Things that Stealerships do that might be illegal...

5IVE · 04-19-07, 10:13

I went in to purchase an 07 Honda Civic yesterday and test drove it, played around with it and such...The salesman was a VERY shady character though. He did the following that made me think twice...

He hand wrote one of those "I will buy the car I test drove VIN #### for $xx,xxx today." and he asked me to sign it. After I signed it and he turned it down. We didn't come to a deal so I asked for the paper with my signature on it. He refused and said that it was the dealer's property. Next I asked him to sign his name and write something like "not accepted". He refused. Finally I asked him to scratch out my signature, he then went on to ask me if I had test driven and why I test drove his car if I didn't wanna buy it! He did finally scratch it out in an angry manner. Now I have a few questions...

1) Can he even legally prepare a contract? He isn't an attorney, so he can't legally create a contract to which he is NOT a party. He's a salesman, not an agent of Honda.

2) Would this contract be held up in court or would it be void? (It only had 1 (my) signature.

3) I understand that the form is the property of Honda, however my signature is my property. No where on the form did it say mention anything about a test drive, so I don't know why he brought that up.

4) He also mentioned something about not having to disclose whether or not the car had been repainted or repaired until after a final price had been agreed on. I was under that impression that the dealer had to disclose material facts about the vehicle prior to negotiating a price.

I am not going back to this dealer, however if anyone could shed light on this I would really appreciate it. BTW this place is the best forum ever!

Coupe · 04-19-07, 10:33

I have never had that happen at any dealer.
They hand me the keys, i test drive, bring it back and tell them im not interested in this perticular vehicle.

Grimm · 04-19-07, 10:40

Sounds very shady to me. But what I want to know is why you would sign it in the first place?

5IVE · 04-19-07, 11:02

I've signed those statements a couple times before and I think the salesmen want to make sure that you are sincere in purchasing and dealing in good faith while negotiating. However, each dealership has simply handed me the sheets with my signatures on them (including a different Honda dealership). However, I think that it puts people on the spot and creates a sense of urgency which customers hate and dealership absolutely love.

velobard · 04-19-07, 11:09

I would never sign such a statement prior to making a final decision to buy the car for a specific price and would walk right out the door if they insisted.

paul34 · 04-19-07, 11:19

leave that dealership, go to another dealership, and then write a bad review about the shady dealership on your local Civic message board. A good salesman never pressures you and will always accomodate you. Looks like you got the "bottom of the barrel" type...

firegate · 04-19-07, 11:38

Another shady story for you - Toyota of Santa Cruz has a 2000 Solara SE on their lot. Except it's badged as a Solara SLE. It's clearly an SE - manual AC controls, cloth interior, manual seats, basically none of the options that are standard on the SLE package. But they're using the bluebook on an SLE to price it. I let the guys know when I saw it, but it hasn't been marked differently at all since then.

blackcaraddict · 04-19-07, 12:11

I have no idea why they say there are three things at the bottom of the ocean: sharks, lawyers and car salesmen.

They are high school flunkies without any real skills besides knowing how to con people.

lecchilo · 04-19-07, 12:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5IVE

I went in to purchase an 07 Honda Civic yesterday and test drove it, played around with it and such...The salesman was a VERY shady character though. He did the following that made me think twice...

He hand wrote one of those "I will buy the car I test drove VIN #### for $xx,xxx today." and he asked me to sign it. After I signed it and he turned it down. We didn't come to a deal so I asked for the paper with my signature on it. He refused and said that it was the dealer's property. Next I asked him to sign his name and write something like "not accepted". He refused. Finally I asked him to scratch out my signature, he then went on to ask me if I had test driven and why I test drove his car if I didn't wanna buy it! He did finally scratch it out in an angry manner. Now I have a few questions...

1) Can he even legally prepare a contract? He isn't an attorney, so he can't legally create a contract to which he is NOT a party. He's a salesman, not an agent of Honda.

2) Would this contract be held up in court or would it be void? (It only had 1 (my) signature.

3) I understand that the form is the property of Honda, however my signature is my property. No where on the form did it say mention anything about a test drive, so I don't know why he brought that up.

4) He also mentioned something about not having to disclose whether or not the car had been repainted or repaired until after a final price had been agreed on. I was under that impression that the dealer had to disclose material facts about the vehicle prior to negotiating a price.

I am not going back to this dealer, however if anyone could shed light on this I would really appreciate it. BTW this place is the best forum ever!

I'm no lawyer but afaik....

1. you can prepare any contract you want and it's the signature that makes it legal/valid

2. I think it's a 50/50 in court. There is a VIN # and a price, but there's nothing saying who you will buy it from or when... unless that "today" comes into play and means "right after the test drive today"

3. I don't know why he brought up the test drive either... it's exactly that, a TEST drive, and you're in no way obligated to purchasing it

4. That's the biggest crap I've ever heard... it's the other way around. You should know everything about the vehicle before any price is finalized.

Hopefully someone with a law background will chime in

5IVE · 04-19-07, 12:42

yeah if someone knows the law that would really help. I just don't understand why purchasing a car is such a hassle. Even buying a home doesn't involve this type of pressure! Cars just have niche of their own whether its a dealership or mechanic. However I was under the understanding that someone who is not an attorney cannot draft a contract for an agreement to which he is not a party to. If the saleman actually owns the car, then that's a different story, but since he's not selling *his* car, he can't draft anything on either parties behalf.

BlueZero · 04-19-07, 01:09

Don't get caught up in their games. Don't sign anything you don't want to. As others have mentioned, a test drive is just that, a test. If you feel that they are pressuring you, leave and go to a different dealer. Remember it is not them that is doing you a favor, it is you that is keeping them in business. I drive down the road and I see car lot after car lot packed full of cars, trust me, you can afford to be picky.

CkretAjint · 04-19-07, 01:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by velobard

I would never sign such a statement prior to making a final decision to buy the car for a specific price and would walk right out the door if they insisted.

I would never sign ANYTHING like that to test drive a car, much less a Civic. If you, the dealer, does't want to let me test drive it I will just turn around and walk out. I am dumping $15k+ into a vehicle of MY CHOICE, your not the one pressuring me into anything. They don't know my life, my needs, my wants or my financial situation. There is NO WAY they can FORCE me to purchase a car.... EVER, or sign some dumb peice of paper (unless the contract

)!