10/5/01
11:00am: Excited, Anxious. On my lunch break I plan on heading over to Sterling McCall Acura to order a white 2002 MDX. 3-month delivery. $39,750 selling price. $10,000 down payment, trade in of 1998 Mazda Millennia, 45,000 miles, Good condition.
11:15am: Even more excited. My wife has just called me and told me of an Internet Special on a 2001 Eddie Bauer Expedition, White. Selling price listed as $28,485. Miles listed 0. Obviously, I didn't think the miles were zero, but surely less than one hundred. What a deal! Wife also notifies me that she has left a message for Mr. D S to call her back with more details. No longer plan on going to Acura dealership.
11:20am: Place my own call to D, get voice mail, leave message.
Noon 4:30pm: At least five more calls to try and reach D, get voice mail only. No pages answered I'm told by the operator two times. Out of those five calls, I leave one more message.
4:50pm: Leave to go pick up 3-year-old son from school. No return call from D.
6:30pm: Return home with son. Had gone to eat and watch local high school football game. Check messages. D called at
5:15pm. I call D back and inform him that I'm interested in the truck, but I'll have to track down my wife before I can make the trip up there. I ask how long he'll be there, As long as I need to be., is his response. What time do you close? I ask. 10:00pm, but I'd rather not stay here that late., he replies. I'd like to get there sooner than that. If for some reason I can't make it tonight, I'll call you., I tell him. I'd appreciate that., D says. We hang up and I begin attempt at contact with my wife. She's getting her nails done. Multiple cell phone and pager calls go unanswered. I'm frustrated.
8:00pm: Wife calls and I fill her in on the situation. I'm two minutes from home., she tells me. Woohoo! I get myself and son ready for wife's arrivaland immediate departure.
8:15pm: We're on our way to Planet Ford.
8:20pm: Wife calls and speaks to D. Is anything wrong with the truck? No, How many miles on the truck? Not many., So it's just an Internet Special? Yes, How long has it been up on the site? I put in on there yesterday., We're en route, see you in a bit.
8:45pm: Raining cats and dogs, going 35 mph on SH Toll way. Stop at gas station to let the heavy stuff pass, wait 15 minutes until it does and continue on our way. Geez, I didn't realize when starting out that Planet Ford was 60 miles awayThinking, should've waited until Sunday.
9:25pm: Arrive and Planet Ford, exhausted after harrowing trip through torrential downpour. Ask for D S. Asked to wait, directed to chairs.
9:55pm: Rumors that D has gone home make their way to my earsstill waiting, 3 year old getting cranky. My patience is wearing thin. We meet K L, very nice man, he tells us that he cannot reach D by phone or page. I'm pissed, but control myself. I hand K the Internet Special printout and he proceeds to look for stock #13737.
10:30pm: K has walked by periodically reassuring me that he's trying to find the truck mentioned in the ad. This time he's given up. He can't find the vehicle. No vehicle, no D. Yes, I'm still pissed. I'm pissed because the salesman whom we told we'd be there, was not. I'm pissed because my family has now wasted two hours driving and waiting for a vehicle that has disappeared. I ask to speak to a managerthis is ridiculous, I recall saying.
10:45 11:45pm: K brings over B L, B apologizes for not being able to find the Internet Special vehicle, doesn't know what happened to the vehicle or D. I like B and K. B offers to make a great deal on a 2002 Eddie Bauer Expedition of our liking. Turns out its an offer at invoice price. Sounds pretty good. My family and I, K and B hit the parking lot and find the vehicle we want.invoice is $34,024payments around $599/month after $5,000 down. Sounds pretty good. But still a little high when I was expecting to pay $28,485 TTL, etc and have payments around $510/month. I'm willing to talk, maybe an agreement can be reached. However, it won't happen tonight. The folks doing the appraisal of my trade in have gone home. B offers to let us take the brand new vehicle home for the night, providing I'd come back in the morning and attempt to work out a deal. We agree. Everyone's tired. We leave the dealership and head home.
12:45am We arrive home, exhausted. It's been 4 hours, since this whole mess began. We get our child ready for bed, put him down and get to work on the financial aspect of this deal.
2:00am My wife and I finally get to bed after an hour of working and reworking, down payments, sales prices and trade in scenarios. We've developed a strategy and have 3 plans for the 2002 Expedition and 2 plans for the 2001 Phantom Expedition, in case the 2002 deal doesn't work out.
10/6/01
7:15am I wake up take a shower and get dressed. One final once over of the financials we had worked up last night. I make sure I have all that's needed and I head out the door at 8:20am.
8:34am I arrive at Planet Ford. On the way I've decided that I'd stand firm on one of the plans formulated the previous night for the 2002 vehicle. If it didn't work out, I'd just switch to the plans for the 2001 Phantom Expedition.
8:45am I shake hands with K and he asks that I sign in with the receptionist. I do so, giving the same information I gave out at the same place merely 10 hours ago. No problem though. K and I sit down, I tell him the plan I decided on regarding the 2002 Eddie Bauer Expedition: $34,024 for the truck @ the 4.9% offered last night, a no-deficit trade in on my car ($14285), TTL of $2300 and I'd put $6,500 down, instead of the $5,000 I talked of last night. This would give me payments of $547/month. I ask about the 2001 vehicle I was originally interested in. K tells me that they still haven't found it. K heads off.
9:00am: K returns showing me payments of $617/month, while explaining they'd pay off my trade. I again say that I want a no-deficit trade, meaning that the dealership would pay the payoff on the trade in, or I wouldn't deal on the 2002 and I'd just set my sights on the 2001.
9:15am: K again returns showing me that he can only give me $11,000 for my trade in. I tell him no problem, I'd like to take a look at the 2001 vehicle. K mumbles something about having to find D and takes off. I still like K, he's working hard.
9:30am: B shows up at the table stating that he can give me $11,500 now for my trade. I tell him I'm not interested in the 2002 anymore and I'd like to see the 2001. I think that vehicle has some miles on It., he says as he walks off. I like B too, he's also working hard.
9:45am: K and D show up. D now explains that the 2001 vehicle listed in the ad is in the shopit won't start. He'd feel bad if I had to drive all the way out here for warranty work if problems kept continuing with that car. The bait has been yanked away! I state that I'm really not interested in the 2001 anymore, since it has problems and all. I restate my desire to have my original deal on the 2002 vehicle (the switch) approved. I'm really pissed, yet hide it well and vow to stick to my guns on my original offer. They head off.
10:15am: They return with a new deal. $11,500 for my trade in and $500 dollars off the invoice price to $33,524. I do not agree to the deal, still pissed that I'm the victim of a bait and switch scam. I tell the two to go give it another shot and do not bring back another offer, but instead a Yes or a No to my proposed deal.
10:30am: D comes back with No. I tell him thank you and proceed to gather my effects from the 2002 vehicle, place them in my car and head out. On the way out I call K and thank him for his help and to call me if the dealership changes its mind. He agrees. K and B call me back minutes later suggesting I go to Carmax and get a second opinion on the value on my car. I tell B that I know what the value of the car is, I know I'm off by $2300, but the deal should've been made as a concession for the trouble I've gone through. He apologizes and vows to keep trying. We're $2334.00 apart from an agreement.
11:00am: I speak to my wife and give her the details. She's disappointed but understands. I ask her to run the figures if the dealership gave me $1000 more on the trade in and kept the sales price at $33,524. Payments of $571/month. My wife and I agree to go back with this offer.
11:15am: I enter Fry Electronics. I call K and tell him that I feel like I should've budged from my stance a little bit. I tell him, I'll concede $1300.00 if you can get me $12,500 for my trade in. Explaining that I'm meeting the dealership more than halfway and it should be a no brainer. That I'm in Fry Electronics and will be awaiting his call.
11:45am: I call K and ask what the deal is. He says my paperwork is in a line of other waiting to be reviewed. I state that I'll wait again for his call.
12:15pm: I again call K. Any news? I ask. He's trying to get a hold of Bobby to see what the status is.
12:35pm: After multiple laps around Fry's, I grow weary and head to Planet Ford. Thinking maybe I need to be there for them to hurry up.
12:53pm: I call K and tell him that I'm entering the dealership. He's with a customer in a demo and will get back inside as soon as he can. No problem, I hit the restroom and sit down in the waiting area.
1:10pm: I get bored and start roaming around. D spots me and comes over and asks if he can help me. I tell him that I told K if I can get $12500 for my trade in, I'd do the deal. D says, Can't do it. We're actually losing money on the deal to you right now. Ok, I say then walk out the door and head home. Feeling like I got over on the bait and switch scheme, but still pissed as hell that it occurred. And even more upset that a measly $1000 stood in the way of a deal being made.
2:15pm I finally get home. Almost 9 hours total, and over 250 miles, wasted on Planet Ford's 2001 Eddie Bauer Ford Expedition Internet Special.
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