Guest comeandzpa Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 Mitsubishi is amazing. Their current deal: Buy a new Mitsubishi, pay nothing for 390 days and pay 0.0% interest for the life of your loan. Sounds great, right? Well, that's what we thought. My sister needs a new car, and really likes the Lancer. When we got to the dealer, they told us that this deal does not apply to the Lancer. Which would have been fine, except for the following: 1) They advertise this deal at the tail end of Lancer commercials 2) In the fine print of the add, they say that only the Outlander is excluded from the deal 3) (this one is my personal favorite) DIRECT FROM THE MITSUBISHI WEB SITE: The Mitsubishi Year-End Sales Event is here, but only for a limited time. Make no payments until 2004 and never pay interest for the life of the loan. Want to get a rugged Montero or Montero Sport? A COOL, NEW LANCER? The sophisticated Diamante? Or even the eye catching Eclipse, the best selling sports coupe for the past decade?* For a limited time, you can get a new 2002 or 2003 model year vehicle and make no payments until 2004 and never pay interest for the life of the loan.** See your Mitsubishi Retailer today. This deal ends January 6th, 2003. Am I wrong, or does that not say LANCER in the details??? Well, my dad is on his way up to the dealer, maybe even two or three others in the local area, to "discuss" this deal with the higher-ups. I just hope that everybody comes out w/ all of their body parts intact (see, he's a LITTLE upset with them). This is also not the first time that they have come out with a "deal" like that. Last year, they offered 0.0% APR for a year. After that year, however, it jumps to 7.9% and you still have to pay the interest from the first year; they just didn't charge you for it then. Or, you could buy a great new Galant for only $160/month! IF you paid an $8000 balloon payment in the final month. Has anyone else gone through this? Cause we can't take it anymore... PS-now I feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 To save some space in the last post, I saved the details from the site for this post. Where the astrisk is in the ad: * based on information provided by R.L.Polk and Automotive News ** You can purchase a new 2002 or 2003 model year vehicle by January 6th, 2003 and make no payments until 2004 and never pay interest for the life of the loan. The first monthly payment is due 390 days from date of contract signing. In Maine zero payments limited to 360 days from date contract is signed. Program available through Mitsubishi Motors Credits Special retail plan, subject to approved credit and insurance. Some customers will not qualify. Retailer price, terms and vehicle availability may vary. Customers must take retail delivery from retailer stock and contracts must be signed by January 6th, 2003. Cannot be combined with any other financing program. Applies to new 2002 and 2003 models only. Excludes Outlander. Your participating Mitsubishi Retailer can provide you with additional details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 Sounds like the classic 'bait and switch'. Give 'em hell, and if you can document that the vehicle is included in the promotion, the dealer is obligated to honor the deal. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 What Tim said. If they say "Montero" in the ad and then tell you it's not available, then they are making a legal Today (the 6th) make them tell you again that the vehicle is not included and even get them to sign off on that fact if at all possible. Then, if you can find that ad, get a copy of it. You now can sue for false advertisement. My bet is that you can and will get the Montero. If they screwed up this bad, and you threaten to bring it to the top of the Mitsu chain, somebody will sign off on the deal. They also may say "OK" and then look for a loophole to get out of it. If your sis's credit is anything but perfect, they may disqualify her. Or they may tell her the only Montero on the lot not already spoken for is one they know she doesnt want. Good Luck and give em Hell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 You could threaten to write a letter to the editor of your local paper or make a complaint to the better business beureu(sp?). Most dealers will back down when faced with the prospect of bad publicity. (Especially when they are in the wrong) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 Got home from school today, and my sister now has a new Lancer! Turns out, my dad went to a dealership that is about 35 miles away, asked them about the deal, and they sold him a car. Therefore, it was the dealership itself and NOT Mitsubishi that tried to screw us over. Just thought I should save Mitsu's rep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 Sorry to rain on anyone's parade-but if the add runs like you reported, then they actually never specifically committed to a Lancer. What they are doing is called "Fractionizing". Fractionizing is of two parts, 1) This means the offending party will tell part of the truth but not the whole truch, and 2) the whole time never admit/deny to the other part of the truth that was never mentioned from the beginning. When they say "2002/2003 Models included" this is vague and ambiguous; yet, because it is ran on a Lancer commercial-the implication is planted in your mind that Lancers are included. Yet, until a contract w/your name & their name is signed-then nothing is firm/agreed/committed. It is what it is...vague and ambiguous. It may be on the verge of unethical -but after all we are talking about dealers (yes/no?) . Now if a contract had already been signed & you discovered the other party breached one of the conditions of that contract...then and only then would Fractionizing be considered bad faith and their butts would be on the line. W/out evidence of a pre-existing contract, they are not on the hook in anyway. Your burden of proof will be to prove that their adds/small print included (not implied) the Lancer. The part that states "Excludes Outlander" raises an eyebrow; still, until you have that CONTRACT in your hand that includes the Lancer and defines the words w/special meanings such as: 1) Includes 2) Excludes 3) Mitsubishi Mfg offer, or 4) All Mitsubishi Dealers, or 5) Participating Mitsu Dealers only (?) Good Luck, I too would give them an earfull. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 The dealer gets $1500 - $3000 (or more) if they switch a customer from the special offer financing rate to regular financing. They lied to your sister if they did not outright tell her, "You don't have a credit score that qualifies." Since your dad was able to get the Lancer at the special rate, it must be concluded that they lied, period. This is nothing new to car dealerships. Mitsu is a better company then that (most car companies are), but dealerships in general are not and they deserve the reputation they have aquired. Dealerships assume that the customer is an idiot, and the little mind games they enjoy engaging in are for the sole purpose of increasing gross profit, but it ruins the image of the car manufacterer. This is one reason the manufacturers have gone to bonuses and allocations based on customer surveys. Those seemingly 'stupid' customer care surveys that the salesman hits you up for can mean big money at the end of the quarter for the dealership. Many times the salesperson has commission based on that survey as well. It means much much more then just a single 'vote'. They actually account for each one, read each one, and take the dealer to task for any negative answers. FWIW, I was in the car business for six years, but happily left it about two years ago. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 My bad-I didnt notice in the previous post that the Lancer was actually purchased w/the aforementioned incentives: the way I read it was that the Lancer was only implied & not confirmed as a part of the deal. BTW: You have 72 hours to back out of any (This Means ANY) contract w/out cause: after 72 hours you will have to show cause. Check w/your local Consumer Protection Agency for specifics. I would have to agree w/Davy. I had a Brother-n-Law who bought a new Ford Truck; when he received the payment book the financing somehow jumped about 5k. My Brother-n-Law, who has a short fuse to begin with, is also an exDefensive Linemen for one of the top ten Universities...man was he mad. He went straight to the Dealer and demanded the contract be corrected; needless to say they made the correction, but only after my Brother-n-Law pounded his fist down on their desk & accidentally broke the table in half.....FWIW, I would not suggest this plan of action. Check w/the dealer & put them on notice ASAP w/a witness: this puts you w/in the 72hour time frame if that ever becomes a concern or is even applicable in your state. Also check w/the Consumer Protection Agency in your area for a remedy. If you dont get an immediate response from the dealer-you may also want to locate a lawyer that specializes in Consumer Protection cases. Trust me, when a good atty gets wind of this kind of behavior from an auto dealer means two things....Insurance & DEEP POCKETS and the dealer will pay Every state in America has Very Bias Consumer Protection Laws highly in favor of the Consumer. I) First check w/Consumer Protection Agency or Better Buisiness Bureau: and confirm the 72hour recision clause...then, 1) Contact the Dealer w/witness(s) 2) Nail down the conditions for which the car was purchased: a) is the Lancer included in the special deal, or is the Lancer not included in the special deal 3) Did the dealer/mfg imply the car was included in the deal 4) If the car is not included in the deal a) At anytime did the dealer correct your assumption (based on their implication) that the car IS NOT a part of the deal? 5) If you receive no justice from the dealer and still feel you were wronged a) Contact an atty that specializes in Consumer Protection Laws...discuss the complaint w/the atty Davy, Glad to know you made it out of the dealer w/your ethics intact. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 Originally posted by Kevin Shasteen:...BTW: You have 72 hours to back out of any (This Means ANY) contract w/out cause: after 72 hours you will have to show cause... Kevin, Just FYI, that rule does not apply in California regarding the sale of cars believe it or not! When you sign the contract in Cali, if you drive off the lot, the car is yours forever. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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