On May 29 (Memorial Day), I went to Acura of Concord to purchase a new car. After test driving and comparing a few cars, I decided on a TL with navigation in a dark gray. I asked the salesman I was working with if one was in stock. He left me on the lot and went in to the office area to check. He came back and said that one would be available the next day. I said
I would like to purchase the car and we went in to the office area to sit down and agree on a price.
Before starting to negotiate, I again asked him if the car I wanted would be available the next day. He took out an inventory sheet and pointed to a VIN number. He reassured me that it was the VIN number of the car I would be buying.
At the end of the negotiation process, the salesman brought out his sales manager to close the deal. I again asked the sales manager if the car would be available the next day. He said that he would go check and went into some back office. He came out and confirmed that the car would indeed be available. With that assurance, I agreed to purchase the car.
After I agreed to buy the car, I had to wait for a couple of hours; I had time to watch most of a college softball game while waiting. After this long wait, and past regular business hours, my salesman comes back and says that the car I had just agreed to purchase was not available. Remember that I've verified three separate times with two different people, including a manager, that the car I want would be available.
The salesman took out the same inventory sheet as before and pointed to a check mark next to the VIN number and said that the check mark indicated the car is in transit and unavailable for purchase. He said that I should either pick a car without navigation or another color. For this inconvenience, they would knock off $100 from the price we had agreed on.
When I indicated I wanted to wait for another car to be delivered, he said that I could not wait for another car because the financing terms would expire that day. When I got home and checked the Acura website, I found that was a lie.
Further more, even though the factory sticker price difference between vehicles with and without navigation was $2150, my salesman insisted that the difference was only $2000. The extra $150 difference in factory sticker price, he explained, was because one car had been sitting on the lot for a long time. Therefore, if I chose a car without navigation, he would only deduct $2100 from the price we had just agreed on. After further complaining, he reluctantly agreed to the $2150 the factory sticker indicated was the correct value for the navigation system.
When I tried to speak with the sales manager about these issues, he was now too busy to deal with me. He kept blowing me off, saying he would "look into it".
I understand that car dealerships have a reputation for being dishonest and unscrupulous. This amplifies the caution a buyer must use when dealing one. However, this well-deserved reputation should not excuse a dealership's unethical and illegal sales practices.
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