Acura Survey - Your thoughts
#1
Acura Survey - Your thoughts
I recently picked up a RDX w/Tech package (Graphic Luster Metallic w/Parchment) at the beginning of this month from John Eagle Acura in Houston. I had initially used carwoo.com to send out bids to various dealers around town and even San Antonio, Dallas and Austin. The best bid came back from Champion Acura (Houston) at 5% off. I called John Eagle (July 30) and asked the fleet manager if he would match that price and he said he would.
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
#3
TexasRDX....I am glad to see that you were able to get the deal they had promised you. It is hard to say whether or not they were being sneaky in trying to do the bait and switch thing or just someone made a decision without getting the proper approval. Everytime I make a deal over the phone or the internet, I always make sure i have everything in writting and bring that with me just to be sure. I am sure that whoever made you that promise will get in trouble but that is nothing for you to worry about and glad you were able to get a great deal.
As far as the survey, you should never feel bullied into answer anything you aren't agreeing with. That in itself is bad practise and should not be encouraged, however, they did make the deal for you so you got to give them a little credit for that. One thing for sure, they will receive the results of your survey nd that MAY affect how they will treat you but don't let that affect your answer. I often refuse answering any survey if I don't feel comfortable...sometime its better not to answer than lie about something. Now, if you are OK with being totally truthful about the situation, proceed but keep in mind it MAY affect your experience at the dealer. They won't damage your vehicle or anything like that, but you may not get the very warm welcome and the fuzzies that I get when I get when I go to the dealer. If there is another nearby, you can always try that dealership too.
Bottom line, no one can really make that decision for you...follow your heart and I am sure you will do the right thing.
PS...Congrats on your RDX -
As far as the survey, you should never feel bullied into answer anything you aren't agreeing with. That in itself is bad practise and should not be encouraged, however, they did make the deal for you so you got to give them a little credit for that. One thing for sure, they will receive the results of your survey nd that MAY affect how they will treat you but don't let that affect your answer. I often refuse answering any survey if I don't feel comfortable...sometime its better not to answer than lie about something. Now, if you are OK with being totally truthful about the situation, proceed but keep in mind it MAY affect your experience at the dealer. They won't damage your vehicle or anything like that, but you may not get the very warm welcome and the fuzzies that I get when I get when I go to the dealer. If there is another nearby, you can always try that dealership too.
Bottom line, no one can really make that decision for you...follow your heart and I am sure you will do the right thing.
PS...Congrats on your RDX -
#4
From what you have said and the 5 minutes the salesman spent with you I can see why you may not want to answer excellent on the survey.
But - "He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price."
Based on the I gather you agreed to do this to get the deal so imo if you don't do what you committed to you too are doing a bait and switch.
I personally would have walked away from it but you agreed to it with the general manager to get the deal. Just because a salesman who probably wasn't getting the commission for the sale didn't give you enough time with the new vehicle, well you have to determine in your own mind if you shouldn't follow through with your agreement.
But - "He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price."
Based on the I gather you agreed to do this to get the deal so imo if you don't do what you committed to you too are doing a bait and switch.
I personally would have walked away from it but you agreed to it with the general manager to get the deal. Just because a salesman who probably wasn't getting the commission for the sale didn't give you enough time with the new vehicle, well you have to determine in your own mind if you shouldn't follow through with your agreement.
#5
I have purchased 3 new vehicles in the past 6 years and there is a great deal of emphasis placed by the sales force in getting excellent surveys from the customer. The sad part is they seem to put more emphasis on the survey than on earning an excellent rating. That being said, how I fill out the survey has depended mostly on my relationship with the dealer. I did not plan on being a repeat customer on one of the purchases and if there had been a problem with the sale/delivery I would have burned them on the survey. The other 2 were both purchased from another dealer and I get my service done there. I am willing to cut them a bit of slack in return for the good service experiences I have had. I did have two issues with my RDX - the wait for the F&I guy was nearly an hour and the car had a door ding on it 3 hours after it came off the truck. The sales manager went out of his way to resolve the ding with paintless dent removal and when that was not to my satisfaction the installed BSMs at no charge. I was not happy but it turned out to my advantage and I gave them excellents on the survey. From my perspectie the suvey is a two way street depending on your relationship with the dealer. If they are going to do your service and you want to purchase from them again then I would be inclined to start out on a good footing.
#6
The sales guy spent approximately 20 minutes to walk through the RDX with me including all the buttons in the car, how to use the voice recognition, gps, connect the phone, store the phone book, demo the 5.1 surround sound, backup camera, etc.
#7
I recently picked up a RDX w/Tech package (Graphic Luster Metallic w/Parchment) at the beginning of this month from John Eagle Acura in Houston. I had initially used carwoo.com to send out bids to various dealers around town and even San Antonio, Dallas and Austin. The best bid came back from Champion Acura (Houston) at 5% off. I called John Eagle (July 30) and asked the fleet manager if he would match that price and he said he would.
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
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#8
The deal was really good at 36,896.00 +TTL and thats why I stuck at it to get it at that price.
I found out later that my so called Fleet Manager that I dealt with did not get approval from his boss to offer the car at that price. When I went in the one and only time he wrote that price down on this sheet and said yes I can sell you at this price. I said fine, I will test drive the RDX one more time and we can go from there. At no time during this process he said to me I need to check with my manager to approve the deal.
After all this happened, I would have thought my new sales guy would have been more careful and made a better effort to keep me happy during the vehicle inspection process.
I will be going in tomorrow to pick up the license plates for my car and I thought about talking with the General Sales Manager to let him know how I feel.
I found out later that my so called Fleet Manager that I dealt with did not get approval from his boss to offer the car at that price. When I went in the one and only time he wrote that price down on this sheet and said yes I can sell you at this price. I said fine, I will test drive the RDX one more time and we can go from there. At no time during this process he said to me I need to check with my manager to approve the deal.
After all this happened, I would have thought my new sales guy would have been more careful and made a better effort to keep me happy during the vehicle inspection process.
I will be going in tomorrow to pick up the license plates for my car and I thought about talking with the General Sales Manager to let him know how I feel.
#9
I recently picked up a RDX w/Tech package (Graphic Luster Metallic w/Parchment) at the beginning of this month from John Eagle Acura in Houston. I had initially used carwoo.com to send out bids to various dealers around town and even San Antonio, Dallas and Austin. The best bid came back from Champion Acura (Houston) at 5% off. I called John Eagle (July 30) and asked the fleet manager if he would match that price and he said he would.
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
I went to the dealership on July 31 and everything looked okay. They did not have the RDX in my color in stock but one was coming in 2-3 days. I do another test drive, come back, fill out the paperwork for the loan and then they even run my credit (800). Now comes the fun part. My sales guy comes back to me and says we cannot sell you the vehicle at 5% off. The most we can do is 500 off or max 1000off. He says "we are selling this car to another customer sitting close by for 500.00". I said I dont care, we agreed upon a price and now you have even run my credit report. You had ample opportunity say no to the deal prior to me even coming in to the dealership."
The Sales Manager comes by and says we can only do 1000.00 off and I told him that is not what was agreed upon. My original sales person literally says "sorry" and walks away. I finally say I want to talk to the General Manager of the dealership. I wait for 30 minutes before he invites me to his office. I state my position again and initially it looked like all he would do was apologize to me but I told him that this was unethical on John's part to do this bait and switch with a customer. His words "We will be talking with the sales person in question this evening."
As I am about to leave the office I state my position again and then he finally says give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do. He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price.
I am now dealing with a new sales person at this point. Fill out the paperwork and deal with the finance guy (say NO to everything he offers). I leave the dealership after almost 3.5 hrs. I am told by my salesperson my vehicle will come in 2-3 days. Did you guys get copies of all document including odometer statement, etc.?
I keep checking and finally get the call Friday(August 3). My salesperson picks me up and we get to the dealership. Now I dont know how much time the salesguy should spend on a new vehicle with the customer but mine spent less then 5 minutes. His words at the end "if you find anything wrong call me".
I was told that if a customer does not give excellent on all points on the survey one gets treated differently at the dealership. Is that true? Has that happened to you guys as well?
They are the closest acura dealership to me and I will have to go to them for servicing, etc. Am I shooting myself in the foot so to speak if I give them bad marks?
Your Thoughts????
ACCESSORIES:
I have already purchased lots of accessories for the RDX from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ . Their prices seemed better then Curry including shipping.
http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com
I always get quotes on paper, even an Email will do. The guy who said he would meet the other offer might have thought you were just scamming him. (Did he see that other quote?)
My salesman spent about an hour with me before all the paperwork was complete and then at least 45 minutes going over everything in and on the car including an introduction to the Service Manager. I gave an excellent on all survey items. Your salesman didn't perform up to expectations if he only spent 5 minutes with you.
Good luck, Jim
#10
I had something similar happened to me when I bought my Odyssey at Paragon Honda (Queens, NY). I gave them the worst possible rating in the survey and told the woman that I will never buy another car from there again.
#12
From what you have said and the 5 minutes the salesman spent with you I can see why you may not want to answer excellent on the survey.
But - "He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price."
Based on the I gather you agreed to do this to get the deal so imo if you don't do what you committed to you too are doing a bait and switch.
I personally would have walked away from it but you agreed to it with the general manager to get the deal. Just because a salesman who probably wasn't getting the commission for the sale didn't give you enough time with the new vehicle, well you have to determine in your own mind if you shouldn't follow through with your agreement.
But - "He comes back after 5 minutes and says we can do the deal if "I give him excellent on all questions on the survey". His words. I tell him whatever and I finally get the deal for the agreed price."
Based on the I gather you agreed to do this to get the deal so imo if you don't do what you committed to you too are doing a bait and switch.
I personally would have walked away from it but you agreed to it with the general manager to get the deal. Just because a salesman who probably wasn't getting the commission for the sale didn't give you enough time with the new vehicle, well you have to determine in your own mind if you shouldn't follow through with your agreement.
#13
I've always heard that John Eagle was run by a bunch of sleaze balls. I bought my TL at Sterling McCall Acura in Houston. No, it's not close to home, but I had a stellar experience there. Check out the difference between these two dealerships:
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Jo...a-review-7443/
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/St...ra-review-532/
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Jo...a-review-7443/
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/St...ra-review-532/
#14
1) There should have never been a bait and switch attempted by the dealership.
2) The dealership should not be bribing/blackmailing customers to get good ratings after allegedly doing this bait and switch.
I would never give a dealership high marks as a result of bribery/blackmail. As a matter of fact, I'd call up Acura and tell them what happened. If he was promised the car, then he shouldn't have to agree to anything in order to get what he was promised.
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GaryE (08-25-2012)
#15
With a few exceptions, assuming all this is true :
1) There should have never been a bait and switch attempted by the dealership.
True, if that is what it was and not just a mistake by an over enthusiastic sales person.
2) The dealership should not be bribing/blackmailing customers to get good ratings after allegedly doing this bait and switch.
I wouldn't call it blackmail or necessarily even bribery. It could have been the sales managers way to honor the sales persons pricing with a simple request to receive a good survey rating.
I would never give a dealership high marks as a result of bribery/blackmail. As a matter offact, I'd call up Acura and tell them what happened. If he was promised the car, then he shouldn't have to agree to anything in order to get
what he was promised.
1) There should have never been a bait and switch attempted by the dealership.
True, if that is what it was and not just a mistake by an over enthusiastic sales person.
2) The dealership should not be bribing/blackmailing customers to get good ratings after allegedly doing this bait and switch.
I wouldn't call it blackmail or necessarily even bribery. It could have been the sales managers way to honor the sales persons pricing with a simple request to receive a good survey rating.
I would never give a dealership high marks as a result of bribery/blackmail. As a matter offact, I'd call up Acura and tell them what happened. If he was promised the car, then he shouldn't have to agree to anything in order to get
what he was promised.
He should make up his own mind and live with the results of his decision.
#16
Due to a number of issues, (including my sales person spending all our test drive telling me how much he hates the president) i gave my dealer less than stellar reviews. That said, since that time I have been in a couple of times and they have really bent over backwards to make me happy. My follow up reviews have all been good ones. So, at least in my case, they seemed to step it up because of a less than excellent review. This is David McDavid in Plano Texas.
#17
Due to a number of issues, (including my sales person spending all our test drive telling me how much he hates the president) i gave my dealer less than stellar reviews. That said, since that time I have been in a couple of times and they have really bent over backwards to make me happy. My follow up reviews have all been good ones. So, at least in my case, they seemed to step it up because of a less than excellent review. This is David McDavid in Plano Texas.
#18
Mikey:
May I ask whom your salesman was? I think I had the same person. (Send it to me PM, if you don't want the dealership to know...McDavid reads and sponsors Acurazine)
Rocketsfan:
Any reason why? Service and Sales are totally separate, and Irving/Dallas is one heck of a drive!
May I ask whom your salesman was? I think I had the same person. (Send it to me PM, if you don't want the dealership to know...McDavid reads and sponsors Acurazine)
Rocketsfan:
Any reason why? Service and Sales are totally separate, and Irving/Dallas is one heck of a drive!
#19
While we're very happy with our RDX we're not so happy about our sales experience. Mistakes were made throughout the process (finance interest rate was wrong, registration transfer was incorrect, car wasn't detailed, tires were all overinflated, wheel alignment was off, the list goes on...) and we were given an awful price for our trade (at least 25% less than book price) having been promised the "best price".
Admittedly the trade price is my own fault, I should have insisted on an written price for the trade when we ordered the RDX, but having been a customer of this dealer for almost 10 years, I naively took them at their word (we did ask for a price three times before and after our RDX test drive and were refused each time by both the sales person and sales manager, yes, I know, that should have been a red flag).
Anyway, thus far I've resisted taking the Acura phone survey as I won't lie and give them high scores, and decided to just give no response. However, when I discovered how poor the price they gave us for the trade was (and that they were selling it for almost double what they paid us) I decided to write a letter to Acura customer service.
My question is, if I send this letter to Acura (its lengthy but I went out of my way to detail the problems, not to complain) am I inviting trouble with the dealer? I did email the dealer two weeks ago with my concerns and they haven't responded, which I am beginning to consider to be adding insult to injury.
What do you folks think; let Acura know how unhappy we are or keep it to myself?
Admittedly the trade price is my own fault, I should have insisted on an written price for the trade when we ordered the RDX, but having been a customer of this dealer for almost 10 years, I naively took them at their word (we did ask for a price three times before and after our RDX test drive and were refused each time by both the sales person and sales manager, yes, I know, that should have been a red flag).
Anyway, thus far I've resisted taking the Acura phone survey as I won't lie and give them high scores, and decided to just give no response. However, when I discovered how poor the price they gave us for the trade was (and that they were selling it for almost double what they paid us) I decided to write a letter to Acura customer service.
My question is, if I send this letter to Acura (its lengthy but I went out of my way to detail the problems, not to complain) am I inviting trouble with the dealer? I did email the dealer two weeks ago with my concerns and they haven't responded, which I am beginning to consider to be adding insult to injury.
What do you folks think; let Acura know how unhappy we are or keep it to myself?
#20
The deal was really good at 36,896.00 +TTL and thats why I stuck at it to get it at that price.
I found out later that my so called Fleet Manager that I dealt with did not get approval from his boss to offer the car at that price. When I went in the one and only time he wrote that price down on this sheet and said yes I can sell you at this price. I said fine, I will test drive the RDX one more time and we can go from there. At no time during this process he said to me I need to check with my manager to approve the deal.
After all this happened, I would have thought my new sales guy would have been more careful and made a better effort to keep me happy during the vehicle inspection process.
I will be going in tomorrow to pick up the license plates for my car and I thought about talking with the General Sales Manager to let him know how I feel.
I found out later that my so called Fleet Manager that I dealt with did not get approval from his boss to offer the car at that price. When I went in the one and only time he wrote that price down on this sheet and said yes I can sell you at this price. I said fine, I will test drive the RDX one more time and we can go from there. At no time during this process he said to me I need to check with my manager to approve the deal.
After all this happened, I would have thought my new sales guy would have been more careful and made a better effort to keep me happy during the vehicle inspection process.
I will be going in tomorrow to pick up the license plates for my car and I thought about talking with the General Sales Manager to let him know how I feel.
How the heck did you get it for that price?!? im looking to purchase a tech FWD within the next week, and only been offered $39k + ttl in the Houston area.
#21
Let us know how you went.....
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PaulH2 (08-27-2012)
#22
I'm glad its not just me that doesn't enjoy causing a fuss!
I've primarily mentioned the trade value in the letter so far as an example of why I no longer feel comfortable with this dealer, but I may rewrite that a bit to emphasize that I know thats a done deal (literally) but that I do feel the dealer broke their word and took advantage.
Thanks again for the thoughts and I will indeed let you know what I do and what (if anything) happens as a result.
I've primarily mentioned the trade value in the letter so far as an example of why I no longer feel comfortable with this dealer, but I may rewrite that a bit to emphasize that I know thats a done deal (literally) but that I do feel the dealer broke their word and took advantage.
Thanks again for the thoughts and I will indeed let you know what I do and what (if anything) happens as a result.
#23
Even John Eagle was only doing 500.00 off when I originally called them. Like I said, the deal was really good so I stuck at it with the General Manager of the dealership (Valerian...).
Bought accessories from http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ Great prices even with shipping.
Just got the RDX tinted with ceramic tint (Global QDP ceramic 33% all around, 5% sunroof) at a local tint shop (Carro Audio Tint). Love it. Makes a big difference.
It is my wife's SUV so she gets to enjoy it.
#24
lol. I lived in Irving when I bought the car, but for the past 8 years I've been driving from Frisco there. Luckily, the car hasn't caused me many problems (thanks Acura). And I average about 25,000 miles per year, so it's not like I'm averse to driving.
As for the service vs. sales argument, I understand it, but they're all under the same name to me - the dealership's name. So if Dealer A's sales department screws me over, I'm not supporting their service department because Dealer A is still getting the money.
#25
Personally, I think it's important to let sales and service management know when you're not happy. Legitimate businesses welcome that sort of feedback. How else will they ever improve if they think everything is OK?
#26
Supposedly the survey ratings go back to Acura and the dealers with the best ratings get more new cars ahead of other dealers. That's what we were told. We were asked to give all 10's b/c anything less is viewed as a negative score to Acura. We had a fine experience so I was fine with doing that. They didn't ask us until the very end after everything was all said and done. So there was no "you do this and we will give you that" sort of scenario.
#27
Exactly why Acura not a "premium" brand
They make good vehicles but the dealers and service sucks compared to Volvo, Infiniti and other similar upscale brands. I played the game for 3 hours for the new 13 RDX but I got the price I was looking for and the trade value I wanted on my Honda. It would have been 20 minutes at my Volvo dealer which is why I was so hesitant on the Acura but like others, I didn't want to screw the salesman so I gave full 10's on the survey and called him to let him know, He was nice, the sales manager was nice, who just happens to be a close friend of a friend so I'm sure that helps. Other than that it went as expected, pulling teeth and expecting the worst with the salesman needing to go through the motions. In the end the color green moved the machine and all went as planned and I planned for exactly what transpired.
#28
If you decide to mail the letter, expect a follow-up phone call from Acura. I've sent Honda a couple of letters over the years and they've always had someone contact me directly. If I were you, I'd send the letter. It'll likely get routed to the territory manager and that person will speak with the dealership management about it. That carries much more weight than what the dealership might consider a whiny customer.
Personally, I think it's important to let sales and service management know when you're not happy. Legitimate businesses welcome that sort of feedback. How else will they ever improve if they think everything is OK?
Personally, I think it's important to let sales and service management know when you're not happy. Legitimate businesses welcome that sort of feedback. How else will they ever improve if they think everything is OK?
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