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Driving Miss Crazy!!!!
MY STEP DAD, (a former car salesman) once told me: "All car deals are bad. It's just that some are worse than others!"
Boy, no truer words were said in a joke, huh? Well, I'm sure we've all had nightmare stories about a car-buying experience. And, I just had another one recently, as well.
It went like this: My girlfriend and I were on the hunt for a specific type of Chevrolet "pre-owned" vehicle. (I think that means "used," right? ) We happened to be driving by a Ford dealership down in the southeast part of the valley and spotted the EXACT car we were looking for. We were in a hurry and didn't stop that day but I found the car on the dealership Web site the following Sunday and we learned that the car was still available when I called over there on Monday morning (9/11). After doing some due diligence we found that the asking price for the car was in line with our budget and was actually better than prices we'd found on similar vehicles locally and on the web. So, we decided to buy the car and actually agreed to the ASKING PRICE. (Yup, we took it with no bartering cause the dealership told us "that was as low as they could go and they only cleared a $500 handling and maintenance fee.) So, when we went down on the 13th (Wednesday) to finalize the deal…the nightmare began. We were made to wait well over an hour to see the finance guy. We found out that the previous owner still had the second key and the owner's manual and that we would "have to make an appointment with a Chevy dealer to get said manual and key." (Yes, apparently they wanted us to do their work for them.) When we finally got in to see the finance guy we told him we were financing through our credit union and gave him and all fax information.
Fast forward two weeks: We STILL don't have an owner's manual or a second key. And, get THIS: When we called to find out why we hadn't got the 'green slip' necessary to get the car registered we were told that they "couldn't get in touch with us after repeated attempts and FINANCED THE CAR THROUGH ONE OF THEIR BANKS!" I can tell you with absolutely certainty that NO ONE from their finance department has called us since the day we drove off with the car. (BTW—they usually give you some sort of orientation when you pick up a car, right? We were given our solitary key and were told: "Here you go!")
So, now we STILL have to get a key, an owner's manual AND get the car refinanced through our credit union. Needless to say; we won't be a repeat customer of that Ford dealership.
Finally, as a member of the local media, I want to be sure and let you know that I'm sharing this experience with you as a private consumer, and not as a representative or agent of Channel 3. (Don't want these folks to yank any ads off the airwaves simply cause they jacked me and my girlfriend around!) But, I will be glad to let you know specific names and places if you'd like to contact me personally!
Good luck out there!! 
John Fredericks
Chief Meteorologist
News 3 Sunrise/Noon
KVBC TV-3 NBC Las Vegas, NV
www.Paws-Across-America.com
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