My husband and I decided to buy a new car, and after much research we decided on a Toyota Highlander. After many months of searching and looking at other dealerships, we found a car online that we wanted to check out at Jim M'Lady Nissan. Something we will regret for as long as we are here on Earth!
We found the truck in the lot upon arrival, and we were immediately approached by a salesman. We looked at the truck inside and out and decided to take it for a test drive.
When I started the truck I immediately noticed that the radio was turned up very loud (a sales tactic used to distract). The salesman talked almost constantly throughout the test drive, and made it almost impossible to hear any unusual noises or problems with the vehicle. He even went as far as to say that this was his first car sales job and that his wife made him get this job (something all salesman do "I am new at this"). When he asked where my husband was from and we replied, he tried to tell us that his son in law was also from the same country, something that we could tell was untrue within 2 seconds of him talking about it. He quieted down after some time, and we were able to access the truck properly. It had almost all the features we were looking for, and low miles.
After talking about it in detail we decided to buy the vehicle. We already had a loan approved through our C.U. The salesman said that we had to fill out and sign a piece of paper that confirmed who my husband was, and that this was required because of September 11 and the Patriot Act.
I used to work in the business office of a car dealership in another state while attending college, but that was back in 1998 before 9/11, due to the experiences I had working with these guys, I DO NOT trust car salesmen! I wasn't aware of any requirement, but again my experience was pre 9/11. I asked the salesman flat out and upfront if they were using this to run my husband's credit, and he said no that it was required because of the Patriot Act to verify my husband's identity. It had two fees associated with the truck as well listed on the paper, a 150.00 "PROCESSING" fee, and some other fee for a VIN Etching that was supposedly done to the vehicle.
He came back and told us that we had to go talk to the Finance Manager to sign papers. I had been watching this man periodically since we came in the offices after driving and deciding to buy the truck. He had a very arrogant look and demeanor. When we walked in he asked what rate our C.U. Was giving to us, I told him that I wasn't sure (we knew). He said he could most likely beat their rate, something he would not know without running credit. It was at that point that my husband and I were quite uncomfortable with the way this deal was going, and we decided to excuse ourselves citing a need to go and pick up our children from school.
We approached this endeavor ALL WRONG! We went in being tired, stressed out, and everything that I had learned from my years at the Shelor Dealerships in Virginia had went out the window!
We learned through our credit score watch alerts the same day that Jim M'Lady had indeed ran his credit, and that is how the Finance Manager was able to extend a percentage rate amount to my husband.
Needless to say we did not buy the car, due to their deceptive practices! We went into the dealership to confront the men the next day. We talked to the Finance Manager again, he was arrogant and rude with us, acting as if we were inconveniencing him by asking questions. We asked him to drop the fees associated with purchasing the vehicle, and then MAYBE we would buy the truck. He refused stating that every customer has to pay the processing fee, and that the VIN Etching is something that everyone has to pay as well. I, for a fact know, that it costs the dealership anywhere from 10-20 dollars to perform this service, and they are charging customers way over and above that! I also know that dealerships have wiggle room when it comes to what they need to get for a purchase price of a vehicle. The car is still sitting in their lot, and this happened 1 month ago! Jim m'lady dealerships: shame on you!
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