John Koons and Koons Mazda Will Rip You Off!!!
In early May of this year, I decided to buy the Mazda Tribute from Koons Mazda located on Branch Avenue in Maryland. My wife and I put down $7,000.00. We expressed right from the beginning the need to keep the monthly note under $400.00. Ricardo Ledbetter was the person in finance that worked with us. We were assured that the amount of money we put down would be sufficient to accomplish this goal.
Approximately 3 days later, I received a call from Mr. Ledbetter. He explained to me that the financing did not go through and that I would need to either put more money down or turn the vehicle in. In the 3 days that I had the truck, I really grew attached to it and decided that I wanted to try and keep it.
After talking to Mr. Ledbetter, my wife and I decided to put down another $2,500.00. When I arrived to meet with Mr. Ledbetter and pay the additional money, he had the paper work already prepared for my signature. After signing off on what I believed to be the original contract (with 2,500.00 added to my down payment) I then discovered that my car note was now $489.00 (originally it was $389.00).
I questioned Mr. Ledbetter about this and he said that the original contract was no longer agreeable with Koons Mazda, so they wanted out. I then said that this deal is not agreeable to me, reminding him of how important it was for the car note to stay under $400.00. At this time Mr. Ledbetter informed me that he would not let me out of the deal. I asked why not, since I was not in agreement. He said the most he would do would be downgrade the vehicle I was trying to buy or I could turn the truck in, but that they would not return my money. I told him that I would not downgrade the vehicle especially since I just added $2,500.00 to the deal.
My wife had followed me in our other vehicle, in the event that a deal could not be reached. I went to inform her of what Mr. Ledbetter was doing. She, my children and myself then went inside Mr. Ledbetter's office to further discuss this issue. Mr. Ledbetter made it clear that Koons Mazda was allowed to get out of a deal if they found it disagreeable but that I would not be let out of the deal for the same reason. Understandably, this caused both my wife and I to get very upset. The level of professionalism displayed by Mr. Ledbetter had long since gone the way of the dodo, to the point that he even allowed other staff members to walk up to his office door and eavesdrop on our conversation!
At one point, my wife asked one of the Mazda employees to close the door. He told her to hold on and was very disrespectful, to the point that I felt the need to interject (I asked him to close the door now and moved to close it myself).
We quickly realized that there would be no satisfaction achieved at this level, so my wife and I left.
The next day I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and patiently waited.
In late July, I received a call from Mr. Michael Ford (Koons legal office) who wanted to inquire about my financial obligations to Koons Mazda (I had not made any monthly payments on the vehicle because at this time, I wanted to give the vehicle back and get my money back). I informed Mr. Ford of all the sordid details regarding Ricardo Ledbetter and Koons Mazda. Mr. Ford was understandably shocked and assured me that he would look into the issue and get back to me.
When Mr. Ford again contacted me a few days later, he explained that he believed Mr. Koons was unaware of this issue and that he believed that I could meet with him to give him my side of the story. I thought this was a great idea. I explained to Mr. Ford that all I wanted was to get the original agreement back or, if that was not possible, to give the truck back and get back my money.
The following week (the week of July 23, 2001 I believe) I was scheduled to meet with Mr. Koons. I took time off from my job to come in and meet him. When I arrived at the Koons legal offices, Mr. Ford informed me that Mr. Koons decided he would not meet with me and sent someone else instead. I later found out that this individual (whose name was not given to me) was the manager of Koons Mazda (at least that was what I was told). This is the person who should have addressed the problem in the first place, but he did not. He did not take the time to address my concerns at this time either. He made it clear that I was either going to have to pay for the vehicle, have it repossessed or turn it back in. If I turned it back in I would only receive $1,495.00 back!
The services that were rendered to me in the past four months by Koons Mazda were deplorable. I was forced to return the truck; I was forced to give up approximately $5,500.00 (the other $1,495.00 I have yet to receive).
My wife and I were disrespected and mistreated by an individual who clearly had only one thing on his mind: how to best get money from customers regardless of the course of action he had to take to do it. And I was disrespected by John Koons III.
Michael Ford told me that John Koons had agreed to meet with me, but then decided not to and did not even have the decency to reschedule a meeting to hear me out. Mr. Koons took no steps whatsoever to address this gross case of injustice. I now understand Michael Ford no longer works at the Koons Branch Avenue location and apparently no one seems to have any records of the monies Koons owes me.
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5 Updates & Rebuttals
Melissa
Tempe,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Go Back & Get Your $$$
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, July 23, 2005
I have worked in the car business for approximately eight years. Regretfully, It USED to be a common practice at my own dealership to "hold a customer's feet to the fire", and withhold funds to cover mileage and costs incurred when an "unwind" (a deal gone sour) happened. This IS NOT LEGAL.
You had no contract, once they presented you with the new contract. The terms and conditions of the purchase were altered. Thus, despite what these *** are telling you, you have every right to get your money back. Start pursuing this ASAP - the longer this waits, the more difficult it becomes - do not hesitate.
Sonja
Landover,Maryland,
U.S.A.
My Comments - I've don't believe some of these reports.
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, July 15, 2005
Good morning,
I was so shocked to see these ripoff site and I read a few comments. One of which deals with the dealer in Marlow Heights. I totaly disagree with the gentleman who brought the truck. I've brought two (2) 2002 vehicles 3 month apart from one another. Unfortunately, my salesman "Damon Lumpkin" had passed away. And "not" one time did I feel mislead, taken advantage of or anything of that nature. I still own those vehicles. Everytime I've come into that shop for any reason, I've never been treated like I wasn't a customer.
Every person I've talked including all staff were very courteous and kind. As a matter of fact, I'll be in their within the next week. I hope this you are able to post this so that other customers will not be discourage in dealing with Mazda. And if I decide to buy another vehicle, I am coming back to John Koons Mazda in Marlow Heights. All I can say is I'm
very pleased and keep up with the good work.
Stick Rip Off Report Consumer Advocate
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Hey Phil does this info help you? I hope so! if you are buying their product, you should be able to contact the MAKER and tell them how you feel
#6Consumer Suggestion
Fri, January 14, 2005
Hey Phil I have read your rebuttle and I thought I should post some Ford and Mazda contact info for you so you can tell Mazda how you feel. It really upsets me that no car buyer can go to a car makers web site and locate names, email or phone numbers.
I mean let's face it if you are buying their product, you should be able to contact the MAKER and tell them how you feel. I wonder why car makers do not post contact info! Maybe they do not want you to have the ability to tell them how you feel.
Jay Amestoy
jamestoy@mazdausa.com
Brand(s): Mazda
Department: Mazda
1-949-727-6443
Media Information Center
media@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company, Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, Volvo
Department: Media Information Center
1-800-665-1515
Jolie Lannon
jlannon@mazdausa.com
Brand(s): Mazda
Department: Mazda
1-949-727-6247
Beverly Thacker
bthacke2@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company, Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, Volvo
Department: Broadcast News
1-313-317-7639 248-552-8992
Diane Walter
dwalter@mazdausa.com
Brand(s): Mazda
Department: Mazda
1-714-727-6304
Wesley Sherwood III
wsherwoo@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company
Department: Product Launch
1-313-390-5660 734-699-5725
Ray Day
rday1@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company
Department: Product Development
1-313-317-7683 1-734-414-0526
Angela Coletti
acoletti@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company
Department: Global News Bureau
1-313-390-1759 586-296-9596
Ron Iori
riori@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company
Department: Global Operations
1-313-337-2456 1-313-791-6837
John Ochs
jochs@ford.com
Brand(s): Ford Motor Company
Department: New Media Team
1-313-337-3669 734-769-6031
I also think the car dealers do not want new car buyers to be in contact with the car makers. Email the people above and let them know what's your thinking. Don't thank me for the above info. Thank a guy in Bayville NY. He called himself The Great Thorn. He gave me his data base of info so you can be better informed car buyers.
Some of the above email and phone numbers might have been changed. If so, maybe they do not want to get email from their customers.
Phil
Waldorf,Maryland,
U.S.A.
John Koons Mazda deplorable sales tactics
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, January 12, 2005
I also purchased a new Tribute from John Koons Mazda, a few months after you did, in January 2002. I had done my homework, and knew how much I would pay. We agreed to a price, and then the financing was to be completed. The salesman, who left the company within a few weeks of my deal, and has repeatedly called me when he changes dealerships every month or two, knew nothing about the vehicle, and was a complete idiot to say the least. However, I wanted the vehicle, and thought I could overlook the stupidity around me.
When I went in to sign the financing agreement, the interest rate had been inflated, and the sales price was higher. I don't recall the name of the financing officer, but there was no question that he was trying to squeeze as much as he could out of us. I told them thank you very much, but that I was not interested, and would get financing at my credit union, if I chose to buy their vehicle. That was not acceptable to them, as my salesman and several other salesmen confronted me, and in my opinion, attempted to strongarm me into buying the vehicle. I proved that I could be just as obnoxious as they could in the middle of their showroom with other customers pondering what to do... They backed down physically, and financially.
I would never do business with this dealership again, their sales force is dishonest, and the service department has been a bunch of clowns for the past three years. In fact, I would probably never buy another Mazda, due to this experience, which in over 20 years of owning vehicles, I have never said about any other make. I did complain to Mazda about the dealership, and was basically told to shut up.
.
.,Rhode Island,
U.S.A.
.
#6Author of original report
Wed, December 05, 2001