Dealership in NJ takes my deposit, then sells Escalade to another customer.

[Escolade]

Friday I drove to New Jersey from Pennsylvania to purchase a 2003 Escalade. We negotiated over the phone before I came to look at the car. When I got there, I felt that it was in good condition. I took it for a ride, it drove like a dream. I told the salesmen I would take it as long as the Check Airbag Light got fixed and gave them a deposit. They wrote up a sales agreement, and Saturday morning I went to apply for my loan. Saturday afternoon I get a call from the dealership stating that the Escalade is no longer available. I told them that I had a deposit on it, and all they told me was they are going to refund me the money. I don't want they money, I want the truck! Should I take action against them? I had $100 and my time wrapped up into going and getting this Escalade! I'm very angry with this whole situation.

Eddie

[99escalademan]

not your truck till you sign the papers. time to buy from a different dealership.

[dkozloski]

Get your loan approval before you go shopping, then it's same as cash. The first guy through the door with long green gets the car. Money talks, BS walks. I was the other guy in your story once. I walked into the middle of the negotiation between the salesman and a customer over the car I wanted. I showed the salesman the money and drove the car away.

[pabstcadillac]

Originally Posted by dkozloski

Get your loan approval before you go shopping, then it's same as cash. The first guy through the door with long green gets the car. Money talks, BS walks. I was the other guy in your story once. I walked into the middle of the negotiation between the salesman and a customer over the car I wanted. I showed the salesman the money and drove the car away.

There are sooo many good points here that are fairly universal for any big ticket item.

As for your $100 deposit, even if they didn't refund it you got off cheap. I needed to leave $1,000 on my CTS that they had to locate.

[tjfls4]

Damn that sucks bro. better luck next time

[Escolade]

The $100 was the money I spent going down there, not for the amount I gave a deposit!

[TheCaddyKidd]

not much you can really do.. you can put a deposit down on the vehicle but nothing is official till you drive off the lot.. money talks and thats all that matters.. i went into a dealer lookijng for an escalade and the guy was like we have 1 in stock.. and he was like i think it might be sold but lets go take a look.. he pulled out the paperwork and was like nope not official yet.. so he took me out by it to look.. wasnt my color so i said nah but he was gonna let me test drive it and everything which was kind of wierd since the car techinally belonged to someone.. at least in my eyes it did.. but dealers dont care.. either way they have your money be glad that you got your deposit back.. some places have litttle tiny writing that says that deposits are non refundable and that you have x amount of days to finalize it... car dealers are not a friendly place.. they want money and thats it.. salesman are not going to pass up on a deal.. thats how they make their money.. the more cars the sell the more money they get so to them it doesnt matter if you drove 1000 miles if someone came in with the cash thye are taking it home.. you can complain and they might throw the old.. well we will give you x amount off your purchase here which is great but your not really getting anything as they will just edit that into the sales package and you wont get anything extra off.. sucks but thats life i guess.. nothing is fair.. i would argue and write letters though.. who knows maybe you can get a deal on something else..

[skor]

$100 deposit? Most judges would throw that right out of court and laugh at you for being such a noob.

A few years back, my neighbor tried to special order a Seville -- options and colors that he wanted. The dealer -- also in New Jersey -- told him no problem, and took a $3,500 deposit. After six months of excuses and no car, the dealer called my neighbor and told him to buy a car off the lot or he could take back his money and get lost. My neighbor threatened to sue, but that only got him a good laugh all around. He went back to the dealer and bought a car off the lot -- and it wasn't a very good deal at that.

[hcvone]

Who was the dealership? Not good business at all, most dealers are good to deal with, sorry you got a bad one or a bad (greedy) salesperson.

[pabstcadillac]

Originally Posted by TheCaddyKidd

car dealers are not a friendly place..

True, dealerships are a business, but blanket statements like this are simply not necessary. Even Nordstrom's which has an impeccable record of customer satisfaction will sell a suit that you're trying on if someone else has the money & is willing to buy right now. (I know from experience.)

It's funny though, buying a car is soooooo easy today for so many people (Myself included) yet a lot of people are soooo intimidated by it that they can't look in the mirror & say "I walked on to their lot, heaven forbid they try to help me." It's the only business where we as buyers know what they've paid for their product & can get them to sell it to us for cost. It's too easy! try doing that at a jewelry store that has 80%-150% markup in their products. End of rant.

[TheCaddyKidd]

Originally Posted by pabstcadillac

True, dealerships are a business, but blanket statements like this are simply not necessary. Even Nordstrom's which has an impeccable record of customer satisfaction will sell a suit that you're trying on if someone else has the money & is willing to buy right now. (I know from experience.)

It's funny though, buying a car is soooooo easy today for so many people (Myself included) yet a lot of people are soooo intimidated by it that they can't look in the mirror & say "I walked on to their lot, heaven forbid they try to help me." It's the only business where we as buyers know what they've paid for their product & can get them to sell it to us for cost. It's too easy! try doing that at a jewelry store that has 80%-150% markup in their products. End of rant.

ok.. not sure what the hell you meant by all this.. but all i can say is that you cant deny car dealers are not friendly places.. i understand its a business.. so yea whatever.. but the object of the salesman is to make you pay as much as he can for the car but at the same time trying to make you feel like you got a deal.. there was even a special on tv that showed that some car dealers would sit you in a room talk with you and then when you would ask for some privacy the salesman would go in the other room and through a mic in your room (that you did not know was there) he would listen to waht you said.. then he would come back with a whole new strategy.. for example the customer said something like if he gives us anymore off or something that they would take the car.. so the salesman came back in and was like look.. i was just talking to my manager when i stepped out and he is feeling generous or you seem like a nice person so we can cut another 200 off the car.. or whatever it was.. they are scam artist.. nothing more to it.. im not saying they are bad people.. and that they dont come off as friendly.. cuz many of them are nice people but the job is what makes them scammers.. well not scammers but you know what i mean.. their job is to try and get what they can out of you simple as that.. if they can sell the car for 40k and make a profit they will still try and get as high as possible.. otherwise it would be like going to the store and picking up a dvd player for a set price.. i think the best was Scion.. not sure if they still do it but they had the no haggle pricing.. it was what it was.. no negotiations.. final low price.. given its not a Cadillac or anything but that made buying alot easier.. but whatever.. im not gonna aruge anymore.. feel how you will about car dealers and the salesman..

[pabstcadillac]

Originally Posted by TheCaddyKidd

ok.. not sure what the hell you meant by all this.. but all i can say is that you cant deny car dealers are not friendly places.. i understand its a business.. ...blah...blah... blah..

i think the best was Scion.. not sure if they still do it but they had the no haggle pricing.. it was what it was.. no negotiations.. final low price.. given its not a Cadillac or anything but that made buying alot easier.. but whatever.. im not gonna aruge anymore.. feel how you will about car dealers and the salesman..

Yes I can deny that car dealers are not friendly places. EASILY! The people that have difficulty buying a car most likely bring it upon them selves. Just like Escolade did in this case. If he would of gotten his financing BEFORE he went shopping the ride would have been his. Don't blame dealers for stupid $hit that consumers (Myself included) do.

As for the line you're thinking of it's Saturn. C'mon man this information is basic car buying knowledge.

[TheCaddyKidd]

if your saying Saturn is the line of vehicles that had no haggle pricing then they may also do it but when my girl bought her Scion that was the advertisement.. so i know Scion did and maybe others joined in..

as for this situation yes your right he should have gotten all financing done before since he was not doing it through the dealer.. however thats does not make dealers a friendly place.. if they were so friendly they would have notified him that the vehicle he was intending to purchase and put a deposit on was being looked at by another buyer.. then given him time to contact his financing institution to see if there was any rush that could be done.. not sell it and tell him too bad.. thats just poor customer service.. there is alot of things that could have been done differently.. in this case the buyer and seller made mistakes.. it happens.. but sometimes even if you have everything straight on your end dealers will still try and screw you.. wether its on ur trade in.. or on the selling price.. I had a 03 Cadillac CTS that I went to trade in for my durango which was an 05.. the guy gave me all the prices on the truck which were great.. then i mentioned my trade in which i did not tell him about before hand and then he was all like i didnt know about a trade in.. i was like yea well what about it.. this was a 2 year old car with only like 35k on it.. he tells me 15-18k.. im like are you joking.. when i said forget it he was like i understand.. and told me (which i was suprised) that if he had known about the trade in he would have raised the trade in value but also raised the truck price to even it out for himself.. thats the game with trade in's.. so there is always a gimmick... oh and i love the old "I am losing money on this sale.. You are making a great deal on this".. that is complete BS.. who sells something and loses money on it.. no one.. they lie to you at dealers and try and cheat every dollar they can.. but hey its the job.. i dont blame them personally they have to make a living too.. but none of them are their to help you.. unless you know them personally as in a family member or close close close friend...

[Escolade]

Originally Posted by hcvone

Who was the dealership? Not good business at all, most dealers are good to deal with, sorry you got a bad one or a bad (greedy) salesperson.

Finally someone who sees this at the same level as I do. The dealership was World Jeep/ Subraru. At the very least, I see this as bad business. I attempted to send them a considerable amount of money the next morning, but my CU does not do any kinds of transfers electronically. They were notified of my attempt. I figured I have a deposit (more than $100) on the car, I'll have my loan by Tuesday or Wednesday. In two to three days they would have had all their money and I would be a happy customer. Instead they wanted to be scam artists. I'm going to have an attorney look at the contract to see where it all stands.

[hcvone]

Do not know them. You have a right to be upset for sure, I find the only way to get back at businesses that "screw" you is to not do business with them, and be sure to tell your friends and family to stay away from dealerships like that one.