Gwinnett Suzuki Horizon Motors False Advertising, Shady Business Practices, No Respect For The Customer Duluth, Georgia

We found a 2001 Chevy S-10 with high mileage advertised for $1995 on Autotrader and called about it.  We were looking for a first vehicle for our son, and it sounded perfect for him.  They said it was a recent trade-in that had a check engine light on, but was otherwise in perfect condition.  The dealership was 90 miles away and when I called I told him it would be at least two hours before I could get there.  He said that he could hold the vehicle for me with a $500 deposit.  I asked what would happen if we decided against purchasing the vehicle and he said it was non-refundable.  I told him I was not putting up $500 for the chance to look at a vehicle and he then asked for $200 instead.  I told him I still didn't feel comfortable with basically giving away $200 if it wasn't acceptable.  I said I didn't mind risking $100 and he asked me to wait for his manager's approval.  He said a man was coming to look at the vehicle at 12:30, but he would push him back to 2:00.  I told him that was perfect because I could get there by 1:00.  No further mention of a deposit was mentioned.  I again stressed to him the long trip I was making with three kids in tow in order to get the vehicle. 

When we arrived, the salesman came out and shook my hand and informed me that right after we had spoken, he called his 12:30 appointment to push him back for us and that individual had bought the car over the phone.  He said that they were waiting for his funds to clear and they just had, but the truck was still there if we wanted to look at it.  Not once did they attempt to call us and let us know that someone had already purchased the vehicle, so we drove 90 miles down there, and 90 miles back, wasted 4 hours of our day, for nothing.  The offer to still look at the truck even though we could not buy it was nothing but further insult to us.  There was no apology for letting us drive all the way down there, no attempt at any type of reasoning for why they did not contact us at any time after selling the vehicle. 

That was on Saturday.  As of Monday, the car is still listed on their website, but now has a price tag of $2995.  This leads me to believe that there was no other buyer, but that they were just trying to squeeze some extra profit out of the vehicle.  I know it is the exact same vehicle because I ran my own Carfax report on the VIN before asking about it.  They care nothing about the customer, nothing about their reputation, only about the money.  This matches all the other reviews I have seen of this dealership that I have looked at, sadly, after going all the way down there.  They have numerous reports of this type of business etiquette and shady processes.  Do yourself a favor and don't even waste your time with them.