An elderly widow from Boise who clearly stated she was "just looking" and had no money to buy a car was coerced into a car deal by an aggressive salesman and General Manager in the waning hours of an off site sale. Believing she would be able to exercise a three day right of recision, the widow and her senior citizen male friend signed a sales contract for the purchase of a used Mercury V8 luxury car. It seems a consumer cannot ask about pricing of vehicles without making an offer which turns into a high pressure sales situation. For senior citizens, in their 70s, the pressure is just too much to take. The widows intention to price new cars in the fuel efficient mid size class turned into a switch from what she may have been looking for to "what would it take for us to get this out the door for you today" from the high pressure salesman. The tactic in working a deal through a general manager and making her feel special made the older widow feel confused and obligated. You see, she is from a generation where her word is her bond. If a salesman can twist his words into an offer from her, where is she to go? The widow's friend was even instructed to drive to Boise to get his checkbook and the widow could pay him back when she received an inheritance later. After driving off the lot, the senior citizens immediately felt the remorse of being persuaded into a decision they never intended to make. The next day they took the car to the dealer. Neither the GM, John O'Bryan nor the salesman was available to speak with them. The widow left car with a note that a stop payment was made on the check and the car is returned. She never intended to buy this large car for such a large amount of money. It turned out that the "out the door price" was ratcheted up another $2,000 with warranty, doc fees, and taxes. A car that books out retail for $8,500 was shoved into the widows hands for $14,000! The story is not over. The dealer did not take the car back. It was driven by a dealership employee from Caldwell to Boise and left in the widow's friend's driveway unlocked with a note describing the location of the keys and that the car was hers and was not to be returned again. A voice message from the controller of the dealership also insisted that she WILL pay for this car despite the stop payment. As a consumer advocate and financial advisor unrelated to this widow I was asked to help. I called John O'Bryan, the GM to let him know that while he asserts his legal position in this deal it would be great customer service to take this car back. It was not only inappropriate for the widow, she grossly over paid for the car, the "out the door price" was misrepresented. The fact that she does not have the resources to pay her friend back for the car adds insult to injury. John agreed to meet with us. When we entered the dealership we were confronted by his "right hand man" who said John was not available despite our prior conversation that morning. After several minutes of confrontation, the "right hand man" finally summoned John. We rehashed the deal, disagreed on the circumstances but he finally said "I cannot force you into that car". He took the keys back reluctantly and shook my hand. We left the dealership thinking the ordeal was over. A day later the car showed back up on the widow's friend's driveway with note that it will be returned again if it is brought back to the dealership. If John O'Bryan and his staff treat a senior widow this way, how will they treat you. For them it is all about the deal despite the rhetoric of customer service.
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