Price gouging galore! - mini12345
Price gouging galore! I found a car I was willing to drive 2 hours for to purchase the same day I called them. I had been looking for a while so I knew all I needed was a test drive and a reasonable financing rate it the deal was done. I asked about fees. $1700 "restoration fee" plus $800 - whaaaa??? $2500 bucks more on the list of the car and 1K more if you don't finance with them. I said that I would come drive and take the car if it drives well and there was no big cosmetic issues, but I can't ethically pay for their fees and would they waive them. The told me my best negotiation power was to come into the dealership. They called the manager to check when I said I was two hours away and they said that due to the current market for cars, they will not waive any fees. They even admitted they were gouging. Misrepresentation of pricing and no real justification or policies. I would have paid a modest documentation fee- I have called many mini dealers and usually those are in the range of $200. I found the rep I dealt with to be OK in terms of kindness, but not helpful to me or caring about what I wanted. It was kind of like a "tough crap" we don't really care to lose your business. I had a similar experience at Mini of Edison, although that agent said they would work with us on their $1300 fee and although the agent was defensive, he didn't want to lose my business and made efforts to deal. I will stick to mini dealers in CT and NY from now on.
Read More