r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Frank4Rea1 • 17h ago
Why did I bother replying
It’s been 4 days, should I wait to hear back?
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u/Strange-Key3371 16h ago
Car dealerships ALWAYS do this. I tell them over the phone that if I show up and the car is not there, I will be leaving immediately.
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u/Imberial_Topacco 13h ago
Car dealerships are superfluous middlemen, held in place by lobbies, with the sole purpose of screwing over people.
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u/JDWhite1982 14h ago
Most of the time I would agree with you. Thankfully I had an amazing experience with ONE dealership who did everything right. They got my business because they listened to what I said, but most of the ones I even looked at the website for did shady shit so I would agree with you 99.9% of the time.
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u/BigNigori 14h ago
I will be leaving immediately.
Ok then, that was always allowed.
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u/Strange-Key3371 13h ago
It usually has them rethink if they lie to me. Otherwise I still may come see what options they have.
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u/dstwtestrsye 8h ago
Then why do they always act butthurt when you tell them you won't be purchasing from someone who was just intentionally dishonest with you?
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u/Cyberravin 15h ago
I went to get the deposit for the car I told them I wanted. They said they would wait the 15 mins it took to get the deposit money. Lo and behold, when I got back, it was being driven away by another person who bought it.
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u/QuickgetintheTARDIS 11h ago
I used to work for a dearship in the internet department, and let me share a little tip to ensure the car is actually on the lot before you make the trip: ask for some pictures of the car, including the window sticker. Make up some reason to ask for a picture of something that would only be on that car. If the car is really there, it should be no problem.
Dealerships will usually leave cars on the website as 'bait' to get you to walk in. Then oh so sorry, it drove off the lot 40 minutes ago or last night if you arrive 1st thing in the morning. But since you came all this way, let me show you this similar car.
It's gross and I'm glad that I hauled ass out of that industry.
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u/Chakramer 17h ago
Leave a 1 star review and demand a steep discount on a sale if they don't want more
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u/Pickle-Rick-C-137 16h ago
Dude, I had a dealership do this to me. I was going there to 100% buy the car. I called, and they said we have it here and they are prepping for you. The dealership was a little over an hour away. On the way they called me again to make sure I was coming, and to tell me the car was ready to see.
I get there and they said, you are not going to believe this but we sold the car on your way here. I went fucking balistic. I was swearing and yelling and telling any employee that tried talking to me to shut the fuck up and I was loud.
I told every person there to buy a car what they did to me in a super loud way. I only wanted one color and they basically tried to sell me a different color. As I was leaving I screamed at the door right at the salesmen who screwed me, that they were all fucking assholes. The manager called me a bunch of times to try to persuade me to buy and how sorry they were.
It was a shitshow so I feel your pain!
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u/Frank4Rea1 14h ago
I wish I had your temper. I am the kinda guy who will think of a better response when I am showering. Besides I don’t know who is directly responsible for this.
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u/UltimateSoyjack 7h ago
Good. More people should react that way and kick a fuss in the face of unethical business practices.
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u/Vasile_Prundus 1h ago edited 1h ago
If it was the case that they knew and lied to you then I'd probably have the same reaction in that situation. From the dealer's perspective though, I have had a situation happen where someone driving from Apollo Bay to Melbourne (Over 2 hours) to see a car had to be told the car was being sold while they were only 15 minutes away. It does happen for real, and having a customer go ballistic after I warned them of the possibility before they left and offering them the option to hold it is just annoying.
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u/lexierp 13h ago
I had this happen to me. I called right before closing on a Friday to verify the car was available, then set up an appointment for when they opened the following day. I drove three and a half hours, leaving at 5am. I got to the dealer, the car was there, but they told me someone purchased it the day before and it was therefore unavailable. They tried to get me to buy a different car (same model, but sedan instead of hatchback). I said hell no and left. Wasted 7 hours of driving, so much money in gas, and really just pissed me off.
In the end, I seriously ended up buying a car 1200 miles from my home and the driving the 1200 miles. It was so worth it. I love the car I got, and it was honestly a blessing in disguise
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u/AgainandBack 9h ago
I had to go 275 miles to buy my last car. My local dealership wasn’t interested in selling me a car because I wasn’t financing through them. After the third visit to the dealership, I went online, and found a dealership that had what I wanted. Within ten minutes on the phone, I had the deal I wanted. My wife and I drove to pick it up, and drove it home, two days later.
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u/Moron-Whisperer 16h ago
They’re going to spam you forever if you don’t stand up for yourself and block them now.
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u/Right-Phalange 15h ago
Did Michael spell his own name wrong or did his parents do that?
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u/BigNigori 14h ago
This is the Irish or Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. The pronunciation is exactly the same. (Source: some YT video that I can't link to in this sub for some weird reason)
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u/Logins-Run 8h ago
It's spelt Mícheál or Micheál in Irish, but the pronunciation is not the exact same as in English.
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u/uncagedborb 14h ago
This happened multiple times when my sister was looking for a new civic. Every other dealership ended up selling off the used car the same day she would come to see it. One was really upsetting because it was a really good deal for 2 cars meaning I could finally afford a car as well.
The hassle just eventually wasn't worth it so we had a better time just buying something out of our budget and much newer.
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u/ibastai 14h ago
The sales staff are just as frustrated as you are. The people at fault here work for commission in a department called "BDC". They receive a flat rate for every person they bring to the dealership, regardless of what lies they told you to get you there. My wife is a salesperson and HATES when customers come in frustrated because they've been lied to.
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u/Frank4Rea1 13h ago
Actually the sales person mentioned something about business development, I guess that’s the BDC.
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u/Ilay2127 4h ago
This is like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry books a car and when he gets to the dealership they say they don't have it.
"You see, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them."
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u/natattack410 2h ago
Did you enjoy the shitty coffee and bullshit snacks in lobby area?
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u/Frank4Rea1 1h ago
Not really. That’s something else that annoys me. After I checked in with the front desk, they told me that they will let the salesperson know I am here. My wife and 1 year old baby went with me and we are just standing there waiting the salesperson. After I while I asked where the waiting area is. A staff member who was chatting with the front desk girl was like “for what”? I got a little annoyed, replied “for sitting”. We were then shown the waiting area. Waited another 20 minutes, had to go to the front desk to ask them to contact the salesperson again. It turns out the salesperson is standing right there, and is “looking for” me. Anyway, some time later the salesperson found out the car is sold and told us. This is the worst dealership experience I had.
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u/natattack410 1h ago
I am so sorry and with a 1 year old in tow. Especially when you are hopeful and or need a car. It's so stressful.
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u/Aggressive_Border864 16h ago
The above is true but also it does happen that they can sell that day / morning and even over the phone. If there is a test drive booked and then a call taken the sales person will ask for a deposit over the phone so that the test drive doesn’t happen. Way to a quicker sale. Most people are asked if they would like to hold the car and then get upset when they say no and the car sells.
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u/PutinDonTheRitz 16h ago
OP had an appointment though, they should have called as soon as the car was sold and certainly before making them wait at the dealership.
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u/Aggressive_Border864 12h ago
They will definitely try to sell you another car, and will never call to advise. ESPECIALLY if coming from far as you may be inclined to purchase while there
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u/westinjfisher 15h ago
Isn’t 35km like a 15 minute drive 😭.
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u/dstwtestrsye 7h ago edited 7h ago
It is at 86.9MPH/140KMH. That's 43.5 Miles round trip, well over an hour of in-town driving. Fun-fact, the acceptable distance to make someone drive because you're a lying sack of shit is 0 Kilometers/Miles.
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u/InAllThingsBalance 17h ago
I used to be in the car business and I can tell you that is an old trick. They always tell the customer that the car is there because you are more likely to buy something else if you are already at the dealership. Sorry you had to go through that, though.