Car Dealers Truly Are The Worst

So for the past 6 years, Wifey and I have leased Lexuses -- me the mid sized sedan, and the SUV for her. I met a saleswoman at our local dealer who I'll call Patty, since that's her name, and it has been pleasure to deal with her. I leased 4 different cars from her, and referred her 3 customers, all of whom got cars, too.

Well, Wifey's lease was up in June, and it occurred to me she only had 15K miles on the vehicle. I looked up what it cost to buy, and then looked up what a 3 year old RX cost, and found that it was about $3K cheaper to buy the car we already had.  So I made the decision to buy the SUV, and contacted Lexus of America to send a check. Ha. As if.

Turns out they now make you deal with the dealership, which raised my skeptic antennae. Turned out I was correct.

I called Patty and she told me to come in at 11. I did, bringing the vehicle and check book. They had to check the odometer, because otherwise I might defraud myself, and also did a credit check since I was paying with a personal check, notwithstanding they've known me for years and have never missed a single payment. Whatever.

And then Patty handed me the sales sheet. The correct payoff price was there, along with 7% sales tax, and a few hundred bucks for "electronic document filing." It was BS, but I let it go. And then I saw a charge for "dealer fee" of $899.  Nope -- I told Patty -- not going to pay this. She tried to nicely explain that it was "normal procedure," and then called the older, gringo sales manager over to explain it more.

I listened patiently and then told the fellow that I had a contract with Lexis of America that said at the end of the lease, I could either turn in the car or buy it for a set price. Nothing in the contract said anything about the $899.  I told him I was sure the issue was not with his dealership (of course it was) but rather the national company, and that I was going to my office to write them demanding they honor their contract.

Patty and George said goodbye, and I walked to the car. As I was making a call, there was a tap -- Patty asked me to come back in, and because I "was such a great customer," they would "eat" this "required charge."

I did so, and still waited an hour for paperwork, but finally left owning the vehicle I had leased for the past three years.

The point is -- there is no such thing as a car salesperson who is a "friend," or "honest."  This place blatantly tried to steal nearly $1000 from me -- just because they thought they could.

But -- I try to turn fraud into fraud-aid, and I have a call into a friend who handles class actions. I think I may have stumbled onto one, and being a lead plaintiff might be a fun gig.

Of course, they also tried to sell me the extended warranty. Everything I have ever read agrees those are enormous ripoffs. Like an idiot, I once bought one for my yellow T Bird, a third car I thought I'd keep for many years. I paid $700 for the warranty, and when I had an issue with the T Bird's convertible top, of course there was a hidden deductible. I swore then never to buy another one of those.

But -- Wifey now has a new SUV, with barely more than 15K miles.  It really is a very nice vehicle -- I was playing with the navigation while stuck in traffic last night.

And my sedan has another 1.5 years left on its lease. When it's up, I think I'll be headed to North Miami, to the other Lexus dealer in town. They'll probably try some sleazy stuff, too, but at least that dealership has free gourmet coffee and bagels...