Mercedes-Benz of Sacramento

Potential Buyers Beware - Unethical Sales Practices I have been looking for a specific Certified Used Mercedes for several weeks. I contacted Sacramento Mercedes to discuss a vehicle they had available I have been looking for a specific Certified Used Mercedes for several weeks. I contacted Sacramento Mercedes to discuss a vehicle they had available on their website. It did not have a feature that was important to me so I asked them to contact me if they received another vehicle that met my needs. I was thrilled when a few days later Tim Snider emailed me the MSRP for the perfect car. I immediately called and told him I wanted to purchase the vehicle and asked when I could pick it up and how I could reserve it since I live 2 hours from the dealership. I was told that the car was in reconditioning, would not be available until Friday, and that I could reserve it by providing my / my husbands information so he could begin the registration process to transfer the vehicle to us. I provided information including info for MB credit even though I told them I would not be financing through them. On Wednesday, I noticed they had posted the vehicle on their website for sale. I immediately called and asked why the vehicle I was purchasing was being made available to sale to others. I was told that I needed to put down a deposit on the vehicle and that if I did so it would be removed from the website. I gave them my credit card number and agreed to a deposit amount. On Thursday I received a call from Aaron Thetford, the Sales Manager. He told me that someone else had come in, started the purchase process for the vehicle, then left to make a phone call. When I asked how this could happen when I had agreed to purchase, made and appointment for Friday to purchase the vehicle, and had put a deposit on the vehicle, he said that the dealerships policy was to not hold vehicles. I told him that I had not been informed of this earlier and that I had been told the vehicle was reserved from me to purchase tomorrow (Friday). He then said, if you really want this vehicle you need to sign a contract before the other buyer returns to complete the purchase. I asked him to fax me the contract but he said he could not do so because he needed an original signature. He then offered to have someone bring me the contract and told me he would help me fill it out right then. I agreed and we began the process. He asked what I was willing to pay and I said I would pay full asking price. He then asked how much I would put down. I told him I would put down the deposit I had already made and my trade-in (Lexus RX350) vehicle. He stopped and said, oh no.. this has to be a clean sale with no trade-in. I asked why and he said well we don't know if we want your trade-in and you have five minutes to decide if you really want this car. I initially said fine that I would sell my Lexus another way. We completed our conversation and I again expressed how upset I was that they had told me I could not even see the vehicle until my appointment tomorrow, had told me the vehicle was reserved for me, and had taken a deposit from me on the vehicle and now they were pressuring me to purchase it sight unseen, without my trade-in, and were giving me five minutes to decide. I got off the phone and called my hubby to relay what had just happened. He was understandably steamed and told me to call and cancel the deal. I called Tim, told him I wanted to come in and pick up my vehicle as agreed tomorrow and that I would not sign a contract sight unseen. He told me the car was already sold to the other person. I then called Aaron, and told him again how upset I was at what I considered to be unethical sales tactics. He made some comment about this not being his first rodeo and blamed Tim for not giving me accurate information when he said I could reserve the car with a deposit. On Monday of the following week I sent Aaron an email and copied the General Manager indicating my husband and I would like to make an appointment to talk to the General Manager about what had transpired. I also stated that I would give the dealership an opportunity to rectify the situation by finding an equivalent car for me. I received a return email from Aaron stating how the dealership prides itself on superior customer service and that he would "find me a better car" to resolve the situation. Two days later I received an email from Tim, indicating that Aaron had been "looking all week" and had found me a better car that they would make available to me at the same price as the prior vehicle. I asked him to send me the details and he sent me a copy of the MSRP for the car. The vehicle I had originally reserved and placed a deposit on had an MSRP of $72,425, had ~22k miles, AMG interior and exterior packages, and was listed for sale for $41,900. The "better" car they were offering at the same priced had an MSRP of $64,155, did not have the same options, and had ~30k miles. I told them that this car was not comparable, and that my expectation was that I would be offered an equivalent car at the same price. Radio silence since then. I will be filing a complaint with Mercedes Corporate, the BBB, and State. More

Milage Everything was great as always.....and Efrain is always the best! However, I don't know why they drove my car 118 miles while in service. The last 4 Everything was great as always.....and Efrain is always the best! However, I don't know why they drove my car 118 miles while in service. The last 4 miles were after the final billing was done when I picked it up. My question is why???? More