My favorite part of the story is when the lying bully tells the OP that he is a terrible person and that he has no respect for him. These kind of stories warm my black heart.
Anyone who thinks salespeople are always professional and donât browbeat people into doing what they want should listen to this: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/513/129-cars NOTE: the Internet version of this episode includes un-bleeped curse words.
Many salespeople sell cars by being aggressive, and it reinforces their behavior when that behavior makes them successful. Selling cars isnât like most other businesses. The salesperson wants to close the deal, regardless of whether it leads to repeat business.
Bully is an understatementâŠhim telling me that âI thought we were friendsâ I almost fell over! Yea, the best kind of friend I would wantâŠanyone trying to sell you something is NOT your friendâŠbut I am supposed to be so naiveâŠ
Why on earth would you voluntarily give any money to this dealer if youâre not liable, especially after the salesman yelled at you and called you a lousy and evil person?
If that request for payment ever shows up, I would ignore it
After making empty threats, they donât deserve one more red cent from you
And as far as service goes, Iâd find someplace else to take the car. Considering how unprofessional they acted, Iâd not trust them to maintain your car properly
I for one think this story is 100% true
I spent some years at a dealer, and Iâm still in the industry. I know about some of the shady and incompetent goings-on
You couldnât make this stuff up if you tried
I happen to also know that the part about Toyota corporate only being able to keep track of disputes is true. I once had an issue and called Toyota corporate. They also told me they could only keep track of things. I told them the name of the dealer and the nature of the problem. They really didnât care. They asked me if I wanted them to send me a survey. I said donât bother, because Iâll give them an F
Iâm thinking the same way @TwinTurbo is. Iâm amazed that the state would ever let the car be registered without proof of Tax payment. The tax payment on every state I lived falls to the owner of the vehicle. Cars are different from anything else you buy since you have to license and register the vehicle. You donât license and register the shoes you buy. So the collection of tax on those type of items is the store. When I buy something in MA Iâm charged a Tax (if the item is taxable). But if I buy a car in MA Iâm NOT charged a sales tax.
When I got back from Nam and was stationed at Ft Campbell Ky. I bought my first car in Tennessee. But registered it in NY. I didnât pay any sales tax in TN. When I registered the car in NyâŠI had to pay a 7% usage/sales tax there.
I donât doubt this is trueâŠIâm just amazed that it could ever happen. States LOVE to collect their tax. So the dealer paid the tax, but didnât collect it from the buyer. AgainâŠthatâs weird. How could they FORGET a couple thousand dollars? Why would they ever do this. If I was the owner of the dealer Iâd FIRE my finance guy for doing that. Most decent dealers have software that will automatically add in the sales tax to the final price.
This just seems to weird to me.
@The Same MountainbikeâI was able to locate some information on that scamming Honda dealership, and my memory was apparently faulty. Instead of 3 or 4 dealerships, these two brothers ownedâŠat least 10 dealerships. And, this info regarding the case that the State of NJ filed against ALL of their dealerships alleges far more than âjustâ the de-contenting of new cars.
While this doesnât have all of the details, it does contain enough to be both fascinated and appalled that scam artists like this were able to amass enough money to own so many car dealerships. But, I guess that scam artists are the best at amassing large sums of moneyâŠ
Iâll echo calling the AG office and a local TV station with a consumer affairs segment. Even though the situation is pretty much over with, letting others know of their shady dealings will go a long way to help others out. It may even get more people to come out and say âHey, that place done that to me, too.â
Oh my God, VDC. Thanks a million for the update. The scope of these guysâ scams is beyond belief. If you wrote that into a TV script, everyone would say it was too outrageous to be believed.
I hope everyone involved goes to prison for a very, very, very long time. And I hope some of their former customers happen to be there.
There is a very well known NASCAR team owner and new car dealer who has had some pretty checkered dealings in the past. He pleaded guilty to misdeeds with Honda and got off very lightly after most charges were dismissed. President Clinton pardoned him a few weels after receiving a 500 grand donation from the NASCAR ownerâs buddyâŠ
Ah, ethics⊠
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I suspect that the $2700 will be coming out of the salesmans next check which will also be his last.
Probably why he was such a grouch.
Years ago, I was fired from a few jobs, for incompetence. This was before I was turning wrenches.
I donât recall yelling at anybody for my own mistakes. I took my licking and moved on to the next job, where I didnât make those same mistakes.
Iâm late in this thread so maybe this has been covered. In California the auto dealer is responsible for collecting and paying the sales tax. Itâs likely that the salesperson is trying to get the OP to pay for something that the dealer is holding the salesperson responsible for.
I wouldnât pay it unless I had agreed to the higher price and clearly knew it was an error. If the dealer/salesperson has threatened you, tell him to provide text of the law. You donât need to act. He does. Even if you were legally responsible you would have an opportunity to pay the tax you owed to stop the process. Hang on to your sales receipt. If it says N/A for sales tax, then they have agreed to take responsibility for it.
Are you all as tired of this as I am? I am reallyâŠ
Todayâs update, Saturday mail arrives with a registered letter from the dealership. So now at least I have something in writing about this situation. Another couple names of people at the dealership included.
They are continuing to threaten me with several things. Firstly, now they say: âWe have confirmed with the State of California that I do not hold a valid âresale permitâ and my purchase is subject to all applicable taxes.â Oh, and what might a resale permit be? Is that the Title? rightâŠ
The threats: 'If necessary, we will report the nonpayment to the following agencies: Board of Equalization, Department of Motor Vehiclesâ
Again, bulls**t.
I already spoke with the BofE and they told me that if I have the title in my name, it is paid for, and they wouldnât get involved. This is from their expert on sales tax issues.
I just got a printout on the vehicle record at the DMV, and it shows everything has been paid, and there are no problems with it.
I now do not want to pay them one cent. This has taken up too much of my life already. All the lies and other tactics have worn away at me enough.
I am going to compose another letter to send back to them, again explain my position and how I feel I have been treated, and no money.
I would not respond to them anymore. All you can do is make things worse. Either get a lawyer to advise you (and possibly write a letter for you) or just collect their letters in case you eventually have grounds for harassment.
I would also not accept certified letters anymore. They donât need to certify them. The only reason they would do that would be either because they donât know better or they think they will scare you into responding.
I did some research, and a âresale permitâ as they put it, is probably a âresale licenseâ which is something someone who sells and buys cars would need to have. I am not any such person, I am a private citizen that bought a car. My gosh, apparently no one there has a clue.
I have called a lawyer, but didnât want to push into that, but now, since they continue to harass me with these bogus threats, I might have to go that route, and have them write the letter.
It is still unknown why the closer believed this was a tax exempt sale but since they have verified you donât have a brokers license this suggests how they were mistaken during the sale.
It might be worth having that lawyer send a âcease and desistâ letter to the dealer. I suspect when they receive correspondence with the lawyerâs letterhead, theyâll leave you alone, because everybody now knows the game is over, and they lost
Make sure the letter clearly states that you donât owe them anything, because they are the ones that made the mistake, and theyâll have to eat the costs. Also make it clear that since you checked with the DMV, and you are in the clear with them. Have the letter tell them to stop harrassing and threatening them. Make sure this comes across loud and clear.
Good luck
You need a lawyer. Fast. Yours is not a car problem, itâs a legal problem.
Sincere best.