Hang on kids, here we go....
So Johnny has been in the market for a new whip lately. After much research he chose a Pontiac Vibe GT. He then began sending out email inquiries to several local Pontiac dealership internet sales managers telling them his option requirements and talking price. He began the process of whittling down who he'd buy from on price and options available and who had the car he wanted. Alan Johnson (and remember that name kids) at Randy Wise in Milan had the best price on the GT and Mr. Johnson MADE AN APPOINTMENT to sell the car to Johnny yesterday afternoon. Johnny drove down to Milan fully expecting to be driving home in something different. As Lee Corso says on ESPN, "Not so fast my friend"
Johnny walks into the showroom, has Alan Johnson paged, he comes out, and Johnny excitedly says "Let's take a look at the car!"
Alan Johnson: "Oh, it's not here"
Johnny: "What?"
Alan Johnson: "It's not here, I''ll have to call someone to get one here"
Johnny: "You're kidding"
Alan Johnson "No, I'll have to locate one for you"
What a weasel. What an unprofessional weasel car salesman. When Johnny makes an appointment to buy a car he expects said car will be on the lot. Alan Johnson had two days lead to get it there. Car deals can fall apart for a lot of reason, financing mainly. But to have the Randy Wise sales manager, ALAN JOHNSON make an appointment to sell a car and not have it there is completely unacceptable. Alan kept going on how "There's no bad intent here". Maybe not Alan, perhaps it's just incompetence. He said he could TRY to locate one, in fact he knew of one that was out on an overnight test drive (just not from HIS dealership derrrrr). I told him I didn't want THAT one, it'd be USED to me. He also could not give a date that car would be available. Alan hemmed and hawed about trying to locate a car, made a few fruitless phone calls, but by then the trust was broken and Johnny drove home mad as hell.
So if you are in the market for a new car, feel free to take this tale as a warning if you find yourself thinking about Randy Wise in Milan and a gentleman named Alan Johnson.
Oh and by the way Alan, the base Vibe model does NOT come with a 1.4 L engine, it's 1.8 L, you should know that going forward. You made mention twice of the 1.4 L. engine compared to the 2.4 L on the AWD and GT Vibe, just sayin'...
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11 comments:
That is messed up. You might not get a car because of financing like you said or the trade in value isn't what you want but the damn car should be there for sure. Sorry Johnny.
That jackass totally wasted your time. Was he planning to try to cheese you into buying something else?
trixie--here's what makes this all the more baffling. No, he didn't try to bait and switch. Only bait. BTW, I got my 2009 Vibe and glory be I got it from Prestige Pontiac-Buick-GMC over off of I-94 and Huron/Whittaker RIGHT HERE in Ypsilanti. Rod over there was great, everybody was a complete professional. Prestige was aces in my opinion. I thought internet shopping was the way to go but it turned out the old fashioned art of the deal on the lot worked best.
Its just too bad in our internet age you could save time, (and MAYBE money) by cruising the net to see whats out there, but apparently some things need to be tackled the old-fashioned way.
I had been talking with four internet sales guys thinking, like you do, it would save legwork, gas money and time. Randy Wise had the best price so I picked them. I'd still like to think it could work better IF you get an internet sales person who is doing their job. I've read many stories about those who do, I just got one who didn't....
I just bought a 2009 Vibe last night (Atlanta metro area). Same problem here, pretty much, but I knew going in that nobody in this area had a 5 speed 1.8 Vibe. I drove the manual and have to guess what the 5 speed is like. Even Toyota did not have the 5 sp Matrix in this area (well, there is one). I don't particularly care if the car is around, but I agree with you that internet shopping is great, but I tell ya -- to get any kind of deal, you've got it slog it out with them on the lot. Hope you find your Vibe!
Anonymous, I did get my Vibe, comment #3
Good deal Johnny. I just happened upon your blog when searching for stuff about the Vibe.
Get a good deal? I was in there for a few hours and beat them up. Something like 16060-500 rebate. So 15060 for a 1.8 with a/c and preferred package (auto locks and windows, I had to pay for that).
~Lew
Yes Lew, I did get a very good deal. I love the car. A lot of room inside, far more than you'd expect and I'm a big guy and the seats are a dream....The Monsoon stereo system is a revelation. Still learning my way around all the gadgets.
Thanks for dropping by!
Johnny:
Hope you got GM employee pricing!
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
Tell this Story to Bob Lutz directly. The following above is his blog, and, he reads the comments on his postings. Post your story URL there and your polite comments- in a few of the comment section on his postings and he will get.read the message. And while you are at it- call the GM HQ downtown switchboard and leave him a voice mail!
If GM is to have a chance, they need to finally fix stupid stuff like you experienced. There is 100 percent no excuse for a bad salesperson today. They need to fix that crapo.
When you go to Honda or Toyota- they just don't treat a customer that way. Further, if you take your Honda in to the service department with 120k miles on the clock- they HELP you and tell you that car will go more with some recommended maintenance. If you go into a Ford or GM dealership= they tell you to buy a new car and dump this "old" one.
Please, WAKE UP AMERICAN car industry!
The sales people have nothing to do but WAIT to talk to a customer. Why, while they wait, can't they READ the car literature they hand out and learn the product and what they come with and what the options are? And even sit inside the car and get familiar with the products they are selling? And read about it on the GM websites? And..... oh, salesperson I think you might be getting the idea...... Try going to a local Chevrolet dealership and talk to someone about a new Corvette you are thinking about purchasing. The customer ALWAYS seems to know more about the Corvettes than the salespeople. And worse- they want to sell every car as a 1 year profit center and rip off the customer as much as possible. Many times people walk away because of this and never make the sale. Why is that? Because they don't care about the customer and never read the literature on the car(s). God forbid they would ever actually drive any of the cars they sell! A Corvette sells itself and the sales department is just a distraction that almost always gets in the way.....Hmm. Sounds like the Pontiac dealership in Milan.
Sorry they treated you so crappy. What a bunch of Zero's. Hope you are enjoying your new car. Sadly, you will always remember those idiots.
Hey Bob! Fix! Fix!
Uh, GM doesn't control much of what car dealers do, I know this for a fact. The GM management has very little contact with people who actually sell cars on the lots. Dealers are franchised.
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