Complaint Review: Heritage

I believe I am the victim of a car dealership fraud and bait-and-switch scheme.

Let me first vindicate the salesman that met me. He was a great guy ... Stanley, aka Smiley. I don't think he has anything to do with this. However, Tom, Keith, the acting sales manager and the owner appear to be very dishonest people.

Let me also state it was my fault for signing the contract, although in my defense I signed the contract under false information. It's my fault for being gullible; for not taking a breather and checking the facts by going home. It's my fault for believing they would take away the deal if I left. But that doesn't justify their lies. I simply want to warn others about this bait-and-switch practice.

The story is as follows:

During the week of November 5, 2006, I received a mailer from the Heritage car dealership in Athens, Tennessee, with a used-car coupon voucher for $4,000. (It's a popular scheme.)

I arrived on Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006. I test drove a used 2006 Pontiac Vibe with Stanley. I liked the car and asked for the invoice price. No used cars on the lot that I could see had a sticker price. Instead, I had to ask for the price. Stanley brought me inside and we sat down. A little bit later, a man named Tom appraoched with a piece of paper that said the amount of the car was $20,850.

Unhappy with that invoice price, I negotiated a price of around $17,750 with Tom. That's when I brought up the voucher. Tom said the price of the car inlcuded the voucher. He then claimed that new cars of the model I had I test drove go for up to $30,000. He said he "assumed" the real invoice was $24,850 because they gave me the full amount of the voucher. That should have struck me hard and I should have checked the books, but still, that doesn't justify the lie.

So I'm thinking "Great, I just saved $7,000 off the invoice" after the negotiated price and the voucher added on. I handed the voucher to Stanley who checked it against winning prize numbers. I did not get the flyer back after that point.

Here's where my concern begins: The sales team said they had already applied the full $4,000 amount to the car, even though the voucher was never mentioned. They never asked if I had a voucher. But later they said they needed the voucher to go with the paperwork. If they needed the voucher to give me the $20,850 price, why give me that price if I didn't have a voucher? It appears that the $20,850 invoice was the invoice.

I also had a trade-in. They originally offered $11,900 for my Ford Escape. When I told them that wasn't enough, they eventually gave me $15,000. Now the flyer had many lines that every person I spoke with confirmed ... they wanted to sell cars regardless of loss or profit. Inventory meant big taxes, and they wanted to get rid of the cars. So with a flyer that implicitly states they would sacrifice vehicles, I trusted that they were doing this because they weren't concerned about a loss or profit. They just wanted to move cars.

Ultimately, I signed a contract after being led to believe that an invoice of $24,850 was a fair asking price and that I received $7,000 in discounts. I was extremely happy with this, as anyone would be, and accepted the deal.

But while reading up on what I could expect from my new car, I found out that a used 2006 Pontiac Vibe with 26,000 miles has a retail price of about $15,500. That number shocked me, because it means the invoice price was $9,000 more than the retail price. After more research, I found out that I couldn't even buy a new Vibe at my model for $24,850 with the options I had. (Remember, Tom said a new Vibe would cost up to $30,000! And the fool in me believe him!)

I don't think any reasonable person would buy a used-car marked up $9,000-plus, unless they were tricked. I trusted their numbers. Big mistake, yes. But they still committed fraud by continually assuring me that $24,850 was an honest price.

After realizing the discrepancy, I immediately contacted Heritage that evening to get an explanation and attempt to rectify the situation. I spoke first with Stanley and explained my problem. He handed me off to Keith, the person with whom I signed the contract. Keith then gave me to Tom, who gave me back to Keith. We attempted to resolve the matter without success. His points were the following:

I signed the contract and that was my problem (final statement)
The actual model I had was more expensive in the first 6 months of 2006. (What?)
Keith admitted that the extra $4,000 was a bold attempt to get additional profit but never addressed why I was told $20,850 without the voucher, but $24,850 with the voucher.

My belief is the following. It was a well concealed bait-and-switch. The invoice they were going to sell the car was $20,850 w/o a voucher. That's clear, but ...

When they saw I had a voucher, the invoice jumped $4,000.
They baited me with the $4,000 voucher and made it moot by inflating the price once the voucher was brought up after the agreed upon price.
I signed a contract being told that I saved $7,000 off the purchase price, when in fact I only received about $3,500 off the actual invoice. As great a deal as that might be, it wouldn't have been enough to convince me to buy the car. I signed the deal under false pretenses. Moreover, it is illegale to inflate a price like that!
Of course, I did sign the contract and was happy when I left the dealership. However, I believe they committed fraud during negotiations and employed bait-and-switch, both illegal tactics.

I basically think it comes down to whether $24,850 for that car is a fair asking price. If you could convince me it was fair, I'd walk away happy. But I did the research, and it isn't fair. But they led me to believe it was fair. Is it not wrong to bait me in with a $4,000 coupon but switch the invoice up $4,000 to compensate?

I believe some restitution is fair and in order although it is unlikely that I would ever get it. I tried, but they refused. So I have gone to other resources to at least set the record straight. I told them $1,000 would make it right, but they said no way. I think ethically they should do more than that.

I know that will likely will not happen and I have to learn the lesson ... car dealerships like Heritage will say anything to rip you off. I can live with that.

I'm writing here so you don't have to live with it.

Anthony
Ooltewah, Tennessee
U.S.A.