wow, heres a shitty story.
Thread Starter
It's my first day.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 13,635
Likes: 0
From: Grafton, WI.
wow, heres a shitty story.
sometimes i understand, but this is kinda over the top. fawking dealers. THIS IS A STORY SHARED BY ANOTHER PERSON, IT ISNT MY PERSONAL STORY. you all know me well enough to know id have handled this VERY badly.
I just feel like venting a bit here. I hope nobody minds
I have always wanted a Miata. Ever since they were first released, when I was about 9 yrs old. When I graduated college I bought a Protege. My parents previously had 2 626s, and I always loved how the '94 drove (the '86 was long gone). So it was a no-brainer to go back for more Mazda. In any case, all three of these Mazdas were purchased at the same dealer. So naturally I went back to that dealer when I decided it was time to buy the Roadster I always wanted.
Here is where the fun starts. I walk into the dealer on a Saturday morning, around 11:00. Im 22, dressed in summer clothing (its 97 degrees that day in philly). Im looking over the Shinsen in the dealer showroom. Sit in it, play the gears. After a while a salesman lumbers over to me and asks if he can help me. I point to the Miata and say im interested in one of these. He asks "you want a *stick*?" in a very condecending attitude. I said, well its the Miata I'm interested in, I would like to test drive it.
The jerk then proceeds to ask me how old I was (rather insulting I must say). Then asks me if I have insurance. Then has the gall to ask me if its my parent's insurance!
Then he tells me the only Miata they have is an automatic, pointing to it on the lot. I called his bluff cause I knew they had a 6-speed according to the dealer's website. He asked me if I could come back on Monday, because he has *REAL* customers coming today and cant waste time pulling a car out of the back lot for a test drive. I looked around and saw one other couple looking at some cars, and about 4 idle salesmen.
I asked him why he wouldnt let me test drive the car when there is a string possibility I would buy it TODAY. He laughed at me! Just started chuckling like mad. He told me (didnt ask) to come back on monday at 1:00. Told him I had to work, and said 7:00 would be preferable (they are open till 9). He got a bit angry and said "ok, but try getting here earlier". I was starting to get up to leave and he said it would be ready for me to drive monday.
So I leave and make my way to the other Mazda dealer I knew about. Wow, what a change. I walked in, said I was interested in a Miata and the guy immediatly looked over his list of available cars. Said there are 2 with the specs I wanted. The color I didnt like was outside. The Garnet was in the back lot. I said I was interested in the Garnet, so he got a guy to pull it up.
He shows me how to work the roof, and other bits. Hands me the keys and tells me to have fun. I hop in with my GF and we drive off. 20 minutes later I pull back fully convinced that THIS is my car. And after the dealer gave me an excellent price (without haggling - he gave me a price about $500 UNDER the 'edmunds true market value') and a very reasonable trade in price for my Protege (exactly what Edmunds quoted), I signed the papers and drove away.
I am now writing a letter to the other dealer explaining my experience. How they lost a 4th Mazda sale from this family, and generally how rude the salesman was to me. I am wondering if I should drive up in my new Miata to the dealer and hand the letter to them personally....
Anyway, if anyone is still reading this far, thanks for letting me vent
I just feel like venting a bit here. I hope nobody minds
I have always wanted a Miata. Ever since they were first released, when I was about 9 yrs old. When I graduated college I bought a Protege. My parents previously had 2 626s, and I always loved how the '94 drove (the '86 was long gone). So it was a no-brainer to go back for more Mazda. In any case, all three of these Mazdas were purchased at the same dealer. So naturally I went back to that dealer when I decided it was time to buy the Roadster I always wanted.
Here is where the fun starts. I walk into the dealer on a Saturday morning, around 11:00. Im 22, dressed in summer clothing (its 97 degrees that day in philly). Im looking over the Shinsen in the dealer showroom. Sit in it, play the gears. After a while a salesman lumbers over to me and asks if he can help me. I point to the Miata and say im interested in one of these. He asks "you want a *stick*?" in a very condecending attitude. I said, well its the Miata I'm interested in, I would like to test drive it.
The jerk then proceeds to ask me how old I was (rather insulting I must say). Then asks me if I have insurance. Then has the gall to ask me if its my parent's insurance!
Then he tells me the only Miata they have is an automatic, pointing to it on the lot. I called his bluff cause I knew they had a 6-speed according to the dealer's website. He asked me if I could come back on Monday, because he has *REAL* customers coming today and cant waste time pulling a car out of the back lot for a test drive. I looked around and saw one other couple looking at some cars, and about 4 idle salesmen.
I asked him why he wouldnt let me test drive the car when there is a string possibility I would buy it TODAY. He laughed at me! Just started chuckling like mad. He told me (didnt ask) to come back on monday at 1:00. Told him I had to work, and said 7:00 would be preferable (they are open till 9). He got a bit angry and said "ok, but try getting here earlier". I was starting to get up to leave and he said it would be ready for me to drive monday.
So I leave and make my way to the other Mazda dealer I knew about. Wow, what a change. I walked in, said I was interested in a Miata and the guy immediatly looked over his list of available cars. Said there are 2 with the specs I wanted. The color I didnt like was outside. The Garnet was in the back lot. I said I was interested in the Garnet, so he got a guy to pull it up.
He shows me how to work the roof, and other bits. Hands me the keys and tells me to have fun. I hop in with my GF and we drive off. 20 minutes later I pull back fully convinced that THIS is my car. And after the dealer gave me an excellent price (without haggling - he gave me a price about $500 UNDER the 'edmunds true market value') and a very reasonable trade in price for my Protege (exactly what Edmunds quoted), I signed the papers and drove away.
I am now writing a letter to the other dealer explaining my experience. How they lost a 4th Mazda sale from this family, and generally how rude the salesman was to me. I am wondering if I should drive up in my new Miata to the dealer and hand the letter to them personally....
Anyway, if anyone is still reading this far, thanks for letting me vent
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 706
Likes: 0
Re: wow, heres a shitty story.
Originally posted by Fujiwara Takumi
I am now writing a letter to the other dealer explaining my experience. How they lost a 4th Mazda sale from this family, and generally how rude the salesman was to me. I am wondering if I should drive up in my new Miata to the dealer and hand the letter to them personally....
I am now writing a letter to the other dealer explaining my experience. How they lost a 4th Mazda sale from this family, and generally how rude the salesman was to me. I am wondering if I should drive up in my new Miata to the dealer and hand the letter to them personally....
