Poor Management! We liked the salesman, Logan, and appreciated his time and laid-back approach. We…read moretest drove the vehicle, discussed trade-in values and financing. The estimated monthly payment was below the budget we had requested, so we left feeling confident moving forward.
The next day, we decided we were ready to buy. Based on our conversations with Logan, we planned to put $12,500 down, with approximately $7,600 coming from the equity in our Honda CR-V. During our discussions, Logan stated over the phone that we would need to bring a $4,900 cashier's check.
When we returned to sign the paperwork, everything was different. Before we were ever shown the APR or monthly payment we had requested in advance, we were already discussing warranty options with numbers that didn't seem to match what we had previously agreed upon.
When we questioned the discrepancy and asked for Logan, the manager, came in but couldn't clearly explain where the misunderstanding had occurred. Instead, he produced a document comparing the $12,500 down payment we had discussed with a $4,900 figure, as though they were the same thing. We had never discussed a $4,900 down payment until we were ready to go all in. It then became obvious that somewhere along the way, the difference between our total down payment and our out-of-pocket contribution had been confused.
We fully acknowledge that we could have caught the mistake sooner by double-checking the math ourselves. However, this misunderstanding happened over multiple conversations, and no one at the dealership caught it either. As customers, we relied on the figures being presented to us properly.
What happened next was the most disappointing part. Instead of calmly walking through the numbers, the manager told us, "If you can't do the math, you need to leave," and walked out of the room to "cool down." Thinking we couldn't hear him say "I'm not selling you that car today". This all happened in front of our one-year-old child.
Mistakes happen, and we understand that. What we can't overlook is how the situation was handled. A respectful explanation and a willingness to work through the misunderstanding would have gone a long way. Instead, we left feeling embarrassed, confused, and wondering how a simple math misunderstanding escalated into such an unprofessional interaction.
Definitely go with a different dealership or at least a more experienced salesman so this doesn't happen to you!