December 2023 by Race Banyon
I totally understand that buying a car is a business transaction and the dealership needs to make money, but what I don’t understand is why they push away business by employing a sales rep who is completely deceptive and dishonest. I made an appointment to test drive a 2017 Ford van. It was advertised as being in excellent condition with only 26,000 miles. The advertise price was $22,995 and the posting on their website encouraged prospective buyers to “make an offer.“The photos showed a nice looking van that apparently had been lightly used with only an average of 4000 miles driven a year. Carfax shows it has no accident history. I confirmed with the sales rep, Anita, that it was available and scheduled a test drive. An hours drive later I arrived at the dealership to see a filthy van, which looked nothing like the photos. The entire body was filled with scratches and dings; the hinges of the cargo door we’re both visibly rusted; the hood did not close and was misaligned; and there was a crack in the front grill directly below the hood latch. Just by looking at the vehicle it had obviously been in an unreported accident. Probably went nose first into a handicap type parking space with one of those cement, pylons and misjudged, hitting the grill, cracking it, and making the hood all bent so it won’t stay closed. There’s no way the dealer couldn’t see what my own eyes saw. Sitting on the passenger seat caused the seat trim to fall off. Literally just fell right off. The cloth interior was so stained that my companion who was with me wouldn’t sit on the seat directly without putting a jacket down. Totally gross. Quite honestly I felt like someone was pulling a prank on me. Asking price on this car was $23,000. When the sales rep asked me what I thought, I chuckled and said “looks like somebody beat the hell out of this car.” She replied that she knew there was a problem with the hood, and that she agreed there must’ve been a minor unreported accident, but didn’t think it would matter to me. She also told me the price on the van was nonnegotiable, which just made me completely break out laughing as the web site encourages the buyer to ;make an offer.' Her behavior was unbelievable and totally dishonest, and she intentionally wasted my time hoping I would buy a new vehicle. I’m not sure what this dealership or the sales rep was thinking, but I will never purchase a vehicle from any dealership who practices this type of deception. Be honest for God sakes! If a vehicle is damaged and you intentionally do not disclose that - you are only hurting your own reputation. Dealerships are a dime a dozen - but good reputations are not. Word-of-mouth is everything!
