"banned" from the car dealership

[forwardwego]

A couple months ago I asked about haggling at a no haggle dealership. Thanks to all for your input.
My friend (let's call her Mary) was doing the car shopping that prompted that question. The car is for Mary's daughter, 21 YO new driver going out of state to grad school, safety was big consideration. They really wanted Subaru Legacy but locally they were scarce and the occasional Legacy here or there sold high or quickly. So over the course of a couple months Mary also looked for good deals on other late model midsized sedans, especially Altima and Accord. Many dealerships were visited online and in person, thorough research of safety, repair, KBB values. The local Subaru dealership was pushing for Mary to come back in, wanted to sell her a particular Altima, but Mary's daughter didn't want that one. I guess the dealership decided they would make her "an offer too good to refuse"...along the lines of this car is $16K only until 6PM. Mary didn't want that car and disliked the ultimatum deal, but responded graciously declining by email. Here is one of the next e-mails Mary receives:

Good morning ........., if you don't find what you want elsewhere, I let my boss read your last email and he said, OK for us to work together and he would make a good deal....., but to only come to our lots if you are actually ready to make a purchase. HAVE A NICE DAY & GO NOLES.

WTH? She can only come in to buy, cannot come in and browse

She has all her emails showing she was honest straightforward and gracious. Apparently she had the audacity to not take their "best deal".

I'm suggesting she present this situation and treatment she received to Subaru Corporate.

What do you think? Is this discrimination?

[Peace Of Mind]

LMAO!   Do you live in Central Florida too?  Dealing with our local Subaru dealership sucked but I wasn't banned.    They just lied a lot and wasted our time when we came in to test drive or do whatever we were trying to do.  They never had what we wanted either and kept trying to sell us "similar" so I finally blocked their domain.  Oh, and we test drove the Outback and Crosstrek and the RAV4 blows those two vehicles away!!

I hope you try Toyota.  That's what we ended up doing and are so, so, SO happy with our RAV4.  Good luck and move on.  I have no regrets and I doubt Mary will either after that kind of treatment.   They don't have what she wants any way. 

[dannylion]

I'm with you, I'd escalate to Subaru corporate. If I were in a really bad mood, I'd contact the consumer reporting or human interest reporter for the local newspaper, TV station, or radio station and turn them loose on it. I would do this because I would be quite cheerfully burning that bridge. That sort of treatment would cause me to cross that dealership off car-buying options for good.

I don't think it's discrimination because careful, educated shoppers are not a protected class. It is, however, piss-poor salesmanship and really, really stupid. Especially since it was transmitted via e-mail and not verbally.

That salesweasel needs some advanced salesweasel training.

This doesn't quite rise to the level of weapons-grade stupidity, but it's getting there.   

[Angel!]

It isn't discrimination, just poor business. Treat customers like craps and they go elsewhere.

[Deleted]

Wow, yeah, they'd never be getting my business again. Yes, I would send a print out of that email to Subaru Corporate, but would not ever go back to that dealership. 

Discriminatory? No
Bad Business? Yes
Jerk Salesman & dealership management? Yes

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 18:29:26 GMT -5 forwardwego said:

A couple months ago I asked about haggling at a no haggle dealership. Thanks to all for your input.
My friend (let's call her Mary) was doing the car shopping that prompted that question. The car is for Mary's daughter, 21 YO new driver going out of state to grad school, safety was big consideration. They really wanted Subaru Legacy but locally they were scarce and the occasional Legacy here or there sold high or quickly. So over the course of a couple months Mary also looked for good deals on other late model midsized sedans, especially Altima and Accord. Many dealerships were visited online and in person, thorough research of safety, repair, KBB values. The local Subaru dealership was pushing for Mary to come back in, wanted to sell her a particular Altima, but Mary's daughter didn't want that one. I guess the dealership decided they would make her "an offer too good to refuse"...along the lines of this car is $16K only until 6PM. Mary didn't want that car and disliked the ultimatum deal, but responded graciously declining by email. Here is one of the next e-mails Mary receives:

Good morning ........., if you don't find what you want elsewhere, I let my boss read your last email and he said, OK for us to work together and he would make a good deal....., but to only come to our lots if you are actually ready to make a purchase. HAVE A NICE DAY & GO NOLES.

WTH? She can only come in to buy, cannot come in and browse

She has all her emails showing she was honest straightforward and gracious. Apparently she had the audacity to not take their "best deal".

I'm suggesting she present this situation and treatment she received to Subaru Corporate.

What do you think? Is this discrimination?

Cross that dealer off your list and look elsewhere.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 18:35:59 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

LMAO!   Do you live in Central Florida too?  Dealing with our local Subaru dealership sucked but I wasn't banned.    They just lied a lot and wasted our time when we came in to test drive or do whatever we were trying to do.  They never had what we wanted either and kept trying to sell us "similar" so I finally blocked their domain.  Oh, and we test drove the Outback and Crosstrek and the RAV4 blows those two vehicles away!!

I hope you try Toyota.  That's what we ended up doing and are so, so, SO happy with our RAV4.  Good luck and move on.  I have no regrets and I doubt Mary will either after that kind of treatment.   They don't have what she wants any way. 

I had no idea we were neighbors. Since you drink well with others, we should meet up and do beers around the world at EPCOT sometime.

[Peace Of Mind]

Jul 13, 2015 18:44:31 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jul 13, 2015 18:35:59 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

LMAO!   Do you live in Central Florida too?  Dealing with our local Subaru dealership sucked but I wasn't banned.    They just lied a lot and wasted our time when we came in to test drive or do whatever we were trying to do.  They never had what we wanted either and kept trying to sell us "similar" so I finally blocked their domain.  Oh, and we test drove the Outback and Crosstrek and the RAV4 blows those two vehicles away!!

I hope you try Toyota.  That's what we ended up doing and are so, so, SO happy with our RAV4.  Good luck and move on.  I have no regrets and I doubt Mary will either after that kind of treatment.   They don't have what she wants any way. 

I had no idea we were neighbors. Since you drink well with others, we should meet up and do beers around the world at EPCOT sometime.

Sure!  But DH is the beer drinker.  I'll have wine with you though.  I was one of the one's that kept encouraging you to move here when you were thinking about it back at the old place. 

[dannylion]

I wonder if that salesweasel would have made the same comment to a male customer.

[alabamagal]

I think it is a little rude but not that big of a deal.

When DH had a printing business he would deal with customers who would continually ask for different quotes but then never buy anything. After a while you get tired of them. Not sure he really ever told any not to come back though.

In the OP you say she kept " all her emails" meaning she went back and forth multiple times. She gave them the impression she was not going to buy.

If she didn't like it just move on.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 18:46:40 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

Jul 13, 2015 18:44:31 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

I had no idea we were neighbors. Since you drink well with others, we should meet up and do beers around the world at EPCOT sometime.

Sure!  But DH is the beer drinker.  I'll have wine with you though.  I was one of the one's that kept encouraging you to move here when you were thinking about it back at the old place. 

Have I mentioned that I have ADD?

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 18:52:29 GMT -5 dannylion said:

I wonder if that salesweasel would have made the same comment to a male customer.

Probably not.  I mean, let's be real- a man would have made a decision by now. 
Forgive me- I'm a couple beers into the evening already.

[forwardwego]

The good news: in the same 24 hours Mary got a call back from a dealership (across the street from the forbidden dealership") for a 2011 Legacy 46K miles $13500. It looks great n Mary's garage. 

[whoisjohngalt]

I am constantly fascinated at how different receptions are.

If I received that email, never in a million years would I have thought that I was banned.

I would have thought that they are desperate for business and trying to get me to buy a car from them

ETA:  English is not my native language, so what the heck do I know....

[milee]

Jul 13, 2015 19:27:48 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

I am constantly fascinated at how different receptions are.

If I received that email, never in a million years would I have thought that I was banned.

I would have thought that they are desperate for business and trying to get me to buy a car from them

ETA:  English is not my native language, so what the heck do I know....

English is my native language and I had the same reaction as you - this is a dumb salesguy trying to put on some more pressure. Not very effective and not polite, but not a huge deal, either.  There's no mention of being "banned", no discrimination and really nothing worth reacting to. 

I would have shrugged, rolled my eyes, deleted the email and kept doing whatever I wanted to do at whatever dealership I wanted to do it.

Well, not really.  I don't email dealerships or give them my email address, so this wouldn't have happened to me.  I have no idea why people get into extensive, ongoing back and forth discussions with car salespeople; huge waste of everybody's time.  

[swamp]

I email dealerships becuse I would have to drive hours to to comparison shopping.  But I don't do extensive negotiations. I have a price in mind. Hit it, or reasonably close, and I'll buy. 

[8 Bit WWBG]

I always set up a throwaway e-mail address for things like that.  Many ISPs allow you to create a bunch of them, so I made one that looked real enough, and once I was done, I nuked it.

I think that any business which has a showroom has to understand that lookyloos and browsers come with the turf.

[zibazinski]

I wouldn't buy a car from anyone who said "Go Noles."

[Angel!]

Jul 13, 2015 20:27:28 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I wouldn't buy a car from anyone who said "Go Noles."

The whole thing is really poorly written and unprofessional. The real problem is the guy is an idiot.

[Peace Of Mind]

Jul 13, 2015 19:27:48 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

I am constantly fascinated at how different receptions are.

If I received that email, never in a million years would I have thought that I was banned.

I would have thought that they are desperate for business and trying to get me to buy a car from them

ETA:  English is not my native language, so what the heck do I know....

I thought that too but being banned was so much funnier!  

Jul 13, 2015 19:43:26 GMT -5 alwaysbeoptimizing said:

Jul 13, 2015 18:44:31 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

I had no idea we were neighbors. Since you drink well with others, we should meet up and do beers around the world at EPCOT sometime.

dang, i'm in Orlando until weds evening and will miss all the fun!

Sounds like an excuse to do it again!   

Jul 13, 2015 20:19:04 GMT -5 swamp said:

I email dealerships becuse I would have to drive hours to to comparison shopping.  But I don't do extensive negotiations. I have a price in mind. Hit it, or reasonably close, and I'll buy. 

Yes, this!  ^^  I did my research and vehicle/cost comparables and checked stock on the internet (after Subaru lied to us that they had it in stock I learned to check first) and then called USAA to tell them how much I was willing to pay.  They will negotiate the price for you for free if it's a new car.  They got us over $2,800 off the price and then I caught crap they tried to add on at signing and told them to fix it or we were gone. They fixed it.  Easy Peasy.  But we did test drive it, look at various color combos and the 3 different models/levels once we decided on the vehicle, and we were still there for hours!  We had been test driving/looking since last Octobor? I think and were so over it and was so glad we found the one that was best for us at the price we wanted. I hope this things lasts as long as my other car did - or longer.

[dannylion]

The problem with the message linguistically is the presence and placement of the qualifiers "only" and "actually."  They make what might just be an innocuous but annoying sales tactic into what looks like a gesture of contempt. Maybe he didn't mean it that way, but when stupid people are turned loose with the English language to compose messages on behalf of their employer, it often does not end well. 

[wmpeon]

This doesn't look like business correspondence at all, more like a text message.  Unless that was really the dealership I wanted/had to deal with, I'd look elsewhere based on the message alone.  Then again, he did use whole words...

I was with sis when she bought her first car with loan.  They pulled the "let me check with my manager" a few times and "this is good until X time today".  Nowadays I'm older and wiser and would insist she walk away.  She ended up paying a high price for a crappy used car with a useless warranty. 

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 20:37:20 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Jul 13, 2015 20:27:28 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I wouldn't buy a car from anyone who said "Go Noles."

The whole thing is really poorly written and unprofessional. The real problem is the guy is an idiot.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 20:27:28 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I wouldn't buy a car from anyone who said "Go Noles."

Well, he probably said it knowing a thing or two about the OP.  Seminoles and Gators are worse than Democrats and Republicans down here.  Their fans- both of them- make me want to root for a nice community college team- or stop watching sports altogether and get into opera or something.

[Ryan]

I don't think you were banned, I think the guy is just a moron.  He probably was tired of the back and forth and was telling you to sh*t or get off the pot.  

[obelisk]

No deal from a dealership is a badge of honor especially from moronic e-mails.

[wvugurl26]

I have to deal with a lady in contracting who's email signature line includes 'hook em horns'. So unprofessional. Plus I don't like Texas being conference rivals and all My boss would kill me for doing something like that. Then again I have to deal with outsiders and she has internal only customers. Of course with their level of service they wouldn't survive in the real world.

And just for you Paul I hear that SEC media day was today.

Car buying is an experience I try to avoid. Although in my last round of test drives one dealer ended up with my brother's email and number. I gave them mine so I don't know if they did an internet search or what. I found a place that had what I wanted, got the price and went and signed the paperwork.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 13, 2015 22:09:51 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I have to deal with a lady in contracting who's email signature line includes 'hook em horns'. So unprofessional. Plus I don't like Texas being conference rivals and all My boss would kill me for doing something like that. Then again I have to deal with outsiders and she has internal only customers. Of course with their level of service they wouldn't survive in the real world.

And just for you Paul I hear that SEC media day was today.

Car buying is an experience I try to avoid. Although in my last round of test drives one dealer ended up with my brother's email and number. I gave them mine so I don't know if they did an internet search or what. I found a place that had what I wanted, got the price and went and signed the paperwork.

Indeed- car buying is horrible.  I plan on buying two more, and that's that.  My last one was the blueberry in 2012.  I plan on driving it for at least another 5 years- maybe longer.

[beergut]

Jul 13, 2015 21:41:40 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jul 13, 2015 20:27:28 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I wouldn't buy a car from anyone who said "Go Noles."

Well, he probably said it knowing a thing or two about the OP.  Seminoles and Gators are worse than Democrats and Republicans down here.  Their fans- both of them- make me want to root for a nice community college team- or stop watching sports altogether and get into opera or something.

Maybe she did undergrad at Florida State, and he is trying to be friendly? Politics are no comparison to college athletics allegiance. You can switch which political party you belong to or support, you can't switch where you went to school.

If you don't want to root for Florida or FSU, become a Hurricanes fan. I believe they have as many national championships as UF and FSU combined. Most of their fans are front-runners and only show up when they're winning, so you'd be a unique supporter who is behind them when they're struggling right now. 

[beergut]

Jul 13, 2015 22:09:51 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I have to deal with a lady in contracting who's email signature line includes 'hook em horns'. So unprofessional. Plus I don't like Texas being conference rivals and all My boss would kill me for doing something like that. Then again I have to deal with outsiders and she has internal only customers. Of course with their level of service they wouldn't survive in the real world.

And just for you Paul I hear that SEC media day was today.

Car buying is an experience I try to avoid. Although in my last round of test drives one dealer ended up with my brother's email and number. I gave them mine so I don't know if they did an internet search or what. I found a place that had what I wanted, got the price and went and signed the paperwork.

t-sips are naturally obnoxious, they can't help it.

Did she actually go to texas?