dodgy dealer? or good deal

We stepped into a dealer last night to check out the rav4 and take yet another look at the Prius (we have been on the fence for over 12 months).

anyway we ended up buyng a black package 7 (adding leather from the dealer). We paid sticker plus the $1,600 for leather. 60 months at 6.15% for about 19,000 we financed. here is the reason for my post.

when we came to sign we discovered that the car had 550 miles on the clock, we were told it was a track car. Also the contract wouldnt be sent to toyota until may 2nd as they were not allowed to sell it until then (something about a 3 month in use period for this particular car). This was the only Prius they had available. they also said the wait would be 4-6 months if we ordered which I know to be basically untrue - 6 weeks typically is the wait - we are in Chicago.

I went to the manager and vented about not being told about the 550. (during our brief test drive I did notice the 550 on the dash and we presumed that was a distance to empty - as did the sales guy at the time). He gave me free weekly car wash for life and 4 oil changes. The sales rep swore that he didnt know this car had 550 miles on it during our discussions.

We did drive home in the car but didnt pay any of our down payment. I had a rough night going over the decision. In the heat of the moment I had gone through with the deal. (I hate car dealers and buying new cars). Has anybody else encountered a similar situation. any comments. I am tempted to go back today and try to get the contract killed (if i can swing that) and order a 'new' car and wait a few weeks.

yours - a post purchase dissonance specialist.

 

The car is sold as new. We are not sure if this a TRAC car -once we discovered the miles the sales guy mentioned TRAC car, but the manager said that it could have been driven by sales people, by a sales rep. I will be calling them to find out if it is a TRAC. to be honest it was 10pm by the time all this came out so we were exhausted from being in the dealership for 3 hours and as nobody seemed to be able to tell me for sure where the miles had come from I am not sure if it was TRAC or demo. does the fact that they cannot sell it until May 2nd therefore make it a TRAC car.

 

I went back to the dealer, and swapped the black 550 miler for a silver 49 miler (also had a fleet car sticker on it). It appeared is if by magic. apparently they have sold teh black one to another buyer. anyway, i am happy now, although i did like the black, I have a new car and I can break it in and put scratches on it myself.

thanks for the input of the other members. great help.