It seems when my wife and I did our Cash for Clunkers trade last Monday the dealership forgot to have us sign one of the many forms they need to be reimbursed from the government.
I get a call at 8:30 this morning from my salesperson telling me this. Ok, no big deal the dealership is close to where I work. I'm off today, and have things to do, but figure I will go in tomorrow on my way to work and sign the papers. So...I get a voicemail on my cell phone two hours later telling me that if I didn't get my ass up to the dealership pronto (implied) my wife and I would need (be forced) to reimburse the dealership it's $4500.
I can't begin to tell you how upset I am at this. I don't think they could have done anything to us legally anyway, I just feel this was bad business for them to throw down on us like that.
I think we will write the owner a letter telling them how we feel.

 

I agree that was poor customer service! Especially when it was their fault the correct papers were not presented. Honda dealerships in my opinion lack in overall customer service.

 

That is NOT cool. They should give you a reasonable amount of time before making such statements. It's not like they haven't heard from you in 2 week... it's been 2 frikkin hours.

I would definitely write to the owner and let them know how you feel.

myke

 

Yeah, that's pretty piss poor service.

Which form did they forget?

Did you get any scrap value money out of them?

If not, tell them you called some scrapyards, and the value was $200.
When they give you your $150, you'll sign their form.

 

Screw them. I'd contact a lawyer to see if they can legally require you to reimburse them. If not, then I'd be demanding they change the tone pronto if they wanted my signature.

I'm am not for screwing the dealer over, but leaving a voicemail like that would certainly make me take my time about it. I think I'd probably be demanding to talk to the owner at the least.

Oh, save that voicemail - just in case.

 

I have a dealer "working on" a C4C deal on a Fit but I expect it to fall through. Your story is bad but mine is worse (ha! ha!) here's my experience so far with the government's intrusion into the auto business (BTW: nothing from Toyota on this yet either, I think that Toyota and Honda don't really want to get involved with C4C - just waiting to try to get a more profitable deal from me when the program is over...) To: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. 19001 South Western Ave. Dept. WC11 Torrance, CA 9050 Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing to inform you that the incompetence of one of your dealers, Vanderstyne Toyota-Scion in Rochester, NY has cost Toyota Motor Company a sale! Early in the week of July 20-24, 2009 my wife and I drove a new 2009 Toyota Yaris 2-door at Vanderstyne. We also drove a Honda Fit at a nearby Honda dealer and decided we liked the Toyota better than the Honda. The Yaris we drove had some expensive options that we did not want but the salesman, Jay Vanderstyne, assured us that he could locate a “dealer-trade” with pretty much the equipment we wanted and would be able to close a deal with us on July 24th under the US Government “Car Allowance Rebate System” (CARS Program) that was to go into effect on that date. On the 24th Mr. Vanderstyne contacted me via E-mail to let me know that he had located a vehicle that would meet our specifications. (The E-mail included an invoice for the vehicle providing detailed information about the equipment, pricing, and even the color and VIN for the vehicle.) I replied to his E-mail immediately making him an offer on the car and he accepted my offer and confirmed that they were prepared to begin processing the deal under the CARS Program immediately. I gathered all the paperwork I thought would be required for the government (Mr. Vanderstyne was not specific at all about what was needed other than a check in the amount of $500 as a deposit!) and went right in to the dealership to complete a Purchase Agreement. At the time my Purchase Agreement was completed I provided Mr. Vanderstyne with my New York State DMV Registration for the (CARS Program eligible) car I was trading, my NYS Driver’s License, and my current NYS Insurance ID card to photocopy for documentation under the CARS Program. I also handed him my original copy of my NYS Certificate of Title showing no liens or encumbrances on the vehicle – he also photocopied that and returned all the original documents to me. Mr. Vanderstyne then informed me that I should be able to take delivery of my new Toyota on Monday or Tuesday (July 27th or 28th, 2009) and that he would be in touch if he needed any further information. On Monday July 27th, 2009 I went to my Bank and drew a Cashier’s Check in the full amount of the outstanding balance for the transaction shown on the Purchase Agreement so as to be prepared to take delivery of the car the following day. On Tuesday, July 27th, 2009 Mr. Vanderstyne called to indicate that they were “having some problems” with the CARS Program process and that they would need me to FAX or E-mail them additional proof that my vehicle had been insured for the past twelve months. (My policy renews in May and the current Insurance ID Card I had provided to them initially only indicated coverage from the period May 2009 to present. He said they needed additional proof that the car was covered under my name during the period July 2008 to May 2009.) I was able to E-mail him a digital copy of my May 2008 to May 2009 Insurance ID and he confirmed receipt immediately via telephone. Mr. Vanderstyne told me at that point that I should be able to take delivery of my new Toyota on Wednesday July 29th or Thursday July 30th. He indicated that, if they were unable to complete all the detailed transactions required for the CARS Program on the 29th, he would call me on the 30th to give me an “update” on the status of the process. Having not heard from the dealership by mid-day on July 30th, I called Mr. Vanderstyne to find out what was going-on with our deal. He explained that they were still “having problems” with the CARS Program and that they would also need the original copy of my NYS Certificate of Title in order to complete the process.(The document is printed in such a way that it cannot be accurately copied with a photocopier as a protection against fraudulent reproduction.). I E-mailed him a high quality color image of my Certificate of Title but he indicated that it would not be sufficient and I agreed to meet him when they opened for business on the morning of July 31st to hand-over my original Certificate of Title. He assured me at that time that I would be able to take delivery of the new Toyota by 3PM on Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at the latest. As you know, the US Government put a “HOLD” on the CARS Program at midnight on July 30th, 2009 because they felt more deals were in-process than had been budgeted for. I was becoming very concerned at that point that Vanderstyne Toyota-Scion had somehow bungled the processing of my deal under the Program. Even though I signed my Purchase Agreement with them on the FIRST DAY OF THE PROGRAM they had been unable to close the deal in a week. I had provided them with every piece of documentation that was required of me at the time I signed the original Purchase Agreement. So many deals had already been approved that the government was putting a HOLD on the Program, yet the promised delivery date for my new Toyota had been pushed back 3 times and they were asking me to bring back a piece of documentation that I had given them on Day One! Something is clearly wrong here and I am not liking the looks of it! After waiting for Mr. Vanderstyne at his desk for a half-hour after the time he indicated he would be there on the morning of July 31st, I asked him if I could see the car that they had obtained for me. He said “Sure, let me get the keys. It’s right out in back.”, to which I replied, “Good, because I intend to leave your property today with either a refund of my deposit on the deal or at the wheel of my new Toyota!” He responded that it would be impossible for me to take the car that day because they had not yet succeeded in completing the paperwork to satisfy the CARS Program without my original Certificate of Title. That is where you lost your sale. I informed him that I would prefer to have my deposit refunded and he produced a copy of a hand-written request that a check be mailed to me, but first he commented that, “If we let you take that car now it would leave us “holding the bag” for the $4500 (CARS Program allowance on the deal).” Only an hour before my exchange with Mr. Vanderstyne, I heard the President of the Rochester (NY) Automobile Dealers Association state in a live local TV News interview that the CARS Program DID, in fact, require the Dealer to “hold the bag” for the government allowance BY DESIGN in order to simplify the process for the customer! I thought at that point I had finally gotten to the bottom of the problem and that Vanderstyne Toyota-Scion had been trying to “stall” the deal until they could have the money from the government in-hand, but there was more! I mentioned at the beginning of this story that Mr. Vanderstyne had E-mailed me a copy of the invoice for the car I was supposedly purchasing and that it provided significant detail on that vehicle. The color stated on the Invoice I received was “Meterorite Metallic” (Gray), as I left the Vanderstyne property I drove around the back and I saw only one 2009 Yaris 2-door there – a white one! I now suspect that, along with their business incompetence (or sheer audacious greed!) in negotiating the details of the government CARS Program (and/or “stalling” me until they had the government allowance they did not want to “hold the bag” for) the process had been complicated by their inability to obtain the “dealer trade” for the car they had originally offered to me. White is, in fact, not my favorite color, but that is not the point – and there is even more to the story… I went directly to the local Honda dealer and told a salesman there my story. On the prospect that the CARS Program will be re-started soon, I gave him all the documentation that would be needed to make a purchase from them at that point. He copied everything except my Certificate of Title, indicating that it would not be required unless and until we were ready to close a deal. (I honestly prefer the Toyota Yaris to the competitive Honda Fit. Vanderstyne Toyota, though, is the only Toyota dealership within a reasonable distance from my home – a consideration I feel is important in order for me to meet all the service requirements under the Toyota new car warranty. When Vanderstyne failed to close this deal, Toyota, unfortunately, lost a sale.) About an hour after I returned home my wife took a phone call from the “Business Manager" at Vanderstyne Toyota-Scion. In the course of trying to convince her that I should reconsider my decision to give-up on the deal, he asserted that the salesman had originally promised me a delivery date of August 7th or 8th on my new Toyota. That is entirely untrue and I feel it was highly unethical of him to lie to my wife about that! If it were true that I had been told it would take that long to complete the deal why was I getting calls every two days promising another delivery date prior to August 7th? (And why would I have been asked to wait so long for a vehicle that was already on their lot?) The answer to both the foregoing questions is, obviously, that Vanderstyne wanted my original NYS Certificate of Title in order to “game” the CARS System and get their cash from the government in-hand before transferring ownership of a new Toyota to me! I respectfully suggest that, should Toyota Motor Company find that you need to terminate your relationship with any of your US dealers due to business conditions (As have GM and Chrysler) you move Vanderstyne Toyota-Scion’s name to the top of the list! You have been disgraced by association with such an incompetent and/or unscrupulous operation, and I know that the Toyota people in Japan would be mortified to hear that! I thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I wish there were something else I could suggest that you could do to rectify this situation but I have no ideas at this time. Please feel free to call me for clarification or further discussion of any of the information I am providing in this letter.

 

seems like this cash for clunkers deal has had people up in arms. epic fail for the usa.

and mr5by5, you need to add some cliffs to that. no one is going to read that ridiculously long post.

 

^^Holy large post, batman!!^^

 

Give them a bad evaluation on the survey.

I skipped that wall of text.

 

wow that post is crazy!

 

Thank you for your support mr5by5. I am sorry for all the troubles you have had. Just curious, did you write all of your response in just the last half hour? To everyone else, this post is not a condemination of the Cash for Clunkers program, it simply a frustration with how the dealer reacted to their inability to do the proper paperwork. Not my problem.

 

holy... add kicks in after the first line lol

 

leaving a message like that after only 2 hours is pretty uncalled for. They made a mistake and if you talked to them and told them you where busy and would stop buy first thing tomorrow I dont see how that would be a problem. Save that message and hopfuly you will hear something from the owner.

 

well this was probably right around when they announced the suspension of the program so the stealership had to get the paperwork before the deadline to get their money. this is a dumb program. it is rewarding people for making shitty decisions. no rebate for the people who have been buying fuel efficient cars for years so i dont care if this isnt a condemning thread about cash for clunkers I AM CONDEMNING IT!!!

 

sounds good with me it's a stupid idea, plus all vehicles traded in can't be resold how is that good for the environment!?

 

not to mention they are using super toxic chemicals to kill the engines.

 

the whole idea is they can't be resold, it's supposed to help automakers and get guzzlers exchanged for fuel efficient cars... if they really wanted to do it right they would have had it apply to used cars.

 

i agree kelsey btw that sig made jizz in my pants

 

 

kelsodeezs, I'm glad that you are on the forefront of fuel conservation.
I have tried to be more fuel efficient by us buying a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta tdi five years ago. I bought the 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee three years ago from a good friend of mine that had kept it well maintained. It was not the car that I wanted but it served a purpose and I only put 7000 miles on it a year.
Now we have the Jetta giving us an average mpg of 45 and the Fit at what we hope will be 35 mpg or better.
I was not some d**k swinging Hummer driver so maybe you can cut me some slack. The cash for clunkers program is doing some positive stuff. Did I forget to thank you for all you have done to conserve energy. Thanks.