Bad buying experience

Recently, about November 23, I decided to purchase a 2006 Accord. I've
owned over 7 Hondas and Acuras and had pretty good experiences so far.
This one was different.

At first, things went well. I e-mailed and called several dealers
looking for the best price on an EX-L. One dealer was $400 lower than
the next lowest. I called to confirm it was for leather, and a second
salesman verified it was. On Nov 28, I asked them to begin looking
for the car and they took my $500 deposit. They called the next day to
say they made a mistake, that they had accidently quoted cloth, but
that they would honor the price. And they could not find a car in the
state (I wanted 5 spd manual), so they had to order from the factory
and it would be delivered around the end of December. They sent a
confirmation fax on Nov 29 with price and model of the car, and a
statement that my vehicle was being built in mid to late December, and
that they would call soon with a delivery date.

All looked good, but something did not make me optomistic. I put in a
post titled "Wary about my recent purchase"
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/browse_frm/thread/728e63245ae7d5e1/fcf3de0f07af6b29?lnk=st&q=viperlars&rnum=2&hl=en#fcf3de0f07af6b29
where my worst fear was that they ordered a cloth car and were going to
install leather at the dealer.

On Dec 6, the salesman calls me and says they found a car in a
neighboring state and can have it to me within a couple days. Only
problem is that it had pin stripes, mud guards, wheel locks and a trunk
liner. It would only cost me $400 more. I said No Way am I paying a
dime more for anything I did not order. After he calculated his
"discounts", it only came to $189 and they would remove the trunk
liner. Again, I said No Way, I will wait a few more weeks and get the
car you ordered. That is when he told me they never ordered my car, so
if I wanted one before January, I'd have to take this one.

I asked the salesman to get the general manager on the phone. He was
not there, so he transfered me to another senior salesman. After I
tell him the story, and that I have a faxed confirmation that my car is
being built in December, he confirms that it had not been ordered, but
that he could still get me the car by the end of December.

He calls back the next day and says that he could NOT get the car by
end of December. I call the general manager hoping he can help. He
has no clue what these guys were up to. I had to fax him back the fax
they sent me. He says the car was ordered and I will have it end of
January and that is the best he could do.

I'm not happy, and still don't trust they are telling the truth. On
Dec 8, I call American Honda to see if they can help. They call back
on Dec 12 and tell me that they have just spoken to the general sales
manager and that he just ordered the car, and that I could expect to
get it late February, but most likely sometime in March. I told the
woman at American Honda that I was told January, and she said that was
pretty impossible.

Today, Dec 13, I called and talked to the general sales manager.
Before I could even ask the question, he blurted out that I'd have my
car in late January. When I told him American Honda said February /
March, he denied ever talking to them, although they knew his name. I
asked him to fax over the order he made so I could verify the order
date, make model, etc. He refused and told me he would no longer sell
the car to me. He said I'd become a headache for him. What about his
salespeople who are sending faxes confirming orders?

I asked him to fax a receipt of my $500 refund. He then tells me I
have to come down to the dealership to sign for my refund. It is about
an hours drive one way, otherwise, I would have loved to come down. I
said if you can take my $500 without a signature, you can give it back
without one. He said, nope, it was company policy. I've just gotten
off the phone with the credit card company and they are handling it.

 

Wow. I read every word. Sorry for your troubles, but this is
a great update which I'm sure will help others.

 

wow, thats is a BAD story.... I feel your paid, I too ordered an EX-L in a 5
speed (with a navigation) and I ordered it in early september and got it
first week of december. I called other dealers and everyone told me it
didn't "exist" anywhere. so at least I kne the dealer I was working with was
telling the truth. it was a good thing you put the deposit on you credit
card, this way you have recourse. if I were you I'd go down to the
dealership (I know it's an hour drive) and talk to teh manager or the owner
if possible and tell them a salesmen said he "no longer wanted to sell you
the car" I gurantee ANY car salesmen that says that will catch some sort of
backlash if the right people know about it. My suggestion, try using
carsdirect.com you shoudl eb able to do everything over the phone and
internet, and get a very good price. good luck to ya!

-Nick

 

Nick wrote

The original post indicates that a senior salesman and the
general sales manager of the dealership were similarly
jerking this customer around or, at best, were clueless
about when the customer's car would arrive and what was an
appropriate response to their not being able to keep their
promises. In fact, from the post it seems it was the GSM who
now said he wouldn't sell a car to the original poster.

To dump on a jr. salesperson, and only him, simply because
one can strikes me as pretty vindictive and cheap. To me, it
seems reasonable to infer that the dealership has a
corporate culture of ripping off the customer.

If one has to go after anyone here, go after the dealership
as a whole, not some salesperson who's told to abide by the
culture or be fired.

 

Correct. It was the GSM that I contacted and he is the one who told me
he did not wish to sell me the car anymore. Frankly, I'm done with
them and am willing to pay the other dealer $400 more for honesty.

I debated whether to include one of my e-mails from the salesman, and
had decided not to. But what the heck, it is pretty entertaining.
Enjoy.

The following is cut and pasted directly from an e-mail I received
after I declined paying the $189 for mudguards and wheel locks, with
salesperson's name removed.

the car we located you has splash guards and wheel locks before you go
postal i know you do not want them but they are very nice to have.
wheel locks prtect your wheels from being stolen and splash guards are
nice for the appearance of the vehicle and helps keep dirt off your
lower portions of the car. they also look good from the back of the car
as your driving. since the original quote you asked for was for a ex
not ex-l and we honored the quote wouldn't the right thing to do be to
take the car for the extra 189? we can help you but you cannot help us.
we are all americans here you are not dealing with the taliban man. all
the dealers were laughing at us for taking your deal. you can't beat
this deal any where thats why you want it from us it does not matter
that we are nice ,all you care about is money. personally i would work
with someone that is trying to help me out can you please just be cool
and take the car. call me

Only one fact is wrong. I never mentioned EX. It was always EX-L and
was in my original e-mail request for quote. If they had a problem
with that, then they should not have agreed to honor it and should NOT
have put it in writing.

 

"I can't come down to sign for it BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A FARKING CAR!!"

That's brutal.

Have you talked to the BBB about this?

 

I have not contacted the BBB yet, but I am trying to contact the
dealership owner. This has somewhat turned me off of Hondas. I'm now
going to test drive a 325i and a Passat just to keep my options open.

 

viperlars sez...

You should!!

Thanks for your informative post!!

I hve been trying to decide on a Honda -versus- a Toyota.

Your post just made a major decision point for me when it comes to
negotiations.

If they don't have the car I desire in the dealership, I will not order one!

Buyer Beware.

 

Don't knock Honda cars just because of a bad experience at one dealer.
Every car maker has good dealers and bad dealers.

 

High Tech Misfit sez...

I was thinking the same thing.

Since I never attempted to order a car, after reading this post, I hopefully
never will.

I would probably go with what was close enough to meet my needs.

Which is why you need to shop around.

They don't have your car? Go to another dealer and get out of there!

 

Ain't that the truth.

When my wife was shopping for a minivan (she'd already decided she
wanted a late-90s Dodge Grand Caravan), we hit two Chrysler dealerships
in the same day... one salesman was fantastic, listened to what she
wanted, helped her find something that fit her list perfectly, didn't
play the "car salesman" game at all... the next was completely the
opposite; the whole "used car salesman" stereotype coulda been modelled
after this clown, and in the end and much screwing around, they didn't
have a van that met the wife's needs.

It didn't put her off wanting a Dodge, but it sure put her off that
dealership.

 

I will never put any deposit. If they don't have it, I will talk to someone
else.

 

If you've followed my story so far, then you will be ammused to know
that I got the following e-mail from the original salesman on Monday
Dec. 19.
--------
I just wanted to check and see how you are doing with your new vehicle.
If there are any adjustments or items that need attention, please call
so we can schedule an appointment to have your needs addressed.

Much of my business is generated by my good customers who refer
friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to me for their
transportation needs. You can rest assured that anyone you refer to me
will be given extra special treatment.

Thank you again for your business and I look forward to handling all of
your transportation needs for many years to come.
--------

You know what would be a great addition to the sticker on a car - the
average intelligence level of the sales staff. "Excuse me, but is 28
the highway milage or your IQ?"

Amamzing. At least I laughed at these guys as much as I cursed them.