Purchasing Strategies - Questions & Success Stories

imidazol97

I'd find another dealer. You got played. Computer error, my foot!

snakeweasel

So is it okay to call and ask about it to make sure the online details are correct?

Go ahead and call, whats the worst thing they can do? I would advise not calling on a weekend, but just about anytime during a weekday would be good as most dealerships are not overly busy then.

snakeweasel

Get your $2,000 back and find another dealer. Plenty of Toyota dealers out there.

jipster

Sounds suspicious to me.

Ya think?

Car dealerships don't have a worse than death reputation for nothing seaotter. They found someone who will pay more for the car than you would.

Ya snooze ya lose. As always...I would sue em.

snakeweasel

I would sue em

You most likely wouldn't get anywhere. Unless you had a sales agreement with the VIN number of the car on it. Even then if you get your deposit back you won't get anything since there really wasn't any damage.

I, personally, would try to work this to my advantage to see if I could get even more off the car. But unless it is a significant amount of money I would be gone.

socala4

Unfortunately, there's nothing to sue for. A civil judgment requires an assessment of damages, and here the quantifiable damages are minimal to none. (In this case, there's no discernable economic loss, and there's no claim for additional intangibles, such as pain and suffering.)

In any case, I wouldn't bother with paying a deposit of that amount. Get your money back, and don't bother with that mileage alternative.

seaotter212

First off, thanks for all the quick replies!!

After reading your posts, I decided to keep the deal since I am getting the car (base 4x4 @ around $21,000 OTD with option pkg c (side air bags, etc.). I think they are only making $300 on the car (so perhaps the bait and switch).

I just got off the phone with the salesperson. She told me they have another car coming off the dock soon and I can take that one, but I will have to wait a few more days.

In addition, I found out more about the car that they are offering. It is a dealer trade. The car arrived at my dealership but the other dealer had to drive it back b/c my dealer didn't have the car to be traded ready. Now the car that they want me to take is finally in their possession with 180 miles on it.

And yes, the VIN number is written on the deposit receipt.

(I wonder if it's just the same car with the odometer rolled back...you guys got me paranoid now :sick:)

bigdveedubgirl

Ya computer error! Whatever.

A sold or hold sign should of been placed in the car, and if it was a dealer trade, the salesperson would of most likely handled the check in. If it was an order car, many Maroney's have the customers name on it. (At least VW and AUDI do) If anything, the organization is awful at that store, or like everyone else says, someone paid more than you did!

I have myself flubbed an order and I was so scared because I paid 900 transportation to get a papaya orange TT roadster from Florida, or so I thought....It arrived as a coupe. I called the customer and I thought he was going to totally go off on me and I just said "Look I screwed up I am so sorry, and I totally understand if you want to back out" He said "Well, you were honest and you worked really hard to find the car you thought was a roadster, so I am still in" I got really lucky, cause if I told a BS story he would of been out. It just goes to show Honesty on both sides is always the best policy.

tsgeisel

Well, 180 miles really isn't all that much. All it means is that it's been test driven a few times. But it's far too few miles to think it's a former rental or anything like that. And way too few to worry about rolling back the odometer. No dealer is going to risk the paperwork hassles or fines and such for 180 odos (which is what an odometer measures, right?).

If you're really paranoid, ask to see the car with the 180 miles they were going to offer you, first.

dino001

Did you have any recourse against the guys who sent it to you, or was it really your mistake (didn't read the spec sheet)?

snakeweasel

Ya computer error! Whatever.

To be fair even the best run operations do have the occasional error, so I wouldn't exactly say that the dealer is trying something fishy.

bigdveedubgirl

It was the case of too many chickens spoil the broth? I had 2 people trying to locate the car and make the phone calls, and one manager came in the loop a little late and he thought we were looking for a coupe and so he found it and I just through the copy of the invoice in my folder and that was that. It was my fault for not looking at the paperwork and depending on someone else.

bigdveedubgirl

My question, is why did they not call him ahead of time. If the salesman had a delivery at specific time, he would know of this error before the customer got there. Hey I am a salesperson, and as you can see from my story above I am not immune to mistakes, so I just think its kind of fishy..

snakeweasel

Apparently they did, he did say "A day before the pickup, my salesperson told me that the dealership accidentally sold my car due to a computer error". So some way it was communicated to him ahead of time.

bigdveedubgirl

oops sorry dyslexic, missed the "day" in the post.

audia8q

wow the anti dealer gang sure turned this into a conspiracy in a hurry...I bet the dealer was on the grassy knoll in Dallas.

mikefm58

"I , personally, would try to work this to my advantage to see if I could get even more off the car. But unless it is a significant amount of money I would be gone "

That's exactly what I'd do too. I'd tell the sales person, that this is either a "shady trick" or a mistake that shows their incompetence. Either way, I'd ask them what they're going to do for me to make the deal right.

imidazol97

Let's see:

The dealer uses a board to record delivered cars on their lot. The board is market sold by the salesman because he wants his commission. ????

The dealer uses a computer to record delivered cars on their lot. The salesman records the car as sold because he wants his commission. ????

Now how did the "mistake" happen? Friends had their new Intrigue they were buying sold out from under them by the Olds dealer. They obviously found someone willing to pay more for it when they were brand new and hard-to-get!!!

erc1

I just started getting internet quotes for a new car, foolishly using my real name. One internet dealer replied with a rather personal email in which he repeated the phone numbers of my office, home, and cell, as well as the address of my parents (same state). Obviously, I did not furnish this info, only my name. So he must have pulled my credit, right? Which I'm pretty sure is illegal.

What should I do about this? I politely wrote back to ask where he obtained this info, but he has not replied. I am totally creeped out as a single girl and I feel this is completely in violation of my privacy, especially since I didn't even manage to get the actual quote out of the exchange.

Any suggestions?

hipfan77

I would call the dealer principle or owner and relay the information that he gave to you and voice the concern that way. Unfortunately, a lot of private information can be pulled by running a quick google or whitepages search. If you did not provide a SS or Driver's License number, I don't know how he could have pulled your credit.

hipfan77

Yes, long time lurker, I am also in the business. I can't imagine how it would feel to have a coupe drive in when you thought it was a roadster.

My embarrassing dealer trade story: Sent a driver to pick up a car at a location about 2 hours away. He left at 10, I set up the delivery for 6 that night (figured 4 hours transit, hour at dealer, time for service inspection and cleanup).

Customer arrives at 6, no car. Driver shows up, turns out he stopped at his family members for dinner and to chit chat. He also left the MSO and check at their house.

jipster

Friends had their new Intrigue they were buying sold out from under them..."

Absolutely...happens all the time. Happened to me. Can I or anybody prove it? No...which is why it is highly advantageous for the dealership to have so many of these so called "errors".

Salesmanager tells salesperson, " A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...sell that sucka". As socala4 has stated many times...the highly competitive nature of the business lends itself to these type of practices.

Sounds like bigveedubgirl is lucky enough to work at a reputable dealer and is honest in not trying to put a "spin" on this dealerships so called "error"...very unusual, but refreshing.

mikefm58

" I would call the dealer principle or owner and relay the information that he gave to you and voice the concern that way "

If the guy's creepy enough to pull all that personal info. Imagine what he's gonna do when he's fired because she turned him in to the owner.

I would ignore him entirely and hope he goes away. If he continues, talk to the police and the owner.

imidazol97

You might use one of your free annual report checks with one of the three big companies to see if the check shows on your credit report. Someone here might know if it does show up. That would be great verification that it was done.

I personally call the owner. If they don't want to talk, there's always the local TV stations Turn to 2 or Help with Problems story guys! They love dirt.

socala4

If the guy's creepy enough to pull all that personal info. Imagine what he's gonna do when he's fired because she turned him in to the owner.

Chances are pretty high that if the dealership pulled the poster's credit report without consent that it's a common practice of the dealership.

Be wary of giving a dealer personal information, such as your driver's license. Under the guise of getting your license information as a matter of routine related to the test drive, the dealer may very well be running a credit check on you, most likely during your test drive.

The problem with having inquiries on your credit report is when you have a number of inquiries without a corresponding loan to match, which is interpreted as a sign that you may have poor credit, i.e. creditors have been doing their background research, but not offering you credit, a sign that you may be a risk. So it does effectively lower your FICO score. According to Experian fka TRW:

Careful study has shown that inquiries are an indicator of credit risk. Recent inquiries indicate a person may have outstanding accounts that are not yet part of the credit report. The more inquiries that appear on a borrower's credit file, the more likely a borrower may not be able to pay his or her bills as agreed.

On the other hand, in the age of the internet, the dealership may have used public records available to anyone to learn more about you. If you have left a paper trail, you may be surprised how much public information may be available about you just via a few well targeted online searches. If you are concerned about your privacy, you might want to do a bit of checking about yourself to see what turns up.

erc1

I have been cleaning up my credit in the interest of getting a loan, so, unfortunately, I have no free views left.

On one hand, I want to call the manager, go in with my guns blazing, standing up for my rights. . .but on the other hand I also don't want to be paranoid about some enraged freak chasing me down.

I have been learning a lot about credit scores and inquiries, and I'm fairly certain that any inquiry without your SSN is a "private" one that won't affect the score, in the same way you get pre-screened credit card offers. But I plan to apply for a Capital One loan this month anyway, and multiple credit checks that occur in a short time frame only count as one pull.

I didn't realize I would have to use a fake name to buy a car in this day and age. I would have thought twice about showing anyone my driver's license, but I didn't even get that far. I would say I was expecting some shady interactions, but this seems over the top.

raybear

When I find out someone has given me a fake name and more often, number, I'm liable to give them a fake price. Stick to basic honesty; maybe let the internet guy know you found it disturbing, better yet just ignore him.

1racefan

I recently purchased a car at a local dealer. I went into the dealership on a week night just to get some brochures, and to get the business card of a sales person. When the sales person gave me his card, he asked if he could log some basic info about myself into his computer and what I was looking for.

The only thing I gave him when we sat down at his computer was my name. He immediately confirmed my home address and and telelphone # back to me. He said he used an online people database in order for them to be able to select a person and their info instead of manually having to enter all of that. He didn't make menion of a work # or cell phone # for me, so I don't know whether his program provided any of that or not.

That evening, he never asked me for my license #, social sec#, etc...just my name. I do not think they ran my credit until I consented at the point that I actually bought a car from them 3 days later. However, I did wonder if their program gave them any additional info such as property value (of the residence at the address they pulled for me) in order to help them "pre qualify" the buyer.

mikefm58

All you need to do is google a first and last name, and you would be amazed at what comes back, even a link with driving directions to your home address, pretty scare stuff in the hands of a stalker. That's why I recommended to ignore the guy. The guy was an idiot to repeat back all the phone numbers and address.

Unless your name is John Smith, there's not much you can do to protect yourself from someone getting your personal info. this way.

black_tulip

I didn't realize I would have to use a fake name to buy a car in this day and age

This reminds of a discussion either in this or another smart shopper thread where some salespeople could not fathom as to why people requesting quotes would give only initials. This is a perfect example of why.

To the original poster: I would not worry too much about it. As others have suggested, given a full name, one can Google it and come up with all sorts of info. Nevertheless, next time, supply only initials or "John Doe".

imidazol97

There's always letting him know you're very concerned. Asking how he obtained all the information.

Then take his name and info and do some googling yourself. Check local newspaper search engines for stories about dealer and his info there. Once you locate an address, look up the property records at the real estate records office for your county and the treasurer's office. Check the civil court records and info on the country info records as well. Then you can always email him the info.

snakeweasel

The only thing I gave him when we sat down at his computer was my name. He immediately confirmed my home address and and telelphone # back to me.

Had the same thing happen to me once but instead he had my dads information. And since my dad passed away a few years earlier I would say it was a bit dated.

snakeweasel

All you need to do is google a first and last name, and you would be amazed at what comes back,

Doesn't work for everyone. I have tried it on my name and among numerous entries for many other people (a missing police officer, a college student, a HR manager and a yatcher to name a few) only three hits were for me. Of those three two were duplicates and out of date and one was my contact where I work (posted on my companies website).

1racefan

I tried searching on myself also, and didn't find anything - but like you, i did find others with the same name.

Guess you find out just how unimportant you really are when this happens!!!

hipfan77

I work solely with internet customers now, and we reply to all inquiries regardless of name, intitials, pen names, etc. Although one day when I had quite a few fakes :"Moe Herb" "Tyrone Shoolases" "Eileen Dover" etc, I got an email from "John Holmes" Having been placed in a rare mood, I replied that I needed a real name to proivde a real price.

Of course, his response was that he was tired of getting that line, and told me exactly where to stick my email server.

snakeweasel

I got an email from "John Holmes" Having been placed in a rare mood, I replied that I needed a real name to proivde a real price.

What if that was his real name? I have come across many a person whos real name sounded fake.

hipfan77

Unfrotunately, it was his real name. Luckily, I learned my lesson at that time and no longer question funny sounding names.

robr2

Yup - even better with a phone number.

You can google a phone number which will give you name and address. You can then take that info to the local municipality's web site and at least in my town give you photos of my house, a floor plan, when I added any addtions, how much I paid for it, how much my mortgage was, what it's worth today, et al.

Googling names isn't that great unless it's a pretty unique name.

michaellno

When I was working in college, I once took a check from a lady whose name was "Mary Christmas".

Man, her parents must not have liked her too much. I suppose her brother was named "Noel".

Unless she decided to legally change her name to that.

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately, it was his real name. Luckily, I learned my lesson at that time and no longer question funny sounding names

You'd think the last name you'd want to use to not get screwed would be... well, you know

kyfdx

I went to school with Robin Hood...

I always thought that her parents hated her...

One advantage with a name like that... you learn to be outgoing and a conversationalist....

hipfan77

Not going to touch that one.

jipster

I went to school with Robin Hood...

She ever take your lunch money?

imidazol97

If your last name were tree would you name your boys tree types for their first names!!! One family did. Unique. conversation starters.

snakeweasel

Its has to be a listed number or you won't find anything. And this is certainly nothing you couldn't do without the internet, just takes a lot longer to get the information.

snakeweasel

I grew up with a Jean Pool, I was stationed with a Norman Gorman and he was a Corpsman, I knew a Crystal Lamp and there is a Crystal Sequin here at work.

And in the "I would change my name if I were you" category, I once worked with a lady whose last name was Hitler.

hunnydew

This is too silly for me to not join in.

I knew a Mary Christmas in grade school.
My sister has a client by the name of "Dick Paine". I'm not making it up!!

dedwards

I had to join in too was in teh army with a guy named

Harry Colon.

and the harry was his name not short for harold

hunnydew

So I called and asked about the ABS thing. As I was on the phone with him, he did exactly what I had been doing and looked at his online inventory and read the same sticker I did and said "No, this one isn't showing anti-lock brakes". Thanks buddy for reading the sticker for me. Every car that does have ABS happens to have the safety package which includes ABS and side airbags. Not a single car out of 5 dealers had just ABS (if at all). That's why I called, to make sure. Not for someone to just read the sticker for me. I don't know, maybe I'm expecting too much. I just figured he'd look into it more than just glancing at the sticker since he is at the dealership and has more resources than me.

Bleh... just getting frustrated/anxious I guess.

dino001

What's wrong with side impact airbags? Aren't we too cheap (frugal)? Read Insurance Institute for Highway Safety side crash test data and you may change your mind...