Deal or No Deal

The car fiasco came to an end last week. I stand by my claim: Ken Garff Nissan of Orem is actually of the Devil.

After going back and forth with the sales representatives, Nathan and I were promised a "deal" by the manager Tyler, who partially owns the store. He promised to do the paperwork himself so we wouldn't have to deal with Aaron, the finance manager who tried to take advantage of us when we signed our contract. He told us the date and time to be there. We came. We were prompt. He was nowhere to be seen.

Sales representatives showed us more cars and pushed us towards a Nissan Murano. They assured us they were working on Tyler's behalf and that the car would be well within our price range. We made sure they were aware of the special "deal" Tyler had promised us, meaning we would get a car at trade-in value. This time we were smarter and researched the car for sale. Blue Book listed its trade-in value at $13,500. That's what we expected to pay.

Well, SIX HOURS LATER....we were still waiting. The representatives estimated the car would be $17,000 (after our deal). We said: "That's only 5oo dollars less than the asking price. ANYONE can talk a car down by 500 dollars." So they would call Tyler at home, and he would make another offer. Each time we said: "No deal."

It felt like he was the banker and we were the poor schmucks left to wait for a better offer.

We couldn't wait all night, though. At ten, they offered $16,500. We refused again and said we would talk with Tyler after the long weekend. We had planned to leave for New Mexico that afternoon after purchasing our new car; I didn't know we'd be there all night. We told the salesperson: "We'll just take the amount you paid for our trade-in and not have a car after paying the balance off." They were shocked. How could we refuse such a good deal!?

We fled the dealership like Lot and his wife fled Sodom and Gomorrah. I know that sounds a little exaggerated, but leaving the dealership sans car was AMAZING. We walked to Applebees while we awaited Brandon, my brother-in-law, to pick us up. We knew we were making the right decision.

Nathan tried contacting Tyler on Tuesday, but we heard nothing. Finally, the man had the nerve to call us back. Nathan asked for the money, he offered a car. We said: "No deal." He found another car and then another, calling us with his various offers.

No DEAL.

Finally, after being backed into a corner (knowing we weren't going to be spending any of our money on one of his over-priced cars), Tyler played his ace in the hole. Behold the following conversation:

"Hey Nathan. It's Tyler! I think I got the deal that is going to work for you. I mean, I think this car is it. So yeah....I got your car back."

WHAT!? He just got our car back? Twenty minutes earlier, our car was sold. Something did not makes sense. Visions of a black Sentra parked in the Nissan dealership lot came to mind. I had seen a car that looked like mine only a few days earlier on the lot. And then I thought: "BUT WAIT! This IS a Nissan dealership!?"

I asked the sales rep: "Is that my car? You know I can just go look at the VIN number on the window and see." To this he responded: "Don't be crazy! That's not yours." Lie. Lie. Lie.

As soon as we could, we drove to the dealership. A representative met us with the keys out front. He told us our car was at the back of the dealership....and guess what!? Our car was the one I had seen just days before. They had NEVER sold our car; They just wanted us to spend more money buying a new one. They didn't think we would turn down the chance to "own a brand new car!"

JERKS. I was furious. No! Better Business Bureau, my claim was NOT resolved like the dealership claims it was. I DID NOT leave with a smile on my face. The person who "bought" my car only put 6 miles on the car in a month? LIKELY STORY.

In the end, though, Nathan and I were victorious. We got our car back after it was detailed and completely checked-out (this includes a free oil change and tank of gas) all free of charge. Best part of all, we managed to get a keyfob!

...and the dealership told me it would cost $300 dollars when I inquired about it before. Suckers. God helped us big time here. Prayer works!