Tues., Feb. 15, my husband and I went to Bill Heard Chevrolet to look at the 05 Blazer. After driving one, we decided to see what kind of deal we could get. Our salesman, Ezekial, was great, in fact, he's the reason we went there. Two years ago, we bought a new Cavalier, and was very pleased with him.
After going to the "tower" several times, he came back and said that he had "gotten us a 9% interest rate, and payments would be $440 per month."
From there, we were sent to Arthur Seaton in the Finance Depart. To sign the contracts... Which clearly showed the interest rate, and mthly. Payment amount. Because the company my husband works for is eligible for a "suppliers discount", we were told that that would be an additional savings of approx. $1,300, but they would have to speak with another department, and then would have the corrected contracts to be signed. We were told to come back in on Thurs. To sign the corrected contracts.
Thurs. Feb. 17 - We went to Bill Heard after work to sign contracts... Arthur Seaton was standing at the front counter when we walked in, and said (and I quote) "I don't have everything ready yet... I have your interest rate at 9% now... But, I'm gonna call one more bank to see if I can do better than that" We explained that it would be at least Mon or Tues of the next week before we could come back in, and he said "that's fine, no problem".
Mon. Feb. 21 - I called "Zeke" (our salesman) to let him know that we were not gonna be able to come that night, but, would he please let Arthur know that we would be there on Tues. Night.
Tues. Feb. 22 - We go back out to Bill Heard as planned, and sit outside Arthur's empty office for 45 min., thinking maybe he was at lunch, several salespeople, etc., asked us who we were waiting to see, and we told them. After 1 hour of waiting, another salesman came by, and I asked him if he would please check to see if Arthur was in another area of the dealership. After several minutes, he came back to let us know that Arthur was off! The other Finance person came out and asked if he could help... We explained that we were there to sign contracts... And were told that he couldn't help us, "because he wouldn't be able to come into the deal midway and be able to figure out what needed to be done" (how hard can it be to find the dotted line and say sign here!) (but... That IS assuming that the contracts were actually ready to be signed)
Wed. Feb. 23 - Again we go out to Bill Heard, and again, we sit and wait 30 min. To see Arthur. (he was with another buyer, I assume) Finally, he comes out and attempts to explain why things aren't ready yet... He has to have us "physically" in his office to be able to call the "supplier code" people to get the actual figure. (ok, we're in your office... What's the problem?) I explain to him that we were planning a weekend trip and would really like to take care of this before leaving, so we could purchase a tag for the truck. He said "oh, I can give you the paperwork to buy a tag, that's no big deal... But, you have 20 days after purchase to get the tag, so just go on your trip, enjoy yourselves, and come to see me when you get back to finish the paperwork" He said that he would call us when he had things ready to sign.
Jump ahead a bit now!!!
Fri. March 4 - My husband receives a phone call from Arthur Seaton... Asking if everything is going good with the truck, and saying that he had everything taken care of with the supplier code thing and would call us on Mon., to let us know whether or not we even needed to come back in. (now... How will the new contracts become signed if we DON'T come back in)
Mon. March 7 - No phone call from Arthur came.
Wed. March 9 - We had a message on our machine (that we didn't even realize was on, so it was the next day before we noticed the message) from "Zeke" at Bill Heard, asking us to call him... Another one, from someone named "Mitch" explaining that there were some additional papers that my husband needed to come in and sign, and to please call him.
Thurs. March 8 (we actually heard the messages we had received the day before)
Fri. March 9 - My husband calls Bill Heard, and is asked if he can come in between 1-2 to sign "some papers".
When he sits down at Arthur's desk, Arthur smiles and shows him the new contract price of $21,100 (almost patting himself on the back for such a good deal)... Then starts to explain that the interest rate is gonna be a "little bit higher" than expected. He then pushs a piece of paper across his desk with the figure of 19 1/2 %!!! Needless to say, my husband was less than pleased! Arthur then explained that because I was a co-signer on another loan for someone else, and there had been 7 late payments on their account, they couldn't get the rate that they thought they could with what our credit had shown.
After several conversations with Arthur and his boss, Larry Phelps, with both my husband and myself... We have decided that we were flatly lied to! We were QUOTED, not suggested, that our interest rate would be 9%! NOT 10 1/2 % more than that. Over the span of 3.5 wks, and all of our trips out there, and phone conversations, not once did anyone from Bill Heard say that there was a problem, and that the interest rate might be higher than expected, not once!!! If they had, we would have taken it into consideration, and gone from there. But, no, every time, we were told that everything was fine, no problem, they were trying to get a better rate than 9%. Arthur actually told my husband that "he was doing exactly what his boss told him to do, by quoting the interest rate at 9%".
Now. I'm wondering, do they TELL their finance people to boldly LIE to the customer? Furious at Bill Heard, we are returning the truck, and cancelling the contract, as both Arthur, and Larry Phelps has told us that we could do. As a result of their lies and deceit, however, they are receiving a truck that for a month now, I have considered mine, and have driven over 1,000 miles. So, for their "gamble" of a sale, which is now a flop! They will have a 2005 Chevy Blazer in great shape... WITH ONLY 1000 miles on it! I'll bet someone could get a really good deal on it now... But, I would definitely not recommend Bill Heard to anyone in the market to buy a car. Obviously this practice is fairly common because it sounds like the same thing happened to the lady in Decatur who posted at this site. I'm glad now that I didn't go ahead and get a tag, etc., when Arthur said he could give me the paperwork to get it.
My husband works at a very large company who offers a big discount for Chevrolet purchases, but, after my husband gets through, I'll bet they drive to Lynn Layton or anywhere else than Bill Heard!!!
Gena
Meridianville, Alabama
U.S.A.
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