Topic: 'Happy Honda' dealership - bait and switch

[drumix]

I recently saw a Happy Honda website posting for a used 2005 Honda civic located at Happy Honda dealership on Hastings in Burnaby, BC. I thought I would drop by without an appointment as it was close to work.

The car was not yet available for viewing but I was told it was in the shop for safety inspection and detailing. The dealer stated they were having 'problems' with their website and that the car should not have been listed (yet). Of course, I was welcome to have a look at some of the other cars in the meantime. This is stage two of the ploy..the first stage was getting me in the door..

I saw another possible car candidate however I wanted to see the car listed on the website. The dealer told me that they would contact me when it was ready. Two days later, I receive the confirmation...so I dropped by once again with an appointment for a test drive. At this point the car was no longer listed on the web but I still had a print out..now I know why the dealer was lightly surprised by that..

The car I came to see was dirty inside and out, scratched, had mismatched tires, junk in the trunk AND was the wrong model..no joke. The dealer acted surprised and told me 'they' must have thought this was the car I wanted when i really wanted the listed car. Huh?..She wasn't a very good liar or she is truly dimwitted and doesn't understand the concept of STOCK NUMBER. Regardless, even an inexperienced dealer should always inspect the condition/status of the car and stock number before presenting to a customer.

The dealer supposedly investigated and found out very quickly that the car listed on the Happy Honda website was already sold by the manager. How is this possible so quickly and without detection?...simply because it was another lie..

Longer story short, this was without question a classic "Bait & Switch"; where a good product for a good price is advertised simply to get people in the door..the advertised product is then switched with a less desirable model or condition. The potential buyer is then guided to the product(s) that the sales department are trying to get rid of (for whatever reason). Well the first part worked..but no sale thank you very much.

Call me naive..but..I did take advantage of the situation once I realized what happed..I went for a test drive on their clock knowing full well that I will NOT have any further dealings with Happy Honda (Burnaby, BC).

Of course the dealership denies any wrongful doing which i totally understand because this is a form of fraud and just bad business..

I hope this helps, good luck to all!

Regards
Unhappy Happy Honda visitor

[1TSX]

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Another one is when a dealer advertises a car for an OK price...customer comes, and the dealer says that the price was a mistake, and that its actually listed higher, but would sell at that mistaken lower price, tricking the customer into a "good deal". 

[The Mighty Duck]

The car I came to see was dirty inside and out, scratched, had mismatched tires, junk in the trunk AND was the wrong model..no joke.

If I went to see a car and it was in that condition, I'd be on my way. Terrible...

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Anyone with any sense. Why wouldn't a business take advantage of a free advertising platform that they know loads of potential customers are using?

[initial_D]

Walk in, not seeing what came to see, walk out.

Perhaps the OP likes dangled carrots ... ??

[1TSX]

The car I came to see was dirty inside and out, scratched, had mismatched tires, junk in the trunk AND was the wrong model..no joke.

If I went to see a car and it was in that condition, I'd be on my way. Terrible...

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Anyone with any sense. Why wouldn't a business take advantage of a free advertising platform that they know loads of potential customers are using?

Doesn't seem very professional to me.

[toolatecrew]

Classic dealer training. When I sold cars in the early 90s (far before Craigslist :-) we were told in no uncertain terms that to allow a customer to leave without at least SEEING a car was to lose your job. Our used car inventory was fairly limited but it wasn't unusual to try to convince a customer that that used Tercel hatch had tons of cargo room if you fold down the seat and they didn't need that used Minivan that was advertised but sold.

We'd get their number and info becuase "we get cars like that on trade all the time but they go fast" then call them constantly with every car that came in even if it wasn't close.

[initial_D]

The car I came to see was dirty inside and out, scratched, had mismatched tires, junk in the trunk AND was the wrong model..no joke.

If I went to see a car and it was in that condition, I'd be on my way. Terrible...

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Anyone with any sense. Why wouldn't a business take advantage of a free advertising platform that they know loads of potential customers are using?

Doesn't seem very professional to me.

OK. Used Car sales, .... and Professionalism ... Different ends of the spectrum. An Oxymoron?

[drumix]

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Thanks to '2Hondas' for your response. It helped me realize I made a mistake in my original post.

Correction: In my original post I mentioned 'Craigslist' when I actually discovered the car on Happy Honda's website via 'auto123.com' - NOT Craigslist. All other details are accurate. I will make the changes in the original post...

Cheers

[1TSX]

The car I came to see was dirty inside and out, scratched, had mismatched tires, junk in the trunk AND was the wrong model..no joke.

If I went to see a car and it was in that condition, I'd be on my way. Terrible...

Ha. What kind of new car dealer would advertise on Craigslist anyway? 

Anyone with any sense. Why wouldn't a business take advantage of a free advertising platform that they know loads of potential customers are using?

Doesn't seem very professional to me.

OK. Used Car sales, .... and Professionalism ... Different ends of the spectrum. An Oxymoron?

All of the sketchy used car dealers around here use Kijiji and Craigslist, not new car dealers.

drumix, thanks for the correction.