I thought I would respond with a similar response to a previous topic....a little background to the situation.....Was looking for an IS350 in Houston, couldnt find one, ordering takes 3 months....so I track the exact model/color/options/etc. down in Santa Monica....BINGO! Thought I would have the same enjoyable Lexus dealer response that I got in Houston...you know..the one that a dealer actually goes out of their way to try and make a sale and treat the customer like they are numero uno...
So this sales manager (Matt Unger) and I work out the deal with shipping and everything figured out and I put down $1K to reserve the car so no one else comes in and gets it. (He actually tried to get me to put down $5K but I told him he was crazy and he agreed to $1K) So today when he demands the check be in his hand before he will ship the car rather than verification from USAA that the loan was approved (last time I checked a pretty reputable organization). Not a completely insane notion...I can see his point that out of state I could be running a scam, but my point is that after signing and mailing the check I am paying interest and principal on this car before it is even shipped. And once it gets here the thing could be damaged in some form. I guess the dealer wins on this argument, but the thing that really got me was the second they billed me for the $1K, this guy turned into the biggest raging prick, threatening to just "go sell the car to someone else" or saying that if I "dont like it then I can go buy it in Houston and wait 3 months"...etc, etc and just being a real !Removed! about the whole situation. I really am not doing his nonsense justice, but his tone and antagonistic attitude really got me steaming....
Am I out of line in my thinking here or are these normal requirements for out of state purchases? Never bought out of state before and maybe this is typical. What I think is not typical is that this guy came off as being such a huge !Removed! while completely holding the deal over my head. In any other situation I would have told the guy to go blow it out his !Removed!, but I do want this car before 3 months. Obviously he knows the same thing. Dont want to tick the guy off before the car is in my hands so he cant do anything to screw the car up, but I for damn sure want to make sure I let everyone know not to go to Santa Monica Lexus....the sales manager there is truly a *BLEEP* who was taking advantage of the fact that everything had to take place over the phone and not face to face and they will never have to worry about any repeat business or service from me anyway in one week....true colors always shine through!
Down with Santa Monica Lexus - if you live in Cali. (or anywhere else for that matter - dont give them your business).
Whewww!