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Dealer won't honor ad lease deal (San Diego) HELP!

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by alice the cat, Dec 29, 2012.

  1. alice the cat

    alice the cat Junior Member

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    Location:
    Seattle/San Diego
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    Two
    So we see the lease deal list in the specials section on Toyota Chula Vistas website saying $2999 down and $189 a month on a Prius C. We called and the salesman said they still had the 3 cars matching the VINs in the ad. We drove down there and confirmed the Orange one we wanted was one of the VIN's and we sat down to do the deal. The sales manager shorty after comes over and informs us that this ad is a mistake and its closer to $289 a month but they are not sure of the details. In the end they call other managers and "bosses" but don't reach anyone and he tells us that he can not honor this deal and sends us down the road. My wife was/is pretty upset as this would have been her second prius and just LOVES them.

    I know mistakes happen but doesn't it seem like they should honor this deal? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

    Thank you for any help you can provide.

    Robert

    [​IMG]
     
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  3. alice the cat

    alice the cat Junior Member

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    I forgot to mention they had the add taken off their website by the time we got home. They kept us waiting for about 30 mins before they gave us the bad news and we think they were just stalling to remove the ad. I had it on my phone (screenshot) and my wife had still had it on her ipad (took another screenshot). Its a $3600 "mistake" if thats what it was. I just wish they would honor it but its not looking good. I emailed Toyota and the dealers owner group so far... anything else I should do or should I just let it go?
     
  4. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    My advice is to let it go. Lease rates depend on credit scores. Let's say you file a complaint with your Consumer Affairs Office and they "encourage" the dealer to honor the ad. What's your credit score? Sorry, too low. The lower limit for that rate is 10 points higher than your score.
     
  5. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Just for the heck of it I would check with Toyota in Carlsbad, Escondido, and he one in East county. Pick the same car and model with same options. exterior color just pick the color you like.Do the Internet price and on the an offer part plug In the same numbers $189 a month $2,999 Dow. Someone will accept the offer.
     
  6. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    They are BBB Accredited. You could open a complaint with the BBB and show them the screen shots and see what comes of it. Granted they protect themselves by adding "Advertised Specials Subject to Change" on most of the ads, the word of mouth damage can be worse than a formal complaint.

    This seems to be a common practice for them as well as another dealer in the area. If you dont want to make the drive to LA and work with Dianne I'd give El Cajon a call. Bought an ad car from them last year and they didnt give me any trouble on the price, it came down to my trade which I took a little bit of a bath on you could say but it saved me in the long run of problems
     
  7. alice the cat

    alice the cat Junior Member

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    Thank you everyone for the advice! I'm going to call the GM in the morning but I have little hope anything will come of it. We went to Mossy Toyota today and they offered us $8000 for our 2008 Prius 2 with 50k miles lol. Don't think we will be going back there.

    We have perfect credit so the lease is no problem and will be keeping an eye out for another one. I might just keep our paid off 2008 and save it for our son when he turns 16 too. Now I just have to find my wife a Habanero Prius C!

    Who is Dianne in LA? Maybe I should call her as I'm not against driving to LA at all.

    Thanks again everyone.

    I went looking for a pic of our beloved 2008 but only found these. My buddies give me a hard time over our Prius but we will always have at least one.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  9. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    I have a habanero IV here with the mats but that lease payment was a complete error. Just FYI.
    Unless they were playing games with a military discount, a college grad rebate or requiring more cash for the bank fee + payments + license, whatever/something else we have no clue about.... I cannot even get to that # on a 5 year lease.
    Thru me for a clean, true $3000 cash drive off, my habanero is 35 month more lease payments at $243.31 + tax for SD = $262.17 a month with tax and that is with selling the IV way under cost.
     
  10. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    This OP is one more example why one should obtain a signed dealership offer by fax before driving a long distance.
     
    JMD likes this.
  11. Mister Mister

    Mister Mister New Member

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    Excellent advice about no written price, no drive.

    Also take a look at California Vehicle Code Sec. 11713.1 which deals with dealer advertising. Basically, they have to honor advertised pricing unless they have an "error" letter from the paper-which mostly they don't. Did they ever show you an error letter? Should be posted on the bulletin board along with a copy of current ad-this is a legal requirement which dealers often skip.

    Try filing a complaint with your county Attorney's consumer protection office. You may get quick action.

    Or, look at NACA.net for a consumer oriented lawyer in your local area.

    By the way, IMHO, the no-doubt wonderful Diane (in Orange County) has rather high prices. I did much better by making the dealer sell me an ad car at the ad price--they were very unhappy!

    PS Putting weasel words in ad such as "advertised special subject to change" does nothing to protect the dealer under California law. They must sell the car first come first served until the ad expires. And the expiration date should be in the ad. Get there just before opening and get your ad car.
     
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  12. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    Thats how I bought my 08...it was a weekend ad and I was there at 7AM on Friday morning and found the 2 ad cars before they opened so they wouldnt try and pull the "it already sold" crap.
     
    JMD likes this.
  13. kabin

    kabin Member

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    I recall some dealer ads in newspapers say the dealer isn't responsible for errors.
     
  14. Mister Mister

    Mister Mister New Member

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    California law controls-the dealer is responsible for errors.

    Otherwise, no one could ever buy a car at the ad price. I notice that the dealer folks got rather nervous when it became clear I was familiar with the law and was not to be pushed into buying all the "protection" stuff they had stuck on the car. See California Vehicle Code 11713.1(e). Got my Prius at the ad price and am happy.

    This article is interesting on the topic. How To Negotiate the Best Deal on a Car