Sleaze and stupidity are good words for this type of activity.

There is not looking at the paperwork, which is what all of my customers do because they trust me and then, really not looking at any of the paperwork. People never read the backside of a finance contract, but they certainly see or look at the description on the top page, you know the very first page that says what you are buying? I'm thinking this is a made up story. I always start by stating what they are buying, then the price, then any options or taxes, the total, interest rate, payments, etc. How can a car be delivered without stating the basics, forget the government BS and the backside legaleize. Did this guy just say, please sign here ! without a word about the transaction. Must be a Florida Thing. "Just Sign Here Folks and you can drive away!" This guy should put on a magic show!

It is kind of mind boggling that the customer didn't look at the paperwork as they were signing it. It is a bigger shame that this salesperson and sales manager let the customer think it was a 2014. That is very deceptive. I'm guessing if they took this to court, the customer will win this fight with a good attorney.

That dealer doesn't seem very concerned with repeat business. While it's true that it wasn't too bright on the customer's part to not read a contract, they did do something right:they they left a review, which will haunt the dealer when individuals (and potential customers) like Mark find it so easily online.

Just a thought. Did you interview the dealership to get their side if the story?

Of course, the actual reply online speaks for itself: Business Response On behalf of everyone at ABC Motors, we would like to extend our most sincere apologies for your experience. We strive for 100% customer satisfaction and we're sorry to hear that your recent visit did not meet your expectations. Your feedback will help us ensure that this experience doesn't happen again and we would like the opportunity to resolve this matter to your satisfaction. Please contact Jane Doe at 555-555-1212 so we can discuss options with you.

I have been involved in at least a hundred deals in which we arranged credit union financing, and I always called in the insurance as a service and to ensure the lender was protected in case it slipped the buyer's mind. The ONE THING I did NOT read here is that the buyer was TOLD it was a 2014. OF COURSE it is possible that the customer was intentionally misled, but a good friend hangs his hat on his best selling performance, in which his (very happy) customers asked, "what did we buy, again?". So buyers aren't always listening to the conversation in their excitement or apprehension. An error was made on both sides. Hopefully the dealership takes reasonable action to rectify the situation. The true measure of customer service is not being perfect, but HOW YOU RESPOND when a mistake is made...

Out of curiosity, WHY are we hiding the dealer name, if this actually happened?

Why hide the name of the dealer? I have learned over the years that most auto dealers do a good job of taking care of customers, and a few bad reviews are not a reason to "call-out" a dealer. For every negative review there are 50 happy customers so I saw no need to name this dealership. Did I contact the dealer to get their side of the story? No, the Internet doesn't work that way. Consumers will read reviews and choose to accept what they want to accept. It is incumbent on the dealer to make sure their customers share their experiences in a forum where the dealer can respond. In this case the dealer is using "canned" responses for virtually every negative review they get. (See Josh's post above).Dealers using these "blanket responses" do more harm to their reputation by showing the customer wasn't worth a personal response. If the post was not accurate, the dealer should have "delicately" posted a response to clarify what happened. We all know some customers have buyers remorse, are forgetful, and sometimes are just plain stupid. In our industry we need to constantly have a CYA process.

A Google search for the phrase: " They arranged the car insurance for me through my agent I thought they were being nice" only found this post on Driving Sales and not on any dealer review sites? When Sleaze Meets Stupidity | Mark Dubis | DrivingSales www.drivingsales.com/permalink/205380/‎ 22 hours ago - They arranged the car insurance for me through my agent I thought they were being nice but did they do it to keep me from seeing the car was a .

Hello Jay Prassel: I did a google search for a different phrase in his comments " When I called the Salesman, he said you signed the paper work! It’s my fault I just signed the papers where they told me to I did not read them. " and it DID bring me to a dealer site in Fort Myers, FL. So, I'm thinking he did complain. I have no way of knowing if they mislead him or what but it does appear to have happened there.

Thanks Mike for validating the posting of the review for Jay Prassel. Just curious Jay, why you thought this was a bogus posting? I like to think I'm a straight shooter, and that's why I adopted the Cowboy Code for our company's policy. http://ilovemycustomer.com/the-code/

@Mark, sorry, I did not mean to insinuate that you made up the post, but after reading it again, I understand. I shouldn't respond or post while getting on a plane. Thanks to Mike for finding it. Mark corrected the spelling of "arrange" to the correct verb of "arranged", which is why my Google search failed. Since I moved to Florida 18 months ago, I am stunned and disappointed by what I see for advertising by dealers along with some poor business practices. Just wait until the FTC and CFPB make a visit here. Some interesting articles: http://www.dealerbusinessjournal.com/articleview.php?id=422-83284 http://oncars.blogspot.com/2014/01/car-dealers-of-south-fla-beware-ftc-is.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPY-s_cjL7o Thanks to Mark and your efforts to help dealers.