George Coleman Ford ripoff and shady buisness practice strikes again Travelers Rest South Carolina

About a year ago my wife and i purchased her, a used 2002 Ford Exursion from George Coleman Ford. When we arrive to look at vehicles we were not given the time of day, so we left to eat lunch and returned about an hour later. This time i parked my brand new Chrysler 300c in front. Before we got out of the car salesmen were all over us.

We proceeded to look around the lot for what she wanted. We already knew what we wanted to look at since we went by the night before to look without the sharks over our shoulder. So we eventually came to the Excursion she had her eye on.

We took a test drive and still acted as if we were debating on if it was the right vehicle for us. After a few minutes of hem hawwing aroun i aske how much! The reply from the salesman was let's go in and i'll get that for you. After we were inside for a few minutes we were approach by a different salesman asking us for some info, just so they could put us on their mailing list....big mistake.

We gave the info hesitantly and proceeded to ask for the price of the vehicle again. This time our original saleman came and sat down and started running some numbers. I aske why he was going to the fuss without knowing if we were really wanting to buy it. He said it was to give us the best possible price.

After he told us what our trade was worth, he aske what kind of payment we wanted. We asked for the price again and he said depending on our payment range he could "WORK THE NUMBERS" to our advantage. It ending up being to our dissadvantage. So we told him our range and we were asked for a down payment. We told them we were not putting money down only our trade.

So he left and came back about thirty minutes later and said he had it to where our paymnets would fit what we wanted. So we aske how uch the payments would be, he told us and we thought okay. So we proceeded to a finance mangers office for anothwer hour of paperwork and sitting. About half way through i peeked at the computer screen and noticed the payment was what they had said, but that t was for seven years.

I immediately said nevermind stood up to leave and old my wife let's go. He asked why so i told him for that deal i could get a new vehicle. He said he could change the deal and get a new one, so i said i'm being sarcastic, your term and payment will equal the price of a new vehicle. So he asked us to wait and he left to talk to a manager. He returned and said he could go six years, i said no again and when through the same thing. He left, returned a half hour later with a five year term. They proceeded to show me the NADA book-value and what a deal i was getting.

Again i said i no and he asked what i was looking for. I said the payment i asked for in the beginning, and a four year term.

He left for another half hour and returned and said he could do that if we used there lender. We have good credit and said if you can beat our bank rate we would. So they matched it and we agreed.

After another half hour we left with our new "used vehicle" thinking everything was okay. When the payment book arrived the payment was $150 more than what we had agreed on and for a different rate.. When i called i was told the salesman was from an outside promotional company and they did not know what was discussed. I asked for a manager and was told i was speaking to him and that the paperwork was signed and the deal was done.

I called the lending institution and was told there was nothing they could do and if i din't pay it would be repossed and filed on my credit. So we decided to make the payments and try and get out of the vehicle. Every dealer we talked with said we were about $10,000 to $12,000 upside down in the vehicle. Mind you we only had to roll thirteen hundred dollars from our trade-in.

So we returned to George Coleman Ford to see if they could get us into something else and they said we would need a minimum of $12,000 cash down to even discuss a trade. We aske why so much and they said for depreciation, not on a used vehicle i said. The reply was that we must have rolled money from our trade and that made it so high. I showed them where we only owed $6500 and they only rolled $1300 dollars and the reply was unless i can come up with $12,000 there was nothing they could do.

So here i am with a vehicle that was sold to me for almost twice what it is worth. Unable to get out of it at any dealer and paying more than i had anticipated.

With a teenage son and a elementary school aged daughter, i have had to make some serious sacrafices to not default on this loan or any of the other bill i have to pay, in order to keep a good credit rating. With gas and the economy i am sure to destroy my credit in a matter of time all because of the "good ol' boys" at GEORGE COLEMAN FORD IN TRAVELERS REST. Their motto is "IT COSTS LESS IN TRAVELERS REST" well i say it costs more a heckuva lot more than i had bargained for. I have learned my lesson on dealers and will only by from individuals in the future. At least you know what the price is up fron!

Larry
Greenville, South Carolina
U.S.A.

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