On Sptember 21 I stopped by Gossett Used Car Supercenter on Covington Pike at around noon to look at a dark blue Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab which was parked in front of the Gossett center and had a price of $10,988 in the windshield. I test drove the vehicle with Salesman Keith Williams. I expressed interest in the vehicle and asked him to pull a car fax report on its history.
Throughout the day I had several phone conversations with the salesman, making a few offers and counter offers until finally he told me that his sales manager could "do it for 11 even out the door". These were his exact words. He went on to say that this would include the taxes, all fees and the vehicle. I told him I would think about it and call him back.
A short while later I called him back and asked him to prepare the vehicle so I could come pick it up. At this time I mentioned to him that I was in the National Guard and asked if he could check on whether or not I qualified for a tax free purchase. He said he would check and called me a short while later asking me to bring my LES statement.
At 6:30 pm I arrived at the Gossett Supercenter to complete the transaction. I brought my LES statement and told the salesman that if I qualified for the tax free purchase that I would like the tax to be deducted from the sales price. My reasoning for this was that since tax was included in the "11 even out the door" then it should be subtracted if I wasn't required to pay it. It turns out that I didn't qualify for the tax-free incentive because I am in the National Guard and not active duty. That was fine with me but this is where things went bad. The salesman told me that the deal of "11 even out the door" had hinged upon me being tax exempt. Remember, that I only mentioned the possibility of being tax exempt after out "11 even out the door" deal had been agreed upon.
It was also at this point that the salesman changed his phrase and started saying it would be "AROUND 11 out the door". I asked to talk to the sales manager and he came over and basically backed up everything that the salesman was saying. I asked him to honor what the salesman had told me on the phone and sell me the truck for "11 even out the door". He told me that he didn't have to honor his salesman's word since people make mistakes. They did some calculations and offered to sell me the vehicle for $11,700 out the door. I declined and left the dealership.
After this occured I filed a complaint with the BBB. After a few days they informed me that the case had been closed. They stated Gossett had made their offer contingant upon me being tax exempt only. Basically the management backed their salesman's lie all the way rather than upholding his word to me. BBB closed my case saying that the dealership had made a reasonable attempt to resolve the matter.
In summary, I am posting this to inform Memphis area consumers that Gossett has some crooked salesmen who will attempt to lure you into their dealership with lies and false words. This is not to say they are all bad, but sadly, the management there will blindly back up the bad sales people they do have. I have since bought another truck from a fanatatic dealer in Jonesboro AR and vowed never to do business with Gossett again. If you are thinking of buying from Gossett you would be well advised to dtay away and look for a more reputable and honest dealer.
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