Freeland Chevrolet runs commercials on "used cars under $10,000 for $149 a month". I thought it would be a good fit for my needs and my budget. We had spoken with a salesman (Darrell Mayer) about vehicles before we knew of this program and had our credit run, etc. We researched two vehicles online and contacted Darrell in hopes of getting into one of the vehicles under the advertised program.
He assured my wife that we were approved for two cars and that we should come in. She made it clear that we were interested in the $149 a month deal and could afford nothing more. I, of course, wanted to know about the financing and interest rates before we made the trip to the dealership with two of our children to be sure our time wasn't wasted. He stated he didn't deal with finance and didn't know. I found that extremely hard to believe. Unfortunately, we didn't investigate further.
We arrived anyway and drove a Pontiac G6 listed online for $9988. Seemed like the perfect deal for us. Then all of the usual car business (paperwork, waiting, tactics) began. It became obvious to me that a "deal" was trying to be made. We finally get to the finance guy (Jerry) and began to sign papers and he proceeds to tell us that our payments would be $199 a month. Clearly a misrepresentation of the special. We tell him that won't work, so he says he can lower it to $192. Someone else enters the room and Jerry explains the situation. This new guy says he can get us to $187 a month.
I explain the situation we are in and what was communicated to us by Darrell. Nothing was said by us about anything more than the $149 a month, per the commercial. Jerry explains that that deal is for someone with a credit score of about 720. Nowhere in the commercial is that stated. If that indeed is the case, my credit had supposedly been pulled previously and that should have been stated to me (something I now doubt). Also, why would they try to entice buyers with a 720 credit score with a used car under $10,000? They would clearly qualify for a more attractive deal with better financing. Seems very strange to me.
Furthermore, financing wasnt even in place as we were signing. We ask if that is normal and what happens if something goes wrong. Jerry says that if the finance department didnt think we would be OK we wouldnt be going through with the deal, besides no banks are open at 8:30 at night. I didnt even stay to inquire about the total amount financed, rate, fees, etc. Which of course were not even relayed to us as we started to sign.
We were lucky because we didn't agree to anything we couldn't afford and we weren't afraid of walking out on the deal. Freeland is trying to revitalize a Chevrolet franchise tarnished by the name Bill Heard. We even commented on that to Jerry. From what I saw, though, it looks like car business as usual.
No one even tried to honor the original deal of the commercial except for Darrell who tried to get me in another car we were "approved" for when he realized we were walking out. We really werent trying to get something for nothing; we didnt even haggle on the price. We were lured there under false pretenses if Jerry is correct. All we wanted was the advertised deal. That commercial is a lie and should be pulled. Who knows what else they're lying about? My wife and I would not and will not ever recommend Freeland Chevrolet for anyone we know or care about.
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