Maple Shade Mazda

BADLY TREATED at MAPLE SHADE MAZDA (NJ) On January 19 BADLY TREATED at MAPLE SHADE MAZDA (NJ) On January 19 2009 we (husband, wife and two little children of 3.5 years old and 17 months) started at 10 BADLY TREATED at MAPLE SHADE MAZDA (NJ) On January 19 2009 we (husband, wife and two little children of 3.5 years old and 17 months) started at 10 am to visit car dealers. We were interested in a Mazda CX-7 (we had checked the online Kelly Blue Book before starting out). We arrived at Maple Shade Mazda latish in the afternoon. We were interested in a particular used Mazda CX-7 we had seen on their online listing in Kelly Blue Book, but we were told it was not available. Instead, we were shown, and test drove, a 2007 Mazda 5 which had about 18,500 miles on it. We were told it was available for $15,950. We liked the car but not its color. Initially we were told it was the only one available. So we asked if another one (perhaps from a different year) might become available in the next week or so with a different color. We were then told that a black used 2008 Mazda 5 with 18,500 miles was available after all (although it seemed odd that it appeared to have been overlooked initially, after 7 hours of looking for a car with two little kids we didn't ask why - in hindsight, we should have asked). We were told the price for this car was $16,890. We ended up paying $16,090 for it, after trading in our old car ($400 credit) and rejecting what they called the `certification' (another $400). The following day we checked the Maple Shade Mazda online listing in the Kelly Blue Book and found THE SAME CAR WE HAD ORIGINALLY TAKEN FOR A TEST DRIVE. It WAS LISTED BY THEM for $14,650 INSTEAD of the $15,950 THEY QUOTED TO US when we were in their shop/showroom. The listing included two other 2008 Mazda 5s (which they did not mention to us when we were there) which had only 12,000 miles, but were listed at the same price they quoted us for car which had 18,500 miles. The DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE PRICES ONLINE AND THOSE QUOTED IN THE STORE left us feeling that they had been less than straightforward with us - that THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A TIRED FAMILY WITH TWO LITTLE KIDS. The following day we went back to the store/showroom to complain. We eventually met with the manager (a 5 minutes conversation) who said that "we should have done our homework first, before purchasing" (which to us meant "you should not have trusted us"). He also asked us "if we had been under the influence of alcohol when we purchased the car." So we are writing to express our dissatisfaction with the way we were treated by Maple Shade Mazda -- and by the manager in particular. HOW MANY e.g., ELDERLY PEOPLE who do NOT HAVE EASY ACCESS TO THE INTERNET have similarly been QUOTED PRICES in the MAPLE SHADE MAZDA STORE/SHOWROOM which are SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER than what is QUOTED ONLINE? We do not think this is a particularly ethical way to do business, and we hope our experience will convince people, especially people with no internet access, to BUY THEIR CARS SOMEWHERE ELSE, somewhere where the sales people and management WORK WITH rather than against the customer. Needless to say, our experience has soured our feelings for Mazda North America sufficiently for us to take the time to write this letter and to share our story as widely as possible. More