Friday, February 29, 2008

Car sale gone bad leaves dealer and buyer in bind

WOW, as proud as I am of being in the car business, I take no pride in stories like this.

According to a report filed at SeacoastOnline.com, Portsmouth, New Hampshire dealer, Seacoast Mazda hired Auto Gross of Chicago to supply a team of salesmen for the four-day sale. One of these temporary salesmen is at the nub of the complaints.

Apparently feeling that the dealership needed sales help during the four-day event, the dealer contracted with a sales promotion company to provide temporary, out-of-state, sales assistance. Robin Briand wanted to trade out of her year-old Nissan feeling the pressure of high payments and was enticed by the dealership’s ads.

According to Ms. Briand’s suit, the dealer’s flyer promised to pay off outstanding loans for customers trading in their vehicle, a $4,000 rebate and a 20-inch flat screen TV. Ms. Briand agreed to terms, turned over her Nissan and signed a $4,750 loan agreement for the new Mazda.

The next day, according to Briand, she accepted a dinner invitation from the temporary salesman. After dinner, the salesman refused to pay the check. She claims that she drove him back to his motel, where she claims that he offered to settle the dinner tab by going to his room. She also claims that when she refused to have sex with him, he threatened to take back the 20-inch TV.

The sale came with a 3-day grace period, and when Briand returned to the dealership to cancel the deal and reclaim her Nissan, she was told the Nissan was missing. Portsmouth police later found the vehicle at the local airport parking lot.



To top it all off, it was discovered that the temporary salesman was on probation and prohibited from leaving the state of Oregon. Ms. Briand has handicap plates on her vehicle and reportedly suffers from unspecified disabilities.

The dealer is quoted as saying that he’s “still trying to figure this mess out.” He also commented that New Hampshire should require licenses for vehicle sales people and such a requirement would assist dealers in keeping out the bad actors.

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Saturday, February 9, 2008

SPY photos of the 2009 Infiniti FX

This vehicle in my opinion is the coolest re-design in the works right now. I will probably trade my 2004 Infiniti FX35 if the new FX actually looks like this. Who else thinks this re-design is wicked?


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I know these pictures are re-printed without permission. I tried to find the original link to give credit, but it might have been removed. Anyway, if you have a problem with me posting these wicked FX pictures, comment below and we can work something out.

AFI


Free Price Quotes at Edmunds.com

See factory invoices for new Infiniti's at Edmunds.com



What would insurance be like on a 2009 Infiniti FX?

Friday, February 8, 2008

Toyota dealership employees will take it all off for charity




Employees at an Illinois dealership plan to raise money for charity with an unusual gambit.

The employees at Belleville Toyota in Belleville, Illinois, like to consider themselves one big family. And as a family, they do things in bunches. The dealership's employees have all agreed to do something outrageous in support of four local charities, according to a report in the Belleville Intelligencer.

Sixteen employees - both male and female - will say goodbye to their hair in a ceremony at the dealership. Even the dealership owner said he decided to shave his head after two close relatives died of cancer.

"I was adamant I was going to do it to show my support for people with cancer who lose their hair to chemotherapy. And I was taken aback when everyone here decided to join me," dealer/owner George Farlow said.

The group hopes to raise more than $10,000 for the local cancer society, a hospice, the lung association and the diabetes foundation.

Members of the public will drop into the dealership and make a financial pledge to the charity of their choice before the cut-a-thon.