Lund Cadillac and Saab discrimination at Kachina Lund Saab in Scottsdale Scottsdale Arizona *UPDATE ..nasty lingo auto dealers use referring to YOU!
On March 16, 2002, My husband, daughter and I, who are African American, decided to go shopping for used Saabs at Kachina Lund Saab on Bell Road in Scottsdale, Arizona. We currently own two Saabs (89' and 95'). However, the 1989 has had better days and it will soon need replacing. This was our first day of actual car shopping, but we had done our research and we were ready to test drive and have our questions answered. Kachina Lund Saab and Cadillac is one of the only two Saab dealers in Arizona. Perhaps, if we got the right deal, we may have driven away with a Saab that day.
We drove onto the lot in our 95 Saab and parked near the entrance facing the showroom. We saw several salespeople peering at us from inside, but no one attempted to acknowledge our presence. We were a little shocked by this, because usually there are eager salespeople waiting to pounce even before you have one leg out of your car. We thought maybe everyone at this dealership was on salary or something.
We proceeded to the Saab area when we were approached by a salesman who asked us, not if we needed any help or what kind of car we were looking for, but who we were there to see.
My husband responded to this odd question by telling the salesman that we were there to look at used Saabs. The salesman's response was, "I'll be right back." We continued walking toward the Saabs waiting for someone to come and assist us. This never happened. We must have waited about 20 minutes. We decided to examine the cars by ourselves. We opened up car doors and checked the interior of the vehicles and the mileage. No one ever came out to help.
Finally, we got tired of being ignored and decided to leave. As we were walking back toward our car, we saw two caucausin men in their early twenties drive onto the lot and park. Before they could get out of their car, this same salesman, who had no time to help us, came running down the steps from the showroom to greet them. After greetings were exchanged, the three of them jumped on a golf cart and were off to look at cars.
We immediatley knew what was up. I have lived in Arizona for almost four years and have never experienced such blatant racism. I was so furious and stayed up half the night thinking about this incident.
What recourse do I have? Can something be done? How can I prove that we were discriminatted against? I read the report form Mr. Moreno that was submitted to your company and felt like our experience was a re-enactment of his. We cannot let this continue to happen.
Please tell me what recourse I have.
Andrea
Goodyear, Arizona
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Someone who cares
scottsdale,Arizona,
Inside lingo for MISS DEE in SCNOTTSDALE
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sat, November 02, 2002
yes it is VERY TRUE that car salesmen have an inside lingo that they will not used when they have looker's, sucker's or car buyers on their lot.
Here it is:
Ad car: A very basic car without any options (used to sucker customers into the dealership).
Be-backs: The customer who didn't buy during the visit.
Bird dog: Referral fee.
Birth Control Seats: Bucket seats.
BK: The customer has a bankruptcy in their credit history.
Blow them out: No deal! Don't waste any more time with that customer.
Bomb: An old car with no value.
Clip joint: A car dealer who has a reputation for overcharging.
Crapped out: Loss of motivation for the buyer and/or seller.
Cream puff: A second-hand car in very good condition.
Crop duster: A car with a smoking problem.
Dead-beat: A customer who has a history of not paying debts.
Dime: $100
Fat city: Made a lot of money selling cars that day.
Fish: A customer willing to pay full price -- "I reeled in a fat fish!"
Float the front to the back: Car dealer stealing money from their employees.
Gasser: A talkative or boastful customer who does not actually have the funds to buy the vehicle.
Gouge: Sell the car for much more than it's worth.
Grease: The amount of discount needed to close the deal. May include incentives or 'push.'
Grease monkey: A mechanic.
Grind: Negotiations on the price of the car that end up taking a long time to complete.
Gross: Amount of money that the car dealer actually profited.
Hammer: Pressure the customer to buy the vehicle
Hang (Got them hung): Customer ready to buy and paperwork beginning.
Hosed them: Made a lot of money on the deal.
Idiot light: A warning light on the instrument panel.
Juice: Money
Junker: An old car ready for the junkyard.
Key and a Heater: A very basic car without any options.
Kick-back: An often secret amount of money that is refunded to the car dealer after the sale is made. This may come from the car maker, finance company or insurance companies from the sale of extended warranties.
Licking: When someone loses money on a deal.
Loaded: A car with all the options or a very wealthy customer.
Long green: Paper money.
Low-ball: A last minute attempt to make the sale by lowering the price of a car as the customer heads for the door and eventually to competing dealerships.
Maypops: Bald tires.
Nickel: $500
(The) Numbers: The price of the vehicle.
Nut: The price at which the dealer breaks even or makes minimum profit.
On the hood: Rebates, incentives or low-priced financing offered by the manufacturer or finance group. "This car comes with a 3% push on the hood."
One-legged-up: A customer without a spouse.
Pack: Money built into the price of the car for dealer profit.
Pad: The amount the salesman makes on a sale.
Peel off the ceiling: Used to describe the reaction of a customer to the price of a car.
Player: A customer with a good credit history.
Pooched it: Messed up the deal.
Pound: $1000
Push: Cash, rebate or finance rate incentive.
Razzmatazz: Double talk
Rear-end money: Money kicked-back to the dealer from lending institutions after the sale and financing deal is completed.
Repo: To have a car repossessed for nonpayment on loan.
Roach: A customer with a poor credit rating.
Rocket pencil: the first set of numbers that a salesman will bring out to see if the buyer will take a sucker's deal.
Roll them: Instructions to the salesman to close the deal and make the sale.
Rubbernecked: Someone looking with no intention to buy.
Shark: A ruthless and greedy salesman.
Take a "Shot Gun" to the buyer: Send the buyers credit report to every lender you can find. This will hurt the buyer's credit in a big way.
Shoot the buyer in the foot: Dealer will give the buyer real low price that no dealer will do if the buyer is not ready to buy, ..this will bring the buyer back.
Slam: Make a great deal of money on a particular sale.
Slam-dunk: Car sold and huge profit made.
Sled: A worn-out and worthless car; one that is low on power.
Slicker: A customer who believes everything claimed, and who is willing to pay full sticker price.
Snow job: An attempt to deceive, overwhelm or persuade with flattery and insincere talk.
Song and dance: An elaborate effort to explain or justify the high price of a vehicle.
Special financing: High interest loans for customers with poor credit.
Spot delivery: Where car dealer has buyer to sign ALL DOCUMENTS and make car buyer think they are really approved. Then a few days go by and dealer's F&I department call the buyer to come back so car dealer can bend the buyer over for a higher interest rate. This is done all the time.
Spiff: An extra bonus the salesman receives if he makes the sale.
Sticker shock: Customer's first reaction to the posted price of the vehicle.
Stroker: A customer who sounds as though he is ready to buy, but actually has no intention of doing so.
Sweep them: If you can't make the deal, send the customers away. Don't waste any more time with them.
TD: The customer's loan application was turned down.
Teaser: See Ad car and Leader.
Tin Lizzie: A dilapidated old car.
Twist them: Put pressure on the customer to buy.
Up: A new customer just came in.
Up-side down: When the car's true value is less than the amount owed on the vehicle.
$500 sandwich: Went to lunch and missed a sale.
posted by someone who cares.
Brandon
Mesa,Arizona,
The race card is getting old...
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, November 02, 2002
For the people who went to buy the Saab...I don't think you are telling the whole story. I may be wrong, but I would venture to guess that a dealership that sells upscale vehicles such as Saab and Cadillac would not be willing to lose one of the few customers they get on a daily basis to something like race. So, I do think that you, like most other African Americans, are playing the race card to a whole new level. You just want to sue and be compensated for your skin color.
I'm not saying that racism does not exist, believe me I know it's out there, but it's pathetic that non-whites, not just blacks but any non-white race, uses that to get things that they otherwise would not have. Look at the American Indians for instance, the great USA has decided that it would be in our best interest to compensate them for the land that we took from them...YEARS AGO! Yet I don't see the Indians jumping to give the rest of the non-Indian community any of the money that they receive from gambling in the casinos on the reservations, which is millions each year! This great nation has also decided that it would be appropriate to compensate the families of the slaves from over a hundred years ago. What a crock! The people that are going to be compensated didn't even know the slaves, they just want some free money and to play the race card some more, and by providing this bogus compensation it's just going to prove to them that if they cry loud and long enough, whether they are right or wrong, they will get something eventually!
So, my advice to you, GET OVER IT!
To John, who says he owns a $25M business, maybe you should take some of that money and take some English courses at your local community college.
John
San Francisco,California,
I have seen it too.
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, November 02, 2002
I know what the lady said above i have seen it happen to a few people there at Lund when i was shopping there.
I have over heard some of the sales personall say comments like " Here comes a Roach" to the aspect that there not going to quilify on a purchase or like "oh look at that spick what is he going to do here tream are trees?) So to the other White Girl " Little Richie" This still happens in are society. It's happend to me too.
I am an owner of 25 Million dollar company and i get treated like that. I go shopping for cars in torn up blue jeans and raggy shirts. So you can't say that this doesn't happen.
So don't say this doesn't happen!
dee
scottsdale,Arizona,
Quit with the race card already!
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, September 13, 2002
Its AMAZING how anyone who isn't white is playing the race card whenever they feel they aren't being treated well.
If you blame all your problems in life on the color of your skin you are living in la la land.
FYI I am a white female and have had to chase people down at car dealerships for service. Our family cars are Mercedes 500SL and Land Rover - Freelander.
You would think they would swoop in on a rich little white girl but they don't - am I crying racisim, sexism - NO!
People just don't care these days at all, regardless of the color of your skin.
Dale
phx,Arizona,
Get your facts right
#6UPDATE Employee
Tue, July 09, 2002
I cannot beleive that the Hispanic man would go to such lenghts to right a rip off report. The first mistake he made was the dealership name. He sited Kachina, however the salesmanager he supposedly discussed this problem works at Lund Cadillac. So, whats the real truth. I have never observed the sales rep blowing off a customer like he desribed. First of all, the sales reps use a up system, and they may only have 1 up the entire shift they are working. My guess is this Mr. Moreno probably got turned down for bad credit and couldnt buy the car. Lot drops are rare since a good salesman sells even the buyers who are "just looking". Mr. Moreno should quit crying about discrimination and act responsibly next time, he would be helping all minorities. We all see what affirmitive action did for the minorities. Zero!! I will bet a years pay that you can not come to Kachina cadillac and have this happen once out of 50 try,s.