Posted this on freshalloy but wanted to repeat here....

Hey -

Shamed to say it but got caught in the bait & switch scheme as it is sometimes called. Salesman said "we are discounting our 05s $1,000....do we have a deal?" I said yes and signed on for the deal. However, I was so caught up in the moment and was negotiating a free spoiler in the finance office and forgot to call them on the extra $1k off.

I called the salesman and let him hear the P***off sound of my voice as I expressed my dissatisfaction of the bait and switch tactic. He acknowledged that, yes, we discussed that and he remembered. He was not sure what happened since his paycheck accounted for my $1k discount. He agreed to meet with me to discuss....what should I expect? I know what I want to expect but not sure if I'll get my original deal since I legally signed all the paperwork and took ownership of the car. Thoughts from everyone?

 

depending on the manager, if he would back his sales persons word or not. expect the worst but fight for it. be nice, if they say no, let all hell lose!

 

Go in for a chat. It could have been an honest mistake. Let them rectify it, and if they won't, ask for an equal discount on service & parts.

 

The finance guy gets a cut of whatever extra they can squeeze out of the buyer at the last minute, including rust protectants, clear bra, LoJak, and even straight up "accidentally" leaving off verbally offered discounts. If the financing is already a done deal it would be tough to get the cash difference, but as already mentioned you can probably get comped in services or parts or whatever deal you can work out. If they haven't actually set you up with a bank yet then you might be able to get the cash back.

Just be nice but firm, walking in with an attitude almost always sends things down the wrong path and you end up worse off =)

 

You sign paperwork on on $35,000 purchase without fully reading the contract? You are 50% to blame for signing on the dotted line before driving away. It seems the salesperson admitted the mistake and will rectify it for you. Not a big deal, They will most likely give you a check for the difference.

 

Like I said in another post "They screw you in financing!" They get you while you're guards down. And they never seem to put in the discounts you made verbally with the salesman. You gotta watch those guys they're sneeky.

 

That's why I bought a used car with under 10K on it. Already broke in, saved a bunch (guy just wanted payoff) and the dealer I was negotiating with kept screwing me around. Hate hate hate going to the dealer. Always some type of BS you have to go thru.

 

If you're planning to buy a used car, CarMax has a hassle free way of trading-in/buying used cars. They're really easy to deal with. It's all in black and white.

 

Yeah...I admit I am at fault somewhat and since I signed the paperwork...I will walk away mostly P'd at myself. But I do expect that they will end up holding their end of the bargain and if possible, I will split the difference with them (parts and service like most of you suggested) if I have to compromise for my oversight. My lesson learned....ask the salesman to sit in with the finance guy and compare scratch sheet notes with the sales contract.