DAY 1: August 1, 2011
A 2008 Dodge Charger was purchased August 1 2011, by me, at the Gillman dealership off of Beltway 8 and Hwy 59 S. The car is used so a nominal amount of wear and tear was expected prior to the sale and was consistent to the year of the car. I drove the car and it did perform as expected for a 3 year old car. Upon inspection I found just two things wrong with the vehicle, 1) the tilt steering wheel was locked and did not engage. 2) the rear side mirror control was defective and released from its housing unit inside the car. I was told that prior to delivery that all items would be taken care of, (fixed) and that the vehicle would be detailed (thoroughly cleaned, inside and out) and made ready for me to take possesion of said vehicle. Since the transaction took place late in the afternoon, and the service department was just about to close, I decided to leave the vehicle onsite and give the dealership the opportunity to address all issues prior to me taking possession of the vehicle. I was explictly informed by the used car manager that HE would personally see to all issues and ensure that everything would be taken care of and once completed, HE would call me himself and inform me that the car was ready for delivery.
DAY 2: August 2, 2011
The day progressed as I eagerly awaited a call from the dealership, but no call was received. Giving up hope that I would be contacted and it being near EOB, I contacted the dealership and asked for my salesman. I was informed that he was out for the day, so I asked for the Used Car Manager. I was placed in contact with the manager, who informed me that the car was ready, all items attended to and ready for delivery. I proceeded to the dealership to take possession of the vehicle and once onsite, I quickly noticed that the vehicle was not ready as promised. The two defective items were addressed, but the detailiing was not as promised. I made my complaint to the manager who insisted that he was unaware of the situation, because he was in meetings all day, but offered an insincere appology for the situation. I was not told or given any indication that the detailing would be taken care of and having the need for the vehicle due to business needs of my own, I had no choice but to take possession of the vehicle in its current state which was filthy. When I arrived home and parked the car in my garage, I noticed that the programmable key, was defective. By defective, I mean that none of the key markings were legible because they had been seriously rubbed out AND no other key was given or made available.
DAY 3: August 3, 2011
I called the dealership and asked for my salesman. I was transferred to my salesman at which time I proceeded to inform him of my complaints and how displeased I felt about how I had been treated, now that the contract was signed. He informed me that he would find out what had happened and would rectify the situation about the detailing, but the key would be another matter altogether. He informed me that the dealership was not in the business of re-cutting defective keys due to the high dollar amount involved with programmable keys, but would see if the dealership would and could get my key at cost to the dealership. He informed me that he would be back in contact with me sometime soon to let me know what could be done and again offered what I felt was an insincere apology for the situation.
DAY 4: August 4, 2011
Last and final time of communication. I waited for a call that never came, so I called the dealership and asked for my salesman. Again, an insincere apology for not contacting me back promptly. I asked what the status was, and I was informed that I could bring back the vehicle at any time, drop it off and it would be detailed to his not my satisfaction. I asked if I would be given a loaner as the detailing took place, knowing that it would take some time, if they did a good job, but that could not be confirmed nor promised ONLY that the question would be asked of management. I then asked about the key and he, my salesman, went to the service department and inquired about the cost of cutting/programming a new key. He was told, as I heard the conversation, that the key would cost ROUGHLY $ 280 before tax. I asked was that the cost to me and he said yes. I informed him that that was unacceptable by all accounts since I was not made aware of the keys condition from the start and at best the dealership should get the key at there cost, which is considerably lower than a consumer. Also as a sign of good business, that that should be the least that they could do since they had failed to deliver a clean car as promised and disclose the keys condition from the beginning. He again told me that the dealership was not in the business of re-cutting defective keys, since the cost was too great.
In summation:
I feel as if I have been duped! I got into a contractual agreement, which I am now responsible for a $17,293.00 vehicle which on top of all of that, I have to pay an additional $300 dollars for a new key, which could be more and possibly an additional $200 for a detailing since the car was/is quite filthy.
Yes, I was told that the dealership would handle the detailing, but it was implied that a loaner would not be given so I could go about my day's business without having to sit around all day at the dealership waiting for my car to be cleaned as promised. As far as the key is concerned. I feel as if I have been really duped on this aspect of the deal. I was only given one key, WHERE I should have been given two and I feel that they had a RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS OBLIGATION to disclose the keys condition. It should have been made clear that only one key was available and since its condition was/is questionable it would be my responsibility to get a new key cut at my expense.
Resolution:
What I would like is for my car to be detailed as promised to my satisfaction, a loaner given so I can go about my business and a new key cut at the dealerships cost, which is considerably less than my cost would ever be. I believe what I am requesting is just and fair in light of what I was promised and to include NOT informed of. Should they not want to abide with what is right and just, and provide good customer service as promised; the detailing to include providing a loaner and clearly covering the cost of a new key for failing to disclose its condition, then I would like for the deal to be nullified at which time I will return the vehicle to the dealership. All of which I believe is fair and just.
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