Dealer Warning - Stay Away!!!!!!!!

Bad Story, Bad Dealer. Gives us all a bad name.

 

Welcome to priuschat. Sorry about the bad experience. Since it is just your word against theirs I wouldn't think there is anything you can do. Thanks for warning others.

 

Well, it depends on how far you're willing to go. You could file a complaint with the BBB. Don't know what that would do, but at least it's easy. If you have a TV station or newspaper nearby that does "Consumer Advocate" type stories you could notify them and see if they'll intervene for you. You could even print up leaflets telling what happened to you and stand in front of the dealership and hand them out. That would probably bring them around real fast.

 

You should also file a complaint with the DMV. The prospect of losing their license to operate a dealership, especially if there are other complaints on file, may get you some redress.

 

Not to discount your experience, but...a verbal contract is only as good as the piece of paper it's written on.

 

I don't think that will do any good because it is your word against theirs. If this is recent, check all their ads, print and online and hopefully they had it advertised somewhere for a lesser price.

 

Exactly. Always check the numbers before you sign, especially if you go in a day or two later to sign papers because of a 'mistake'.

 

First of all, sorry to hear about this deal that went bad, I’m sure that you’ll get lot’s of sympathy from board members here and I’m sure that I’ll get blasted for the following comments ..however there are a couple of points that I’d like to make:

1.) You signed the paperwork, making the error your responsibility, not the dealer’s. The dealer is there to make a profit.

2.) I think that this is not the dealership’s reputation that is bad, but the finance person’s reputation that is in question. Yes, the dealership could reverse the charges but why would they do that when you signed the paperwork and agreed to the terms? There are all kinds of warnings in California about the no cooling off period…surely your finance person went over that… Buyer Beware!

3.) I’d never take a salesperson’s word on a price..much like a handshake deal. It just doesn’t hold up in court. No matter how likeable and straight forward they seem. It has been my experience that the real closers at the dealership are the finance team. They can make or break the deal.

I am amazed when people get in these situations and then blast the dealership for being greedy. It’s free market…some people will pay more than others…in this case you made the mistake of paying more than you verbally agreed to…I think that you should own up to that instead of blaming the dealership. They make you sign in multiple places on the contract for a reason…to protect them, not you.

I have no idea if this dealership is good or bad as I’m not local to them. But just as you’ve had a bad experience with them, there are probably many happy customers who did their homework before signing the deal and caught any mistakes.

Good luck with your Prius. They are great cars and I do feel for anyone who pays more than they wanted to.

 

If there are enough complaints to show a pattern of questionable business practices, action will be taken.

 

What am I missing here? What year and what package costs $30,000 or even $28,000 for a used Prius with over 10,000 miles on it?

 

I never trust anyone. Not just dealers and sales people. And let it be known that a used car with 10,000 miles shouldn't cost as much as a new one.

 

I do not know if this is the case here but I have seen add ons on used Prii that can easily push the price significantly (i.e. leather, chromed rims e.t.c.)

 

I believe if you went for the extended warranty, you have the right to cancel it. You can buy it again somewhere else, and probably cheaper.

 

It was a mistake, and they should have admitted it and adjusted the price. Because they did not, that means they were unethical. I would complain to the Executive Toyota office in writing and register the letter. Also take them to small claims court for the difference, they will not want to bother with that and may reimburse you immediately. First go back to the dealer and speak quietly but very firmly as to what you want. If, they are still hardheaded tell them what you are planning on doing. Speak to the Mgr, if he is not cooperative ask to speak to someone higher. Do not sit still for this kind of unethical behavior. Everyone that critisized you for your transaction were way out of line, you asked for help not critizism

 

I know...

Hey, if anyone wants mine, I'll sell it for 24K. Salsa Red, #9, no waiting!

 

Ummm... no I'm not in sales and have never held a sales position. I’m actually a Business Manager and I deal with contracts on a daily basis. I'm not sure where you get that I speak "BS", maybe because I don’t agree with your position?

I feel like I’m preaching here….but personally, I question the logic in your post because if you had done your homework you would have found that the going rate for a used Prius with 10k miles would still be lower than the almost $28k you agreed to pay. I purchased a new 2005 #6 with leather, for less than that back in May. Again, I'm sorry for your pain, but I really don't see what others can learn from your experience other than do your homework before making a major purchase.

Warning others to stay away from this particular dealer really doesn't seem to be the solution and that is the title of your post…to stay away from a particular dealership.

What is especially ironic about your follow-up post is this line: "I have bought cars from multiple dealers on Beach BLVD and have heard other stories from people with the similar experiences." So, in essence, you knew that there were problems and you did nothing to prevent it from happening and now you are blaming the dealership? Huh? How does that workout?

I didn’t mean my initial response to be a personal attack on you, so I trust that you did not read it that way….but when I read people bashing dealerships I really question what’s going on. I applaud your thinking that the world should be filled with honest people and agree that’s just not the case. But to say that this dealership is bad and that they are dishonest really grates on my sensibility and the more that I read your posts, the more I tend to think that you rushed into a deal, made an unfortunate mistake and now are publicly bashing the dealership because they won’t fix it for you.

 

You could have a friend call up the dealership and tell them that
terribly sorry but you had just suddenly died, and therefore the
sale must be canceled. Then go find another dealer.
.
_H*

 

925 - I agree with you on this one. First, I can't believe that Rush007 paid that much for a used Prius, really. Add-on's would actually lower the value on such a vehicle so I doubt "rims" would do anything positive. Rush - tell us what package was on it?

Second, in barely being able to describe what package he got, it appears that very little homework was done and it was an impulse buy.

Three, these things are explained in detail when sitting with the Finance person. Sometimes you have to slow them down a bit when they talk fast but you had all the time before signing those documents to ask questions.

Any negotiations done would have been put into writing - and it is the buyers responsbility to ensure that what is being signed is what was negotiated.

BTW - Hobbit, .....Wth?...were you being serious?