Mike Raisor Ford Mazda False Advertised, mistake or not, on 2 different vehicles and hid behind,"We have a disclaimer" Lafayette Indiana

I had been looking for a reliable vehicle for quite some time now. The current vehicle I have is a 2001 Chevy Cavalier with 239,000+ miles on it and has broken down on me 4 times this past week and with the upkeep on it, my Save For A Car Fund is deminishing quickly. I was looking at anything and everything. Im a 22 yr old girl and a full time hotel desk clerk in a small town made up of not that much. No factories hire without going through Manpower which cuts your paychecks down to nothing and you get stuck on night shift. Not my cup of tea. I love working with people and have been working in sales for the past 5 years. So I know quite a bit about customer service.

On Sept. 1st, 2014 at 6:30pm I had happened to stumble upon something I knew was Too Good To Be True but thought, "Hey, whats the worst that can happen? No ones ever gotten anywhere by not taking chances." and in my situation, I was willing to look into anything. 

I had found ON MIKE RAISORS SITE, a 2015 Ford Fusion for $2,500. Unrealistic I know. I had to check it out. So, I did my research. Found it on multiple sites as well, read the page at least 10 times, and printed out the page from THEIR SITE. They were closed due to it being a holiday, so I sent them 3 different emails ALL stating the price of the vehicle they had listed. (Email the seller, make an offer, and pre-approval) 

I woke up that next morning Sept 2, 2014 at 7:30am and hadnt recieved anything from them. No calls, no emails. So, I went up there myself. I live 30 mintes away, so this isnt a short drive either. I got there right as they opened their doors and handed the paper to the Store Manager, Steve Hyer. I had circled the price and everything! Without questioning anything, he took me to the car and had me test drive it. 

When we came back inside, he started filling out the paperwork. I couldnt believe what was happening. Well, that was until I saw he didnt look at what I had circled. When I pointed it out, thats when things got heated. 

He looked at me and said in the rudest manner, "Did you really think you were getting THAT car at THAT price??" Well, no but hey, crazier things have happened, right? I honestly figured he would have said, "Im very sorry about the mistake our Internet Sales dept, made. We cant honor that price on that car but lets go over to our used car lot and make a deal on a car over there." I would have said, absolutely. 

In this situation, any other person in this world would have done the same thing I did. What I did was not illegal, was not scamming, nothing. I was very polite and kept calm. I cant say he did the same. 

Steve then got the IT manager on the phone, Corey,(didnt get his last name) and told him about the paper I had brought in. Steve then handed the phone to me. The first words out of Corey's mouth, "Come on, you have to be smart enough to realize youre not getting the car at that price right??" Are you calling me stupid? Wow, rude. Before I could get any word in, Corey kept saying he couldnt find what I was talking about and that it wasnt possible. So now youre calling me a liar. Again, rude. So he finally says. "Oh, I see here. My guy forgot to put a zero in it. Small mistake." Absolutely not. 

I responded with, "Thats not my fault." At this point no one has asked to take this matter into a secluded office to talk things over away from entering guests. My mother called my cellphone trying to ask questions about what was going on and was very upset about how rude the Store Manager was being, I told Corey I was going to put the phone down for a minute and be right back. My mother was on her way and would be here shortly so she hung up. I then picked up the phone to continue talking to Corey and I hear him talking to one of his other guys in the background saying, "I cant believe she actually thought she was going to get this car at that price. One of our guys made a small mistake, so what? Opportunist." So I hung up the phone but not before letting him know I heard every word he said. 

Make sure you know for a fact no one is listening on the other end of a telephone call before you start talking about them and calling them names. 

Opportunist? Taking advantage of an opportunity as crazy as it is. Isnt that was car salesman do too? Isnt that what all salesman do? So because I, legally, took a crazy chance on an opportunity, Im the bad person? Seems logical.

My mother had called me back and asked to speak to their manager because she was upset at the level of customer service and how this situation was being handled. She is the GM of 2 hotels in the town I live in and I work at one of them as well. She was driving my brothers Ford Explorer which has a loud muffler on it and had to speak loudly for you to hear her on my cellphone. The store manager thought she was yelling, yelled back at her, and then handed the phone back to me without letting her finish. Made a huge scene on the sales floor. I was humiliated. Again, why no one, including Steve, asked to step into an office is beyond me.

My mother gets there and asks immediately for another manager. Why they didnt try to call someone else to begin with, I honestly dont know. The GM of Mike Raisor Ford Mazda, Mr. Bond showed up about 15 minutes later. We were outside the building because my mother did not want to even make eye contact with Steve. In her 16 years on being a GM, she has never been disrepected like that and neither have I. Mr. Bond came out and calmed the situation. Was very polite and listened to what happened. 

When I showed him the print out I brought in, you could tell he was upset with his staff. He apologized quite a few times and took our information. Stated to me that if I want to buy a car from them, to go directly through him. Gave me his email and telephone number but stated that they had a disclaimer protecting them against things like this. Really? So you can false advertise, mistake or not, and get away with it?? Ah, bait and switch. My mother stated to him, being a Hotel GM, that is also why business' carry insurance so that if these situations come up, the business doesnt loose out on money. Dont try to play stupid, sir. You know you have a snake hole to hide in and you are. 

Later on that same day, I was back online searching for a vehicle. That was my whole point of going up there, for that car or another. I needed one. I had found a 2007 Dodge Nitro, my FAVORITE, listed for $9,993. 4x4, 4 Speed automatic, silver, 91,000 miles on it. Honestly, I was about ready to drive right back up there but it was late and they were closed. 

I emailed Mr. Bond and explained to him that I was not trying to scam his business and that my intention was not to cause what had happend earlier that day. I told him I was still in need of a reliable vehicle and didnt count them out even with todays events because of the kindness he showed. I then asked him about the price of the Nitro and explained to him I was not emailing him with the intent of getting it at $2,500 but to see what we could work out on the vehicle. 

So I sent the email. Got home after work and showed my fiance the car I had found, he knew about what happened, and said I wanted to go back up and look at it. I continued to research the vehicle. That was until my finace found on another website more pictures of the vehicle Mike Raisor DID NOT have on their site. It had stains on the seats, rust on the hubcaps/rims, and it was NOT a 4 speed automatic, it was a 6 speed manual. 

I really think they need to retrain or get rid of their IT staff, they obviously dont know what they are doing and are getting away with it because of their "disclaimer"! Im sorry, but I have worked in the hotel business for 5 years and my mother, 16 years. When your own company makes a mistake and you have a customer that catches it, IT IS NOT THE CUSTOMERS FAULT. It is yours and yours alone. Yes, some customers are not friendly and not easy to work with but I was polite and calm. Never raised my voice for one second. 

Mr. Bond emailed me back Sept. 3rd, 2014 stating that he was again sorry for his staff and that he would bring the car price down to $7,500. Nope. I wouldnt want buy a car from you guys ever. Not after this. There is no way you can trust what they say or what they advertise online! When they make a mistake and you catch it, they have a disclaimer and can get away with it. He stated in his email after I emailed him back saying I was sicked to find that they had lied again through advertising. Mr. Bond stated in his email back that, thats why they put pictures up of the vehicle as well so people can see what they are getting. I emailed back again with a quick responce, "I found those pictures on another website. Not yours. Yours, it looked pristine but you couldnt see the inside." It is not what you advertised sir! 

Beware of going through Mike Raisors wesite and shopping for cars. If you find something you like but there are things wrong with it that werent advertised, they have a disclaimer. You find a car at a price, mistake or not, they advertised on their site, they have a disclaimer. Obviously they are pulling the "Bait and Switch" and then claiming their disclaimer when you call them out on it and claiming it was a mistake. Yeah, I dont think so. Either train your people correctly so these "mistakes" dont happen and stop hiding behind your disclaimer and fess up to what you've done and take responcibility! 

I have yet to recieve any promised phone calls/emails of apologies from the staff that treated me and my mother with such disrespect.