Automotive Forums

Not only does the dealer appear to be cheating us out of $1500 difference in final price, but they appear to be cheating Automotive.com out of their commission or fee.  I started my purchase transaction at Automotive.com.  

It would help my dispute if I knew exactly when Automotive.com forwarded my quote request to Bob King Hyundai in Winston Salem, NC? The dealer claims they didn't get it until over two days later. It would also help if I knew what clause(s) in your agreement with this dealer require the dealer to pay you your commission, if I FIRST started the transaction at your Website.  

Since your Website promised 60 second quotes and that dealers would get the request immediately, I assumed that the dealer knew we started our search for a new car at your Website.  No one at the Bob King Hyundai dealership asked if we had already submitted a request through the Internet or not.  I had no receipt from your Website with instructions to give it to them either.

On Tues, 9/19/6, at about 8:50 AM, I shopped for toyotas and hyundais at your website.  For both brands, I submitted price requests for dealers in the Mount Airy, NC area, since I was at the Mayberry Motor Inn in Mount Airy.  Your Website states that dealers are immediately notified of requests for quotes and promise 60 second quotes.  When I didn't receive immediate quotes, I went to the toyota dealer across the street.  Later in the day, I went to Bob King Hyundai in Winston Salem, where my wife and I both thought we were getting a 2007 Hyundai SE for a base price of $19500 less $1500 rebate according to a working paper shown to us by the salesman.  I assumed that since you automatically notified dealers in the area, that the dealer would have already had my request at hand.  So, we signed the paperwork for the car after hours of looking, test driving and discussions, without dinner, at 9:30PM.  I specifically asked the Finance Manager for the salesman's paper on which he wrote down and showed us the negotiated base price of $19500 and below that the rebate of $1500.  I asked for that, in case there was any switcheroo in price, since my wife and I were both very fatigued.  The Finance Manager promised that the paper would be included with the other papers we signed. At noon on Thursday, 9/21/6, an email from Bob King Hyundai quoted us a final price of $17497, which was what I thought we paid.  However, when I checked the paperwork from the dealer, I saw that the base price was 21000, not 19500, meaning a price loss to us of $1500.  When I pointed out to the Sales Manager by phone that day or the next the discrepancy, he said we didn't submit our request for internet pricing, until after we bought the car.  He refused to honor the Internet quote or provide the missing paper from the salesman with the quote given to us Tuesday night.  I told the sales manager that my PC’s internet browser validates that I submitted my request to your website at about 8:50A Tuesday morning, 9/19/6, which was many hours before we bought the car or arrived at their dealership.  However, he ignored ***

Bob King Hyundai didn't tell us about the 1.9% financing option, although we asked about same.  According to the papers, they also collected 7% NC state sales tax, although obviously they knew that we were from PA and they knew we would have to pay PA state sales tax to register the car in PA.  They also charged us a fee to register in NC and a whopping $399 delivery & handling charge in addition to the freight & handling charge on the sticker.  They were supposed to either not collect the sales tax or mark it as PA tax on the papers.  So, do we now have to pay 7% sales taxes to both PA and NC?  Will they simply pocket the tax they collected or pay it to NC or PA?  

We here at Bob King Hyundai understand the customers feelings, but stand behind the automotive deal provided.
The customer purchased his vehicle from our dealership on 9/19/2006 and agreed to all pricing at the time of his visit, and signed all paperwork at at the time of delivery of his vehicle.
The customers internet inquiry was thru a 3rd party lead provider, in this instance I-motors.com, the inquiry was received by I-motors and dated 9/20/2006 at 8:09pm. A day after the deal was finalized.  The information was verified by the 3rd party provider via their protocals and was sent into our contact management system on 9/21/2006 at 11:45 am.  The customers price quote was sent out on 9/21/2006 at 12 noon.  This was two days after the agreed upon purchase and delivery of the customers vehicle.
Each and evey vehicle deal is approached individualy at our dealership.  The customer walked into our showroom and was treated fairly as all our customers are when visiting the dealership.

Our $399 doc fees are clearly shown on our website and were explained at the time of the deal to the customer and are also included on the bill of sale. NC Sales tax rate is 3%, but as the customer lives out of state a sales tax of 7%( the sales tax rate required in the state of PA) was collected and remitted to PA as is required the banking contract.  

The customer chose the rebate in leiu of the APR deal available thru Hyundai Motor Credit at the time of his purchase.

Our General Sales Manager explained all this to the customer after he recieved an internet price on 9/21/2006 and called us to dispute his purchase on 9/22/2006.  We stand behind the deal as it was made on 9/19/2006.  

Unless there was a change in rebates and incentives, the right thing for the dealer to do, out of good faith, is to refund the difference to the either the customer or the bank depending on the dealer agreement to the bank.  This is typical internet mix up, not neccessarily the dealers fault.  However, they did quote a price that was substantially lower than the customer paid.  As far as the tax is concerned, don't worry about it.  Your paperwork will very clearly state the tax and where the tax was sent to.  The dealer has nothing to do with this money exept to collect it and pass it along.  The 399 doc fee is not out of line these days.  The cost of business these days is getting increasingly higher.  This fee just helps cover this.  Specially if they give out internet pricing.  Work with the dealer in a fair manner and they will be fair with you.  If you go in there with guns blazin' expect the same treatment back.  

Regardless of when Bob King said they got my inquiry, as I said in my initial complaint, I made my internet price quote inquiry the morning of 9/19/6, which was substantiated by my Internet Explorer History on my laptop PC.  Obviously between the Web site and the dealer, the speedy price quote response promised by the Web site never materialized.  Furthermore, the Web site never responded to my complaint.  However, that doesn't necessarily mean they were the culprit, nor does it justify the price discrepancy.  Consider that Best Buy has been blasted in the news recently for internet vs brick and mortar price manipulations.

Moreover, there is no contract, if there is material misrepresentation by any party, intentional or not, to that contract.

However, the sales tax did get to PA.

Interestingly, the local BBB (Winston Salem) refused in writing to even post my complaint, but then the BBB member pays the BBB fee, not the complainant.  Another BBB on another earlier matter said I would have to join the BBB, before I could file a complaint against one of its members.  Another BBB, because the roofer never responded to the complaint, did nothing about that roofer, who left several adjacent homeowners, including me, with substantial problems.

My first suggestion to Bob King is to end such pricing practices, or at least make it a practice to be upfront with walk-ins about Internet vs "Brick & Mortar" pricing.  Not doing so, gives the appearance that you have something to hide.  Second, don't just assume the customer is lying.  Third, there is the proven long-term ROI for simply "doing the right thing".  Fourth, if the customer requests and/or you promise to provide a copy of the initial price quote paperwork between customer and sales person, give it to them.  Not doing so, gives the appearance that you have something to hide.

My suggestion to the third party Web site is in addition to removing blatant advertising promises you can't keep (you did shortly after my complaint) is to provide an unquestionable and accessible audit trail...just like we get when we vote via computers...or do we?

At the time, I politely explained my complaint in follow-up telephone conversations with several apparent agents at Bob King.  I stand behind my complaint.