I wonder what would have happened if you held your Miata until they delivered the S2000. Do you believe that they would have let the deal pass? I doubt it. I suppose they would have tried (wrongly) to renegotiate your deal.

Why did you let them hold your money so long? To me that would have been a bigger issue then putting the car in the showroom. That they had to wait for the check from the other dealer to clear has nothing to do with you. They should have given you your $8,000 as soon as they took the car. If they want you to be a partner on the sale they should let you be a partner on the profit.

 

With you totally....
It's like you asked for a virgin wife and you find out that she's not on your first night.... (am I stretching it a bit)

But if you specifically asked what you wanted and the dealer agreed, he should definitely have followed through.

 

I think this dealer is a crook-- your Suzuka Blue sitting in the showroom as NOT promised? Taking your Miata without paying you in full? Making excuses about paying you what's owed? Why can't we customers expect to be treated with dignity and respect as a matter of course, as the Golden Rule advises? Why would you trust anything these people tell you in the future? One last question, for those who use psychiatric terms freely: just what is so "anal" about expecting someone to live up to his word? Good luck with this, SuzukaB.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Professor
[B]I think this dealer is a crook-- your Suzuka Blue sitting in the showroom as NOT promised? Taking your Miata without paying you in full? Making excuses about paying you what's owed? Why can't we customers expect to be treated with dignity and respect as a matter of course, as the Golden Rule advises? Why would you trust anything these people tell you in the future? One last question, for those who use psychiatric terms freely: just what is so "anal" about expecting someone to live up to his word?

 

How much of the deal is on paper (ie, did you explicitely state in the contract that the car was not to be put in the showroom)?

Whenever we have bought a car, we always put down every detail regarding the deal on paper and require that the dealer sign it (never had a problem with this one). This way, you have your rear covered and a piece of mind.

In one case, I forgot to do it and the dealer took advantage of it, although no where near the same case as yours. I had to have the dealer find the car I wanted (MY00 Accord coupe, V6) that needed some stuff installed on it. When the dealership received it, it had 16 miles on the ODO. When I took delivery, it had over 250 miles on it - none of it was required for the detailing and no way could it have been from a couple of trips across town. I wished that I had stuck the dealer to the ODO statement at the time of delivery (statement read 16 miles). Although there was no harm done, the car seemed to have bad vibes and I ended up trading it for the S2000 a year later.

 

Coming from a dealerships point of view, If you cant trust the dealer to supply you with a car in perfect condition why buy from them in the first place? Anal or not there is no way to control the situation you described. Our carriers come at all hours of the day sometimes in the middle of the night. I am not making excuses for the dealer but you have to remember you are buying 1 car your salesperson is selling 15-30 at a time. It seems to me you were told things to make you happy with no intentions of them following through which is wrong. If this happens now what will happen if there is service issues with the car? Trust is hard to obtain but easy to break. Good luck

 

I'm not a lawyer, but to my knowledge unless you signed any contracts stating that you agree to purchase the car. The dealer has to refund you any deposits made. Your problem could be the trade in. Do they still have your trade in car?

When I purchased my S2000 I had a similar problem of being lied to (minus the trade in). When I chose not to purchase from Dealer A, who I had a deposit with, Dealer A tried to say we had contract and that no refund was in order. Not being one to get angry, I called my attorney and found out that this was BS. One phone call, from the attorney, and a check was issued that day.

Down side is I had to wait another month for the exact car and color (go Blue) I wanted.

Upside side is that I never had to worry about the purchase, as I was present the day it was unloaded and unwrapped. Although I hear that more things go wrong on the docks than I would imagine, but lets not think about that.

 

SuzukaB,

I feel your pain. Here is my delivery story: My dealer in Daytona promised a dealer-swap for 02Silver w/ his 02Black...told me he will give me a ring when he finds a willing dealer. Few HOURS later, he calls me to inform me that he found a silver! Suspicious stunt? Maybe...considering I didn't have any deposite and I could have walked away from him whenever I want to. However, at that time I didn't want to loose my sleep over this car any more so I obliged. But I did request one thing though...the odometer should not exceed XY miles (they obviously didn't want to flat-bed the car) when I pick it up. Guess what I saw when I picked it up? XY miles. Now, was I being sloppy by letting them drive my baby? Definitely. If I could do it again, I would definitely insist on my car in plastic wrappers.

However, I have no problem w/ my car so far...just past 18K mi(knock on woods)...and I even get letters, cards and cookies from my dealer. Dare I say I even got one of them "better" S?! hehe. But I'll never know what it feels like to rip that plastic cover off!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gymniac
[B]SuzukaB,

I feel your pain.

 

Dundonr,

Wow, that's quite a "change of heart"...going from Cobra to S! But I don't blame ya.

One other "irony" of my delivery...while I was inspecting my car, I noticed a dealer sticker on the passenger side window, "Coutesy Honda." Now, I know there are many "Coutesy" hondas in Florida. Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out to be the same darn LOCAL dealership that turned me down for asking MSRP and not a penny more?! What a joke! But such is the price you pay for being "impatient." Hey, but I KNOW "Hiroshi-san," the engine builder from Tochigi factory did some "extra" work on my engine...at least that's what my butt tells me every time I hit VTEC!