with[lost]in
08-04-2008, 03:52 PM
I recently had the worst experience imaginable for a first time new car buyer After that experience, I made it my point that people must hear my story. The point of the story is STAY AWAY from Downtown Mazda; they are dishonest and will treat you like nothing the second you sign! If you want to know why, continue reading…
So my girlfriend and I were in the market for a new car and we test drove about 8 somewhat comparable cars; out of which the Mazda 3 GT with Luxury package stood out. We went to one dealer near our work and got a quote and decided to check another dealer that was closer to where we live before we commit. The original dealer was willing to give us $1300 off the MRSP; the next one supposedly gave us a 1500 discount. Since we were indifferent between the 2 dealers, we went with the one with the best discount (it was also nearer to our place) and boy did we make a mistake.
We inked the deal and everything was fine until I went home and decided to look over the contract again. I realized that the dealer inflated his prices so it appeared we were getting a much bigger discount than we really were. I was curious as to why they quoted us a price of 546.78 (60month term) when the online price was only 536 and the other dealer was 541. The different between the other dealer and the online price was because Window edging was not included, however I did not understand how the dealer got 546.78. We were shopping based on discount as we assumed all MRSP prices would be the same. We went back the next business day and asked for an explanation as they could have included other options. The bottom line they gave us was” Too bad, you signed the contract, nothing you can do about it! You cannot cancel!” I was furious. All I wanted was an explanation to the price difference and for them to come up with the same quote they gave me. Instead they belittled and bullied us. They couldn’t even come up with the same quote that they had given us (546.78) on the same computer, nor did their match the price they had written on the commitment to buy. I wanted to speak to the GM but he was busy so we had to make an appointment for two days later. We were prepared to cancel if the GM did not apologize and give us a good explanation. The day came and not only did they NOT call to confirm the appointment like they said they would but he outright refused to speak to us. When he saw us, he did not acknowledge us and instead sent the salesman to talk to us instead. He claimed that he saw no reason to talk to us and that he had other business to take care of. Then the sales guy said that they couldn’t find the car and had to guts to sell us on a different colour. The GM walks over asked us to reconsider it for another day. All the while pretending nothing had happened. We told him that we were cancelling and went home to write a formal letter to cancel the next day. In the meantime I had called OMVIC and they said that I should give the letter in person since we were going back to get our deposit anyway. It made sense so that’s we did. After work we went there to give them the letter. Now they claimed that they found the car; I was in disbelief as how a dealer can jerk us around like that without any penalty. Of course at this point we told him that we are cancelling no matter what, we had a right to. The GM refused to accept the letter and said that he lived up to his end and that we must take delivery. He basically denied everything about not being able to find the car. Then we told him we are sick of this BS and wants to cancel and we don’t care if we lose the deposit. He said that’s fine so long as we write him a letter stating so. We immediately wrote a letter on the spot. Once again he refused it and said that we had to write it in the format that he wanted. We did just that and we’d asked him to signed to acknowledge that he’d received it (Because without written proof, he could have said anything) He refused and instead said that he must consult with his lawyers. This all happened in the Showroom with customers around. He made us talk to him standing outside his office! Talk about complete lack of Customer Service.
Because he wouldn’t sign it, we left with the letters and called OMVIC the next day. I faxed them all the letters that we had wrote to cancel (A total of 5). OMVIC proceeded to cancel the deal. OMVIC said that they can only claim up to the deposit amount if they have evidence that they incurred expenses related to the car. Not to my surprise, the Dealer still claim expense of $1000 in the 1 short day that they claimed they found the car. Which is total BS. Nonetheless I rather lose the deposit then get the car from them, who know what kind of car they’re going to give us!! Apparently they also gave OMVIC the wrong VIN # of the car. I’m not surprise if they’d done that on purpose as they probably don’t have the car!
At the beginning we felt bad for the salesman as he said he might get fire if we press this on further but all sympathy were lost when he outright denied everything at the end when we wanted to cancel; claiming he never gave us the wrong quote and never said we could cancel! The GM Paul Lambroise and the Sales Managers, Andrew Poon and the Salesman should all be fire! They had every opportunity to mitigate and resolve the issue at every stage but yet they didn’t. They don’t seem to see or care that not only did they lose any future maintenance that we would have done at their dealer but all future sales from our friends, friends of friends and every person that we will meet in the future. They were willing to screw a customer for $500 bucks and lose thousands of dollars from future sales! Where is the business logic in that? This experience has left us bitterly and utterly disgusted with sales practice at Downtown Mazda.
We had email Mazda Canada and it’s been 3 weeks without a response. Another disappointment…
So my girlfriend and I were in the market for a new car and we test drove about 8 somewhat comparable cars; out of which the Mazda 3 GT with Luxury package stood out. We went to one dealer near our work and got a quote and decided to check another dealer that was closer to where we live before we commit. The original dealer was willing to give us $1300 off the MRSP; the next one supposedly gave us a 1500 discount. Since we were indifferent between the 2 dealers, we went with the one with the best discount (it was also nearer to our place) and boy did we make a mistake.
We inked the deal and everything was fine until I went home and decided to look over the contract again. I realized that the dealer inflated his prices so it appeared we were getting a much bigger discount than we really were. I was curious as to why they quoted us a price of 546.78 (60month term) when the online price was only 536 and the other dealer was 541. The different between the other dealer and the online price was because Window edging was not included, however I did not understand how the dealer got 546.78. We were shopping based on discount as we assumed all MRSP prices would be the same. We went back the next business day and asked for an explanation as they could have included other options. The bottom line they gave us was” Too bad, you signed the contract, nothing you can do about it! You cannot cancel!” I was furious. All I wanted was an explanation to the price difference and for them to come up with the same quote they gave me. Instead they belittled and bullied us. They couldn’t even come up with the same quote that they had given us (546.78) on the same computer, nor did their match the price they had written on the commitment to buy. I wanted to speak to the GM but he was busy so we had to make an appointment for two days later. We were prepared to cancel if the GM did not apologize and give us a good explanation. The day came and not only did they NOT call to confirm the appointment like they said they would but he outright refused to speak to us. When he saw us, he did not acknowledge us and instead sent the salesman to talk to us instead. He claimed that he saw no reason to talk to us and that he had other business to take care of. Then the sales guy said that they couldn’t find the car and had to guts to sell us on a different colour. The GM walks over asked us to reconsider it for another day. All the while pretending nothing had happened. We told him that we were cancelling and went home to write a formal letter to cancel the next day. In the meantime I had called OMVIC and they said that I should give the letter in person since we were going back to get our deposit anyway. It made sense so that’s we did. After work we went there to give them the letter. Now they claimed that they found the car; I was in disbelief as how a dealer can jerk us around like that without any penalty. Of course at this point we told him that we are cancelling no matter what, we had a right to. The GM refused to accept the letter and said that he lived up to his end and that we must take delivery. He basically denied everything about not being able to find the car. Then we told him we are sick of this BS and wants to cancel and we don’t care if we lose the deposit. He said that’s fine so long as we write him a letter stating so. We immediately wrote a letter on the spot. Once again he refused it and said that we had to write it in the format that he wanted. We did just that and we’d asked him to signed to acknowledge that he’d received it (Because without written proof, he could have said anything) He refused and instead said that he must consult with his lawyers. This all happened in the Showroom with customers around. He made us talk to him standing outside his office! Talk about complete lack of Customer Service.
Because he wouldn’t sign it, we left with the letters and called OMVIC the next day. I faxed them all the letters that we had wrote to cancel (A total of 5). OMVIC proceeded to cancel the deal. OMVIC said that they can only claim up to the deposit amount if they have evidence that they incurred expenses related to the car. Not to my surprise, the Dealer still claim expense of $1000 in the 1 short day that they claimed they found the car. Which is total BS. Nonetheless I rather lose the deposit then get the car from them, who know what kind of car they’re going to give us!! Apparently they also gave OMVIC the wrong VIN # of the car. I’m not surprise if they’d done that on purpose as they probably don’t have the car!
At the beginning we felt bad for the salesman as he said he might get fire if we press this on further but all sympathy were lost when he outright denied everything at the end when we wanted to cancel; claiming he never gave us the wrong quote and never said we could cancel! The GM Paul Lambroise and the Sales Managers, Andrew Poon and the Salesman should all be fire! They had every opportunity to mitigate and resolve the issue at every stage but yet they didn’t. They don’t seem to see or care that not only did they lose any future maintenance that we would have done at their dealer but all future sales from our friends, friends of friends and every person that we will meet in the future. They were willing to screw a customer for $500 bucks and lose thousands of dollars from future sales! Where is the business logic in that? This experience has left us bitterly and utterly disgusted with sales practice at Downtown Mazda.
We had email Mazda Canada and it’s been 3 weeks without a response. Another disappointment…