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BEWARE - very unethical dealership
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The General Manager, Nicholas Douglas, came off as the epitome of a sleazy, gaslighting used car salesman. Here's the backstory: Over the phone, the dealership's sales lead Antonio and I negotiated a price of $8,500 for a Mitsubishi Mirage. Antonio said he'd put the deal together and call me right back. A full day passed, and I never heard from him. (Red flag #1.) I called back in and spoke to Nicholas, who reneged on the $8,500 price (red flag #2), but said I could still buy the vehicle for $9,200. I agreed and drove 90 minutes to the dealership.
When I got there, the car was missing several of its advertised features, including run flat tires, Bluetooth capability, and keyless entry. Were I to purchase all these features from a third party after the fact, it would cost up to $3,700.
For the keyless entry, Nicholas said he could bring in a specialist to add in the feature for $300. When I asked if he'd take that $300 off the price of the car, he refused, saying I "already had a good deal."
I reminded him that I was already set to pay $700 more than the price originally quoted to me, and that this was before learning the car was missing numerous features listed in his online listing.
Nicholas said he wasn't responsible for the listing's content because I saw it on CARFAX, and not on the official Valley Auto Center site, which had the "correct information." I subsequently pulled up the listing on his web site, which, not surprisingly, falsely stated the car is equipped with run flat tires, Bluetooth capability, and keyless entry. I took a screenshot of this.
Nicholas then doubled down on the sleazy, saying, "I've been in the car business for eight years, and this is the first time a customer has ever had a problem with the fact a vehicle was missing some of the features we listed online." He was literally suggesting that every time he's had to tell a customer the car they came in to see didn't actually have all its advertised features, they took no issue with this. When I challenged Nicholas on making such a ludicrous claim, he doubled down and said, "It's true, I swear on my children's lives." (So gross.)
When I asked him to confirm that some of the car's other advertised features were accurate, he sidestepped, and said, "Look, this is a good car and you're getting a good deal. If you don't want it, don't buy it."
I didn't purchase the car, and will never be returning to this dealership.
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