in the realm of the fictionman

Here's Why People Don't Like or Trust Car Salesmen:

A couple days ago we got a sale flyer from the Chevy dealership at the Auto Mall in Huntley. There was also a scratch-and-win thing. Normally Amy just recycles these, but on impulse she did it.

We won the Grand Prize, a free vacation. 1 chance in 52,000. So tonight we went to find out.

The sales guy hardly waited for us to get out of the car, and was waiting behind the car just about before we'd turned it off. He was introducing himself before we had even gotten to the back seats for the car seats fo the kids. We told him we were there because we had the thing which said we'd won. He took the flyer and barely looked at it. There was never a single "congratulaions," which was Red Flag #1.

It was hard sell before we'd even sat down. He proceded straight to getting information from us, wanting to run my credit before even answering questions. When I didn't follow the script, we had a floor manager talking to us. I had to work (hard) before they'd accept they weren't running credit on me.

Then I had to work to get the info on the "vacation."

Things he lied about said which I don't believe:

• The payment were all based on a 740 credit score, which he said was average for Illinois. (It's actually 682, slightly higher than the 675 national average)


• Most of what they were selling were being sold for the remaining bank balances less discounts (reposessed cars). There were payment listed for each. When we asked about actual prices, he explained that there no prices, just payments.


• When I asked how old a car could be and still be eligible for an extended warranty he flat out said that he wasn't allowed to discuss that because he wasn't licensed to.

Once he eventually realized we weren't buying anything right then, he dropped us as if we were contagious with barely a handshake. It was only then when I was finally able to get the "vacation" details. (It's just a three day hotel stay. Nothing else included.)

Getting into the car on the way out we had a "floor manager" come stop us to see if there was anything they could do to get our business that day. In retrospect, I was far too polite to this guy, and should have told him exactly what I thought. I'm torn on whether to call or email the dealership tomorrow. I'll tell the story at work tomorrow and see how they react.

In the mean time, if someone asks me for a recommendation on where to buy a car, I can honestly tell them Huntley Chevrolet was the WORST car dealership I've ever experienced, and I would not recommend them under any circumstances.

(Oh, and in other news, there'll be a blog post coming soon about the interview I had earlier today. It looks like I'm going back for a 3rd with the company president.)

Posted by fictionman at October 19, 2006 11:52 PM | TrackBack (0)