Have to share this experience

[mjk1967]

3 weeks ago, set up appt to look at Used Titan at local chain dealer (Walser Toyota)

Upon arrival, they couldn't find said truck. After 10 min, I walked and simply said "you figure it out".
3 weeks later, they apparently still can't find it
No records of it being sold.

Welcome to the new workforce.

 

[JohnnyG]

Nice!

 

[meep]

I experienced this once. It’s one of those where the inventory showed it but the dealer decided it was going to auction instead of being sold. It took an enterprising guy who Really wanted to help / make the sale on a car he knew he wouldn’t make much money on. And when they pulled it out and the dash was lit like a Christmas tree, they didn’t try to push it, and I didn’t try much to haggle them endlessly - as it was exactly what I was looking for. But kudos to the guy who tracked it down at the dealership next door.

 

[researcher]

wow.. welcome to insane world! crazy enough I just have to laugh, easier than crying!

 

[KGMtech]

In this situation, it would be very satisfying to be able to invoice the dealer for the loss of your time and cost of fuel to drive to and fro.

 

[JavierH19]

Sad to hear the Stealerships hiring standards have gone down even more these days. They're too stupid to even find a car to rob you with. Comical.

 

[Redright9]

Crazy. I went to a Honda dealer recently to look at a Civic they had. When I arrived, they kept telling me they thought they sold it. I multiple times pointed to it on their front line. The world of car sales is ridiculous right now. I know car sales has always been hard to stand up for, but lately it is near impossible.

 

[odotb]

In 99 was looking for a 4 door chevy 454 dually. They were hard to find and salesman told me he had computer searched and couldn't find one but he would continue to look. Wife and I rode by the dealership a few days later and one was sitting on the lot. I went in and asked the sales guy about the dually on his lot. What dually he replied. Wound up buying it but always regretted doing the sales mans job for him.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Something like that happened when I went to look at my 2019 Kia Soul. I made an appointment, the dealer, a Mitsubishi dealer, was over an hour away but when I got there and said I had an appointment, they looked at me like I had 3 eyes (I don’t), and the Kia Soul was no where to be found. But they showed me their new Mitsubishi offerings and some other used cars on the lot. I said no. I’m here for the 2019 Kia Soul with manual transmission and 12k miles.

Almost an hour goes by and we finally know where the Soul is. They sent it back to auction. It turns out it was back and forth from the dealer to auction for a while and they were trying to sell it for almost a year. It’s a manual transmission and nobody wanted the poor Soul. But I did.

Two days later I finally got to test drive the Soul and made an offer. This was just when used car prices started going through the roof and if I was a month quicker, I would have saved $1k. They would only budge $500 from their asking price but it was still a reasonable deal and I bought it, cash (certified check).

 

[Jim K]

I didn`t steel it.

 

[Wolf359]

This has been normal at dealers for years. Don't ascribe this to the new normal. There are many reviews of dealers doing this intentionally. It's basically the bait and switch, they tell you they have the car on the lot and then when you get there it's not there anymore or it just sold but we have other cars you may be interested in. It's one reason I like Cargurus, it tells you how long the car has been listed on the site, a car that has been listed for a week or two is probably still there but not sure in this environment, one that has been listed for several months is probably gone but they just keep it up there for advertising purposes. I kept track of the car after I bought it and it was still listed for another week before they finally pulled it from various sites. And this was years ago. When looking for a car a particular car, I'd call the dealership twice to make sure it was really there to see and ask the guy if he had the keys in hand. And then you have to make sure that the guy understands you're driving some distance and you're only interested in that one car and no others and to double check the lot to make sure he still sees it and has the key in hand.

 

[Dave Sherman]

When I was looking for a used SUV to tow my camper, I found several used Acadias and Explorers that had "towing package" listed in their descriptions. When I went to look at said vehicles, they suspiciously had no hitch receivers nor trailer harnesses. When I asked, the salesman said "Oh, you can just bolt on a trailer hitch and add the wiring". Uh no, Acadias for example, get several other parts like a heavy duty radiator and tow/haul mode switch, and just bolting on a hitch doesn't get you the same tow rating, so why advertise they have a "towing package" when they clearly don't? He just shrugged.

 

[Wolf359]

When I was looking for a used SUV to tow my camper, I found several used Acadias and Explorers that had "towing package" listed in their descriptions. When I went to look at said vehicles, they suspiciously had no hitch receivers nor trailer harnesses. When I asked, the salesman said "Oh, you can just bolt on a trailer hitch and add the wiring". Uh no, Acadias for example, get several other parts like a heavy duty radiator and tow/haul mode switch, and just bolting on a hitch doesn't get you the same tow rating, so why advertise they have a "towing package" when they clearly don't? He just shrugged.

That's one nice thing about Mercedes, they have a vin decoder that tells you exactly what option packages the car has. Dealers lie about what cars have all the time. I don't even bother reading the description, I just put the vin through the decoder.

Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN

Want to know the specifications of your Mercedes? No problem! Our free Mercedes VIN decoder retrieves detailed information about your Mercedes-Benz vehicle.

www.lastvin.com

The only other way would be through Monroneylabels.com. You get the window sticker but it costs you $8 for it so not worth it if you're shopping several cars.

 

[Andrew1972]

A local dealer I called made sure they could touch the keys and find it in lot along with vehicle before I looked. Another looked it up and guess what vehicle was not there thankfully local. This was same major dealer chain different locations.

 

[mjk1967]

When all else fails.....
The sales GM appears on a local morning fm radio show. KQRS.
Found his email, explained the situation -- within hours, a minion found the truck at a local place they must use for repairs. May go look at it tomorrow, but will request all records of what was worked on.