Really bad experince at dealership..(Venting inside)

[CDirect]

Man my local Toyota dealership really disappointed me.....


My girlfriend is in the market for purchasing a new car. We went to the dealership last Saturday night, to take a look at the 07 Camry LE. The salesman that helped us “David” showed us the Camry but seemed to know little about it. He was clueless on some basic question but was nice enough to give us a test drive. Well when we came back to the dealership after the test drive (drives like a champ) and looked at some numbers to see how much it would be to finance an LE and it ended being out of our price range. So I ask him about Costco invoice pricing program and he ran off and went to go get his sales manager. The sales manager “Chris” said he was going to give us a deal. He told us he would give us a 5 year lease offer for $0 down and payments of $250 a month if my girlfriend’s father credit was in good standing. He is the co-signer and lives in a different state then us. My girlfriend was intrigued by the deal and I couldn’t talk her out of it because I myself would rather finance something we could afford. So my girlfriend asked the sales manager “Chris” if he would be willing to extend this offer till Monday so they can call her dad and get the credit info over the phone. He said yes no problem and “David” said he would contact us Monday so we can get this deal going. Both of them gave us their card and we shook hands then we were on our way. I even made a thread about it on this forum to see what you guys thought about the deal http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t141246.html

My girlfriend was so excited that she even called “David” Sunday to see what colors they had coming in because when we went on Saturday they had no Camry’s available, but he insured us they “Get new Camry’s in everyday”. He said we would have no problem getting the color we wanted next week (Black). He didn’t pick up his phone so my GF left him a message.

Well Monday rolls around and we don’t here anything from him. I call the number on his card and I get in contact with him. He recognized me and mid way through our conversation he either hanged up the phone or it cut off. I called him back several times and he did not answer. Then we called the sales manager who gave us the offer and he was not working on Monday either according to the receptionist. So a little pissed off, my girlfriend and I went to the dealership and explained what happened to a salesman working that day. He said he would take care of us and he ended up calling my girlfriends Dad and got the credit info. He came back to us and told us it will take a while to get the credit score back but they would have her Dad’s info on file. He said not to worry and “David” would contact us tomorrow because I guess he didn’t want to take away a sale from him.

Well I called “David” on Tuesday and was able to get a hold of him. I got him up to speed on the credit info then he busts out saying…ok so what deal where you interested in? I was like what? I said the deal you offered us…5 year lease $0 down 250 a month. He said ohh well I can’t offer you that. That was just to see if you guys were committed to leasing the car. I had to keep my cool because at this point I was pissed. Then he changes it and says ohhh that deal was only for that day. He said I can give you the other lease option of $350 a month. So in as little as 3 seconds he lied to me 3 times. I told him that the offer we talked about Saturday was extended through Monday which was agreed upon and we never discussed another lease option of $350 a month. They only offer discussed was $0 down $250 a month. Then I say did your sales manger say he would extend the deal through Monday? I asked are you telling me I’m making this up? Then he replies well I’m not in the office right now I’m in the middle of moving to a different apartment. At this point I stopped him because I was so mad that I wanted to blow up and tell him things his mama can do but instead I tried to gather all of the maturity I had and calmly asked him is the sale manger “Chris” that helped us working today? Comes to turn out the Sales manger name is “Jeff” but the card he gave me was the wrong one which had the name of “Chris” on it. I don’t know if this was a mistake by the sales manger or deliberate. I mean how the hell are you not going to give out the right business card? Well he couldn’t find the number and I just said forget it, I am talking my business somewhere else……alright end of my venting…I feel better and thanks for reading…..

This is where we left off and if you think I am pissed off you should see my girlfriend lol. We are tempted to go in the dealership tomorrow afternoon and I was hoping to get some advice on who should I ask to talk to about this situation and how should I approach this problem.

[DAMON]

that sucks man, i dont know how much of it was intentional but you guys still got messed with it sounds like. I hope you get everything worked out

[Old Dood]

Another lesson learned....

Get it in writing while you are being "told" the deal.

I would talk to the Owner of the Dealership and let him know how you were treated....

Better yet...write a well thought out letter and send it snail mail...

[xbleuz]

The best way to respond to their inefficiency is to NOT buy the car from them. Aren't there other Toyota dealerships in your area? I would look for a "volume" dealer, they are more likely to work out a deal and will most likely have your car there.

Also, if you could wait for the last week in June, you can get some really good deal. The salespeople are all crazy to make their quota and will work out mostly any deal.

Always remember that as intimidating as these guys are, you have the purchasing power and you are ultimately the one in control. Their sales tactics are an effort to make you feel like THEY have control. If you dont buy a car, they are the only ones that lose out. You can buy a car from anywhere...

[TitaniumSE]

Damn that's grimey. Next time go straight to the sales manager..This is why they call dealerships "stealerships"

[shots76]

Don't buy from them. We are lucky that we have 2 toyota dealerships in our area. We know which one is . You can also post your story on ripoffreport.com. I know the dealership in my town is on it.

[JMSinMD]

1. Don't buy from them, if they're shady to you and you still purchase from them then they'll never change.

2. I myself CHOSE to lease, I could afford any vehicle Toyota makes but based on my hatred of repair shops, depreciation, money invested elsewhere it was the best fit for me. Don't get into a lease because you can't afford to finance. This might be a sign that you should really heed. Find a vehicle she could finance, i.e. Yaris, Corolla, or my favorite Toyota out there, the Scion xB. Again managing a payment and affording are two seperate things. It sounds like they knew they had a payment buyer (i.e. someone who cares more about the 'note' than the interest rate/money factor or sales price/capitilized cost.) Whatever you wind up getting have enough to at least cover tax and tags, otherwise you're paying interest on top of taxes. That's not a good thing. Also ANY dealer that tells you this deal is good for this day or the next day, RUN. This is a shady business that isn't doing so well. Any reputable dealer doesn't do this. This is coming from a previous Toyota salesperson. PM if you have any questions. Jon.

[hooRAH]

Most people advise that you not buy from them. While its great to stick it to them and all, all I care about is the bottom line I pay. I've been lied to 6 ways from sunday shopping for used BMWs at lots, it happens.

They have guns, you have guns. Deal with them the best you can, if they can make a deal thats profitable, they'll take it. As long as you get the best price, you'll completely forget about the dealership within a month.

[RockXP]

That is messed up. I would buy the car from another dealership then go back and show it off to them and said you guy messed out on your commission. Throw it back in there faces man. Thats sleaky what they did.

[jhbhatia]

just start afresh elsewhere. IMO, finance a car, leasing is a good options if you drive low miles and if you in the market for a new car every 2 years.

[PhantomZX]

This is not surprising at all....most car salespeople will say anything to move you forward in the process..

I worked at a car dealership as a salesperson for 1 day and quit immediately. To them, it's all about squeezing the most money out of the customers that they can. It's their job.

The salespeople are just doing what their managers tell them to do in order to keep their job. You may find some honest salespeople, but those don't go very far in this career. Thus, it makes sense that the managers are the worst of the bunch.

And also, even if you get something in writing, it does not mean they will go through with it. If there was no contract signed, nothing is enforceable.

[Wizrd23]

that is horrible! Just one more reason why I would never buy a car at a dealership again. I can't believe the audacity of sales people. Especially when it comes to leasing. Take it from someone who got royally screwed on my last car (2002 Dodge Ram 1500)...

However, I'm still totally convinced, in todays car market, leasing is absolutely the way to go, AS LONG AS you realize what you are doing. There is no reason to buy a car that depreciates almost 25% when you drive it off the lot, and has no guarantee of retaining any value at the end of 4 or 5 years.

First, don't go back to that dealership. In fact, tell everyone you know...lol.... make sure others don't go there. second, if because of credit and/or Dad being the cosigner, I'd do the lease through a reputable company (not dealership). I don't want to advertise for anyone, but if you want more info about my story, I'm happy to share.

PM me, and I can give you a referral. I'll just say, for a single guy, 26 years old, busy as hell at work, and on weekends, I didn't know how I was going to get out from under my crappy truck... The company I used, brought the cars to me to look at, I test drove it on lunch, did the paperwork sitting in the car, and handed my old car keys to my rep. ZERO hassle. In fact, the price I was quoted on the phone only changed by 5 bucks a month, and that was because of the bank I chose to go with... I couldn't be happier!

[PhantomZX]

The problem is that 90% (my own guesstimate) of the salespeople have no problem with lying to customers. This is especially true for mainstream brands like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and all American cars except maybe Saturn.

The salesmen who are honest don't stay in the business too long because they don't sell cars!

Bottom line is to do what's best for yourself. If you do all the service yourself, then it makes the most sense to buy from the dealership that will give you the car at the lowest price, no matter if they lied to your face. Losing you as a customer won't make much of a statement to them, as they will just find someone else to sell to.

You just really need to know ALL their tactics they use to squeeze money from you and avoid them.

[DAMON]

nope, saturn lies too, trust me

[Klutch]

I think this might be blown up a little. Sounds like your sales guy hasn't been there long (no knowledge of the car, doesn't know the number off the top of his head,etc..).

I would go to the dealer and find the guy you talked to before assuming that they've screwed you over. I think your salesman is new and probably didn't have any clue who you were when you called him (while he was probably hauling a desk down some stairs)

If you liked the deal go back up one more time and find who you talked to. If they won't honor it then I agree with how you're feeling.