Today, Friday August 27th, after shopping around for over two weeks for a certified used Prius within my budget of $17,500, I found a vehicle on Toyota's website which fit what I was looking for. The ad was for a 2007 Prius package #5 with 28,986 miles for $17,977, and the car was at Claremont Toyota. Understanding that it's common for buyers to get out the door, including tax and license, for around the list price, I called about the vehicle and ended up speaking to a salesman named Chris.
I explained to Chris that I was working with a budget of $17,500, and was calling about the 2007 Prius I saw on Toyota's website. After some of the routine back and forth, I let him know my budget was non-negotiable and asked whether or not we could make a deal. He explained that the desk manager was a personal friend of his, and that he was pretty sure we could make a deal. I then explained that because Claremont is a good hour drive from my house, I couldn't justify driving all the way out there for a maybe, I let him know I needed to know that we had a deal before making that commitment to come out there. After a few back and forth phone calls, he confirmed over the phone that he had spoken with the desk manager and we had a deal for $17,500 out the door, including tax and license.
Pleased with the deal, I let him know I'd be going to the bank to pick up a cashier's check in the mentioned amount, and even called him at the bank to ask who it should be made out to. He seemed excited to sell me the car, and told me to make the check out to Claremont Toyota. I got the check, then asked a friend of mine if he could give me a ride out there to pick up the vehicle. In addition, based upon Chris' request that I have proof of insurance, I used the vin number available on the ad to have the car insured in my name, so I could drive it off the lot. This was done by my business manager, and expedited so it could be done by the end of the business day. I spoke with Chris several times throughout the day, reconfirming our deal and letting him know I'd be arriving at 9pm, he again seemed excited to sell me the car.
When I was about 10 minutes away from the dealership, I got a call from Chris, and his voice let me know that something was wrong. He immediately began, with an apologetic tone, to backpedal, explaining that because the list price on the vehicle was an "online ad", that he could not give me the deal that we had already, several times, agreed on. As one would imagine, I was confused, disappointed, and quite upset. I quickly let him know that this mistake was not made on my part and reminded him that we had made a deal over the phone, and that he had confirmed that deal several times. He acknowledged that we had made the deal, but still continued to attempt to explain why he was now backing out of the deal he made with me. I let him know I'd be there in 10 minutes to discuss in person.
Upon arrival, I sat down with Chris, who proceeded to show me paperwork revealing the original listing price of the car, to which I was not interested. From where I was standing, we had a deal, I had closed off several different negotiations with other dealers, got a cashier's check, bought insurance, and spent nearly half a day of my time on making this happen, not to mention the hour car ride. It was at this time that his boss, Lloyd, an assistant manager showed up and joined us.
Lloyd was unapologetic from the get-go, and made it very clear that, while he acknowledged Chris had made a deal with me that was approved by the desk manager, he was not going to approve or honor the said deal. Frankly, his overall attitude was negative, and he explained that he was not going to lose money on this deal just because his employee made a verbal agreement over the phone. When I reminded him that in California a verbal agreement is binding, he chuckled and said "you don't have a contract, there's no deal". This is where things began to get understandably tense.
My position remained, we had a deal, I had a cashier's check and insurance on the car, I expected them to honor the deal Chris had made with me. He said he could not. He then disappeared into the back room to discuss with his boss, and came back with the number $18,977, nearly $1500 outside of my budget. I quickly let him know that this was dishonest, unethical, and I was shocked at the lack of accountability. It was acknowledged that Chris had made the deal with me, but Lloyd didn't care, this was the best he could do. The arrogance and lack of concern for my business caused me to reveal that I am a writer by profession, and that I'm not the type to take injustice lying down.
I then mentioned that should this remain their position, I would have no choice but to tell others about how I was treated, to which again he chuckled. His smile turned sour when I let him know that I'm a film director in Hollywood, and an active writer on Twitter with nearly 1,000 followers, some of which are famous friends with millions of followers. I asked him if the $1400 was worth the bad press that would ultimately result from them me relaying the truth of my experience with them, to which he told me he would not stand for my attempt at blackmail or extortion. I quickly reminded him that this was in no way blackmail or extortion, this was a justifiable consequence for an unethical and dishonest action on his part, one which was well within my rights as an American.
He was upset by this point, and again disappeared into the back room, then came back minutes later with his chest puffed out and another number of $18,577. He coldly said this was the best he could do. I asked him "So, you're not going to honor the deal I had made? " He said "This is what I can do, and I don't even want to do this. "Chris remained quiet and apologetic the entire time. Lloyd clearly just wanted to go home. Disappointed and feeling beyond frustrated and shocked, I shook my head, took my cashier's check and walked out of the dealership.
I immediately took to my twitter account and let my followers know what had happened, and to retweet if they thought that Claremont Toyota should be held accountable for such unethical and inconsiderate treatment of their customers. Overall, I'm not an attorney so I'm not sure this verbal agreement will hold up in court, but on an ethical and integrity level, Claremont Toyota displayed a complete lack of both in tonight's dealing with them, and I will continue to spread the word about my treatment there, and how they clearly do not care about running an honest business where once a deal is made, it is honored.
