I went to look for a specific BMW at Vista Motors and after being told that I could not get it without searching for it throughout the country, we decided to do a locate for the exact car. Unfortunately due to my desired specifications we were unable to locate the right vehicle. I decided to settle on a vehicle due to my desire to obtain the vehicle in a short amount of time. I signed what the dealer called a proposal to his sales manager for the car we had located somewhere north of Florida (he would not tell me where), and left them a check for $5000 as a deposit. The next day (Friday) I called in first thing to tell my salesman, Jason, that I did NOT want this vehicle and not to order. He said no problem because they had no ordered it yet. At this point I assumed the order was null and void and they had not cashed my check since I had not decided on a vehicle and until I did, the check was not needed. My salesman, Jason, said he would not be able to do anythign further until Monday, which would be the earliest he could start to locate a vehicle for me again. On Saturday I visited another dealership and found the car I wanted and purchased it.
On Sunday I checked my bank account and noticed that on Saturday night my check had been deposited, which was not expected because the day prior to that, I had told them that I did not want the car and they acknowledged that. WHen my salesman said he would keep looking for a car on Monday, I didn't think he would have had the gall to cash my check without me moving forward with actually ordering a car. I called my Salesman on his cell phone as soon as I saw this on my bank statement online and expressed my deep disappointment and demanded that i be refunded first thing Monday morning. He responded without directly acknowledging that I deserved a refund, and said he would simply bring the "matter" to his manager's attention the next day. I trusted that I was due this refund and did not think much of it. Then Monday I did not receive a call from Jason.
Monday evening I called him and he said in the morning he would make sure I received a call. Tuesday morning, his General Sales Manager named Phil called me a left amessage asking me to call him back. I returned Phil's call to be informed that they would not refund my money because they had located a car for me on Monday and already ordered it to match my sspecifications without actually confirming this with me. It seems that once I had asked for my refund they scrambled to order a car to cover any chance of hanving to lose my business. I told the GSM this was shady and unethical behavior and that I expected my money refunded immediately. I explained to him what I understood to be the situation and his understanding of it seemed to be completely different. He said he would do further ressearch and get back to me.
It is now Wednesday evening and I have not heard anything from Vista Motors/BMW. I have been told that it is illegal for them to keep this money and that unless I physically drive a car off of their lot and take possession of the vehicle that I put down the deposit for, they have to refund my money under Florida state law. Watch out - this dealer tricked me and pulled a fast one. I am still working on getting my money back and it looks like I will ahve to take legal action to make it happen.
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