RUN AWAY FROM THIS DEALERSHIP AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
They were selling a 2007 Mazda 3 with 80,000 miles on it for $9,999 (Vin #JM1BK323X71726254). I called in yesterday morning to ask if it was still available, and it was. I mentioned the price is identical to the private party value, not the dealership value, wanting to make sure the price is right and there was nothing wrong with the car. The salesperson Aaron agreed it was a great price, but stated sometimes they will price very aggressively to attract customers. Fair enough. The price was good, and that made the 35 minute trip worth it. I had a good friend of mine who's an automotive expert meet me out there which was a really nice favor because it's a big drive for him too. When I met him there, we went inside, and Aaron was busy with another client, so I was passed to Kurt who seemed like a nice guy. We were shown the car, and it looked just as advertised. I wanted to pop the hood, and test drive with my friend to see if it seemed good enough to buy, but then Kurt comes back and says "Sorry, this car already sold, a couple financed it yesterday, and we're just waiting for it to pass safety.". I was given the choice to look at other cars and said back sarcastically "Aaron wouldn't have made us come out to this lot knowing the car was sold, would he"? It was obvious there was a bait and switch going on, and Kurt asked if we could find a similar car for the same price if I'd be willing to look at it. I advised him not unless it's similar in mileage as well (They had a stable of mazda 3's well over 100,000 miles with the same $9,999 price tag). He offered to look for similar cars with similar miles even if priced higher to see if he could get me the same deal. He couldn't find such a car, and apologized saying if the deal somehow falls through with the car I came for, he would make sure to call me and give me priority to buy it, and would even hold it for me.
I left the dealership as did my friend, and I felt horrible for my friend taking time out of a busy day to help me only to realize we were brought out under false pretenses. They don't value a customers time, they don't care that an afternoon is being re-arranged to go out there based on their promise. Just out of curiosity, I checked the website later that night to see if they had the decency to remove the listing so other people wouldn't get suckered in. What I found was comical. The exact same car had been re-listed, but now with a price tag of $12,999. It was too late for me to call as they were closed, so I got online again in the morning to see if it was still listed, and sure enough they re-listed the exact same car again, this time for $13,999 (pictures of both listings are included with this review). These are 1982 bait and switch techniques at their best. In the information age where customers are more educated than ever, and words can travel fast on mediums such as Yelp and facebook, they have a lot of balls, or a lot of stupidity in treating people this way.
I called in when they opened for business to see if Kurt would honor his promise to hold the car for me and allow me to buy it, and I got the exact answer I knew I would get: "The deal fell through, and the price we had on it was a mistake so we had to adjust it, I can't sell it to you for that price".
I also want to mention I got 2 different stories on that car being sold the day before. The first story from Kurt was the financing was approved, and the car just had to pass safety (I've never heard of safety being the final phase in a car sale). I received a voicemail this morning from Aaron stating the deal fell through because the buyers trade in wasn't going to work. I have to wonder if these buyers even exist, or if they do, if the buyers were told one trade in value for their car before signing, and a different value at signing so they could sabotage the deal, and re-list the car at a better price without getting into legal trouble.
This company may have accidentally mis-priced the car originally, but I doubt it. The fact that they brought me in for that specific car, knowing I would never own it for the price they had listed tells me they are willing to intentionally mis-price a car. Dishonesty is dishonesty no matter what package it comes in. If you go to their website, or talk to their staff, don't fall for the "We are a family owned business" line. They are a family owned business, and that is not to be confused with an honest business.
There was no way I could get that type of treatment, and not post this on Yelp. I don't want another honest person getting fleeced if I can do anything about it. If you do business with them after reading this review, don't pretend you weren't warned that your transaction could turn out to be a disaster. read more