In addition to the intimidation one feels when being taken into the 'back room' to put the down payment on your car (they would not let my husband join me, and huge men stand in front of the door after we were inside the room), they pressure the buyer to put down more than what's required, and PURPOSELY avoid explaining their auction fees, saying they like the buyer to figure out the balance.
THE NEXT DAY A WORKER ADMITTED TO ME THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MENTION THE FEES, which are a huge percentage of the purchase price. They are listed on the 'paddle' (piece of paper) and crammed together with their $109 auction fee. This fee is basically hidden between other words, without spaces, and the percentages are misinterpreted by every buyer I spoke to. They are thought to be the down payment, OR the magnitude of the amount does not register, because it's written like 26.25%... So even if you see the % sign, your brain thinks dollars. The fees are listed, but they are very misleading and deceptive about it. But this isn't the worst part, yet.
They rev engines of upcoming cars to hide engine flaws of the car being auctioned. The auctioneer bangs his 'rubber hose' on the wall and raises the price as if a bid has been made, when no one raised their hand (which is how bidding is done there) and finally, on the paperwork of our car, it lists the year make and model, then the VIN #, then this:
Man/w/187885
Which clearly stands for Manual, with x number of miles. The car we got was an automatic. We were a block away when the discrepancy hit me, so I called them back and told them our car was supposed to be manual and it's an automatic. First she said it was our mistake and the invoice doesn't mean anything. Then she put me on hold twice, told me the manager wasn't there anymore (which he JUST was) and she told me this:
"The M-A-N doesn't stand for manual, it stands for Manheim, where we got the car. The initial after it is the person who picked up the car."
She said she didn't know what the last numbers meant because she's not the one who types it in. I told her it was the mileage, and it matches the mileage on the car, but that the car was supposed to be a manual. She insisted again it meant Manheim. Even the Better Business Bureau got a good laugh out of that explanation.
I called the next day to ask the manager's name, and was told 'Will' and when I asked for his last name, the girl who answered just asked me why, and when I explained it was because I know the car is supposed to be a manual, and I was filing a complaint, she yelled at me that she already explained it to me yesterday, and now I was harrassing them, and hung up on me.
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