Now I've seen everything. I called this dealer to inquire about an internet listing for a 2005 Honda Pilot - listed price $14,209. I asked for the Carfax Report on the vehicle and the first person would not provide it, unless I drove there [about 6-7 hours] because their fax machine was "broken." The second person I spoke to simply said they will not provide the report unless the person came in to their dealership.
The real problem surfaced during our conversation, when he casually mentioned a $5,000 amount. After some verbal fencing, he conceded that the $5,000 dollar cost was in addition to the listed price. When I pointed out that his listing made no mention of any additional dealer costs, other than tax, title and registration, he became a little nasty, asking me if I had a problem with the cost because I had bad credit. I stated several times I was not interested in the vehicle at that price and attempted to end the call. He then stated that he'd made a mistake and the additional cost was actually $7,000, making the cost of the advertised $14,209 SUV actually $21,209! This seemed very unethical to me - as he had lured me in to his web, with a listed price in an advertisement which did not mention any additional fees - - and then jacked up the price by $7,000. It may or may not be illegal, but it shows bad faith and willingness to mislead the public.
I had intended to list this dealer on consumer complaints, but decided it was too time-consuming, when an hour later, I received a telephone call from the same salesman - - pretending to be someone else and pretending to be from another dealership [bless caller ID]!!! He then said I had called about a SUV and been "mean" to the salesman. What a childish move - - prank calls from a dealership. The prank call made me decide it WAS worth my time to warn other potential customers to steer clear of these people.
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