A story about a bad dealership and how I got my 2012 Tacoma

I've been lurking these forums for over a year and I just bought my first truck a few weeks ago and thought I'd share my unique story with you guys.

I saw an ad on ebay for a 2012 Tacoma. V6 access cab 4x4 TRD Off-Road. Certified used 15,000 miles. Pretty much my dream Tacoma. The price was amazing... 25.6k! It seemed too good to be true so I called the dealer and talked with them about the advertisement and confirmed the price with them and told them I would be driving down to pick it up that day. After about a two hour drive I arrived and looked at the truck and did a test drive. It was nice, it also came with a front bumper, running boards, and tanno cover.

We went in to do the paperwork and I pulled out a print out of their ebay ad. The salesman looked at the price and then said he would be right back. He brought back another salesman who I talked to on the phone that morning and he denied that we discussed the advertisement or the price. My dad and I were very upset. He then got the manager of the store who came out fuming and claiming that the store does not use Ebay in any way at all and denied that the advertisement was not theirs and that clearly someone or a competitor posted it as a joke under their name (the ebay page had over 50 cars listed which were all at the dealership). The manager told me their price on that vehicle was 28k and there was now way he could sell it for our price. My dad called the manager out on a bait and switch and things got pretty heated and we left very upset.

Another odd thing... while I was test driving the salesman offered me a warranty. 10 yr 100,000 mile on the engine and trans and 12 month 12,000 miles on every else. The price... 1,600$. I told him that that warranty comes standard with all certified pre-owned toyotas and he changed the subject.

Upon arriving back home I typed up a letter explaining every event that occurred that day. The phone calls, the meetings, test drives, everything. I priority mailed them this letter asking them to correct and mistakes and to tell me if any information was false or incorrect and asked them returned a signed copy of their response. I then contacted ebay and they told me that they would begin an investigation to determine who really owns the ebay account. They told me if the dealership did in fact post the ebay ad then there could be a big lawsuit.

Four days later I get a voicemail from the dealership saying they were extremely sorry about everything that happened and said that we would honor the ebay price of 25.6k. I drove down that day I bought it for 25.6k. I love this new truck and am looking forward to being a regular on these forums. I just thought I'd share this unique story with you guys.

 

Bravo. Good for you and congrats on the new truck.

 

Best of luck with the new truck and sorry about the terrible dealership...

 

I'm very happy though, 25.6 was a great price for that truck with the miles it had. I'm glad I was able to kinda stick it to that dealership though.

 

wow. which toyota dealership is this.

 

Glad you got the truck you wanted, but if it were me, I would've passed on it. Instead, I would've let eBay sue the crap out of them. What they are doing is illegal and they know it. Who knows how many people they've already scammed.

David

 

Awesome story, and good on you both for standing your ground and calling them out!

$25k is a STEAL for that truck! You will love it, aside from all the $$$ that will be spent on MOAR MODS!!!

 

sounds to me that someone put the wrong price on the truck in the first place and the owner got mad and wouldn't come down. So what do people usually do when they are "had" they try and lie there way out of any responsibility. Enjoy your truck and take care of it..

 

glad it worked out

 

Dealerships use ads to bait and switch on used vehicles every day. I ran in to when buying my son a vehicle. One dealership even admitted to advertising a particular vehicle just to get people in the door.

 

awesome story because you got hooked up in the end and the dealer got screwed. sell this to Disney.

 

Wow thats an insane story man, but welcome and congrats on the great deal!!

 

At the end of the day you got your dream truck, huge congrats.

 

Great price you picked that truck up for but

 

Not worthless, just worth less.

 

Agreed Glad you got the dealership to fess up and honor their advertisement. I'd try to find a less shady one to do your maintenance though!

 

Wow, what a story. I am glad you were able to get it sorted out.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

 

Glad you got the truck you wanted. I would have never gotten as far as you though. As soon as I discover a price discrepancy that a dealer is not willing to negotiate on I thank them for their time and leave. There is no reason to get heated over it. A Tacoma is not a one of a kind item.

 

Congrats on the truck but same here...if it was me...I'll let them burn...