Car Dealership woes... thoughts?

[Guest]

In april of '04 I went into a toyota dealership and along with my father, we traded our 2 cars (a 97 T-bird and a '99 daewoo leganza both in excellent condition and realy low mileage (under 70k miles for the tbird and just above 30k for the daewoo).

The 2 cars were traded for my father's new sporty ride, the Spyder (2 psgr convertible.. he was like a teenager again) and for a Toyota Prius.

Now, the prius back then was just being launched in the US so the dealership said it would be a 2 to 4 month wait on the vehicle. We agreed on a package and priced at $23,017 with tags and everything included.. we both signed on it and I gave the mandatory $500 deposit which in the contract stipulated it was non-refundable.

As the 4 months went by the dealership called me to say there would be an even further delay in the vehicle yada-yada-yada... which worked out quite good for me since i had lost my job in april of '04.. just a week after i signed on the car.

Throught the months theyve called me in saying they've received cars that didnt match the model i signed for but it was avaliable now if i wanted it..and of course it wastn 23k pricetags but 27k and up. I declined of course and told them id only take the one i ordered.

This morning i get a call and im told that a car that matches my order will be coming in...

except that its an '05 and has a toyotaguard option (which i didnt order) and its priced at 26k.

Since its been almost a year now they agreed to take off the pricing of the extra feature i didnt order.. putting it at 23,750. (and this price includes the 500 deposit i gave).

The dealership is arguing that they cant give me an '04 because of production issues (being '05 now) and that the 05's are more expensive so the price cannot match what we agreed and signed on.

I tried to be as nice as possible and told the guy that when I sign a document and give a deposit thats a contract and that I expected the price to be at least close to what I agreed on. I told him that $23,200'ish would be as far up as id go to pay more than what i agreed on and thats being generous since its been over 3X the amount of time i was told id be waiting for my car. A signed deal is a signed deal imo, if they cant deliver in the stipulated time thats their problem, i shouldnt have to pay a thousand bucks more for their problems.

The salesman said hed talk it over with the sales manager.

As I was typing this the sales manager calls in.

In a very dry conversation he pretty much told me that he could not give me the price of an '04 because it was an '05.. and that he could easily refund my money (when the document i signed said it was non-refundable... heh. anyways theyve had my money for almost a freaking year) if i wouldnt take the car. That there were many other people on 'the waiting list' that would take the car if i didnt.

He did say toyota was sending out some price cutback checks since the vehicle's price was lowered in april '04 as some part of a promo to launch the vehicle, so i 'could' be getting about 400 bucks back from toyota. I told him that'd be fine as long as its 400 to 500 money back from toyota (not the dealership but the co.), because thatd put what i end up paying in the price range i consider acceptable under these circumstances. But I told him i wouldnt take a 'could' .. its either a yes or a no.

The manager said hed call toyota and let me know on monday.

But I know they are trying to sell their cars so he probably hung up and went to the next guy in the list to see if he'll take it..and probably on monday ill get a 'yeah youd get 500 bucks back but we sold the car we offered you on sat' .

This whole thing has me pissed off. From a legal standpoint, isnt the dealership suppposed to honor their written and signed contracts?

Thoughts?

[Joel Schultz]

If the contract leaves them an "out" for things beyond their control (i.e. production/supply problems) they may be clear.

But I know next to nothing about contracts except to read the whole thing before signing them. No matter how many pages. Which reminds me how long it took me to sign the real estate sale contracts (over an hour of reading).

The point being that what they are and aren't responsible for is quite likely already spelled out somewhere in the paperwork. That'd be the first place to look for answers. Outside agencies (e.g. laywer's opinion) would be second.

My 2 cents. Well, 1 cent; I don't think my post is worth 2

[Guest]

the contract has no legalese or small print. Its a description of my vehicle with all the features, the price of each item, my signature, their signature and a receipt of the $500 deposit i gave.

[Soback]

A lot of lawyers offer free consultation. Look through the phone book, call up some of them and they can point you to the one specializing in contracts. Set up an appoitment with him and bring all the paperwork. DO NOT SPEAK WITH THE DEALERSHIP ANYMORE, do not accept any of their checks, if they send one to you, do not deposit it as that will stipulate your agreement to whatever cancelation terms they offered, and do not tell them that you will be consulting a lawyer.

In my opinion, if you can't see anything written down in the contract stipulating failures to deliver, at the very least you are entitled to your money back + interest (look up and see what's the highest interest you can find on the CD's or something equivalent for the time that they had your money), + whatever inconvinences their failure to deliver has caused. Also, make sure that the lawyer collects only if you win, by the way, the loser pays the lawyer and filing fees which now can be included in lawsuits.

Have at it man...

[Guest Grayfox]

3 words. better business bureau. the dealership will be kissing your hairy arse when they find out the BBB is investigating them.

[Wolferz]

Call Toyota and lodge a complaint. I bet the manufacturer can/will straighten it out.

The problem leaves me with questions...

1. Did they seek a dealer trade for the model you wanted?

if not...

2. Why did they take a production order for a backordered model or so close to the end of the production year?

It sounds to me like an old bait and switch tactic, looking to squeeze a few more pesos out of the deal.

Again, contact Toyota and voice your extreme displeasure.

"Car Dealerships... The only place on earth where you can get rear-ended before you pull off the lot."

[Guest]

wolf:

1) Yes but the vehicle is in real short supply so no other dealers had any in stock. At this point they are all pre-ordered vehicles like mine..and they only ones that are avaliable are those from people who forfeited their deposits and cancelled the order. And i must say they did try to offer me those but were $5k more expensive than what i wanted, loaded with crap i dont want.

2) They didnt technically. The Prius was making its introduction into the US market. The '04 models are the first to hit the US soil (the car has sold in Japan and other countries for a few years back).

[Wolferz]

ok, last piece of advice on this one Tac....

Buy American

I don't suggest this to be snide.

Speaking from the voice of experience...

Japanese cars are nice vehicles. They are engineered and assembled with the utmost care and precision. They make money by being meticulously efficient in the manufacturing process. They make even more money on the backside of the dealer by charging rediculous prices on maintenance and replacement parts. My brother found that out the hard way, even after I had warned him not to buy a Toyota. Call the dealer and ask the parts department how much factory oil, air, and fuel filters cost. then multiply that by the number of oil changes in a years time.

oh, btw, if you do buy one, you will need spot on maintenance records to keep the warranty intact. Nothing like having your engine spin out all of the main bearings near the end of the warranty and you get a repair bill for around five grand because you missed an oil change.