Good Quality Cars, Unprofessional Owner…read more
Carl Doucet, owner of C&C Auto Sales, kicked me out of his office this week. All because I told him I was going compare his best price to the best price of another dealership. His reaction was unprofessional and unnecessary. It's hard to believe he has over 15 years of experience selling cars like he says does. That day, Carl treated me like a bad rookie salesman and made me feel disrespected for the rest of the day.
This was my second time buying a used vehicle. My first time buying a vehicle I got a bad deal because I didn't have a plan. I didn't want that to happen this time, so I prepared. I did a lot of research. I looked and test drove a few vehicles. I took my time and resisted any urge I felt from myself or from the dealerships to buy a car without considering all my options.
The day Carl kicked me out of his office was the second time I had driven from Bakersfield, which is where I live, to Colton, which is a 2 1/2 hour drive. The first time I drove down to Colton I looked, and test drove the truck I wanted. The second time was to get the truck inspected by an auto shop (something you should do to with any used vehicle you're serious about buying).
The truck didn't get inspected that day because the auto shop cancelled my appointment. I felt so frustrated because I was already in Colton when I found out.
I let Carl know what happened and he said he didn't want the truck gone all day. He said if I wanted to get the truck inspected, I would need an appointment somewhere. So, I tried to find a shop to make a same day appointment. No luck. Every shop I called had no open time slots.
Feeling defeated, I told Carl the news and said I would be leaving.
Before I left, I decided it wouldn't be a total waste of a trip if Carl would give me his best price on the truck, so I asked him. He was hesitant to give me a price. He said because, "You haven't shown me you're seriously interested in buying the truck." What!?! I was so shocked when he said that to me. "I've driven 7 1/2 hours in less than a week for that truck," I said, "and you're telling me I'm not serious about buying it?" He shrugged.
Since he wouldn't give me his best price, I gave him mine and he countered it with something a little higher, like a typical negotiation. Having gotten his best price, I said I was going to think about it and compare it to the best price on a truck from another dealership. This is the moment when Carl became hostile. He raised his voice, and said he wasn't going to go back and forth with me on price because of another dealership. He said with spite, "If you want to buy that other truck, then go buy that other truck." "I'm only trying to get a good deal, Carl.", I said with calm. "No, we're done here. You need to go.", he said, before getting up from his chair to walk me out of his office.
I've never felt so disrespected from a business before. Looking back at the situation, Carl's behavior was unprofessional and over-reactive. All he had to say was, "Look, James, I understand you're trying to get the best deal you can, but I know the quality of my vehicles, so I'm sorry, but the price is firm." That's it. I would've said, "Okay, I respect that, Carl. Thanks for your time today. I'll let you know what I decide to do."
This is all a real shame. Before this interaction, I actually liked Carl. During the test drive, we got to know each other a little. I told him I'm a bartender and he told me he loves the french liqueur, Grand Marnier. Had I bought the truck from Carl I was going to buy him a bottle of it to celebrate the deal.
