Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Dealer's Tricks - bait & switch, etc.
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not doing so instills the exact opposite right?
I thought about that- I checked like 5 different new cars- all were available in Carfax. It looks like the shipping companies report to Carfax.
If it was not a contract I'm sure that they would have said- "Too bad, no car." by now.
The contract doesn't make any difference about the dealer fraud. They advertised a car they had no intention of selling, for the purpose of drawing in customers My state code is clear about this-
(a) No statement or illustration should be used in any advertisement which creates a false impression of the grade, quality, make, value, currency of model, size, color, usability, or origin of the product offered, or which may otherwise misrepresent the product in such a manner that later, on disclosure of the true facts, the purchaser may be switched from the advertised product to another.
(b) Even though the true facts are subsequently made known to the buyer, the law is violated if the first contact or interview is secured by deception. [Guide 2]
All based on their ability to get the car from another dealer.
They appraise my trade and make the deal and want a deposit.
If they can't get the car.........I get my money BACK..........
I know from experience this is how it works.................
NO dealer in their right mind is gonna do a dealer swap on a "say-so"!
SURE.......if they can't get it they will TRY and sell you something they
have in stock! That makes sense...............
I am sure they had the "bait" car advertised. You can be sure they had it
and somebody else snapped it up !
Most dealers aren't foolish....They have PROOF they HAD that car........
Sadly somebody bought it before you did. They WILL have proof of that also.
If you think they were trying to cheat you.............RUN DON'T WALK !
Its better for your piece of mind...Not to mention your blood pressure ! :sick:
They advertised a car they could not sell. This is a crime. This is defined by state code, and by the Federal Trade Commission. I have no doubt that I will get my money back. What I want is the deal I gave up from another dealer.
They broke the state code six different ways in the e-mails they sent me; advertising a car they didn't have, encouraging me to purchase a more expensive model, disparageing the model I wanted to buy, accepting a deposit for a product then switching to a more expensive product, failure to deliver in a reasonable amount of time.
OK five- but I can prove them all.
i wish you much peace.
You say you "just want your car", but it looks more like what you really want is to start some kind of a crusade or a personal vendetta. Fine with me, but just think if it worth your time. My advice: unless you have plenty of time on your hands, just move on. I know you have rights, I know you feel hurt and deceived, probably rightfully so and I know you would rather see them punished. However, a campaign may cost you even more than a potential gain. Perhaps you should rather preserve your energy and find a worthy substitute. It is just a Focus, for God's sake, not a Bentley!
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I can see the t-shirt now - I sued a car dealer and all I got were these lousy floor mats
If it were me, I'd consider myself better educated and move along, buying from a dealership that doesn't jerk you around.
You want your new car purchase untainted by this experience right? If so, you got to mentally move on.
perhaps the poster could ask the dealer to jump on here and tell their side of the story. This way we can come to a fair conclusion...
the poster keeps mentioning a contract.....is that a buyers order or finance contract? If it's a buyers order I suspect there is a fine print clause concerning factory orders and swaps. Our buyers orders spell out specifics about "delivery"...
example....."...I understand this order covers a new motor vehicle subject to your ability to get delivery from your manufacturer, distributor or other dealers. I agree to pay any price increase made by the mfg or dist at any time before delivery, blah, blah, blah..."
..." I understand this order is for a new motor vehicle which you do not have in stock at the time of the order. If the dealer is unable to procure such motor vehicle within 90 days from delivery date specified on this order, than I may cancel such order...blah, blah
Mike
Agreed.... If you are going to sue, then just go and do it. Why are you still telling us you're going to?
car ahead of time. Most show a dealers running inventory.................
YES.......Some dealers WILL charge a fee for a "locate deal" vehicle.
Although I have never paid a fee. But the vehicle is not 3 hours away
either !
Yet again I see dealer stories from a "flake" wanting a oddball vehicle
trucked in from a dealer 300 miles away. Then refusing to buy because
of the 305 miles that are now on that car or they changed their mind or
that lilac purple color don't look so good in person.................
JTC...........I am sure there is some "legaleaze" or loophole in the
contract or buyers order for dealer swap problems.................
Chalk it up to experience...........................
It's a new untitled vehicle with an MSO and no registration .. so nothing will show - no history.!
Terry
This was a dealer trade, not a vehicle in the dealers inventory .... there is no such thing as a "crime" here .. your expectations were high and unfortunately they couldn't produce the vehicle and your feelings got hurt, I understand that - it's a human thing ......... as far as the FTC, state codes, the CIA, Home Depot and the AARP, it's meaningless ...... get your money back, then buy an 06, or check with some other dealers, or buy a used car or get Tiger Woods autograph - whatever .... but move on.
Terry
Not in Florida, they are not. I have seen some as high as $599, with usisal range from $200 to $300. Of course at $35-70 you may say it is a real "reimbursement" of the dealer for their efforts to register your car, anything bigger than that is pure added profit (even sales tax is paid on that amount so it has nothing to do with government as some salesmen tried to tell me in the past, when I was a new kid in town).
Apparently Floriday law allows them to charge whatever they like to and they use it big time. It lets them advertise lowball price offers with usual "plus tax, title, registration and fees". The frustrating part is that it varies so much that it makes competitive comparison very difficult. You still need to come and face them (or at best ask for faxed offer, but not all of them are co cooperative). Another way to get you in and "seal the deal" before you can make really informed decision.
All that advice "refuse to pay" is completely impractical. It should be more like "ask in advance how much it is and adjust for it mentally when negotiating".
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Sec238.3 (c) of the Code of Federal Regulations states- (c) The failure to have available at all outlets listed in the advertisement a sufficient quantity of the advertised product to meet reasonably anticipated demands, unless the advertisement clearly and adequately discloses that supply is limited and/or the merchandise is available only at designated outlets
link title
My state code defers to this definition. There is no point in suing, as I cannot prove damages. Purchasing an 06 model will cost me an additional $4k, because I will not get the same incentives that I purchased this car under. I purchased a car under a deal that was offered to me, I'm not trying to scam the dealer. The dealer didn't accidentally publish the wrong price, or sell the one car in stock they had at this price. They advertised this price (11K) after my initial contact, and I have a stream of e-mail that backs me up.
But like you said previously, "Ask in advance"!!!!
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
NEW SUBARU : $7999.00!
-Trade-In or Cash-$5000.00
-Dealer Discount-$2000.00
-Subaru cash- $1000.00
-Factory Incentive $1000.00
"Honest Ernie" Discount-$1000.00
Down Payment: $2000.00
(Fine print) Trade is assumed value of car, otherwise cash amount.
Yeah, you CAN buy a new Subarau for $7999.00..and if you belive that one, I've bridge in Brooklyn to sell you!
I'll let the state's attorney handle it. After that I'll set up a site, and post a link here, showing the e-mail traffic, the advertisments, etc.
Thaks to some for the help,
They could sue YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have attorneys on retainer. You have to PAY for one.........
Its no skin off their nose anyhoo...........
Its NOT worth the hassle......................
Even if you got the Atty. General, BBB, etc on their case it still would be
YOUR free time and hassle filing a complaint, going to court, taking DAYS
off work etc. etc............................
How much is that worth?
personally, i thought you shouldn't waste your energy because of the amount of effort and cost to gain some legal satisfaction, and that satisfaction is bounded by your damages which you have to prove... unless you just want to force them to jump through some hurdles and suffer a blip in their reputation with some negative press...
i thought you'd be doing yourself favor long-term if you mentally found a way to move past the experience - perhaps go to a different dealer to purchase the vehicle where your experience would be different because you are aware of what may happen with a dealer trade.
and if they do have CSI scoring, like I said and another poster alluded to, they probably wouldn't want to sell to you now anyway because they know you are going to ding them hard. you can't force them to sell you a car, but you can try real hard...and they might find that amusing in a twisted way.
i like the poster's suggestion that you consider this a sign you should be buying another vehicle all together. nothing against the ford ocus, but that depreciation angle may be something you might wish to consider.
regards.
In my case, I've got a printout and the numbers match Edmunds. But there's a couple South Florida fees on the paper I don't know what they are. There is also a $500 rebate not on the paper yet. So I don't think you can get exact numbers until you fill out a contract.
We'll find out this Saturday when I go back and do it for real.
You said in a previous post that the dealer was going to work with you.... what are they doing?
You also said you have been told you are not telling the whole story, well, that's true in that there are 3 sides to a story.... yours, their's and the truth (as Terry says).
I was in the retail business for a long time and I can tell you that customers vary widely with different expectations. One thing I know for sure, is the customer is NOT always right.
We called those the "lunatic fringe". There are just those customers that can never be pleased at all no matter what you do! I'm not saying you are one of those as I think you have a legitimate gripe.
Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome.
Mark
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