He denied it of course. I was then offered a curated silver ‘6’ with digital cam mirrors, that had “just come off the transporter that afternoon”. He said that his dealership would pay half (£500) towards the mirror if I agreed to change the order. That sounded reasonable until I realised when I went into see it that it was actually the same “new car” that I had test driven days earlier. (the clear plastic protective coverings had been ripped off and were still in the same place that the sales person stuffed them and the delivery sticker on the side window had the same serial number as I had photographed at the time). So it was more than a bit annoying that I had been given totally ‘wrong info’. At that point I cancelled my order.
Hope you don’t mind my asking but can I ask if you told the salesman that you were cancelling the order due to the dishonesty you’d experienced? Or did you simply say: “not interested, I’ll try somewhere else” and just move on?
I’ve been involved in the process of car sales and car leasing long enough to know that car dealerships and sales persons have a job to do. It’s not just about getting a ‘sale’ or even ‘upselling’ options. It’s about meeting monthly targets, month in month out, year in year out. It’s a very tough environment and a stressful job.
I’m a customer with more experience than most of the buying and leasing process, so I accept that the showroom process is a search for mutual benefit. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you always have the option to walk away if you feel the deal isn’t right for you.
I told the manager firmly that I doubted his explanation about the ‘accident’ and also his offer about the silver ‘6’ off the transporter, but I didn’t fall out with him. He did what he felt he had to do, and I opted out.