Come on Dealers...Get your act together!

[RacineRacing]

Ive been checking out this 03 Black SVT cobra for a few months now...Test drove it a month or two ago...it was 27,900. They said that it was traded in by a ford employee so they gave him "alot of money for it" there for they can't cut me a good deal. They also told me they have a line around the block for this car...Riiight buddy. So now its been a month and a half. The car is advertised at 27,000 at the dealership. On their licenced ford web site it is 25,995. And in the local classified ad paper it is advertised at 24,975. So i go to the dealer last night to tell ask them about the 24,xxx price. They said its a mistake and 27 is rock bottom price for this car. So I dug up the paper. And there it is in black in white. 24,975 and the stock #matchs up to a 03 SVT cobra. Is this just marketing ploys? I honestly doubt they make mistakes like this. Shouldn't they be held accountable for the advertised price? Im going there tonite with the paper and the web site info.
What do you think?

 

[brasil]

YUP!! False advertisement. It is their problem if IT IS a mistake. Which I don't thik it was. Maybe someone offered more money for the car? If you really want it, tell them that you will take them to court for false advertisement if they do not sell it at the advertised price

 

[CobraBob]

Tell them that you are going to file a complaint with the BBB and your attorney general for false advertising. You just might get that price you wanted quicker than you think.

 

[coleman]

that blows ... it's the run-around.
go to another dealership & leave a very poor comment card for them!!!

 

[azgardia]

Its not false advertising, unfortunately, but its still a bad business practice.

 

[Whiskey City]

Originally posted by brasil
YUP!! False advertisement. It is their problem if IT IS a mistake. Which I don't thik it was. Maybe someone offered more money for the car? If you really want it, tell them that you will take them to court for false advertisement if they do not sell it at the advertised price

Agreed. Some also may call it a Bait and Switch. A low advertised price and that particular item isn't avaliable so they upsell you. But, if the VIN is mentioned in the add, they have to honor it...period. If not, contact your Atty Gen and you will be the proud owner of an '03 SVT.

Good times:beer:

 

[CobraBob]

Originally posted by azgardia
Its not false advertising, unfortunately, but its still a bad business practice.

It is if the newspaper doesn't state that they are not responsible for typographical errors. If it can be proven that the newspaper was given that price and the dealer won't honor it, it is most certainly false advertising.

 

[flyn high again]

Even if you end up buying the car at your price from that dealership, I wouldn't bring it back there for service. Sounds to me like they are pond scum.

Edit-When you go back, bring a witness. Not a family member or close friend if possible. That way you have back up testimony if this ends up in court. Get everything you can in writing.

 

[hj16]

Originally posted by flyn high again
Even if you end up buying the car at your price from that dealership, I wouldn't bring it back there for service. Sounds to me like they are pond scum.

Edit-When you go back, bring a witness. Not a family member or close friend if possible. That way you have back up testimony if this ends up in court. Get everything you can in writing.

Sounds alot like Tirapelli doesnt it Cliff?

 

[a94cobra]

I have pursued this before. Here is the deal. They had a deal on a Probe that literally was half off. It was a used car worth $14k and they wer selling it for $7995. The stock number was on the ad in the paper and all. Went to the dealership asked about the car in the ad by stock number. Test drove and all. Told them I liked it and wanted it. Then they shot me the $14k price. I showed them the paper and everything. I talked to several key people at the dealership. The story in the end was the newspaper made a misktake in the print. They were not going to honor the price.

So I called the attorney general a nd spoke with them. He said that he could send them a letter and make them honor the deal. But they would have 30 days in the letter to honor the deal. So that route wasn't gonna be very fast. They might sell the car before then.

So I consulted an attorney. He basically said give up. And here is why. They can be forced by law to sell the car to you at that price if all the conditions were met. Like, no disclosure in the ad, if they actually had a number identifying the exact car and those kind of things discussed earlier. But when it came down to it. All the dealer had to do was move the car to another lot or swap it to another dealer, just so that it was not on the lot any longer. They are only obligated to give you the deal as long as they still have THAT car. The attorney said as soon as they get the letter from either him or the AG, they would just get rid of the car. They are then clear of any obligations. Nothing you can do at that point.

The best course of action is to haggle them down because of their mistake. In your case just a couple thousand. Or give them a bad review to the BBB. Most businesses don't want bad BBB ratings and they will work with you to clear it up if yuor review is bad. In this case they won't be losing that much to give you a good deal. I would think they would be eager to resolve that.

 

[JamesPhipps]

I had the same thing happen to me and when I told them about the BBB they went squirming and went to their other dealer to get the car and knock off another 1500 $$$ off the price a begtter deal than the ad BE DIRECT AND TO ( YOUR ) POINT !!!

 

[azgardia]

Originally posted by CobraBob
It is if the newspaper doesn't state that they are not responsible for typographical errors. If it can be proven that the newspaper was given that price and the dealer won't honor it, it is most certainly false advertising.

Its hard to explain, but its not let me find the info.

http://www.consumer.state.ny.us/clahm/Clahm-FalseAdvertising.htm
http://www.poznaklaw.com/articles/falsead.htm

Maybe esqueddy would know this more, but basically, ads are not classified as an enforceable offer.

Edit: Then again, im forgetting you people dont live in NY.

 

[pwildbil]

Originally posted by a94cobra
I have pursued this before. Here is the deal. They had a deal on a Probe that literally was half off. It was a used car worth $14k and they wer selling it for $7995. The stock number was on the ad in the paper and all. Went to the dealership asked about the car in the ad by stock number. Test drove and all. Told them I liked it and wanted it. Then they shot me the $14k price. I showed them the paper and everything. I talked to several key people at the dealership. The story in the end was the newspaper made a misktake in the print. They were not going to honor the price.

So I called the attorney general a nd spoke with them. He said that he could send them a letter and make them honor the deal. But they would have 30 days in the letter to honor the deal. So that route wasn't gonna be very fast. They might sell the car before then.

So I consulted an attorney. He basically said give up. And here is why. They can be forced by law to sell the car to you at that price if all the conditions were met. Like, no disclosure in the ad, if they actually had a number identifying the exact car and those kind of things discussed earlier. But when it came down to it. All the dealer had to do was move the car to another lot or swap it to another dealer, just so that it was not on the lot any longer. They are only obligated to give you the deal as long as they still have THAT car. The attorney said as soon as they get the letter from either him or the AG, they would just get rid of the car. They are then clear of any obligations. Nothing you can do at that point.

The best course of action is to haggle them down because of their mistake. In your case just a couple thousand. Or give them a bad review to the BBB. Most businesses don't want bad BBB ratings and they will work with you to clear it up if yuor review is bad. In this case they won't be losing that much to give you a good deal. I would think they would be eager to resolve that.

Great info to know

 

[RacineRacing]

Well I went to the dealership tonite...I told them about how I viewed the price and the stock # in the paper...They said it was a mistake. Then I showed them the paper and the guy said to just hold on to it and he can honor that price. Damn right. Just have to get the damn eclipse sold now...

Thanks for your input...but they went down easy

 

[Top_Fuel]

What is the actual mileage, price and condition of this Cobra? The $24,900 you mentioned may or may not be that great of a price...depending on miles, condition and mods. Post some more info so we can tell you if this thing is even worth your time.

-Greg

 

[ShelbyGuy]

bbb only affects bbb members. i'd laugh at you if you threatened bbb action against my company.

 

[a94cobra]

You can still have a bad rating with the BBB even if you are not a member.

 

[micksnip]

Bait and Switch

I had a similar experience with Koons Ford in Baltimore, MD. Maybe if we start putting the names of these bait/switch dealers on this board, their story would be known? Anyway, I saw a Mystichrome Coupe advertised by them on the net, vin #, and a invoice price of $37k and change on the 4th of July. The ad said "all cars on the lot sold at invoice, plus get a 32"tv" I was really after the tv. Anyway, I was hot to trade in my black 03 with 3500 miles on it, cause I really wanted a Mysti. Koons said the ad was a "mistake", and didn't include SVTs, and tried to give me 22 for my car and charge 44 for the Mysti. My Atty General is aware of it, and issued something like a warning, but I think they get so many complaints about car dealers that they just issue warnings unless negligence caused a wreck or something. When I went there, Koons management came out-sat down and said"We have no trouble getting 44 for these and that's the price." I kept my cool, told them it was bait and switch, and I'd be taking action. He just waddled away to close deals with poor folks from the area, who were there for the free tv, and didn't know that 6.75% was a high finance rate. I heard several of them talking, and my heart went out to them. Maybe we have a moral duty to keep the downtrodden, poor(who isn't?), starstruck(with the fantastic deal on a cobra), and other potential victims, and I think this site does a nice job of doing just that. Keeping the buyer aware. By the way, traded my 03 for an 04 coupe-good price, paint, and no tick. Thank you Jesus!
;-)

 

[RacineRacing]

The car is a Black 2003 SVT cobra...17,000 miles pretty much stock except for an after market clutch. 24,995

 

[Top_Fuel]

Originally posted by RacineRacing
2003 cobra...
17,000 miles...
pretty much stock...
24,995...

Others can chime in here but IMHO $25K for a 17,000 mile '03 isn't that great of a price. It certainly isn't worth fighting a dealer over. Keep shopping...especially for private owner deals like this one...

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131364

Believe it or not, there are still some new leftover '03s out there which could probably be purchased for a little more than this dealer wants for the used one you're looking at.

-Greg