Bad news for my Telluride hunt - a word of warning

[natetom]

Good evening folks, I just wanted to share my recent setback in the Great Telly Hunt - maybe it can help others. I found this forum a few weeks ago and within a few days had a deposit in with a dealer 3 hours from me. SX-P and Tow, and my top choice of color combos. To top it off, I was given a good trade in price. This specific Telly wasn't an order, but I had managed to snag one of their allotment (due in early Oct.) so I was feeling really great. I put a deposit down to hold it and sent them my trade in info and even filled out a credit application for Kia financing at their request. Later I learned I probably shouldn't have done that this far out but I figured the financing application would be valid for 90 days so I wasn't too worried. After about a week of not hearing back from the dealership or Kia financing I emailed the sales manager (no response) and then followed up with a voicemail a few days later (also no response). I let it slide for a bit and then finally messaged the person I'd originally been dealing with today (total time since deposit is 11 days). I got an ominous response to my query about "why haven't I heard back about my financing application and are we good to go?"...their response was "my manager will call you soon". RIP! Of course I got no call, but I did get an email about 2 hours later from another sales manager (previously unknown to me). Turns out, the dealership had already taken a deposit on "my" car two days prior to me and the first sales person never marked it as on hold. So now obviously my deposit was meaningless from the very start (Aug 1st). Not only did they run my car for the deposit (which was fine at the time, I agreed to it) but as far as I know they did a credit inquiry (also fine, if they hadn't botched the deposit). So now I'm w/o a valid deposit for a Telluride. Even worse, I've passed on TWO comparable Tellurides in the past several days figuring that "my" Telluride was secure. Lesson learned!

My advice - ask the follow up questions (or ask them 4 times instead of 2 like I did). At some point I have to just trust people and take them at their word but in this case it pays to make extra sure that the dealership can indeed hold that car for you. In this competitive market, make sure you are dealing with competent and reputable dealers and make sure you the car you are putting a deposit on is free and clear. To their credit, this dealer will try to make this right. I'm waiting for a call from them tomorrow to see how we proceed but right now I feel like I got kicked in the stomach by a mule I wasted nearly two weeks thinking I had a sure thing locked in when the whole time, that Telly was earmarked for someone else. I'm hopeful this situation works out. Anyway, good luck out there!

 

[Frankie Knuckles]

That sucks man. Don’t get too down. There are more opportunities and for what I am seeing, many on here showing Telly’s for sale at MSRP. Good luck and hang in there!

 

[natetom]

That sucks man. Don’t get too down. There are more opportunities and for what I am seeing, many on here showing Telly’s for sale at MSRP. Good luck and hang in there!

Yep, definitely. More pop up that I'm after every few days. Just stinks that I *turned other ones down* lol.

 

[markjenn]

This sort of thing is all too common. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, but 90% of the time, they simply strung you along waiting for another buyer willing to spend more. Who knows, maybe ten people were in line to buy "your car" and they simply chose the one with the most profit margin.

Just a patently ridiculous buying process.

- Mark

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[natetom]

This sort of thing is all too common. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, but 90% of the time, they simply strung you along waiting for another buyer willing to spend more. Who knows, maybe ten people were in line to buy "your car" and they simply chose the one with the most profit margin.

Just a patently ridiculous buying process.

- Mark

That's possible I'm sure, but this dealership sells at MSRP. Of course I'm not privy to their sales figures but cynical me agrees with you

 

[ccorry21]

This sort of thing is all too common. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, but 90% of the time, they simply strung you along waiting for another buyer willing to spend more. Who knows, maybe ten people were in line to buy "your car" and they simply chose the one with the most profit margin.

Just a patently ridiculous buying process.

- Mark

I’m honestly surprised we’re not hearing more stories along these lines in this forum. Given all the shady stories out of car dealerships, I’m impressed that most dealers seem to be honoring refundable deposits vs trying to pit buyers against each other.

 

[Syd]

As @natetom warns, be careful relying on a dealer who does not call you back and treat you like they want your business. Either before or shortly after giving your credit card info for a deposit, ask for a written quote detailing the vehicle price including dealer fees. If the dealer won't do this, then something is wrong. Getting financing is very quick and there is no reason to give out your personal information to a dealer so far in advance of the delivery of the vehicle. Financing deals are not locked in until close to delivery anyway.

 

[natetom]

As @natetom warns, be careful relying on a dealer who does not call you back and treat you like they want your business. Either before or shortly after giving your credit card info for a deposit, ask for a written quote detailing the vehicle price including dealer fees. If the dealer won't do this, then something is wrong. Getting financing is very quick and there is no reason to give out your personal information to a dealer so far in advance of the delivery of the vehicle. Financing deals are not locked in until close to delivery anyway.

I'll point out that the dealer *did* give me this. They didn't have a VIN since the vehicle was 60 days out but I had a quote that listed the sale price, taxes, dealer fee, trade in value and my final out the door price. I had all that within a day of first contact so I was feeling very secure. That leads me to believe it truly was a mistake. Lesson learned re: financing though.

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[Syd]

Does sound like someone at the dealership made a mistake -- but, they didn't have the nerve to admit it initially...

 

[iTELLuWHAT_]

Not the same situation, but something happened to me in a similar vain. I got everything put together on a Telluride that had just arrived at Kia. The salesperson is someone I had talked to for awhile and told him my interest in the Telluride. He called me the morning of that the Telly was available to test drive. I would never not test drive a vehicle before buying it.

I get to the Dealership and the salesperson tells me I'm the first person there to see it. He says 'Normally, if you want a test drive, we just take insurance. But because this vehicle moves so quick, we want to get the financials and trade in put together before." I know this is a trick to get financial paperwork done, but I also knew it was necessary. I was 99% interested in driving this vehicle off the lot that day.

I get the paperwork done, he gets the keys from his manager. We go for a drive. And in the freaking 20 minutes that I was gone from the dealership, the vehicle freaking SOLD. No joke. The sales rep and I were shocked. The cynical side thought this was all a trick, but my rep like profusely apologized. I mean he lost out on a sale that day too. He even said to me, "We would NEVER, EVER, NEVER EVER let you test drive a car that was sold."

So that was that

 

[jw_tx21]

And in the freaking 20 minutes that I was gone from the dealership, the vehicle freaking SOLD.

Very possible, as people are buying them sight unseen, and salespeople don't always communicate at dealerships. Next time, put a refundable deposit down and get a sales contract ready with a sales manager before going on a test drive. Then, if you're happy with it, buy it. If not, get your deposit back. The deposit is necessary to hold the vehicle so they can hold it as sold pending a test drive.

 

[Frankie Knuckles]

Not the same situation, but something happened to me in a similar vain. I got everything put together on a Telluride that had just arrived at Kia. The salesperson is someone I had talked to for awhile and told him my interest in the Telluride. He called me the morning of that the Telly was available to test drive. I would never not test drive a vehicle before buying it.

I get to the Dealership and the salesperson tells me I'm the first person there to see it. He says 'Normally, if you want a test drive, we just take insurance. But because this vehicle moves so quick, we want to get the financials and trade in put together before." I know this is a trick to get financial paperwork done, but I also knew it was necessary. I was 99% interested in driving this vehicle off the lot that day.

I get the paperwork done, he gets the keys from his manager. We go for a drive. And in the freaking 20 minutes that I was gone from the dealership, the vehicle freaking SOLD. No joke. The sales rep and I were shocked. The cynical side thought this was all a trick, but my rep like profusely apologized. I mean he lost out on a sale that day too. He even said to me, "We would NEVER, EVER, NEVER EVER let you test drive a car that was sold."

So that was that

I’d be pissed. What a tease

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