I am posting copy of the email I sent to the dealer. The' long story short' is that they convinced a 19 yrs old that he was able to buy a brand new car instead of the used one he was checking out. After 5 hours of negotiations, credits checked, contract signed, payment made and keys delivered he was told that if he really wanted to keep that car he would have to come up with more money down and instead of the 8% agreed upon it would be 15% now.
It may be legal but for sure is not fair and just, and my son was not the only one. Thank you all for reading.
May31
Mr. Frank Montebello
General Manager
Valley Hi Honda
Victorville, Ca
Dear Mr. Montebello,
My son and I had a horrible experience in your dealership last Friday, May29. After over 5 HS of negotiations and contract signed, my son received the keys of what was supposed to be his red Honda Fit Sport 2009. Before he could leave the parking lot however, somebody came requesting the keys saying that if he really wanted that car the price and terms of the contract had to be changed. I suspect it was all part of a strategy to easier sell cars to young people. My son was not the first victim as I could confirm later.
I got so upset and outraged with the whole situation that I did not allow my son to return the keys and we went right to the Victorville Police Station to report what happened and to verify what I could or could not do under the Law. The officer on duty told me they could not help me because it was a civil matter and answered that it was not illegal for me to keep the car keys and the contract until I arrived at an attorney office as long as we did not take the car from the Dealer's parking lot.
My son did not want to spoil the rest of his 2 weeks vacation hassling with attorneys and very concerned with the check he had left at the store, suggested that we should return, accept the deal and pay off the car as soon as possible once there was no pre-payment penalty.
When we returned Mr. Vince Riser came with other excuses and demands in order to make the deal. As I told him I want to tell you now: I believe your company has all the rights in the world to deny service and credit to anyone. We did not beg for anything, we did not hide any information since the first salesman approached us. (In fact we stopped by to check a pre-owned blue Honda Fit we saw in the parking lot.). What I believe is a very poor business practice was to wait until the kid gave the down payment, bought the insurance, signed the contract and was about to drive the car to tell that the price and conditions had changed. This is not a fair way to do business. According to Mr. Vince Riser the problem occurred because he was not present during the negotiations, that he apologized but we should be happy that the problem was detected before we left the store, not like some other young people who had to come back and renegotiate the deal plus include a co-signer. He showed me some contracts to prove that John was not the only one. We found out that even the blue used Honda Fit we were checking before was returned to your Dealership after the young buyer found out the monthly payments were raised. - If the four Valley-Hi Honda salesmen who made us close the deal were not authorized to speak for the company they should not be authorized to deal with customers on Mr. Risers absence.
Mr. Montebello, I don't even know if you are the right person to contact. If you are not I would appreciate if you could inform me to whom I should direct my complaint, because I am just following legal advice to try to resolve the problem with your company first before taking any other action. My next step is to contact Honda Headquarters in Torrance. I would contact them in Japan if needed.
I am from Brazil and Honda has been the sponsor for some of the best Brazilian drivers in Formula One and Indy 500. Maybe that's why my son - who is also preparing himself to be a Formula One driver - is so fond of this Company.By what I know of Honda History I am absolutely convinced they don't need and do not approve this kind of sales strategy. It is very cruel to let a kid believe he or she got a deal, let them drive and show off the car to friends in college, for instance, and later call them back saying they have to pay more in case they want to keep the car. It is a lot of pressure and you guys know a parent will co-sign or do anything to spare the kid from such humiliation. This time though, I believe you messed with the wrong kind of kid. Let me tell you a bit about John:
- He is a very responsible and mature kid. He is not the kind to show off even though he is being considered a great surprise and potential for Formula 1 race - please check
- He is a "Straight A student. From kindergarten to College his worst grade was one " A - ".
- He is very wise with money. I always taught my sons to work for what they wanted and John is outstanding in this matter. He is into cars and engines since early age and before deciding to be a F1 driver he wanted to be a F1 engineer. He had bought cash all his previous cars so far with his own money. His father, a US Marine Sargent died in June and with the Social Security Survivor money he received John bought a condo in Brasilia - Brazil, which already increased 84% in value. He found and negotiated the deal on his own. You can ask your people how he made all the negotiations while we were in your showroom. I couldn't do better than he did which makes me very proud. I know how hard he works for his money, I know how responsible he is and I am willing to do everything in my power to fix what happened. (Another reason Mr. Risers alleged to change the deal was that the company was losing money with the discount given to John in that car model. Again, if the other salesmen were not allowed to give discounts they should not be allowed to deal with costumers).
I was also amazed with how John handled the pressure from the gentleman who prepared the contract - Robert (I don't know his last name). We were told, after buying insurance and everything, that all needed was our signatures on the papers, so we were not prepared for what came next. Robert could not hide his anger when John kindly declined to buy the extra insurances and warranties for the car. Robert first tried the scare - tatics reminding how easy it is to have a car stolen here in Califorinia etc and ended up saying that in case the engine blew up John would be in trouble without that extra warranty. John told him that if he was buying such and such brand he would by the extra warranties but it was a Honda and he was not concerned. Robert even insisted that if he purchased the Gap insurance, alarm and the extend warranty he would be able to reduce the interest rate by 1% and John still declined. I agree it is normal practice to offer these extras but to hold us in a room for 40 minutes pushing the products and acting rude after our refuse to buy is unacceptable. I still can't digest that man talking about the Honda engine blowing up right after closing a sale...
Another piece of advice I received was that I should make it very clear what I desire in order to resolve the problem. OK, if I do not have to spend more time and money in order to solve it, I just want Valley-Hi Honda to honor the contract we both signed. I just want you to keep your word. I believe the problem was the discount given... The rest were all excuses. Whatever it is We were open since the beginning, there were no misrepresentations whatsoever. Every question was answered, every document requested was offered and you had more than 5 hours to check and come up with a decision. You could have told us to wait until next day before closing the deal.
At a point Mr. Riser said the problem was that we had our credit checked with Honda in Flagstaff the day before. This excuse doesn't apply because the first thing I told the salesman who approached us was that we were coming from Arizona, that we already had our credit history checked at Honda in Flagstaff. I asked if there was any connection between dealerships because I did not want another inquiry in John's credit history in order to protect his credit score. I told him there was no 2008 model available in Arizona according to the dealers there and that because John's credit wasn't strong they were asking a higher down and monthly payments on a 2009 model. I told him we were there for the Used 2008 model we saw in the parking lot but that we would only authorize credit checking again if we were able to finance within John's budged, IF NOT we were tired and did not want to waste our or his time. So there was no such thing as we hiding that we had previously checked credit in Flagstaff.
While Sean was showing us the used blue 2008 Honda Fit in the parking lot, another salesman (supposedly more experienced) came and asked why John wanted a 2008 model and from there convinced us that he could work out some deal according to John's budged in a 2009 model. John was cristal-clear that he wanted a deal with NO MORE than U$ 2.000 down and no more than U$250.00/month. ONLY after saying it was perfectly possible he authorized to have his credit checked again. Before submitting John's authorization for credit check, Ken looked at me and said that it could be that they would request my co-signment because John credit history was too recent and in order to save time I immediately gave Ken my social security number authorizing him to check my credit though I teach in Brazil not here. I told him I have credit history since 96 (when I was attending Central Florida University), and that I had checked my credit score recently and it was around 650 but that I do not work in the United States. I told him that I was already disputing some items in my credit report and that I haven't used credit for over 10 yrs because I was not in the United States during those periods. I showed him my teacher credencial from an University in Brasilia, Brazil and no questions were asked about my income. Hours later, when somebody asked about my income in dollars I told him how much I made per hr teaching but that I was not teaching while I am here in California. So there were no surprise or lack of proof of income as Mr. Riser suggested when he decided to back off from the deal.
Today I received an email from the company that monitors my credit showing that I have 5 new credit inquiries. I am really upset with that. Besides the humiliation we went through, you guys made it difficult for us to arrive in any other dealership with so many inquiries and it will surely harm my credit score. I was not informed that you were going to make that many inquiries.
Mr. Montebello, it may be that tomorrow or after tomorrow I really cool down and forget about everything but if I keep in the mood I am right now, there will be no site in the Web, no Business Bureau, no Consumer TV or Radio program, that I will not contact telling how your Dealership treated my son and other young buyers. I am just too sorry that Honda name is attached to your business. I am really sorry.
I look forward to your reply and a resolution to the problem your company created. Again I insist that to have credit denied would not have been a problem. To not be able to buy the car John wanted wouldn't be a problem either. The problem was to waste our time, to close the deal and change its terms after closing. The problem was the stress and frustration caused by raising the kid's hopes and expectations and at the end charge more for the car than we had previously refused to pay in Flagstaff. The problem is the lack of respect your team shows underestimating the intelligence of a 19 years old. The way your team try to take advantage of First Time buyers is also a problem. The problem is the humiliation we went through with one of your agents even insinuating that we were living off the suitcases in the car and that I was not the person I was declaring to be.
If I don't hear from you by tomorrow night - Monday, June 1st I will feel free to complain directly to Honda Headquarters in Torrance, Ca. Besides seeking legal help I will feel free to contact Business bureaus, Consumer Protection agencies, radio and TV programs all over California as well as to place ads in all known newspapers and websites soliciting people with similar problems with dealerships to contatct me.in all I decide to do however, I will make an effort to let it clear the admiration we have for Honda Motors Company and our total disgust for the deceptive business practices we encountered in your dealership.
Sincerely,
Teresa
Alhambra, California
U.S.A.
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