I purchased a used car in December from Chapman Mazda. Two weeks before my temporary license expired, the sales manager, Steve Sprute, called and told me that I owed the dealership an additional $166 for the vehicle's registration. This dealership had only allocated $99 for the vehicle registration in the original sales contract. Two reasons this could happen: 1) it was intentional or 2) the dealership is incompetent.
There was no apology made for what the sales manager called the dealership's "mistake"; he just made threats that I would not receive my vehicle title until it was paid. Any reputable business would cover its "mistake" to maintain customer satisfaction. He claims the license fee was only an estimate. An "estimate" is not wrong by 166%!
Since I suspected this was done intentionally to make me pay for a fee hard coded in the sales contract called VTR (window etching and limited insurance for $228!), which I was told was part of the vehicle's tax (its similarity to AZ's VLT is no coincidence). I refused to pay $166 and he withheld my title so that I could not register it myself.
I asked for a refund of the $99 license fee and title multiple times so that I could register the car before the temporary license expired. He would not comply. This dealership is very disreputable and I have complained to the Attorney General's office.
In addition, the vehicle was advertised with a multi-CD player and spoiler. It does not have either option. There was no offer made to compensate me for the lack of these options. This is the worst car buying experience I have encountered in 35 years
0 comments