psteng19

On 11/26/05, I ordered a 2006 Acura TSX in black/black 6 speed w/nav.
To my surprise, the salesman located one nearby that would be here end of the month (November).
I was a bit skeptical, with December being only a week away, so I double checked with him on the date and he undoubtedly assured me that it would be here next week.
He gave me the VIN, I signed the paperwork and put down 10%. Smooth transaction all-around.

11/30 came around so I thought I'd give them a call.
"Car's not here yet. It's in Wisconsin right now so probably by next Monday." At this point, I'm a bit worried since I'll be without a car soon (car is on its way out). No biggie, I can wait another week.

Another week rolls by, and this time they tell me the car is now in NY but is snowed in. Odd, we only had 6" of snow. So I call them the next day, and the day after that and I get the same story each call. "Tomorrow." At this point I'm getting a bit frustrated. I've been driving my sister's car to work, and coming home to pick her up each day. They couldn't provide me with a loaner because "I got such a good deal on the car", although they were clearly in the wrong by not delivering on the date I was told.

Finally, a week later I get THE call. Called my ins. co. and drove down to the dealer, signed the paperwork, plunked down the cash (paid in full). The car is now titled in our name, temp plates are on the car and I could almost taste it.

They drove the car out for me and we carefully inspected for bumps, scratches, dents, paint chips, etc.
It was flawless, absolutely stunning... until I opened the door and saw the automatic shifter. My jaw dropped, as did the salesman's. He was literally speechless for the next 10 minutes. He spent the next half hour with a sales manager trying to locate a match but said the next one coming in will be end of Jan. 2006.
My options were to wait for that car or get a full refund, which was the choice they wanted me to make. Although he said they "valued me as a customer", I could tell they just wanted to sweep this mess under the rug and hope that I would cancel.
They offered no other consolation, no freebies like floor mats, etc., no further discount (which I wasn't even after). Understandbly, they could not provide a loaner for over a month.

I thought hard for the next half an hour, and decided that this was the car I wanted and no other dealership was going to get it to me sooner, so I told them I'll wait for the one coming in Jan. 2006. They said the could give me a loaner for a week or two tops.
They also have my money in a drop-box safe which no one has access to except the head honcho, who's not in until next Monday.

So now I'm without a car, without my money and am truly disappointed.
I thought I kept my cool the entire time, although I did not hide my emotions.
Oh well, guess it just wasn't meant to be, yet.

vitocorleone

If there was another dealership even somewhat nearby, if I were you I'd have lined up a car there and then canceled at the one that screwed you over. Good luck man. I hope you can end up in a place where you can enjoy the anticipation - undoubtedly you'll love the TSX once it's yours.

curls

Wow, I'd DEFINATELY be fuming at them. Undoubtedly get at least the first few service appointments for free and some floormats -- although I understand it's not the salesmans' fault, it's their responsibility to deliver on the day they promised, the vehicle you ordered. HUGE inconvenience for you for sure.

What about a different color combo in the 6MT?

crfortin

WTF is this ? Next time put the deposit on a credit card. This Al Gore shit is unacceptable however. They shouldn't be in business if they can't process transactions in a timely manner.

Do you mean this coming monday 19th or Boxing day ? If they meant boxing day you have every right to lose it. You don't think their cracker-jack operation will make it past Christmas. Tell them you need to drive to the managers home and a get the refund check signed by the manager/owner before Christmas is ruined and Tiny Tim starves.

Sorry you didn't get the car you wanted for Christmas. Shit happens, which is why they should only get real money when they deliver the proper vehicle in the proper condition. Truthfully, under E&O they can dick you around on delivery without any real consequences. Legallly, offering you a 2week loaner was a complete show of good faith on their part.

psteng19

Don't think they'd give me free anything at this point. They just want rid of me.

They had a white/black 6 speed w/nav coming in two weeks, but I really want black/black.
I'm not about to "settle" for something I really don't want, especially a $30k car.

psteng19

Coming Monday the 19th.
USA doesn't celebrate Boxing Day. I take it that's a Canadian holiday?

mjp3475

psteng19-

where are you located? my dealer is attempting to locate an 06/black/black/auto/navi for me...

CL6

Being a salesperson I hate to say this, but your salesperson was at fault. But you should have gotten the VIN, which would have told you it was a MT. Still, 95% the salesperson's fault. I would have been very pissed.

Colin

VINs tell the story.....

JH4CL968... = Auto
JH4CL958... = Manual

I understand you're disappointed, I would be too. You seem to have the right attitude on this. Obviously, mistakes were made, but there are some that would think they deliberately tried to screw with you. On the plus side, it is likely they are only incompetant and not malicious!

FWIW, if this happened at our store, we would have you in a used car (nothing fancy, but it would be wheels to use) that I'd rotate with you once a week (so we can sell our used car inventory). Here in the middle of the Pacific, we have nobody to trade with!

psteng19

NJ.
Feel free to take it. I didn't even set foot inside it.
It sure was pretty though

psteng19

This was a honest mistake by the salesman.
I'm not pissed off at anyone. Just upset that the right car wasn't delivered.

Yui

Sorry to hear that psteng =( Hope you get your car soon man! At least the snow might be cleared up by the time you get it...

psteng19

Yeah thanks, that's the lone bright side to my whole saga.
Less snow/salt to corrode the car.

psteng19

The deposit was in fact on a credit card ($3000).
The balance was paid in cash/bank check.

I now have a $3000+ credit card bill due in 2 weeks.

psteng19

I did get the VIN on my first visit.
The order form says CL969. He verbally explained that the code meant 6 speed manual.

Having no other source of knowledge, I took his word for it and got burned.

jlukja

They shouldn't keep your money unless you get to keep the car until your MT comes in.

jfbradley

They owe you about $250 in interest for the 2 months they have your money. 5%/12 mo x 2 mo x $30,000 = $250. I'd fight to get that at a minimum.

Colin

Ooop, I forgot you are on a Navi, they have different prefixs, probably CL968 = manual and CL969 = Automatic.

West6MT

Wow dude, that really sucks. I would be furious. I dont see why they cant give you a loaner for a month,.....even if its a used car or something. When my neighbour bought an MDX when they first came out and were really popular,......he had to wait about 6 months for his car. The dealer ended up giving him an EL (in Canada) to drive for 4 months. They gave him a brand new EL to use for FOUR MONTHS. Thats good customer service if you ask me.

psteng19

Yeah, that is great CS.

I'm actually a little ticked off they didn't bend over backwards to please me. After all, this was a mistake totally on their end.
Like I said, I got the feeling they were waiting for me to cancel the order completely.

greendestiny

Don't put your anger out on Acura or the car...you need to put the anger out on the dealers....

there are good dealers and bad dealers...you just happened to end up at a screwed up one....

fuckleberry

cliff notes appreciated

Jack Slate

You should ask to receive your money back until the car comes in. Ridiculous they have your money "locked up", when you don't have your car.

biker

Am I missing something - doesn't the VIN automatically make all of the paperwork and screen in the Acura computer tell you it's an MT or AT? I don't care how good a deal you got at first they either give you some discount or at the very least a loaner until the car comes in. They screwed up big time.

Lesson for the day - put in writing some penalty in the sales contract if the car does not come in on time or in the correct configuration.

crfortin

WAS PAID ? Why the hell did you pay them for a car they didn't deliver ? Or did they drop it in the safe while you were going over to look at the car ? I thought you were just out the deposit for the weekend.

And they took 30k of your money and locked it away ? F THAT IS THEIVING CRIMINAL SHIT x1000. Call Acura 800 and let them know what has happened. Let them know you expect to drive that Auto TSX untill your car comes in in January.

Find the dealer & salespersons home number and call him to ask what he's doing with your money this weekend/christmas.

& tell the dealership if they don't give you your money back Monday AM youll be calling the fraud squad/police dept. and your lawyer.

You can call the Card company and reverse the CC charges while you are waiting.

Find another dealer even if you have to drive 50 miles.

crfortin

Yup It's a commonwealth thing. Dec26th. I had temp. forgotten it wasn't a US holiday. You're not missing anything though. An idiotic holiday and the worst shopping day of the year.

Whatever the real origins of the name, it's now the day you're supposed to box up all the Christmas presents that were the wrong color/ didn't work and try to return them to Sears.

swirlie

Well, in terms of consumerism, Boxing Day (Week) is like Black Friday in the US. You can find "some" seriously good deals. Though, that's gone downhill.

crfortin

... Go to Square One in Mississagua one year on the 26th and you'll be cured forever.

psteng19

Yup, they put the money away as I was inspecting the car.

One would assume they would have the right car delivered, so I didn't think twice about inspecting before paying.

West6MT

BOXING DAY/WEEK IS KEY. Get some awesome deals on stuff lol. Ya, lots of crazy shoppers out,......but I cant pass up a good deal. I enjoy getting up and shopping on the 26th.

Tintin

Sorry to go off topic, but boxing day here in Canada is the same as the American's 'Black Friday', only ours is right after x-mas rather than thanks giving.
And the reason why its called 'boxing day' or why we have it atleast, is because long time ago, only the rich got to celebrate x-mas, and the next day, they would put all the things they didn't want, or not working in a box place them outside their doors and give it to their maids, housekeepers, etc (aka the poor). The poor would celebrate christmas the day after Dec25.

back on topic, i would go back so often to that dealer till i get exactly what i want, ie: better deal, free services, loaner car, and have them write it all on my contract.

jlukja

<--- thought boxing day was for

Newplay1

Oh my goodness, i can just picture you looking at the pedals and going [ ? ] [ ? ] where how and looking at the auto shift-knob and thinking huhhhh excuse meeee?

triton

It's funny almost the exact same thing happened to me exactly this time last year. I went in ordered a Black on Balck non navi manual on Nov 24th, they said it would be here on Dec 6. Come Dec 6, no car. But in my case I remained very calm, but told them that I did not have a car, and they gave me a loaner with no time limit until the car arrived. Finally came a week later, but there was a burn mark on it on the back side panel, I had them flat bead it toget it fixed. finally took deliver of the car Dec 23 2005. Also because of the paint burn, which was about the size of a dime, that they completely fixed, i was allowed to pick up ANY accessory except for the ground effects kit, I took the spoiler.

I've purchased 4 cars in the past year, 2 for myself, and 2 for other people. 2 Honda Dealerships, 1 Acura, 1 BMW. Your dealership sounds like crap. Mine was Wester Acura in PA. but the dealership isn't really the issue from what I've seen.

Dealerships will be as nice to you as they need to. It's all about minimzing how much they have to give out to get the deal. Oh the above deal i got for my tsx when I had it, I also got the car cover, all season mats, trunk tray, wheel locks, cargo net. All for free. Keep that in mind when negotiating. Also I'd go to another dealership and tell them the offer you have now and see if they can beat it. I also paid for my tsx in cash, but dont tell them that till you make the deal.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

psteng19

You experience sounds more in line with what I'm expecting from an Acura dealership that screwed up an order.
Not that I'm looking for freebies or handouts, but when you screw a customer over this badly, I expect some type of compensation, whether it be through accessories, service (oil changes), or lastly, discounts.
They were reluctant to even offer a loaner.

When they said they'd offer a refund, that tells me they don't want to do what it takes to keep me as a customer. They'd just rather not deal with me.

Black_6spd

Just make the dealer give you a killer deal on a TL.

I would have just "settled" for a black/black 6-spd TL if my dealer screwed up on my delivery.

sergeremi

Quoted for Great Truth and Fucking Justice.

You should have walked away immediately. That was some atrocious customer service. What was that crap about "you got too good a deal so we can't give you a loaner car because we did not meet the agreed upon delivery date"? Bad.

Hope you don't plan to have your car serviced by them.

I know you wanted the car real bad and already got rid of the other one, but sometimes it pays off to have a bird in the hand than two in the bush.

And seriously, THEY DO NOT KEEP THE CASH. The transaction is not complete, no car, no money. If they want to use the $3000 as a deposit, fine, but no car no cash.

dom

Holy shit, that is Unfreakingbelievable!

You just have to get something free out of this. Trunk Tray, mats, rust proofing, something.

RadYOacTVe

I didn't see this in the thread but you know you can still back out and find another dealership that is willing to work with you. The car isn't sold until you take delivery, (drive it off the lot).

Call some other dealers, tell them what happened. If your dealer can locate that car so can another one.

psteng19

Thanks, just did.
Cancelled from Bridgewater; they didn't even try to keep me as a customer and I didn't give a rats ass.

Got a good deal from Open Road and had a very positive experience.
Will reserve final judgement until car is delivered.