Luxury Motors Downers Grove, Bently Downers Grove, SAAB Downers Grove The Trick and the Trap Downers Ripoff Grove Illinois

Automobile dealers generally do not enjoy the best reputation. In many cases the bad reputation not deserved and is caused by a minority of 1 or more bad salespeople who are the exception, and not the rule. Generally the dealership, as a community business, is trying to do right by their customers and build a respectable business. In the case of Luxury Motors, a large volume network of dealerships, it seems the stereotypical sleazy salespeople, and deceptive sales practices permeate the entire organization and are the rule not the exception.

I have purchased many cars over the years. I enjoy cars, but I do not enjoy the car buying experience. I have encountered good and bad sales people, and good and bad dealers. I have never encountered a dealership that treats its customers with more disregard than Luxury Motors. A car dealership is a for profit business and as such a business needs to earn a profit to stay in business. Luxury Motors leaves me with the impression that their motto is; Profit at all costs d**n the customers. I make this statement based on my impressions of dealing with them over the past 3 years in a series of nightmares.

I am attempting to put the challenges I have faced into a series of related reports so the clear pattern of deceit, deception, and customer disregard is fully illustrated. Readers are strongly cautioned to avoid any of the Luxury Motors dealers as a place to buy a car. If you do deal with them, get everything in writing, have any used vehicle completely and independently inspected, verify that there is a clear and original title to be transferred, and be sure to get a far facts report and totally scrutinize it. Do business with them at your own risk. Carefully scrutinize their low pricing claims and you will probably find the deal is not really better than at a reputable dealer or you end up getting what you are paying for by dealing with low price.

In our Luxury Motors saga so far, I have encountered:

1. Bait & Switch
2. Hiding Damage
3. Misrepresented title condition
4. A close call
5. The Hook that sets the trap

Not a pleasant experience so far, but not earth shattering either. As the events of the past 3 year continue to unfold the story gets to be very interesting and very telling to say the least.

Other parts of the saga are:

6. The Trick and the Trap
7. Murphy's Law
8. The trap snaps shut
9. A possible solution
10. An end in sight
11. Light at the end of the tunnel
12. is it daylight, or is it a freight train?
13. The ultimate insult & the leopard shows its spots

My objective in bringing these facts to light is twofold; 1. On the chance (slim) that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, I would like to give the dealership a final opportunity to step up and make things right, which I have been unable to accomplish through normal channels over the past 3 years. And 2, I hope to give others the benefit of learning from my mistakes hopefully avoiding the same mistakes.

In the event a reasonable resolution can be made, I am willing to update this report to that effect. In the event my worst suspicions are true, I hope to have some role in reducing the number of customers that fall victim to Luxury Motors, and if the absolute worst of my suspicions are true, see them either go out of business, or be put out of business before hurting too many others.

I am in the process of making arrangements with some people I know to have a charitable trust pay a bounty to anyone who buys a car anywhere EXCEPT at one of the Luxury Motors Stores, kind of an extra rebate' type of incentive to find a dealer that will treat you right and earn, rather than take, your business. Stay tuned for details it appears to be possible.

In the meantime review the information and learn from my mistakes. Go anywhere except one of the Luxury Motors dealers to buy a car for the best chance at keeping your sanity and not being taken advantage of.

Check the BBB rating, rip-off reports and other consumer forums. Don't make the same mistake I did, check those first, not after. A complaint is not necessarily a bad thing. Some complaints have merit, some do not. Look at the pattern of complaints and their resolutions. Ask yourself if what you see demonstrates a firm that tries to do the right thing by their customers. Building great customer satisfaction is a much longer way to success for a dealership, but it is the permanent way. Look for signs of repeat business, anyone can market, advertise, and pressure their way to high sales volume. There are plenty of dealers out there who subscribe to the philosophy brought out in the great book on the car business Customers for Life, other who just run another ad rather than wait for repeat business and word of mouth. Check the CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) if you can. With some dealers CSI is a score, the higher the better, with the best dealers it is a state of mind that carries through and is evidenced in all their dealings with customers.

I am taking the time to lay things out as I am to give the reader a basis for understanding I am not a raving lunatic who makes unfounded accusations, but a reasonable and rational person, who in spite of being rational has made some mistakes, one of which was misplacing trust and being too understanding and too willing to give the benefit of the doubt, and as a result has been taken advantage of.

Car salespeople must be adept not only at sales and negotiation, but are trained in deflection, misdirection, (the magician's secret) and are adept at spin, and turning things around. One big weapon in the car salesperson's bag of tricks is time. The more of your time the salesperson can get you to invest with them, the more likely they are to make a sale. Most of the Luxury Motors sales and management staff I have encountered are masters at some or most of these skills. These skills in the hands of a professional sales person are not in and of themselves bad or harmful. Employed by a less than professional or unscrupulous salesperson they can be very harmful to your financial well being. Most of the people I have encountered at Luxury Motors can deflect as if they are made of rubber, are as slippery as Teflon when it comes to trying to pin them down for an answer, misdirect like the best of magicians, spin like a master DJ, and are masters at tuning everything around, always in their favor. As a result they are good at getting you to invest so much of your time that you either give in, or give up. What make the Luxury Motors people I have encountered exceptionally dangerous is at first impression they do not appear or come off as the sleazy people you need to take a shower after talking to, they come off as busy but sincere. A wolf in lamb's clothing is still a wolf, you just don't realize it until it is too late.

And now our saga continues with:

6. The Trick and the Trap

Not realizing the phone call from Tony Preston had left a hook in my mouth they were just waiting to set ...

On 6-1-06, as requested, I stopped by Saab Downers Grove and spoke to Tony Preston. At that time I again addressed some of my concerns with the Jaguar I had previously purchased. I also expressed I felt I was being shorted on the offer for my trade. He said he could get me a few more dollars from my trade and a slightly better price on the car and make things right.

He told me he had the car I test drove moved to his store and had it ready for me. I told him to hold on, I wasn't ready, I needed to wait for my transaction to close.

He offered to take my car in trade, let me drive the new car, and pay the balance when the transaction closed. I told him I did not want to do that as I could be patient and wait for my deal to close.

After more discussion he virtually insisted, and when I told him that makes me nervous in case the transaction does not close on time, or does not close, he told me not to worry, he said he understood, and besides he said, we know where you live.

He excused himself for a couple of minutes and returned. In his absence I had resolved to wait for my deal to close and was thinking it makes more sense to keep the Jag since it's paid for, and I was being offered less than half what I paid for it just 2 years ago.

When he returned he said I talked to Joe, (Joe Abbas, the owner) he remembers you, and says it's no problem to take the car and pay the balance when your deal closes.

I remember at first being surprised that the owner would remember me from meeting me briefly 2 years before, but considering my experience with the car and the fact I was told when I bought it that they would consider it a big favor, I shrugged it off and didn't give any further thought.

I told him again I could be patient and didn't want to do that. Also the more I though about it the more it made sense to keep the Jag, and when my deal closed buy the car I test drove or another of my choosing.

During the ensuing discussions I voiced my uncertainty on the vehicle, which was spun into how certain are you your deal will close? At the time I was fairly certain and would have bet big money (but not my life) on the deal closing. It was a real estate deal with contract signed, financing almost ready for commitment, and a qualified buyer who really wanted it and wanted it bad.

After a great deal of additional back and forth I was told it's a nice day, we have time before you close your deal for the details, take the car, - you know you want it.

It was a nice day, and a nice car, and although it was the first one I had seen or test drove, I thought OK, if they were willing to wait to finalize, there wouldn't be any harm in driving it a few days.

At that time, with some misgivings, I was taken to the business office and asked to sign some papers for the car. The arrangements were I was to leave my car and pay the balance when my transaction closed.

When the paperwork was presented I informed them it was not correct as it was not completed in the manner in which I wanted to take title, as title would be in trust and the trustee would need to sign. I noticed it showed a trade, which I told then I was unsure about. I was told it was OK because it was just interim paperwork and the final paperwork for the trustee would be done at the time I brought in the balance. I was asked if I wanted to finance in the interim, I declined stating that if I could not pay for the car without financing I did not want it. I was told the paperwork was needed to show there was a balance due.

I thought leaving the car would be OK, and it would solve a short term garage space problem. If we were redoing paperwork for the trustee to sign I figured I had a few days to figure things out. I was not comfortable with the arrangements, and expressed this, but proceeded on good faith in what has turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes in my life.

I was offered $300 more for my trade than I was initially offered, however, the price of the car was raised $2,505. Considering that it was interim paperwork, I was expecting a sizable fee, and the fact that they were waiting for balance of payment, I reluctantly agreed.

The interim paperwork was done, my car was left and I was given the new (used) car to drive.

The more I thought about it the more I thought trading the car would not be such a bad idea as it gets me out of a bad deal, costs me some money, but considering what I was about to earn on my real estate deal being done with the problem with the Jag was more important than the money I would lose.

Little did I know that they had just set the hook and I was about to be yanked around so hard it would make my head spin.

Without realizing it I was just tricked into a lose - lose situation. Litlle did I know what was about to unfold ....

Joe
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
U.S.A.