Don't Buy a Car from this Man Wow, I just had the worst car buying experience of, well, not just my life, but the worst car buying experience I have ever heard of. Memo to car people: if you insult me, question my integrity after admitting your mistake, and threaten to take me to court, the odds that I will ever buy from you again fall damn near to zero. And the odds of me telling every person within earshot that you are unworthy of consideration rises to near certainty.
You can't raise the price of a car after the sale. You can't threaten to not transfer title after the car paid for--that's stealing.
Short version: if you live near Toledo, don't buy a car from any of the Brown Family dealerships--describing these guys a mendacious weasels is a kindness. In my case, they wanted to retroactively raise the price of a car I bought, and when I wouldn't give in, the general sales manager called me at home to insult me.
Longer version
Last Thursday, the old and unbeloved VW Golf died while my wife was driving to work. The heater core had gone out and the engine overheated. Golfie's death was not unexpected, but it was unwelcome--we had hoped or at least another year without a car payment. But two reliable cars are a necessity, so we grudgingly began shopping for a new car.
By Saturday we had settled on a Hyundai, a 2003 that I thought they would be happy to have off of the lot. The salesman gave me a price and a monthly payment--the price was lower than I expected, so we agreed. Off we went to the loan guy and five minutes later we signed the purchase contract and the loan papers. Half an hour later, I drove the car home.
Unfortunately, the salesman and the sales manager made a mistake--they quoted me a price $1500 too low. Their private discussions over the price, they mistakenly included a $1500 rebate that we did not qualify for. I had no idea that they made an error, I just thought I had gotten a good deal on a car they badly wanted off of the lot (it was 2003 model that had been sitting in the lot for eight months). Honestly, I thought it was a fair deal for both parties--they unloaded a white elephant at near cost and I got a cheap car. Everybody happy
Monday the salesman called me to tell me a mistake had been made, that my payment should have been $25 more a month and that I should come in and sign for a new loan. I went over the paperwork I had, and couldn't find any errors. In fact the loan amount matched the purchase agreement to the penny. After about fifteen minutes of playing with a calculator, I figured out that they wanted to charge me $1500 more for the car than I had paid, but I couldn't figure out why--nothing was wrong in the paperwork I had. I left a voice-mail for the salesman saying--politely, mostly-- I had a purchase contract that I considered legally binding and that I had met my obligation. The salesman returned my call, explained how the mistake happened, and that he understood my position.
At this point the facts were well established: a legally binding purchase contract had been signed, and a car delivered and the agreed upon price was paid. While a mistake may have been made, they were bound by the contract, just as I was (do you think they would take the car back if I realized I had made a mistake in calculating my budget? Neither do I).
I was impressed. The salesman had been upfront and took responsibility. The dealership honored the contract they signed. At this point, the Brown Automotive Group had a new, loyal customer. I even planned on stopping by the dealership to pick up some of the salesman's business cards.
And then the general sales manager called just to insult me. He told me I was dishonest, that I knew a mistake had been made before I singed the papers and that I had taken advantage of a good natured salesman. He told me I was lucky that they didn't take me to court to force me to pay the extra money, and he threatened to not transfer title. But mostly he just told me I lacked integrity. Several times.
So the moral of the story is: don't shop at Brown Automotive. Don't buy their Hondas, their Mazdas, their Pontiacs, or their Hyundais. If you work there, sorry, but starting today, I'm on a mission to steer as many customers away from you guys as I can. If you are a bigwig there, e-mail me. I'll be happy to give you that name of a guy who is a credit to your company, and I'll be overjoyed to give you the name of the rude son of a bitch you should fire immediately.
6:37:11 AM 
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