$66K Tires

[CRed05]

Sketchy salesmen.

 

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/805836--car-salesmen-charged-for-overselling-by-25-000

 

The Mazda dealership in Orangeville may have given new meaning to the automaker’s slogan of “zoom, zoom, zoom” for motorist Madeline Leonard.

 

Leonard walked into the dealership wanting to replace the tires on her 2004 car.

 

By the time she left she was on the hook for a spiffy, black 2010 Mazda6 sedan at the eye-popping price of almost $66,000, after taxes and the value of her trade-in vehicle.

 

That’s $25,000 more than she should have paid, according to Ontario’s auto regulator.

 

She says “Moe,” the salesman, talked fast. The numbers whizzed by and before she knew it she had bought the 2010 model.

 

“I was overwhelmed and confused and I soon felt like I had been mistreated,” the 56-year-old woman said in an interview from her small, subsidized apartment in the town 85 km northwest of Toronto.

 

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, which regulates new and used car dealers, took action after she complained. Its investigation found she should have paid about $41,000 for the vehicle — which wasn’t even new.

 

“In my eight years here, I haven’t seen a case like this,” said Carey Smith, the regulator’s director of investigations. “The deal was way over the top regarding pricing.”

 

Smith has charged Mazda of Orangeville and two senior employees with breaching Ontario legislation that protects consumers. The dealership could face a fine of up to $250,000 if found guilty.

 

Kien Trung, business manager at Mazda of Orangeville and one of the employees facing charges, said he did not treat Leonard improperly or make any big profits in the deal in late December.

 

“We didn’t do anything wrong in the case of this transaction,” said Trung. “We made a little bit of money on the deal. I guess she was not happy with it.”

 

In promotional messages, the dealership says it treats customers “with dignity and respect.”

 

But Smith said in Leonard’s case, the store and two employees used several tactics to unfairly jack up the price.

 

“They put a list price of a new vehicle on the model but it was a demonstrator that the dealer used with about 6,000 kilometres on it,” he noted.

 

Mazda Canada lists the base price of the new sedan at $39,969 on its national website, but the dealership allegedly posted a sticker of $45,846 on the car.

 

Smith said the salesmen also billed Leonard, who is intellectually disabled, about $4,500 for a “protection package” that included fabric guarding, rust and sound proofing and window etching. Other dealers charge about a third of that for the same items, he said.

 

Furthermore, Smith said Leonard, who is unemployed, should not have qualified for a loan from the dealer because her monthly income including a disability pension is less than $2,000.

 

But Smith added that didn’t stop the two employees from offering an eight-year loan that will result in about $16,000 in financing costs for her, including a final balloon payment of $7,000.

 

Mazda of Orangeville says in a promotional message for phone callers that owning “your dream vehicle might be easier than you think.” The message goes on: “If you are a great person with not-so-good credit, we have you in mind.”

 

Leonard said she originally came to the store to replace the tires on her 2004 Mazda3 and didn’t even want to buy a car.

 

“I wished I had never walked into the place,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping up with these payments. The stress has been terrible.”

 

Leonard described the salesman at the dealership as “slick” and the process mesmerized her. But after signing a contract and driving the vehicle away, she checked prices at other Mazda outlets.

 

“The differences were shocking,” she said. “I felt very disappointed how I was treated.”

 

The regulator charged the dealership; Trung, 38, of Vaughan; and sales manager Mohammed (Moe) Shaikh, 46, of Mississauga with “engaging in unfair practice by making an unconscionable representation,” contrary to the provincial Consumer Protection Act.

 

Trung said the defendants will plead not guilty when they appear in court this month.

 

Under the act, the employees could receive fines up to $100,000 each and/or two years less a day in jail if found guilty. The defendants could also be liable for damages to Leonard.

 

The regulator could also revoke the registrations of the dealerships and salesmen.

 

“Dealers tell me there is nothing wrong with making money but the law says there is something wrong if you take advantage of someone,” Smith said.

 

Mazda Canada said it would not decide on any action involving the dealership until a court rules on the charges.

 

“Obviously we expect our dealers and staff to operate professionally,” said spokesman Greg Young. “We’ll see what the (court) determination is.”

 

Mazda of Orangeville has also popped up on the radar screen of the Better Business Bureau of Mid-Western and Central Ontario.

 

Although the dealership is not a member, the bureau has received six complaints and issued a D+ rating on a scale from A+ to F since January 2008.

[sol740]

Cliffs:

 

They're sleazebag shysters, and she's a moron.

[Mr. Jones]

Well, she was mentally retarded, they shouldn't have taken advantage of her...

Hopefully they end up in prison...

[Xyster101]

That is not cool at all. Taking advantage of a person for an extra thousand is one thing, but really? Poor lady was mentally retarded and they took advantage of her.

[nurkvinny]

Well, people paid tens of tens of tens of thousands of dollars over sticker for new Camaros, Chargers, and supercharged Vettes. She signed the papers, right? And, maybe they had no idea she was retarded?

 

I know, I know. Just playing Devil's advocate here.

[FyrhzrdGT]

Everyones pretty much hit it on the head. Yeah what they did was wrong, getting a few hundred fanagled into a deal that you miss is one thing, but how the fuck do you just MISS $25,000! that's 60% of the freaking value of the car. People are ritards (in my best hangover voice)

[HotCarl]

Well, she was mentally retarded, they shouldn't have taken advantage of her...

Hopefully they end up in prison...

 

Before they mentioned this in the article i thought "she shouldve known better" then i kinda felt sorry for her. They obviously knew they were going to fuck her over and loved every minute of it, fucking sleazbags. I wonder if the US has similar laws like this, that prevent a dealership from taking advantage of someone? Ive never heard of it.

[Mensan]

Before they mentioned this in the article i thought "she shouldve known better" then i kinda felt sorry for her. They obviously knew they were going to fuck her over and loved every minute of it, fucking sleazbags. I wonder if the US has similar laws like this, that prevent a dealership from taking advantage of someone? Ive never heard of it.

 

Yep.

 

http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/SpeakOutOhio/Laws-protecting-consumers#Consumer_Sales_Practice_Act

[Skinner]

sounds like Ricart when the wanted up to charge us $52k for a escape.

[meatloaf169]

ehh not my cup of tea

[NTHER91]

Ahahhahaha ricart people still shop there? Hmmm ok

[Guest tbutera2112]

im sorry...but if youre that dumb, you have no place being out in public alone

[flippy1974]

im sorry...but if youre that dumb, you have no place being out in public alone

how does she drive a car ?

Cliffs:

 

They're sleazebag shysters, and she's a moron.

right on !

[Tractor]

Can't be to retarded if you can drive into a dealership wanting to buy tires. How exactly are the sales guys supposed to know? Was she wearing a crash helmet and a Ronald McDonald button on her shirt?

 

I don't feel bad for her. I feel bad for business owners in Canada that have a .gov regulatory agency that decides if your charging to much for a product or service.

[xlr8tn]

they should've known she was mentally disabled when she went to a dealership for tires....

[Guest tbutera2112]

they should've known she was mentally disabled when she went to a dealership for tires....

 

a lot of dealerships will price match tires with any independent tire shop....krieger ford put tires on my mustang for me since nobody could/would beat their prices.... they price matched NTB and then offered to install them for cheaper than NTB, so really, its not that bad to get tires at a dealership