there I would have felt better about it. I did offer to write a personal check, but that was squashed when they refused that as well.
When I bought a car from Lexus of South Atlanta, it was pretty simple - I paid the maximum credit card amount ($5000) to get the air miles and put rest on the personal check and had credit application as backup. It was pretty clean, and they honored the ridiculously low price I negotiated ($400 above invoice on a new model).
I'm really shocked by how they treated you.
Last edited by *Batman*; 05-31-11 at 07:13 AM.
05-31-11, 11:36 AM
#59
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Thread Starter
I have the faxed documents from the bank, my loan officer gave them to me just to have. I went to Huntsville, Al 2day and purchased a 2011 is250 in the tungsten pearl color car has 12 miles on it VS 300 the car in ATL had. I'll be picking it up in the morning. I worked last night and havent been to bed yet. I called Lexus corp and filed a complaint...if anything to document how badly I was treated.
05-31-11, 12:07 PM
#60
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Definitely don't let this go. That is total bull****. It would be one thing for a small used car dealership to pull this but an actual Lexus dealer...blows my mind. You don't sound sketchy at all and for everyone who is saying "look at from the dealers perspective"...give me a break - wake up! Dealers have ways upon ways of making deals work in the customers favor and protecting themselves at the same time. Batman is right, he should have signed the credit app which would have kept the dealer safe. But with the bank manager calling and faxing docs...they're morons to refuse you purchase. If it was me and I have the time to do it, I would tell them to lawyer up. They're has to be some sort of law against refusing purchase to a legitimate buyer. Or discrimination of some degree. Keep us all posted.