Dishonest dealership, had to get cops involved! SENT letter to Attorney General Matthew Platkins and submit complaint to BBB.
I called twice on Friday, December 13th, at 3:50 PM and 4:38 PM to confirm the availability of a 2018 black Toyota RAV4 I saw on CarGurus. I spoke with Tiffany, who assured me the car was available and would be ready for my 7 PM appointment. She even mentioned a white Toyota, but I declined due to its high mileage. Based on her assurance both times, my mom & I drove over 1 hr & 20 to the dealership.
Upon arriving at 6:50 PM, I waited over 30 minutes, only to find the car wasn't there. The salesperson, George, started calling their "sister dealership" to locate it. He eventually said it was only two miles away. I suspected they were trying to sell us the white Toyota instead. Ten minutes later, George confirmed they didn't have the black Toyota but offered the white one. We said no & I asked when the black one was sold, and he claimed 2 days ago. When I asked for proof of the sale, he acted frantic.
It took awhile to check for the "proof of sale". This other tall guy in a plaid long jacket walked over to me around 7:43 PM with a piece of paper with the "proof of sale." I told him, "Sorry, give me one minute," because I was on the phone calling the non-emergency number. He said okay, saw me on the phone, & folded the paper in half vertically.
As I stepped outside to continue my call with the non-emergency line, I noticed the same document left on the counter. I explained everything & asked for an officer to come out. When the officer arrived, they agreed the dealership's actions were suspicious & advised me to leave a review and contact corporate. Officer was really emphatic.
While talking to the officer, the guy in the plaid jacket pretended to be confused about why the police were there. Then another guy with a blue suit came out, pretending to be a manager. I'm thinking okay he's the Dwight Schrute of the office, so okay (Acting) Manager. He was acting shocked, & said, "OMG, what happened? Is everything okay?"--but with a nasty smirk on his face. I told him if he didn't know what happened, he shouldn't be out here. How was he the manager when he worked at the front desk & checked us in when we arrived at 6:50.
The "acting manager" asked, "What time did you call?" I told him I called at 3:50 & 4:38 & spoke to Tiffany, who assured me that the vehicle would be ready for my 7 PM appointment. Then he was like, "What? It is now 8:20, of course the vehicle is sold since you called at 4:38 PM." I told him we came at 6:50 PM, & HE checked us in. He got silent. At 6:50 pm we specifically told him we were there for the black RAV4. So if the vehicle was sold between 4:38 PM and 6:50 PM, why didn't he say anything as soon as we arrived? Also, wasn't the car at the "sister dealership"? The cop and I just looked at each other. He tried to claim the car was sold between 4:38 PM and 6:50 PM, despite George already printing out the paper stating it was sold two days ago.
The "acting manager" denied knowing about the sales paper that was previously trying to be shown to me, so I retrieved it from the counter. The document was printed before the cops got there & was meant for me to see. I opened the paper and saw it clearly said 2018 RAV4. He took it back & kept stating that it had customer's information on there, but he was trying to show me that SAME paper prior to the police showing up. This paper was obviously meant for me to see, but now that the cops were involved, they didn't want the officer to see it because it's 100% clear they are falsifying documents.
They denied that they ever tried to show me a paper. I kept asking for them to go get the real manager but they didn't want to. When I asked to see camera footage, they claimed it wasn't accessible that night, an obvious attempt to avoid accountability.
All in all, Mitsubishi Motors in Freehold is a fraudulent business that uses bait-and-switch tactics. Based on all the reviews, we are thankful that we never purchased from them.
They responded to my review on Google "Unfortunately, there was a scheduling conflict, and another customer who had previously expressed interest in the vehicle was present at the time of your visit. As they were here first, we had to honor their priority on the purchase. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding. Please let us know if there's anything else we can assist you with or if we can help you find a similar vehicle."
Their response is completely dishonest and does not match what happened. I called the dealership twice on the same day--hours before my visit--and was repeatedly assured the vehicle was available and ready for my appointment. At no point did anyone mention another customer or any "priority on the purchase."
This is not a case of a scheduling conflict--it's a clear example of deceptive practices. read more