Dealer Tried to Renege on Agreement

PriusRos · Aug 2, 2009

fred garvin said: ↑

PriusRos -

Congrats on the car!

You had a disciplined research process and ultimately got a great deal on great car. The solar is a rare thing, still.

My hope is at some point soon you let the anger go and enjoy the car - it would be terrible if something attempted, but thwarted by your strength, in any way diminished your enjoyment of the new car.

Again - congrats!
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Thanks, Fred. No, I'm not angry. I don't hold onto anger and I love the new car. Just disappointed that something that could have been so smooth and enjoyable was turned into such a contentious event.

Because the solar is so rare here (apparently they are all in California), dealers probably think that everyone is desperate to get the car. I wasn't desperate because I have a perfectly good car already and was willing to wait for one of the other dealers to come through. They didn't count on me being prepared to walk out. ^_^

PriusRos · Aug 2, 2009

mr.scott.com said: ↑

Based on Ros's thread here, and several other such threads, it seems like there are many, many dealers and salespeople like this. No offense to the few good ones, like Diane in Cal. and some helpful salespeople in Chicago and Hawaii that post on PC regularly, but it seems like there are a ton of stories like these where shady deals are attempted, and many tons of stories of people walking out of (or avoiding) many dealerships after games are attempted. It is hard to avoid the dealership scenario where games to squeeze every dollar they can out of a customer don't happen. Most will try anything to take advantage of a situation or a customer.

I am sorry, but the truly honest dealerships that put the customer first are in the minority. In most cases, it seems like most of the salespeople are pawns in the games played by the dealership. Just my opinion.

I was happy with my deal and 2010 purchase, but I went through games at a half dozen dealerships to get there.
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Yes, actually I felt quite sorry for the young salesman. He had done everything right but was then put in the situation where he had to break the bad news to me. He looked like he'd just been whipped and that he wanted to be anywhere but there. It was extremely awkward.

mr.scott.com · Aug 2, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

Yes, actually I felt quite sorry for the young salesman. He had done everything right but was then put in the situation where he had to break the bad news to me. He looked like he'd just been whipped and that he wanted to be anywhere but there. It was extremely awkward.
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Yeah, I feel like many times time salespeople and buyers are merely pieces used by the dealership in a big game the dealer is playing. It sounds like your salesperson was appalled at being used in this manner, but I bet it wasn't the first time.

mr.scott.com · Aug 2, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

Yes, actually I felt quite sorry for the young salesman. He had done everything right but was then put in the situation where he had to break the bad news to me. He looked like he'd just been whipped and that he wanted to be anywhere but there. It was extremely awkward.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I feel like many times time salespeople and buyers are merely pieces used by the dealership in a big game the dealer is playing. It sounds like your salesperson was appalled at being used in this manner, but I bet it wasn't the first, or last, time.

mr.scott.com · Aug 2, 2009

fred garvin said: ↑

PriusRos -

Congrats on the car!

You had a disciplined research process and ultimately got a great deal on great car. The solar is a rare thing, still.

My hope is at some point soon you let the anger go and enjoy the car - it would be terrible if something attempted, but thwarted by your strength, in any way diminished your enjoyment of the new car.

Again - congrats!
Click to expand...

I agree Fred.:rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon: I was very impressed with the level of research done by Ros, and then when she knew what she wanted she went for it in full force. Plus, her timing was good; I think SR's in our area will be hard to come by come this fall, and the dealers know it too (and will act accordingly).

Bilbrey · Aug 2, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

Because the solar is so rare here (apparently they are all in California), dealers probably think that everyone is desperate to get the car.
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The dealer here said out of 187 2010 Prius cars received, only 12 were models with the solar option.

Like you, I too am pleased with the Prius and hope that it lasts me many, many years.

PriusRos · Aug 3, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

Right. My dealer did change these options for me for no extra charge. No problem. Floor mats were included, too. I was thinking everything was going very well (obviously too well) which is why I was not only pee'd off, but also quite disappointed with them, when they tried to screw me out of $800 at the last minute.
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I misspoke. I was charged for the floormats. The $200 was included in the MSRP that the salesman charged.

(When I asked him whether he would include the floormats, I meant at no extra charge. He said they come with the car so I thought he meant they wouldn't be additional. I guess he meant that they were already included in the car and were part of the sticker price.)

Bilbrey · Aug 3, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

I misspoke. I was charged for the floormats. The $200 was included in the MSRP that the salesman charged.

(When I asked him whether he would include the floormats, I meant at no extra charge. He said they come with the car so I thought he meant they wouldn't be additional. I guess he meant that they were already included in the car and were part of the sticker price.)
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$200 for floor mats is a bit high, but they match color, hook into the floor so they don't shift around, and I was considering getting them anyway. So I don't feel as bad about them being 'forced' upon me.

And when I looked at the 'sticker' sheet, they are listed on it.

I sympathize with how you feel though...

Crazyhorse6901 · Aug 3, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

As some of you know, I picked up my beautiful Winter Grey IV with Solar on Friday. Everything worked out in the end and it could have been a very good buying experience except that it was soured by what happened at the dealer. I am posting my experience to warn others about this type of tactic. *Warning- Extra Long Post Ahead!*

Before I get into it, I want to say thanks to fellow Priuschatter mr.scott.com for telling me about this car. He first contacted me to invite me to see his blue IV with solar. When the salesman at this dealer emailed him about the winter grey arriving, Scott immediately let me know about it so I was able to end up with the rare IV with solar within about 10 days after I had started placing orders. I also wish to thank PCâ€™er Fred Garvin, who was the first to invite me to see his IV with solar (blizzard pearl) and all the others on this forum who have directly or indirectly provided so much information on the new generation Prius.

The dealership is in the Baltimore, MD. I won't name them at this point because I still have to go back there and finalize some paperwork and I'll wait to see how they treat me then. When Scott told me about the car, I contacted the salesman, J. I was a little hesitant because I already had deposits with two other dealers -- but they were telling me it could take between two and four months and here is one that was definitely on its way from New York. Also, grey was only my third color choice after white and blue (the two that I had seen). However, I decided to take the plunge when J. assured me that they would definitely honor the Carmax appraisal price for my 2006 Prius trade-in and would include the floor mats. He also said they wouldn't charge me the $100 dealer processing fee.

Getting full price for my trade-in was an important factor because I was being told, not only by Carmax, that the car would lose value rapidly once the new Priuses start arriving in full force and used ones will be flooding the market. When I received the appraisal of $15K from Carmax on July 19, they told me that it was only good for 7 days and I would most likely lose $500 if I reappraise it after 7 days.
So I placed a deposit by credit card over the phone and J. faxed me the receipt and agreement, which accurately reflected our conversation. During the week it took to get here, I went to the credit union and paid off my 2006 in full and joined another credit union because the rates were much lower and applied for a new car loan there. J. Called me on Thursday to tell me it had arrived.

On Friday, before I went to pick up the car, I had called J. to ask him to for several modifications - i.e., change the reverse backup beeper to a single beep, let headlights turn off immediately, and disable the automatic door locking when driving. When I arrived, the car was ready and everything was done as I had requested. We took it for a test drive and to fill up with gas, and then I took some pictures of it with my old car. Except for the rain, everything was going really well.

We went inside and started to fill out the contract. J. took my Carmax appraisal and disappeared. I visited the restroom and when I came back out I saw there was something wrong. J.'s face was red as he told me that the Carmax appraisal far exceeded the actual value of what they would normally pay for a 2006 Prius and this is what they are willing to do: since I am saving some money on taxes by trading it in rather than selling it to Carmax directly, they would give me $14,200 which would be the same as Carmax giving me $15,000. I told him that I had already taken the tax difference into account and that they had agreed to give me the Carmax value. When he told me that $14,200 is all they were willing to give me, I gathered up my papers and started to leave. Surprisingly, he didn't try to stop me -- he just said he'd process the refund of my deposit and promptly did so.

As I headed towards the door, I decided that I should give them a piece of my mind so turned around and asked to talk to the manager. I told him in a voice loud enough to be heard by others around (at least, I hope it was), â€œI know that the new Prius sells itself so you think that losing a customer is not that big a deal. However, youâ€™re losing much more than one customer. I was going to recommend this dealership to my friend, who is also looking, because J. has been very good to work with and everything had been going well. Now I wonâ€™t be recommending you at all and in fact Iâ€™ll make sure everybody knows not to come here because you refuse to honor your agreement.â€

He told me that the Carmax appraisal was way over what they would normally pay for this car and that I wouldnâ€™t be losing anything because with the tax difference, trading it in here for $14,200 would be the same as selling it to Carmax for $15,000. He said that they would never get $15,000 at auction for it, to which I replied, â€œWhy would you need to sell it at auction?? All you have to do is fix it up and sell it for $18,000!â€ Of course he said it would never sell for $18,000 (actually Iâ€™ve heard of someone who bought a 2006 for $19K recently) and I told him itâ€™s beside the point. You agreed to pay me whatever the Carmax appraisal was. (Since the appraisal was done, 12 days before, I had put very few miles on it, keeping under the 30K that it was appraised at, and of course Iâ€™d had no bumps or accidents.)

So, for a second time, I gathered up my belongings and headed out. Iâ€™m glad they hadnâ€™t taken the keys to my old car yet and it was still parked where I had left it, which I guess means they hadnâ€™t even looked at it. As I was about to drive off, the manager comes rushing out and asks me to please wait while he talks to the GM. So I did. Then he came back out and told me they would honor it and sorry for upsetting me. He explained that when he told J. to tell me they would give me $14,200, they didnâ€™t expect I would just get up and walk out and he was expecting to talk to me. I said that thatâ€™s what made me so mad, telling me that $14,200 IS THE SAME AS $15,000 â€¦. Did they think I was that stupid? The tax difference was already something I had factored into my calculations which is why I didnâ€™t sell it to Carmax to begin with. I also pointed out that they obviously arenâ€™t going to lose any money on that car. So he apologized and I ended up buying the car under the terms of our original agreement.

Again, this should have been a happy and straightforward purchase, but they ended up ruining it both for me and for the salesman by trying to gyp me out of $800.
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My experience with RKToyota turned out to be a nightmare, I walked away without the Prius IV with the solar moonroof in Silver...At this point I don't know what I plan on doing when I decide to purchase a car!!eace:

PriusRos · Aug 3, 2009

Crazyhorse6901 said: ↑

My experience with RKToyota turned out to be a nightmare, I walked away without the Prius IV with the solar moonroof in Silver...At this point I don't know what I plan on doing when I decide to purchase a car!!eace:
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Sorry to hear that. What happened?

I think the dealers who try to pull these tricks think that everyone is too desperate to get the car to walk away.

PriusRos · Aug 3, 2009

Bilbrey said: ↑

$200 for floor mats is a bit high, but they match color, hook into the floor so they don't shift around, and I was considering getting them anyway. So I don't feel as bad about them being 'forced' upon me.

And when I looked at the 'sticker' sheet, they are listed on it.

I sympathize with how you feel though...
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Yeah, $200 is a lot but they do fit better. It's not that much in the scheme of thing -- it's just that I didn't realize I had been charged for them.

PriusRos · Aug 8, 2009

Re: Dealer Tried to Renege on Agreement Part II

Here is the follow-up to this story:

Today I returned to the dealer to give them the lien release on my trade-in and the check from my credit union. The business manager was busy with another customer, so while I was waiting, I asked to speak to the customer service manager. I was told that she was off today, so I produced the printout of the email I sent to Toyota Sales, which included my initial post here, and their response (which was something along the lines of "thank you very much for your feedback. We shall be sure to file it in our circular file and throw it out at the next trash pickup..." The receptionist told me that maybe I should talk to the GM who was standing at the counter over there. So I went over to the two guys standing at the counter and asked for the GM, and was pointed to one of them. I gave him the letter and told him I had a disappointing experience when I bought the car, had posted this on Priuschat website (but hadn't posted their name), had forwarded my complaint to Toyota, and I felt they should know about it. He said, "The GM isn't here right now, I am just the general sales manager. I will be sure to pass it on." That was that. No "let's talk about it."

After my business got taken care of (following a very long wait), I drove around the lot to see if I could spot my old car. Sure enough, it was there, on the used car lot. I got out and examined the sticker, and it definitely was mine, with the same year and mileage, but they did not advertise the asking price.

So I asked my BF to call the dealer and ask the price of the silver 2006 Prius. They told him it was $18,788! Remember, they didn't want to give me the $15,000 Carmax appraisal value -- offering me $14,200 instead -- saying that they would never be able to get that much "at auction." When I pointed out that they didn't have to sell it at auction -- all they would have to do is fix it up and they could sell it for $18,000, they told me they wouldn't be able to get that much for it. Now they are asking for almost $18,800!

I am thoroughly disgusted that they can LIE this blatantly. The dealer is R & H Toyota in Owings Mills, Maryland. However, I do want to emphasize that I did not have any problems at all with the salesman, Joey, or the service and delivery of my car. They got everything done that I had asked for and didn't try to sell me any unwanted add-ons (of course, they knew better than that after the way I had reacted to their "offer").

Bilbrey · Aug 8, 2009

Q: How do you know when a general manager is lying???
A: His lips are moving!

I like my Prius, but I never want to deal with my dealership again.

PriusRos · Aug 9, 2009

Bilbrey said: ↑

Q: How do you know when a general manager is lying???
A: His lips are moving!

I like my Prius, but I never want to deal with my dealership again.

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What happened?

Bilbrey · Aug 9, 2009

PriusRos said: ↑

What happened?
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Like you, it was the whole dealer experience. They misrepresent, or lie.

"The warranty is ONLY available from us, and only if you buy it now."
Had to go back and cancel their overpriced warranty and prepaid maintenance policies.

They were more worried about which sales person received the commission, than what price I was paying for the car. In fact, the whole "They are in short supply, so pay top dollar now." attitude was a bit insulting.

I hate anytime, anyone, tells me things like "You have to buy it now, the price will be going up." Grrr...
In fact, if I wanted to wait 6 months, I KNOW I would get a better deal on a 2010 Prius. But I needed a car now.

The fiasco with the Clunker program was not the dealers 'fault', but they could care less about helping the customer, and did in fact only care about putting money in their own pockets.

So, since you asked, sorry to vent, but the whole car shopping experience is still the same "How much money can we extract from the customer?" attitude.

And the whole, "I have to take that deal to my manager" game is old too. Really? They don't think that we have caught on by now??? Well OK, not enough for them to stop trying to do it...

You would think that with the state of the car industry, the car industy would reform the way they deal with customers and stop being notorious for the stereotyped "Car Salesperson" attitude.

How about trying things like:

Honesty

Service

Value

Commitment

And not, "Who can I screw next to make my numbers for the month."

Oh, and for the folks that will say I'm being unfair, or unreasonable, with respect to the auto industry, I worked for Ford Motor for a year back in Dearborn. I know the crap they try to pull on customers. And car dealers (most of them) still have the 'screw the customer' attitude. They are out to make money, and most of the people working at the dealership when you buy a car will not be there when you come back to buy the next one, so they try and get as much as they can from you while you are there...

Sorry for the long rant.
I really do love my new Prius. I've been very happy with it. I will be happier when the backup beep is changed to one beep, and the door unlock is changed to all doors (have an appointment to do that tomorrow, and that was a battle to get them to do it without charging me). I've had the car two weeks now and I can honestly say that I have not found anything that I don't like on the car. (Although, I 'may' try to do the automatic headlight modification later. Not sure yet.)

I especially enjoy the solar cooling. Especially on a day like today where it hit 102Â°F, and while the car was hot to get into, it was far better than it being 120-130Â°F getting into the car. It works!

Yes, I love my new Prius. I just wish I could have ordered it from Amazon.

Dealer Tried to Renege on Agreement

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Dealer Tried to Renege on Agreement

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