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| Spradley Barr Ford Protect Yourself From the Shiesty Business Practices of This Dealership Fort Collins, Colorado |
| 23rd of Sep, 2011 by User820782 |
After living a lifetime without a vehicle of my own choosing, I decided it was finally time to purchase a car that came as close as possible to something I actually wanted. I am a forty-nine year old wife and mother, who recently lost my home and business. Also, over the last couple of weeks, my transmission started to go out on the 1993 Dodge Intrepid I have been driving for the last six years or so. I am a full-time college student and I recently accepted a really great job (full-time) and have to drive forty miles to get there so I really need to have something reliable and winter-safe. Yes, I have credit issues, but one thing I did have going for me was a decent down-payment (obtained through student loans at 6.8%) because as most of us know--cash is king when buying a car. So, I went into SPRADLEY BARR FORD in Fort Collins, Colorado to see what I could get with my $3500 down and not-so-great credit rating. I’ve been looking for a particular body style--a Nissan Murano or a Mazda CX-7. I let the salesperson (Mike Cook) know that I was looking for something "pre-owned" and filled him in on what I felt I could afford monthly. I was very forthcoming and honest about EVERYTHING the finance department would need to know about me. I am not a liar, and believe that if I can't get financed by telling the truth, then it's not yet time to purchase a car. I had my eye on a 2007 Mazda CX-7 they had on their lot, and after rushing me through all of their paperwork and receiving $1000 cash out of my $3500 available deposit, I was told by Napoleon in the finance department, that he would be out for a few days on a mini-vacation and wouldn't be back in the office until Wednesday (this was on a Saturday), so I would have to wait until then to know if I was good on the financing. Apparently, I had only gotten a pre-approval and the bank had to okay the complete package. He said that everything looked good though, and I was given the key to drive it off the lot. Little did I know before I left (and of course Napoleon didn't point out to me as we were rushing through the paperwork) that there could be a $50 per day rental fee on the car THEY sent me home in if they couldn't get me financed. I must admit I was naive to the whole lack of integrity thing practiced by a majority of car-dealerships so I wasn't thinking negatively about the
situation. I kept the car until Thursday which allowed Napoleon to get back from his vacation and then work with the finance company concerning my car. Turned out he wasn't able to get me financed on that particular car, but they had gotten approval on a 2008 Ford Escape. I wasn't thrilled, but I told him I would be right in to bring the Mazda back and check out the Ford. When I got there I knew immediately that it wasn't what I had been envisioning for myself and asked if there was anything else that fit in with what I was looking for (a sporty SUV crossover), and they said no, that was it, so I decided to take it home and give it a try. That evening I had decided it wasn't what I wanted, and this time, I wasn't going to settle for something I didn't want. So I headed off to the Nissan dealership to check out the Nissan Rogue. I figured hey, if SPRADLEY BARR FORD can get me into a car, than so can a competitor. I was right. Tynan Nissan got me into a beautiful black 2010 Nissan Rogue with only 33,000 miles on it! I was so happy! It was pretty much everything I was looking for. But with my excitement came hesitation, because I didn't want to have to tell the guys at SPRADLEY BARR FORD that I wasn't buying from them after all their hard work. That night I thought to myself--why the hell should I feel about buying WHAT I ACTUALLY WANT from another dealer? Isn't it their job to work hard to get people into cars? I mean that IS what they are in business to do right? So if they can't get me into what I want then they should be able to accept it. Not so. When I went in to bring the car back and get my $1000 back, the first thing I told them was that as much as I appreciated their hard work--the Ford Escape just wasn't what I was looking for, and I then asked him for my $1000 back (remember, the deposit on the Mazda they couldn't get me into?). They began to back peddle and panic a little as they scrambled to try and find me something that could work for me. Napoleon then asked me if I had been to any other dealerships. I told him yes and left it at that. They (Napoleon and the sales manager) continued to pressure me about looking at other vehicles on their lot to the point of bullying. Finally, the sales manager behind the big desk in the back (wish I would've thought to get HIS name) asked me point blank if I had already purchased another car. I was sick of the whole thing by then so I finally told him yes! He immediately informed me that there were going to be charges associated with having the Mazda for those five days and they all acted as if I beat up their little brother. That's when the shit hit the fan. I asked this sales manager if he really wanted to go that route and burn a bridge like that, because had he did what was right, I would absolutely consider going back to them a year or two down the road (after establishing better credit) to upgrade. He told me that I had already shown him that I wasn't going to buy from them. I tried to let him know that this Nissan wouldn't be the only car I would drive for the rest of my life and that this was just bad business. There were about five men in this office when this started--and me. Luckily my 6'8" son showed up so I didn't have to deal with this alone. Yes, I made a scene--this was not fair to me, especially because it wasn't my fault Napoleon took those days off while the Mazda sat in my driveway. I should have been told on that Monday that they couldn't get me into that car. Why should I have to pay for Napoleon's days off? TOTAL BULLSH*T! They charged me $50 per day, for a total of $250. They then handed me a check for $750 (my $1000 minus the $250). I paid $250 for a rental car for five days, because these guys got butt-hurt after I decided to do what was well within my rights to go do--GET THE CAR I WANTED!!! The contract I signed on the Mazda (that I didn't sit and read until later) said they could do that to me. What it didn't say was that the guy doing the financing could go and take a vacation while I sat and waited to hear about my financing. Also, call me extremely naive (not any longer), but as Napoleon was skimming over what these document were actually saying (supposedly), he failed to mention that there was a chance they could charge me $50 per day rent if THEY couldn't get me into that car through no fault of my own. After giving them plenty of time to make this situation right with me, I believe that now it's time for me to warn other naive and well-intentioned consumers. I will post this anywhere and everywhere I can. I will print and post fliers, write bad online reviews, and tell as many people as I can through social media and word of mouth about the complete lack of integrity among some of the staff at SPRADLEY BARR FORD in Fort Collins, Colorado. So, a word of caution to those seeking financing through any car dealership--DO NOT DRIVE OFF THE LOT WITH A CAR, UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE YOU ARE FULLY FINANCED, OR KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE BUYING FROM THAT DEALERSHIP. INCONVENIENCE THEM BY READING THROUGH EVERY WORD OF YOUR CONTRACT. They do not care about you and know exactly what they are doing. They want to squeeze as much as they can possibly get out of you. I am a person who is just trying to get back on my feet after a major loss and I cannot afford to throw $250 dollars away on a rental. I am an honest person who totally believes in creating win-win situations for all. I hope this helps someone. Thanks for listening!!! |
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