I had the worst experience yesterday at Audi Exchange I... - Kelly
I had the worst experience yesterday at Audi Exchange I have ever had at a car dealership. I am not a complainer, but this was beyond the pale. I reached out to AE Saturday on-line in response to a listing for an Audi etron sportback. On Monday morning, I had contact with Milan and Maria about the car, which had not arrived yet. On Tuesday morning, I had not heard back from Milan, so reached out to Maria again. She indicated Milan was off for the day but that she would have another sales rep contact me. She told me the car had come in and she provided me a contact to call for a quote on shipping the car to TN. After 30 to 45 minutes, a rep had still not contacted me so I called the dealership and was connected to Maria. I knew I needed to move quickly on the car because not many are available. I asked to talk with a sales rep and Maria put me in touch with Scott. Scott sent me pictures of the car and I immediately viewed the pictures and asked if AE could come $500 off the MSRP and ship to me - this was offered to me on another Audi Sportback in MO. Shawn indicated he would check and awhile later responded that he could not offer shipping and that actually AE was asking for $5000 over the MSRP. I indicated to Scott that the car was advertised on AE's website for a "price" of $83,245 (the MSRP) and on Edmunds and other sites as well for that price and that neither he nor Milan and Maria had ever indicated the price was anything other than as advertised. I indicated that a last minute increase of the price was not only unfair dealing, but was likely illegal. Scott indicated that this was not his decision and that it put him in a difficult position as a salesperson. He asked if I was still interested in the car and I said "yes, at the advertised price." He said he would talk with his manager and call me back in 5 minutes. Twenty minutes later, I texted Scott for an update and he texted me back that the car had been sold! I immediately called him and he had no response other than that the car was sold to someone else. I then called his manager, Vic Javalili, and spoke with him for 10 minutes. Vic listened and gave me a sob story about low inventory and having to lay off workers. He was non-apologetic for the extremely poor service I had experienced, the last-minute increase in price of $5000, and the fact that AE sold the vehicle out from under me WHILE I was trying to negotiate a price. Throughout my two days of contact with the dealership, during which I aggressively pursued this car, not once was I told that the "advertised price" was not really the price or that the dealership would not negotiate (as Vic belated told me twice). Additionally, it was never suggested to me that I put a deposit down to hold it or that I was in anyway at risk of not completing the transaction. Rather, despite my urgency, the people I dealt with were not moving or talking with any sense of urgency.
It was, by far, the worst, underhanded, experience I have had with a business.
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