National Auto, Autoland
National Auto Autoland crooked auto dealerships, bait and switch Ripoff

On June 4th, myself and my fiance went out looking to see if we could possibly get a decent, used automobile. We looked at several places between Wilmington and Jacksonville. We found Autoland of Wilmington, drove into their used car lot on Market Street looking for something like a used SUV. We spotted a 2001 Chevy S-10 Blazer, we got out of our truck to look at it. Two salesmen came across the lot to meet us. My daughter has the same year blazer and I knew what she paid for hers so I thought the price that one of the salesmen (William Swan) quoted was to high for the shape the blazer was in. So the salesman ask us what we were looking to purchase new or used. He took us down the lot to the front of the show room building and showed us a 2005 Isuzu Rodeo. Mr Swan said with discounts and deductions he could put us in it for around &16,500.00. We test drove the rodeo, and the second salesman (Mike Allen) rode with us. We came back and went inside to run credit. The older salesman (Mr. Swan) was doing most of the "selling". I could tell he was one of the top salesmen. He ran our credit and evidently it wasn't good enough to get the rodeo without paying high interest rates. Mr Swan ask me if I had anyone that would Possibly co-sign for me. I told him no that I didn't have any family other than my daughter. Mr. Swan said, well what about her? I told him I'm sure she would but I would rather not do that. Mr. Swan kept on and Insisted that he wanted to call her and see for his self. He ask for her number and I reluctantly gave it to him. Mr Swan got my daughter on the phone, and of course just as I thought it joyed her knowing she could do that for me. We got off the phone with my daughter and went back inside the sales building sat down in one of the little square offices they have. I heard Mr. Swan tell Mr. Allen to take my fiance and myself back out on the lot and show us a suzuki Grand Vitara XL - 7. They had Three side by side on the used car lot. I asked Mr. Allen when we were approaching the vehicles how much the XL-7's cost. Mr. Allen's exact words were "The same as the rodeo". We both heard this. So while we were waiting on my daughter to get to the car lot we test drove the white XL-7. It had 6,283 miles on it and we could tell it had been used (marks and scars) on the Interior, and it wasn't the cleanest Inside, used but in good shape otherwise.

I took Mr. Allen to mean the price of the used XL-7 was 16,500, thats what he quoted us. My daughter arrives with a friend accompanying her. We all go inside and Mr. Swan takes everything over again. He starts getting info from my daughter and goes to run her credit, at this time we're all thinking that she is going to be co-signing for me. While Mr. Swan is up at the front desk running her credit, the four of us go outside. We show my daughter and her friend the Vehicle, which is parked in front of the office now. I talked to my daughter and expressed my concerns over her doing this, that I didn't feel it was fair to her. But knowing her as I do she was happy knowing she could do it for me. Then Mr. Swan came out and ask us all to come back in, my daughter and I sat down in the little office. Mr. Swan was cutting the fool, hitting on my daughter as he had been since she got there. Then he started talking about the car. He said we should put the vehicle all in my daughters name it would be best for every body and keep the interest rate at 7 percent. I didn't agree to that, I was buying the vehicle not her. Mr. Swans smooth and quick talking telling my daughter that there would be no problem with her still being able to get a new vehicle herself around november, as she had expressed that she wanted to do. Mr. Swan kept on talking and joking with my daughter, finally he got up and went back up to the front desk, and I walked outside to talk to my fiance, She didn't agree to things as they were, and neither did I, but my daughter was ok with it. We go back in to the bulding and meet my daughter and her friend in the Lobby of the sales office. We talked for a minute or two, then Mr. Swan comes out and tells my daughter that the sales manager needed to see her, she goes back with him. We wait around in the lobby for a minute or two, then the three of us walk outside and stand behind the car. My daughter comes out and says that it is done, that she just had to come back monday afternoon for the rest of the paperwork.

I ask her if she had already signed the contract and she said yes, I didn't think that was right, I felt that I should of been there with her since i am really the true buyer, but it was to late then. Mr. Swan came out and put a twenty day tag on the vehicle and said we were done, said he would see my daughter on monday, and again made some remark about a date with her, she didn't like him doing that, felt he wasn't being professional doing that, and that he was a little old for her. I think he ended up giving her his number. He walked back inside and I asked my daughter how was this all suppose to work, the insurance and all, we agreed to talk about it later. It wasn't until monday that I found out exactly what they had charged us, over $29,000 dollars for a used XL-7. They had brand new ones on the lot and hadn't even bothered to show us those, and the price of a new XL-7 was no more than 27,000. They charged us more for a used one than a brand new one cost not to mention the original $16,500.00 price they originally told us for the used XL-7. I knew then that we had been ripped off. My daughter felt that she was doing a good thing for her father, she figured I knew the price they were charging. I only knew the price they had quoted us. As soon as I knew the price charged, I tried to call and get the contract canceled, thinking that I had 3 days to cancel a sales contract, but found out I didn't. We were stuck with it. I also found ads showing the price of the vehicle was priced at $22,050.00 and I think the law is, whether I know of the ad or not they are suppose to at least give it to me at that price, although Mr. Allen quoted us $16,500.00 for the XL-7. I went back out to the lot and Tried to talk to them, I first went to the sales manager and ask him if he wanted to go private and discuss this, he said no.

I first ask him the price of their new XL-7's, he told me around 26,500.00, then I pulled out the contract and ask him why we were charged more for a used one than a new one cost he couldn't answer, he responded by calling Mr. Swan in on the conversation. I ask Mr. Swan if he remembered the price he quoted me on the rodeo he said yes $16,500. I said to him, well my daughter called your manager that monday after you all did this to us and ask about prices, the manager told her that you didn't have any vehicles on the lot for less than $24,000.00, of course Mr. Swan couldn't respond, then he calls in Mr. Allen. Mr. Swan claims Mr. Allen was the real salesman of the vehicle and that he set the prices. Mr. Allen gave me some excuse about the ads were a misprint, which is a lie. I found our vehicle listed on three different web sites including their own, all were around $22,000.00. Needless to say talking to them got me nowhere except maybe higher blood pressure, and the question in my mind as to how people like this are allowed to stay in business. People like these salesmen probably never worked (physically) hard a day in their life, so they don't know how hard it is for the average person to earn a living. My hope is that I can at least keep this from happening to someone else, although I would like to see them all in jail, I know thats not the way the law works...

We are paying so much for this vehicle we couldn't possibly trade it in until its about paid for and don't the finance companies like Chase Manhattan check the value of the vehicles they finance? Especially used

Company: National Auto, Autoland
Country: USA
State: North Carolina
City: Wilmington
Address: 5815 Market Street
Phone: 9103921000

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