Sleazy or just incompetent?
I leased a Honda from this dealership in Spring 2011. For two years I had no real complaints, except for numerous problems trying to schedule a service appointment (they use a calling service, takes about 3 days for them to get back to you, if they ever do).
About 3 months ago I started receiving weekly calls from their sales department, asking if I wanted to turn my lease in early for a great deal on a newer model. I ignored these till a few weeks ago. The sales person said they were desperate for my model, and would being willing to give me a great deal on a new lease. I said fine, and set up an appointment for 10am that weekend.
Skip to 10am on a Saturday. After waiting around the lobby for 10 mins, I was informed my sales person wasn't around. I talked to another one for about another 15 mins before the guy finally showed up. We talked and I made it very clear I was only interested if I could keep my payment the same as it was, he assured me this was not a problem since they had "tons of loyalty deals" up to $5,000 they could work with. Following a test drive I picked out the car I was interested in, and we sat down to go over the numbers.
After crunching them for a while and talking to his sales manager, he offered me a lease at about $20 higher than what I was currently paying. I asked if that was the best he could do, he went to his sales manager for a second time and came back with a payment that was just under my current payments. I asked to confirm this was the the "out the door" price and he assured me it was. I agreed and he had me sign the agreement to confirm the price we had settled on, and went back to get the paperwork started.
10 mins later he comes back with a new sheet. Turns out the real price was $150 more per month than my current payment, but he could get me in a stripped down model for only $40 more a month than my current lease (i'll add that this was a lower model than my current car). I'll also point out that this new payment was significantly more than a Subaru I had looked at a month back that had a sticker $3000 more than this car, even after all the "loyalty deals." Needless to say I walked out the door.
In 20 years of buying cars I've never been treated this way. While what they did is not technically illegal, it's sleazy, underhanded, dishonest and down right incompetent at the best. When my lease ends, I'm turning in my car and never dealing with these guys ever again. If you currently have a Honda from these guys and start getting phone calls from them about great trade in deals, it's a sales scam, don't waste your time like I did. read more