The Worst Car Dealership Experiences

I negotiated hard for a new Camry. We finally agreed on a price. The next day I went to pick up the car, the price was $250 higher. I told the salesman this isn't the price we agreed on. He said the extra $250 was for floor mats that he forgot to ad. I told him no, we signed a contract for the price we agreed on yesterday. I said if I can't buy the car for the price we agreed on I am walking out. He said you are willing to walk out for $250? I said are you willing to lose a deal for $250? He didn't know what to say, I got up and walked out. He came flying out the door and said if I don't buy the car, he is fired. I said good luck on you next job and left.

I got fired from a dealership for not raising the price on a vehicle after a customer stated they only found one car in the tri-state area and we had it. It had sat on the lot for over 2 months. I'm out of the car business now. I needed to sleep at night.

It takes about 5-6 years of work to get your car. You go to dealer and they pressure you to spend this money in 30 minutes.

I can't imagine anyone would actually try the "lock you inside the office" trick in an era where everyone has a smart phone, but if they do you should immediately call the police, because that's unlawful imprisonment and it's, you know, very illegal.

If only we can buy cars straight from the manufacturer...

Back in 1986, my first new car buying experience...I was about 26 years old, first post college job, my second year as a school teacher... Frontier Ford in Albuquerque (does not exist anymore), took my money on a new 1986 Ranger 4x4. They promised delivery to me "after the paperwork cleared" on Monday (it was a Saturday when I was at the dealership). I gave them a check for a down payment in good faith (I think it was $1000...lot of money for a second year teacher in 1986). Note: I was teaching on the Navajo Indian Reservation at the time, so there may have been some discrimination involved. Anyhow, I waited for my new truck, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, still no truck, no word from the dealership. I asked for a personal day, and on Thursday I drove into Albuquerque to see what was up with my truck. When I drove to the dealership, the truck was still in the same exact spot I had left it on Saturday. I thought something was up, so I drove directly downtown to the Bernalillo County Courthouse to talk to the District Attorney. I was just walking through the corridor looking for the right office, when the assistant D.A. saw that I was looking for someone. I told him what was happening, that I didn't want to truck any more if this is how I am going to be treated. He said something like "Oh yeah...Frontier Ford? We know all about them... Give me your name again, and I'll give them a call and you can get your money back." By the time I drove back to the dealer, the call had been made and the sales people/managers were not happy when I walked through their door. They repremanded me for going to the D.A. I simply said, "You took my money, you didn't deliver on your promise to deliver on Monday. I no longer want the truck." He still had my check, it had not been processed. He threw it back at me and said, "Here's your damn check." I was happy to see that dealership disappear.

I went to a Honda dealership, and was looking at a used Fit as a beater winter car. I mentioned to the salesman that I have a nice S2000 at home, we chatted about it, and he went to go check out financing. Now, I’m already pre-approved through a big national bank. Salesman comes back in, tells me he can’t approve me, he runs my credit 9 times, and finally comes up with the reason “Oh, we can’t do this because you have more than one car loan. We can only do it if you trade in your S2000.” Now, this dealer has been stocking up on S2000s recently and selling high-mileage AP1s for $17k+... and doing good business. He said they could get me the financing on the Fit if I sold them my S2K. I ran out and never went back. I’ve also had a Subaru dealer refuse to let me test a 2 year old used STI... I wasn’t even allowed to sit in it. Funny thing was, that I purchased a brand new 2005 STI from that same dealer way back in the day. Man, I hate dealers.

Ive always found it amusing how much the guy selling you the used car talks up reliability and quality even that the car is an 'investment' . Then after you purchased the car, a different guy comes in to sell you warranties. He hands you pieces of papers with graphs and charts trying to convince you how much of a piece of garbage it is and how its likely to break in 3 years . hahaha!

Remember, the buyer has the power. The dealer needs to sell a car far worse than you need to buy one. Always remember you can walk away at anytime.

I’ll give you mine. Earlier this year I went to look at a 2018 Focus RS. The salesman told me I couldn’t test drive the car unless I bought it first. I just laughed & walked away.

they lock me in a room I hope they like the sound of chairs breaking glass

My first experience is when my mom took me with her to a Toyota dealership around 10-12 yrs old. I was so embarrassed because my mom was so blunt and borderline rude to the salesman. Now as I’m in the market as an adult, I understand why.

If they ever locked me in an office like that, I'm gonna start chewing on someone's kneecap

Super shady Nissan dealer I went to back in the early '90's claimed to have "lost" the keys to my trade so I would have to buy their car if I wanted to go home. I made such a scene in the middle of the showroom they found my keys real quick!

Pro tip: Listen to your gut. Some dealerships give off a really unpleasant vibe even before you walk in

I came within a few seconds of calling 911 when a Ford Dealership in California would not hand me the keys back to my car. They needed the keys to my potential trade for their inspection, and when they tried to sell me a $22,000 Ford Escape for $40K, I said no way and asked for my keys back, and they claimed they lost them...they can't find them...they tried to say that I'll have them back later after they work with other customers....etc. I already has 911 on my phone, ready to hit dial when they said 'okay...we have your keys now' - extremely shady dealership.

I'm 23 and I've test drove 911, Quattroporte, and AMG cars in jeans and T-shirts The trick? I tell them I'm from China my dad will send a check for whatever I want buy

My fun experience was at a Packey Webb Ford Dealership in Downers Grove IL. Essentially if I didn’t bring my dad to help with numbers but I was going to pay close to 35k for a 28k Mustang GT. He kept saying “yea... you will walk out with a 28k Mustang” but he wouldn’t mention about our 7k deposit. So I was going to pay 28k + 7k + taxes and etc. however, mind you... I had an email saying that another dealership was willing to sell me for 26k. After he figured that they were fudging the numbers, the salesman actually physically blocked us from leaving. Kept calling for his manager. Manager arrived and called me a liar. Said that no dealership would sell me a GY for 26k so stop being a liar and buy from his honest dealership. Then the salesman called me a liar and I hurt his feeling because I am a liar. After about 20 minutes of him blocking and being called a liar, I was finally pissed off and shoulder shoved him. Even tho I was only 21, I actually was a power lifter so that helped me. Got home. An hour later, the manager called me. Basically told me to stop being stupid and stop lying about that fake price. Come back here. Hung up on him An hour later, the salesman did the same thing. Instead of hanging up, I told him... I have a meeting with that dealership tomorrow at 1pm. So they can stop harassing me because I will get my car The next day... got another call from that salesman. This time, however, he must of verified with the salesman because he actually begged me to come back and he will give me the price that I wanted and color and everything for 26k. Told him to get the paperwork ready and I’ll be there. After I hung up... I went straight to the dealership that emailed me a quote. His paperwork was ready. Signed and left in under 30 minutes Screw you Packey Webb Ford in Downers Grove, Illinois

This is a good and bad story. I was finally at a point in my life where I could buy a luxury car (stupid I know, but growing up poor it was an achievement I wanted to get out of my system). I was looking at a MB E-Class, and flirted with the idea of a Lincoln Continental (I really liked the concept they had back in 2017). I went to a pretty famous MB dealership in Orange County, CA. Anyways, I arrived in my Toyota and I could tell the salespeople were looking at my toyota as I pulled into their cul-de-sac entrance. I got out of my car, and was pretty much ignored for a good 15 mins. Finally, I saw a couple sales guy talking to each other looking in my direction. One White, and one Asian (who turned out to be Chinese). The Chinese guy I guess got the short end of the straw and had to approach me (or perhaps they thought, since I am Asian, they'd send the Asian dude over even though I am Vietnamese and culturally speaking, Vietnamese and Chinese aren't particularly fond of each other). Anyways the Chinese sales guy, did what he had to, with absolutely ZERO enthusiasm. I told him what I was looking for. He and I had to walk through their huge lot, then ACROSS the street to their secondary lot to find the model I was looking for. He let me drive the vehicle back to the main dealership across the street (I guess that was my test drive) and preceded to talk about pricing. I told him the price I wanted, and he literally rolled his eyes as if I was insane. He and his manager then proceeded to play good cop bad cop... and I wasted 2 hours with the Indian manager basically saying "There's no way I can give you that price., you have to be realistic" over and over again. After I left, I KID YOU NOT, I extended my hand to bid farewell and the Chinese sales guy looked at my hand and refused to shake. On the way back from that terrible experience, I decided to just check out the Lincoln Dealership (Lincoln South Coast) for fun. Perhaps Lincoln was not selling enough of their Continentals, but they were super down to earth, offered me drinks, and told me to take my time... no pressure, nothing. When we eventually talked pricing, they worked out a deal with another dealership to get the exact car I wanted for the price I wanted. The deal was done two days later and I couldn't have been happier with my Lincoln experience- they're always super friendly and even offered to lend me the new Aviator for a weekend so I can experience it, while they did maintenance on my Continental last month. A week after my experience at the MB dealership I got a letter from their fleet manager in the mail... offering my the EXACT price I was willing to pay which goes to show I was not being ridiculous.

I have a good one..tried buying a fiesta ST a few weeks back. Machado Ford in Miami had a leftover for 16,300. I live 2.5 hours away so I call and verify it's still there, and make an apt to go look at it. I get there and 45 mins into dealing they tell me the vehicle was sold the night before...but wait! They have a 2019 for 19,900! Of course I'm pissed that they didn't bother calling me. I talk to the managers and they couldn't care less. Of course I walked out pissed. To rub salt in the wound, they listed the 19,900 fiesta for 18,400 after I left. I bought one from a different dealer the next day, a 2019 for 17,300. I hate shitty dealers