continued from above...
Like I've mentioned before, I've had bad experiences with dealerships in the past, yet have done a lot of business with them, and again here we are again. Hyundai isn't looking too good in my book, and Glenn Hyundai is definitely not good to deal with. I'm sure people are wondering what price we had worked out,
SO I'VE NOW POSTED IT, but I'd rather not share the price as I'd rather not lose any last opportunity for Tad at Glenn Hyundai, or anyone at Hyundai for that matter, to make things right. Lets just say it was very good price I was willing to live with, and yes, better than the price you see on their website, at
Glenn Auto Mall new, used Lexington cars, trucks and SUV's for sale in Lexington, Kentucky
SATURDAY, Dec 12, 2009 UPDATE:
Well, the next day, Saturday, I try to get a hold of the GSM Tim Burton, but no luck so far. The receptionist tells me that he normally doesn't pickup for customers.
I asked the receptionist if Cy Dicken Sr or Cy Dicken Jr was available, and she says that they don't come in on Saturday.
I also tried getting a hold of Tad Dunn, the salesmen I've been working with, but no luck on that either. Finally, I wasn't able to get a hold of Tim Burton, although Charles Busch called me back, and said he was the general manager at Hyundai (They have several dealerships), and that Tad is just the one that puts the listings up on the internet not a salesman. Odd, because why would Tad write up a "Legal Binding Contract" on ebay. More lies likely, who knows. I talk to him for a bit about the ordeal, and he says that he needs to call me right back.
About a half hour later, Joe Bodkin, then calls me back instead of Charles. He said that he and Charles were co-managers. I tell him about the whole ordeal, and he doesn't care one bit about the price Tad had sold the car on the ebay auction. He asks if the higher price that Tad gave me was going to work or not. So, I told him that my wife and I talked it over, and we are going to look into getting more funds to meet the higher amount on Monday. I also told him that I realize that Saturday is a big sales day so I'd rather it not get sold from under us, and would like to leave the deposit. He agreed that it would be fine, and took the $500 deposit on a credit card (over the phone obviously).
December 18th, 2009
Being that it had been 7days from the auction as required to make final payment. I called up to the dealership to find out if they had budged on the higher price of $19700, and if they would take the $16125 afterall. I talked to Elizabeth McKinely, in finance. I asked her to send me a Purchase Order for the remaining due after my $500 Deposit. She agreed she would. I also asked to her to write the final price they were willing to take, and to clearly write what price it wouldn't be. So, if they were not honoring the ebay price, to clearly state it on the purchase order. Why she did it, I don't know, but I convinced her, and she did. I have a Purchase Order showing my name, the 2010 Genesis Coupe VIN KMHHT6KD9AU008603, and the salesman Joe Bodkin (Tad's supervisor). On the purchase order it states "NOT EBAY INTERNET PRICE," Total Balance Due $19700, less $500 deposit. So, I therefore have two "Legal Binding Contracts," One is a switch and bait for the other.
Additional comments, today, Jan 14, 2010:
This whole incident just puts a bad taste in my mouth for Hyundai and for ebay auto sales in general. Does Glenn Hyundai allow their salesmen to carry out such deceptive trade/sales practices? Does Hyundai Corporate allow such practices for their dealer network? Does Hyundai Corporate and Glenn Hyunda actually think that, with this day and age with the internet, they are going to be able keep the shady practices from ruining their reputation. Have they read the BMW buyers experience that hit autoblog, and on BMW forums with 3000 posts and probably a million page views.
BMW dealer auctions new M3 for $60K on eBay, doesn't want to honor the deal — Autoblog
Won ebay auction at 60K for E90 M3, BMW of Lincoln refusing to honor - M3 Forum 2010 2009 BMW M3 2008 BMW M3 BMW E90 M3 E92
As for ebay, can sellers, especially dealers (which you would think are held to a higher standard on ebay) just decide they don’t want to honor a price? I know not all dealers are like this, but its pretty unethical, on both sides to back out of an auto auction because you dont like th eprice.
I'm convinced this dealer went into this auction intentionally setting a low price, with no reserve. Tad at Glen Hyundai admitted this himself. The pricepoint at which they started the auction, 15K is no small amount... its not as if the auction started at 0.01 and ended there, it started at 15K. Obviously, they set it to attract serious buyers with the money to complete the transaction. They were hoping to generate bids, and to get the bidding past their Buy-It-Now, which did not happen.
In this case, this dealer wasn’t happy with the ending price, a $3575 difference from his BUY IT NOW (at $19700 from what Tad tells me). Had the auction ended at 19,600, would they have still refused? How about 19,500? At what point would it have been good enough for them, and they could have made an exception? But I know had the auction ended at 25K, and I refused to pay, Im sure their lawyers would be all over me.
Not sure what Im going to do, but part of me feels I should pursue this on principle alone. But at the same time, I dont want to get too worked up, as these things might drag out, take time/money and make it a negative experience overall. I want to be happy getting a Genesis Coupe like some of the others on the board, ya know?
I'm sure this all sounds like a rerun of the BMW guys experience. Anyone else ever experience anything like this on ebay?
Please feel free to chime in.
I've also contacted Autoblog about this story, lets see if we can make some news on Autoblog like the BMW guys story.
Additional Comments, Jan 15th, 2010:
I've contacted the following internet news websites:
The Consumerist
Jalopnik: Obsessed With The Cult Of Cars
Autoblog as I mentioned above
I've contacted Hyundai Consumer Relations:
Case #3820414
Link to this thread has been posted on
http://www.hyundaithinktank.com
The Car Lounge Forums: Guy wins ebay auction but dealer refuses to sell car
Glenn Hyundai of Lexington Kentucky - Scream And Fly Powerboat and High Performance Powerboating Discussion Forums
I also found several similar stories:
School auctions off classroom trailer for $1, School and taxpayers devastated, but hands it over:
ebay, trailer, east stroudsburg, sold, school - WNEP
Mitsubishi EVO case (almost 7 years ago), buyer also won in the end:
VWvortex Forums: Guy wins new EVO for 26K on Ebay from shaddy dealer
Mark Mitsubishi in Scottsdale AZ makes me ashamed to be a "Mark" - NASIOC
For those wondering how my losses are relevant:
I was looking at several auctions, but this one seemed to be the one I was putting the most weight in wanting to win. I decided that if I am going to purchase a car, I'd better commit to one, because I have 7 days to go down there, inspect the car, and complete the transaction as it states on the listing. Therefore, I made all the preparations to travel there, take a week off from work, inspect the car, and purchase the car. If I did not win the auction, I was prepared to lose out on all the time and money I had spent to prepare for the purchase. Although, immediately after I could have bid on another vehicle so as to not lose out on all the time and preparations made. This is the risk you take in bidding on a car that you intend to purchase, but can be somewhat made up for as there is several vehicles on ebay that you can put that time and energy into. Had I won the auction, and had the seller held up his end of the deal, all my preparation and plans would have gone through as I made them. Since I did win the auction, and the dealer was not willing to allow me to purchase the vehicle, I have now lost all the time and money I spent in preparations, and instead spent the whole week off trying to figure out how/if I could still recover the vehicle I had rightfully won. All this was lost on the account of the dealer/seller.
Although, at this point I am not asking for reimbursement of my losses, I am only asking for what is rightfully mine.
You can contact the seller by clicking here:
http://contact.ebay.com/ebaymotors/...eSellerM2MFAQ_VI&redirect=0&requested=dunn928
I don't have the sellers (Tad Dunn, dunn928) email address, but I do have the following:
Website for dealership:
Glenn Auto Mall new, used Lexington cars, trucks and SUV's for sale in Lexington, Kentucky
Contact Info:
Glenn Hyundai
3340 Richmond Road
Lexington, KY 40509
Toll Free: 1-800-880-5020
Sales: 859-263-5020
Fax: 859-263-5248
Link to Glenn Hyundai staff (with some relevant info):
About Glenn Auto Mall Hyundai dealer in Lexington, Kentucky