CREST INFINITI CADILLAC You cannot count on a deal made with this dealership; we struck a deal, encountered substantial costs associated with it, then had them call back and "cancel" the deal after agreement was reached and payment arranged for. PLANO Texas

Our first encounter with Crest Infiniti was through my daughter who purchased a used Infiniti from them. Promises were made that were subsequently not kept. That is not the point of this complaint as it is ancient history.

My son is a soldier returning from Iraq within two weeks. He found this car on the dealer's website which he asked us to purchase prior to his arrival so it would be available to him on his return from serving his country. While we remembered the way the dealership had ripped my daughter off a few years ago, we assumed they might have changed and become more reputable -- after all, they're still in business.

WRONG!

This was to be an Internet-based purchase, which requires a degree of trust in the organization you're dealing with. After negotiating off-and-on for three days, an agreement was reached on Monday. We are some 300 miles away. We advised that we could be there the following day, but offered to provide a deposit if needed to hold the vehicle. It was agreed that if we arrived the next day with payment in full, it would be no problem. At about 5 pm, the manager called back to confirm we would be there with cashiers check in hand which we confirmed. We also discussed that we would be encountering money for insurance and transportation.

We proceeded to spend the time and money to acquire insurance, arrange transportation, arrange for cashiers check, cancel work schedules, etc., to make the trip to acquire the newly purchased vehicle, with the understanding that a deal is a deal. Not so fast.

The manager calls back at 8pm and says, "We sold the car to someone who walked into the dealership".

When one buys a car by walking into a dealership, the terms of that deal are worked out on the spot and if the buyer walks away, he walks away. That is easy to understand. But if a dealership tells an individual 300 miles away he has a deal, that dealership has no right to sell that vehicle to someone else. Period. We had relied on that deal having been made and passed on other opportunities (expiring ebay deals) as a result of being told this. If they had required funds to hold the vehicle we would gladly have provided them by wire or whatever. When we discussed it we told them we would be pleased to provide a deposit if for any reason couldn't make the trip the following day.

I call on all supporters of the military to avoid this dealership, whether over the Internet or in person. They knew all along we were negotiating on behalf of our son, a returning soldier who has served overseas for the last year, and they were totally comfortable in this ripoff. Our costs in time and materials we put into this were substantial. Don't be taken advantage of by this dealer.

Also, I might point out that after her experience with this dealership my daughter found a Sewell Infiniti in the Dallas area she has been exceptionally pleased with. They are true professionals top to bottom, and every time she has her car serviced with them she comes away shocked with the quality of service. They didn't have the right car for my son's situation or we would have preferred them.

My son is very disappointed at his treatment by these people. I guess "outraged" would be a better term. Don't let it happen to you. You cannot deal with this people over the Internet, and I certainly wouldn't at the dealership, either.

David
Hot Springs, Arkansas
U.S.A.