Today, I drove over to Baton Rouge, LA to purchase a Honda Accord. I'm very particular about cars and knew I wanted a V6. If I found one with Nav and not a crazy amount of miles, I considered it a plus. This dealer had one with Nav and a 6MT, so I pursued it. For the record, the price was about $3k under NADA book, so I wanted to do my due diligence on the car. I also did a Carfax before I left (although I know not to always rely on that, as you will see shortly.)

I spoke with a sales person two days ago and gave him my offer. The dealer accepted. The dealer was skeptical that I was serious until the credit union called seeking information. I requested pictures of the car (The dealer website had 3 pics, other cars had more). Unfortunately, I never got them, although the sales rep claimed he sent them to me (His Iphone showed he sent them this morning - My Iphone does not show receipt).

When I got to the dealership this afternoon, my buddy and I looked over the car. Turns out the car had a bad respray on the passenger rear door, and the paint/metal around the sunroof showed cracks. Further, the previous owner installed and must have removed a sub/amp in the trunk as evidenced by the wires in the trunk and wires hooked to the battery. The front bumper was in rough shape, and the cursor button on the nav system was broken.

To add insult to injury, I drove the car and the alignment was so far off that I had to keep the steering wheel turned to the right to keep the car straight. The engine oil looked dirty as well.

I explained to the salesperson about the condition of the car and why I didnt plan to buy it. He seemed unconcerned, so I went to a sales manager and explained my disgust for the car and total disregard for my time and money. When that fell on deaf ears, I asked to speak to a general manager and I explained to him my point of view (a third time). All three tried to explain to me that if they were me, they would have made sure that I received the pictures before they came. I told them I found it hard to believe that any one of them would have taken pictures of the issues I found. Secondly, I told them about the alignment, and they tried to tell me it had been through service and that a "pothole" or anything could have caused that. Yea, right.

All in all, I respectfully asked that the dealership reimburse me for my gas expense as a courtesy (not the wear and tear on my car, or the time wasted driving to this dealership). The guy offered to fill my tank up (my tank was already full), so they then offered me a $50 gift card. I politely refused, citing that the amount did not cover my entire gas expense. The GM onsite stated he was not authorized to spend more than $50, and that I would have to talk to an owner. He also cited that I would have had to spend money going home anyways and that $50 was sufficient. The GM did note that he wanted to resolve this issue, as he did not want bad reviews online or by word of mouth.

I merely left afterwards, and I plan to talk to the owner or a higher-up manager on Monday. Hopefully this will get resolved. I'm very tempted to ask for the mileage I've put on my car now (55 cent/mile going by the IRS rate).

I hope that everyone who continues to buy from a dealer to be very cautious about what they are buying.

Cliffs: tried to purchase a used car from a Big 3 dealer 250 miles away
Drive over, car wasnt as advertised
Dealer was cheap, wouldnt fully reimburse my gas.
Plan to follow up with owner on monday.

 

I thought the $50 gift card was kinda generous.....

 

I'm sure the experience was frustrating, and although I sympathize, I think the GM handled it pretty well. I agree that the car probably wasn't represented correctly, but it certainly wouldn't have been the first time. And you did make a commitment before receiving the photos you had requested.

Anyway, just a varying opinion. Chalk it up to a bad experience and don't deal with them in the future.

 

Sorry about that my friend, I think we've all had a similar situation.
Justnspace met a girl on the interwebz, went across the country, and he met
her dad, Chris Hansen... then he got crabs....

Cheer up

 

Just a learning experience...never buy a house, car or wife based on pictures and promises.

I'm surprised they even considered giving you a $50 gift card. I would have taken it and said thank you.

 

I probably would have been upset too. But I also would have just accepted the $50 GC and let that be the end of it.

No sense in getting all worked up over it. What's done is done.

 

Yes, I made a commitment, contingent on seeing the car in person. There's only so much pictures can tell you.

Id rather walk away saving 10k than buying a car i don't feel confident in.

 

It definitely sucks, and the dealer should have represented the car accurately. But the fact that they were even considering reimbursing you at all is more than what most dealers would do. I would take the $50 gift card and chalk the rest up to a lesson well learned.

 

It's Lousyana... What did you expect?

 

I would have taken the 50 dollar GC,

and also if the original owner had a sub and amp and disconnected what was the point? I always leave my wires in my cars when I get rid of them.

 

shit happens

 

Kris, how've you been? I hope life is treating you well, you know, beyond this. Honestly, I'd have taken the gift card and called it a day. Not sure how far Pensacola is from Baton Rouge, but a tank of gas is ~$50.

Edit: Ok, read the cliffs (LOL, read the story, initially skipped the cliffs )...a complete gas reimbursement isn't out of line, given the circumstances, but if $50 is all you can get, might as well at least take it. Good luck on Monday...let us know how it goes.

You coming through NC any time soon? Been a while. Pop in the chat and let us know...I'm sure we can scrounge up a couple of folks to hang out

 

Life is a gamble. Gotta go with the group here. I'm also surprised That they offered you anything but a lot of empty promises.

 

go to the dealerrater website and write a review if things do not work out for you on Monday-

 

at least you didnt get crabs..

 

Sucks and like the others, I'm surprised they offered anything. Never trust a dealer

 

they don't owe you anything at all. the 50 dollars was generous. when i was shopping for cars on craigslist i had a list of pictures i needed to see before i would drive out to inspect the vehicle, if the seller was unwilling to cooperate then i would move on.

 

so wheres the horror story? With all due respect, people drive all over to see cars and leave if they are unhappy. It is a used car, it is not going to be perfect which is why people take a look at them first in person.

 

He should have bought it brought it to you to fix the door.

 

Fair enough, guys. It is what it is.

 

You called this a horror story? and asking for compensation when the dealer owes you nothing? You see what you don't like, move on! It's called a used car! Next time, buy new!

 

I respect alot of posters opinions and for those who say "get over it", its noted. I feel much better already after the initial shock and drive back. Its a hard lesson, but a lesson nonetheless. The money I would have spent, I can just sock away until another time.

I do need to clarify a few things. I acknowledged in my first post that the dealer owed me nothing, and asked for my gas expense as a "courtesy". After all, I had driven 250 miles one way for the car. I had expectations for being treated a certain way from a dealer and hey, they didnt meet it. oh well.

Yes, I was looking at a used car. Used cars typically have more value than a new car. The car was going to be a car I would DD, and I drive over 40k a year. Thus, I am very particular about a car.

I would never hold a used car to the standards of a new car. I understand the risks of buying a used car.

All in all, I'm more salty about the experience, and if nothing else, the owner or another GM will hear about my experience tomorrow or otherwise.

Even if I had accepted the GC, I still would have been in the red. Even if I had received my request, I still would have been in the red. Its less about the money and more about voicing my opinion at this point, even if I am 1 opinion. After tomorrow, I'll be done with it, as I dont have a significant amount of time to deal with a scrub dealer. Nothing can replace lost time and effort.

 

looking on the bright side, pat yourself on the back for going out there before purchasing and doing your due diligence. It could have been worse, this could have been an ebay purchase that you would have a much tougher time reversing.

 

was this really necessary?

 

Well, to be fair to OP...we didn't take one thing into account. Where you're from and expectations. I could totally see being very pissed about the waste of a drive too...but I live in South Florida...a place where you'd be more surprised by someone being HONEST with you about a car purchase than if it turned out to be a sham.

 

ive had something similar happen as well. drove almost 4 hours to see a car. had worked out most of the deal online, then when i get there, they try to over-sell the car and refuse to honor the deal we had.

i asked for a tank of gas for my time. they refused. lesson learned

i should have read the reviews on Yelp first, they all were horrid.

 

I have had worse experiences but why did you go without getting more pictures. If the dealer didn't send the pictures that is when you should have known something was up, I realize that you had to schedule a time to go but if they cannot get you the pictures before going I would not have wasted my time with that dealer. Obviously if the deal is to good to be true it usually is.

 

When I was on the hunt for a 3G TL 6MT w/ Nav a Nissan dealer in NY had an 05 w/ 48K that looked awesome in pictures, I thought the mileage was too good to be true but none the less got the bank on stand by, insurance locked and loaded.......drive 4 hours and find a typical NY car. The body looked like it had 300K on it. I passed and on the way out of the parking lot was stopped by the manager and he asked if I'd be interested in the car and a $1000 check to have body work done. I told him I am not buying a new to me car and putting it in the body shop right away and went home. Traffic was horrible and I ended up missing work that day....

Taking trips to look at cars, etc. is just a gamble......no one's fault but your and my own. When it comes down to it though you never know where the good deal's going to be so we must always try. lol

 

How is $50 not enough for gas to drive 250 miles?
Sucks about the car, but they appeared to try to at least give you something & you refused.
Why would you? I don't understand why there is this expectation, I hear it all the time. A car dealer is a business, & business built on extracting every dollar out of a buyer & getting over anyway they can. They are some of the wost businesses. Sure some people in them may be ok, & I know some post here, but the majority are pure scammers..

 

I would never buy a car based on pictures alone.

 

i would have taken that.

 

It doesn't matter what manufacturer you deal with, for the most part 99% are all the same. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

 

It was 250 one way. So, 500 total.

 

Sounds like you just had a bad experience, but I wouldn't waste anymore of my time thinking about it. Looking at the big picture, you made an offer on a car you never even saw, and more importantly, drove in person. In all fairness, the dealer did do the right thing by discounting the price of the car well in advance to make up for the issues it had. You shouldn't expect a perfect car and to get that big of a discount at the same time. Then the part about you needing to vent your disgust about the car....why should they care to listen too much? You didn't buy it, and had no intentions of buying it after you drove it, so end of story.

Personally, I think the gift card they offered was good, they didn't have to offer you anything. They should just consider the matter closed and choose not to have any further discussions with you.

I know you won't like my opinion, but it is easier to view the situation from the sideline when you are not emotionally involved. If I was in your position, I'd be mad too that I wasted my time/gas and would be calling them all kinds of names and whatnot! Looks like you have a nice set of cars by your sig, always liked the GT wagon.

 

doesnt sound like a horror story to me. you got there, car wasn't in very good condition. you left. no ties, no problems

 

Doesn't appear from the OP's story that the dealer made any claims to the condition of the car.

Probably a good indication that something was wrong with it. Did you ever ask the dealer for a description of the condition of the car?

 

 

yep.

 

While I will agree it sucks you wasted your time and gas.... I have to agree with the above quoted post more. Between the low price and the dealer not sending additional pics/info... there should have been a sense that something was up. If I was driving that far to purchase a vehicle I would have high-res photos of every nook and cranny of that car before hopping in mine and making the trip.

I also think the $50 gift card was generous. I go to stores all of the time (local and not so local) with the intention to buy things, but I don't always leave with product. Never once have I received a "hey, thanks for taking the trip to look, sorry you didn't find what you wanted, here's money". I have to say... based on what you typed, other then not making a deal on the car, this is the exact opposite of a dealer horror story. It seems like that dealership was on the ball with their customer service after they sensed your disappointment...

I'd chalk it up to lesson learned and start looking more local for a car.

 

cry me a river....the OP is serious?!?!?

They offered you $50 gift card for crying out loud!!!....they didn't have to dothat whatsoever.

Buyer beware. You should know better.