In December 2023, my Dad received a call from Don Davis Buick GMC. They had an offer to trade in his 2019 GMC Acadia for a new Acadia and keep his payments the same. This seemed like a good deal, so my Dad went down to see the car. A brand new salesman (Cesar) met with my Dad and in addition to trading in his 2019 GMC Acadia for a lower trim package 2023 GMC Acadia, he talked him into buying several packages of service coverage that he told my Dad "was a great deal for him". My Dad's car payment for the 2019 Acadia was $720, after trading in his new payment was $790. Despite the average auto loan interest rate for new cars in Dec 2023 being 7.18% and my Dad having a credit score over 750, somehow Don Davis gave him an 8.89% interest rate. The salesman assured my Dad he didn't need to do anything else since he was keeping the same loan company, everything would be seamless.
I found out about all of this when I started helping my Dad with his finances while he was in the hospital in February 2024. The loan company has yet to send him a bill, somehow he was signed up for paperless. His autopay was also disabled because it was a new loan, causing him to miss his first payment of any kind for as long as I have known him.
I called Don Davis on March 5 to see if we could return the car or do anything to rectify this truly awful deal they made for him. I spoke to Johnny the General Manager and was told, what they did was typical business practice and he couldn't talk to me without my Dad. Fair enough. Dad and I went into meet with Johnny on Saturday March 9th. The new 2023 Acadia had 375 miles on it. Johnny explained it was typical business to call prior clients and try and talk them into trading their vehicles in early. I asked when they met my Dad, using a walker and often needing things repeated to him, how it was ethical practice to sell a car to them. Johnny informed me "it is not their job to judge if someone is in condition to buy a car". I asked Johnny how they could justify an 8.89% interest rate given the other factors (national average, Dad's credit score) and Johnny refused to address it. Johnny kept falling back to saying "Your Dad signed a legal contract, once he drove off the lot, he can't return it". They made an offer to buy the car for $13,000 less than my Dad had paid 2.5 months earlier. We refused and left. About 2 hours later Johnny called and said if money was the concern, they could put Dad into a smaller 4 door sedan and lower his payments to around $550/month. We refused because Dad doesn't need a car anymore.
While nothing Don Davis did was illegal, but it was unethical and in my opinion immoral. This is apparently common business practice for them. Their job is to sell cars and we understand that, but I'd like to urge everyone to tell their friends the kind of business Don Davis is, and especially to keep an eye on any elderly family members in their dealings with this shady company. All Don Davis did for us was confirm the long held stereotype of the shady car salesman. read more
