Drove about 1.5 hours today to a dealership that had a few vehicles in stock that were in my price range and I wanted to try out. Dealership closes at 7, I get there at 6:30 (just got off work at 5 so I got there as early as possible) and I'm immediately met by a salesman. I tell him which vehicles I'm looking at and he gets the keys and we're off.
First vehicle (Hyundai Sonata) I didn't like, so we test drove a Grand Prix. Wife loved it and wanted to drive so we test drove another. We both really liked the car and wanted to see what kind of deal we could do.
We go inside and negotiate for about 30-40 minutes. Most of the time the salesman and sales manager and throwing numbers together while we're both sitting there feeling guilty for keeping them here this long. Finally we agree on a price and I go to the finance guy and the problems start.
I owe money on my current car and he needed a payoff number. My wife called the bank and got the payoff number. We give it to him but he wants to verify it. Not a problem, I completely understand. Only thing is that the bank is closed (it's now 8:30 at night) so he says he could probably take our word for it but will hike the loan up an extra $50-100 to cover any accumulated interest. Fine.
He asks for the title to the car. My wife rummages through the pile of paperwork we have and it's not there. SOB! I forgot it at home. I quickly apologize to the guy and tell him that we left in a hurry and I forgot it. He rolls his eyes and says something like "that doesn't surprise me." I understand his frustration and apologize again and tell him I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to finish everything.
Before he lets me go he types some stuff on his computer and begins printing some paper. I apologize again and tell him I'll be in touch tomorrow. He looks to me and says "Oh no, we've got to have something to show for all this time" and he throws down a Purchase Order in front of me. I look back and tell him that I'm not signing anything until we get the finances figured out and that we can complete everything tomorrow.
He looks back at my wife, gives a half assed smile and says "well this was just a waste of time"
WTF!!!!
I tell him that I'll sign the purchase order if I can take the car home tonight. They have my driver's license along with my wife's (a copy) and my car. He said that would be possible...if we didn't have a trade in we could have completed everything tonight.
Wouldn't taking the car home tonight just be an overnight test drive????
My wife and I both walk out feeling sick. We both felt pushed into signing that purchase order and now we don't even know if we want to deal with them. I'm sure he wanted us to sign right then and there so we couldn't back out, but the way he went about it made us never want to deal with him again.
So what do I do? Do I have to buy the car because the Sales Manager and I have agreed on a price? I really like the car and the salesman & Sales Manager, but the finance guy makes me never want to do business with that dealership again.
He's calling tomorrow to setup a time so we can meet. I'm really wanting to immediately ask for his manager and giving letting him/her in on what happened and saying that I really don't care if I ever deal with them again. But again, I feel committed to buying the car because we agreed on terms.
Cliffs:
-Went to dealership looking to buy
-Found car, agreed on terms
-Finance guy was jerk
-Wanted us to sign purchase agreement so we were committed to car, just so he could "have something to show for tonight"
-Financing wasn't setup, nothing was signed, left on a sour note
-Don't want to deal with dealership, but feel committed because of agreement on terms of car
-He'll be calling tomorrow morning to setup a time. No idea what to tell him
Wow, sorry for the long post. Guess the cliffs is enough info, I just don't know what to do.
UPDATE:
Decided to go out the next day and see what other car deals I could find before I called the dealership and gave them a piece of my mind. Found a 2006 Grand Prix for $1300 less, but it didn't have leather or heated seats. Anyway, I liked the car and didn't feel any reason to do business with the first dealership.
Around 5pm (they close at 6) I called the sales manager I had initially dealt with. Asked him if he had heard what happened and he said that he overheard everything the finance manager had said to me, explained how he could have said it better, but he stopped short of apologizing. That wasn't going to suffice.
I told him that I work in the service industry and there is absolutely no way I could get away bidding a job and telling the person that I'm giving the bid to that I need a signature today to insure that I'll get the job so I have something to show for my time. That's just not how the industry works.
I also reminded him that my sister in-law as well as my wife's parents have both bought new vehicles for this dealership just a few years ago. Because the way they had treated both me and my wife, I assured him they wouldn't be getting any of our families business again.
The Sales Manager let me talk and get everything off my chest, which I appreciated. After I was done he told me he understands how I feel and why I feel that way. He again explained that everything could have been handled better by the finance manager and that he (the finance manager) was indeed upset for being there so late and wanted something to show for the night. This time he apologized for everything that had happened and wished things could have gone better.
So...I feel better. Nothing was really said about the car deal, which is good because I would have felt guilty about not going through with it. Suppose I would have been more satisfied if he would have told me the finance manager was going to get his ass chewed, but that probably wouldn't be too professional.
Anyway, I thought it went down good. Thanks everyone for your help. Might be picking up my car tomorrow if work goes well.
Cliffs update
- Called Sales Manager
- Had words with eachother
- Ended on a good note
- Buying car from different dealership tomorrow
- This is the longest post I have ever written. The End.
First vehicle (Hyundai Sonata) I didn't like, so we test drove a Grand Prix. Wife loved it and wanted to drive so we test drove another. We both really liked the car and wanted to see what kind of deal we could do.
We go inside and negotiate for about 30-40 minutes. Most of the time the salesman and sales manager and throwing numbers together while we're both sitting there feeling guilty for keeping them here this long. Finally we agree on a price and I go to the finance guy and the problems start.
I owe money on my current car and he needed a payoff number. My wife called the bank and got the payoff number. We give it to him but he wants to verify it. Not a problem, I completely understand. Only thing is that the bank is closed (it's now 8:30 at night) so he says he could probably take our word for it but will hike the loan up an extra $50-100 to cover any accumulated interest. Fine.
He asks for the title to the car. My wife rummages through the pile of paperwork we have and it's not there. SOB! I forgot it at home. I quickly apologize to the guy and tell him that we left in a hurry and I forgot it. He rolls his eyes and says something like "that doesn't surprise me." I understand his frustration and apologize again and tell him I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to finish everything.
Before he lets me go he types some stuff on his computer and begins printing some paper. I apologize again and tell him I'll be in touch tomorrow. He looks to me and says "Oh no, we've got to have something to show for all this time" and he throws down a Purchase Order in front of me. I look back and tell him that I'm not signing anything until we get the finances figured out and that we can complete everything tomorrow.
He looks back at my wife, gives a half assed smile and says "well this was just a waste of time"
WTF!!!!
I tell him that I'll sign the purchase order if I can take the car home tonight. They have my driver's license along with my wife's (a copy) and my car. He said that would be possible...if we didn't have a trade in we could have completed everything tonight.
Wouldn't taking the car home tonight just be an overnight test drive????
My wife and I both walk out feeling sick. We both felt pushed into signing that purchase order and now we don't even know if we want to deal with them. I'm sure he wanted us to sign right then and there so we couldn't back out, but the way he went about it made us never want to deal with him again.
So what do I do? Do I have to buy the car because the Sales Manager and I have agreed on a price? I really like the car and the salesman & Sales Manager, but the finance guy makes me never want to do business with that dealership again.
He's calling tomorrow to setup a time so we can meet. I'm really wanting to immediately ask for his manager and giving letting him/her in on what happened and saying that I really don't care if I ever deal with them again. But again, I feel committed to buying the car because we agreed on terms.
Cliffs:
-Went to dealership looking to buy
-Found car, agreed on terms
-Finance guy was jerk
-Wanted us to sign purchase agreement so we were committed to car, just so he could "have something to show for tonight"
-Financing wasn't setup, nothing was signed, left on a sour note
-Don't want to deal with dealership, but feel committed because of agreement on terms of car
-He'll be calling tomorrow morning to setup a time. No idea what to tell him
Wow, sorry for the long post. Guess the cliffs is enough info, I just don't know what to do.
UPDATE:
Decided to go out the next day and see what other car deals I could find before I called the dealership and gave them a piece of my mind. Found a 2006 Grand Prix for $1300 less, but it didn't have leather or heated seats. Anyway, I liked the car and didn't feel any reason to do business with the first dealership.
Around 5pm (they close at 6) I called the sales manager I had initially dealt with. Asked him if he had heard what happened and he said that he overheard everything the finance manager had said to me, explained how he could have said it better, but he stopped short of apologizing. That wasn't going to suffice.
I told him that I work in the service industry and there is absolutely no way I could get away bidding a job and telling the person that I'm giving the bid to that I need a signature today to insure that I'll get the job so I have something to show for my time. That's just not how the industry works.
I also reminded him that my sister in-law as well as my wife's parents have both bought new vehicles for this dealership just a few years ago. Because the way they had treated both me and my wife, I assured him they wouldn't be getting any of our families business again.
The Sales Manager let me talk and get everything off my chest, which I appreciated. After I was done he told me he understands how I feel and why I feel that way. He again explained that everything could have been handled better by the finance manager and that he (the finance manager) was indeed upset for being there so late and wanted something to show for the night. This time he apologized for everything that had happened and wished things could have gone better.
So...I feel better. Nothing was really said about the car deal, which is good because I would have felt guilty about not going through with it. Suppose I would have been more satisfied if he would have told me the finance manager was going to get his ass chewed, but that probably wouldn't be too professional.
Anyway, I thought it went down good. Thanks everyone for your help. Might be picking up my car tomorrow if work goes well.
Cliffs update
- Called Sales Manager
- Had words with eachother
- Ended on a good note
- Buying car from different dealership tomorrow
- This is the longest post I have ever written. The End.
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