Dealer Troubles

[Wix]

You are in the right. When you signed the papers and they took the car then the deal was done. I'm a nice guy and all but this dealer needs to take a hike. If they keep bothering you then tell them you will report them for harassment. Happy FR-S driving.

[shawnperolis]

Yeah, I will definitely never go back to that dealer... This is my first new car purchase and it has been extremely eye-opening. No wonder everyone hates the dealership.

Question though... Since I bought my FR-S at this shady dealer, will another dealer honor my warranty? There is no way this place is going to do quality work on my car if I bring it in, so that bridge is pretty much burned.

[Aetyrno]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

Question though... Since I bought my FR-S at this shady dealer, will another dealer honor my warranty? There is no way this place is going to do quality work on my car if I bring it in, so that bridge is pretty much burned.

Your warranty is through Toyota/Scion, not the dealer. You can go to any Toyota dealership for service.

[shawnperolis]

Thanks, that is great news.

Had a pretty decent run in with a bad dealer about a month after i bought my FR-S. Went up to NorCal to visit my friend for a week, and he had actually wanted the car longer than i had and everything, but had his eyes set on a BRZ, well when i took my car up there and he saw it he was more willing to accept the FR-S. So i looked around one morning cuz he said if he got a FR-S it would be the asphalt color, well at the time there was one available in SoCal, about a 7-8 hour drive. We went to a local Norcal dealer and they couldn't do a dealer trade because the socal dealer was unwilling to do so. So he called the dealer in Socal and told them we would head there the next morning to pick up the car and that he would be paying cash for it. They said ok, and they would hold the car. Well next morning after he had gotten all excited about it and everything, we went to the bank so that he could get a cashier's check. and then headed down to Socal to pick up the car. Well about half way through the trip after we had just passed alot of traffic heading back from where we had came. He called the dealer to check on the car, and they told him that they had just sold it to another random person, after saying that they would hold the car for my friend and they knew full well that the guy they sold it to was not my friend. So needless to say my friend gave up on scion and now has his BRZ.

[Rabble]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

So I've got an update... The head honcho at the Don Joseph Toyota called me back. Instead of offering me an apology, he accused me cheating his used car manager. He said that they would have to spend 3,000 dollars to replace the springs and resonator tubing and that I was to be blame for falsifying the car to the appraiser. He also lied to me and said that the check engine light was on, and I had just spoken to my salesman 20 minutes before who told me nothing was wrong with the car and that he had literally just checked it out before I called.

After lying to me and accusing me of basically fraud (and never apologizing for his used car manager lying and doing the same thing) he had the NERVE to ask me to come and bring the springs back. I told him that I had simply called and expected and apology and that before this conversation I would have brought the springs back, but now I'm just going to throw them away.

p.s. 3k to replace a piece of plastic tubing and put stock springs back on a car? Does he think I'm an idiot?

What little lawyering I know says that you are to no longer have any contact with this dealership unless it is through certified mail. No calls, no regular mail, nothing. The next step in their process will be to threaten legal action, as he's already used the word fraud (regardless of the veracity of the claim, he still used the word). So when he calls back in a few days and says lawsuit you go ahead and tell him if he feels like wasting his time filing a lawsuit (he won't) then he can go right ahead and do it, then inform him that you've made note of the date and time of the phone call and that all further correspondence will need to be through certified mail. If you're feeling extra frisky you can try to get your lawyer friend to send them a strongly worded letter about the "dubious claims" they are making about the cost and condition of the vehicle in question.

Remember, the law works both ways and if their claim is really a bunch of shit then nothing will come of it. 9 times out of 10 a dealership will threaten some bullshit but it's much more expensive to follow through. Just don't say anything else to them at all and be on your way.

Oh and don't throw away those springs, they are your leverage that you really are trying to be up front and honest.

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by Rabble

What little lawyering I know says that you are to no longer have any contact with this dealership unless it is through certified mail. No calls, no regular mail, nothing. The next step in their process will be to threaten legal action, as he's already used the word fraud (regardless of the veracity of the claim, he still used the word). So when he calls back in a few days and says lawsuit you go ahead and tell him if he feels like wasting his time filing a lawsuit (he won't) then he can go right ahead and do it, then inform him that you've made note of the date and time of the phone call and that all further correspondence will need to be through certified mail. If you're feeling extra frisky you can try to get your lawyer friend to send them a strongly worded letter about the "dubious claims" they are making about the cost and condition of the vehicle in question.

Remember, the law works both ways and if their claim is really a bunch of shit then nothing will come of it. 9 times out of 10 a dealership will threaten some bullshit but it's much more expensive to follow through. Just don't say anything else to them at all and be on your way.

Oh and don't throw away those springs, they are your leverage that you really are trying to be up front and honest.

I don't think the dealer is actually going to do anything. They just saw a young kid buying his first new car and thought that they could intimidate me. I've already signed everything, they inspected the car and the transaction is done. If they try anything more I'd be very surprised because you are right, they don't have a leg to stand on.

[that_one_guy]

Originally Posted by SilentAngel

Had a pretty decent run in with a bad dealer about a month after i bought my FR-S. Went up to NorCal to visit my friend for a week, and he had actually wanted the car longer than i had and everything, but had his eyes set on a BRZ, well when i took my car up there and he saw it he was more willing to accept the FR-S. So i looked around one morning cuz he said if he got a FR-S it would be the asphalt color, well at the time there was one available in SoCal, about a 7-8 hour drive. We went to a local Norcal dealer and they couldn't do a dealer trade because the socal dealer was unwilling to do so. So he called the dealer in Socal and told them we would head there the next morning to pick up the car and that he would be paying cash for it. They said ok, and they would hold the car. Well next morning after he had gotten all excited about it and everything, we went to the bank so that he could get a cashier's check. and then headed down to Socal to pick up the car. Well about half way through the trip after we had just passed alot of traffic heading back from where we had came. He called the dealer to check on the car, and they told him that they had just sold it to another random person, after saying that they would hold the car for my friend and they knew full well that the guy they sold it to was not my friend. So needless to say my friend gave up on scion and now has his BRZ.

That is all your fault. Do you even know how many calls dealers get from people who are "on their way" then never show up? I question why you didn't call the dealer first thing in the morning when they opened and told the sales manager you will be there at a specified time.

To OP, just like everyone said you are 100% in the right and they just screwed themselves at their own game. To be safe you might want to read through your purchase contract to make sure it doesn't say anything about doing something to your Honda after the exchange. I'm sure that nice salesman is used to being screwed by his management. The salesman I bought mine from was laid back, easy to talk to, and I enjoyed working with him. His manager however was pushy and seemed like he was recently promoted from his job at the cell phone kiosk at the mall.

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by that_one_guy

That is all your fault. Do you even know how many calls dealers get from people who are "on their way" then never show up? I question why you didn't call the dealer first thing in the morning when they opened and told the sales manager you will be there at a specified time.

To OP, just like everyone said you are 100% in the right and they just screwed themselves at their own game. To be safe you might want to read through your purchase contract to make sure it doesn't say anything about doing something to your Honda after the exchange. I'm sure that nice salesman is used to being screwed by his management. The salesman I bought mine from was laid back, easy to talk to, and I enjoyed working with him. His manager however was pushy and seemed like he was recently promoted from his job at the cell phone kiosk at the mall.

I didn't touch the car after the exchange, so I should be good. I do feel bad about what might happen to the salesman, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I've been asking around a lot and doing some more research and it seems I'm not the only one having problems with this dealer.

Originally Posted by that_one_guy

That is all your fault. Do you even know how many calls dealers get from people who are "on their way" then never show up? I question why you didn't call the dealer first thing in the morning when they opened and told the sales manager you will be there at a specified time.

I figured i didn't give quite enough info. We did contact them before we left that morning as well as called during the trip. We told them we would be there at about 6PM (actually i think it may have been earlier, not sure been to long) and headed out by 8AM, they said they would hold it for us. We then proceeded, We made contact with the dealer several times to ensure they would hold it, My friend even asked if they wanted a payment by phone to hold it and they said "no it will be fine, we will hold it for you." We were very thorough with everything and made sure that there was not any misunderstandings on either end. Even told them that we would be staying at a hotel for the night instead of driving straight back.

was trying to stay semi-short with my description.

[quasi86]

Originally Posted by SilentAngel

I figured i didn't give quite enough info. We did contact them before we left that morning as well as called during the trip. We told them we would be there at about 6PM (actually i think it may have been earlier, not sure been to long) and headed out by 8AM, they said they would hold it for us. We then proceeded, We made contact with the dealer several times to ensure they would hold it, My friend even asked if they wanted a payment by phone to hold it and they said "no it will be fine, we will hold it for you." We were very thorough with everything and made sure that there was not any misunderstandings on either end. Even told them that we would be staying at a hotel for the night instead of driving straight back.

was trying to stay semi-short with my description.

If he didn't offer to take the deposit then the salesman who took the phone call was stupid or really lazy and missed out on a sale. I could almost grantee you were talking to one salesman and a different guy sold it. And when your salesman was like "I got a guy on his way from NOCAL" the manager was like "do you have a deposit?" And then your salesman "no" "I didn't ask for one" "i told him i would hold it" the manager then looked at the other salesman and told him to sell it. your friend got screwed by a bad salesman. But he got a BRZ, next best thing in my mind. Front end doesn't look as good as the FR-S. But standard NAV and HID's are a good trade off.

All car dealerships like many other businesses are "first come, first served" doesn't make them a bad place to do business. It is just business.



Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

Originally Posted by quasi86

If he didn't offer to take the deposit then the salesman who took the phone call was stupid or really lazy and missed out on a sale. I could almost grantee you were talking to one salesman and a different guy sold it. And when your salesman was like "I got a guy on his way from NOCAL" the manager was like "do you have a deposit?" And then your salesman "no" "I didn't ask for one" "i told him i would hold it" the manager then looked at the other salesman and told him to sell it. your friend got screwed by a bad salesman. But he got a BRZ, next best thing in my mind. Front end doesn't look as good as the FR-S. But standard NAV and HID's are a good trade off.

All car dealerships like many other businesses are "first come, first served" doesn't make them a bad place to do business. It is just business.



Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

pretty much, just really pissed my friend off, he even called scion and they did nothing about it and he got even more irritated. Like i said, he ended up with a BRZ which is what he had wanted in the first place lol.