I have found that on numerous occasions the current GM and Finance & Insurance Manager have tried to effect the changes necessary to turn the dealership around to the right LEGAL course. The owner doesn’t seem to care that he is in violation of numerous laws and he remarks, “Who is going to know”!
I have witnessed a conversation between a technician and the owner whereby the technician was told if the car drives straight, brakes good, wipers work, and no vibration at fifty miles per hour, “Why check out the car – get the NYS inspection sticker on the car, if the customer finds something we’ll deal with it later”. This is not the way to do business nor is the way to retain your good name or reputation.
On another such occasion I had the pleasure of watching the owner instruct a salesman on how to remove a NYS inspection sticker from one car and place it on the windshield of another. The owner calmly calls this a sticker slap… This is not only illegal for the dealership, this could potentially cause an unsuspecting consumer to spend some time in jail should he/she be on the wrong end of a police officer having a bad day.
Or, the customer who purchased a used vehicle. He traded in his three year old Mercedes-Benz still owing money on the original loan. The customer paid this dealership the 17K in cash to pay off his old vehicle with the bank. The customer has been receiving letters and calls from his bank for two months asking when the loan will be paid off… How is that for deception and fraud?
The reasons stated above are enough to warrant a stronger consumer protection act within the automotive industry. There are many other examples I have witnessed in a short four week span at this dealership, yet too many to list and some far worse than the ones outlined above.
I have studied some exemplary state and provincial consumer protection acts for the automotive industry and have come to the conclusion that OMVIC, “The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council” offer the BEST services, training, council and consumer protection. To find out more about OMVIC and how this type of program can benefit consumers, dealers and salespeople within the United States, please log onto the following website - OMVIC
I am quite certain that this level of non-compliance and ill regard for professionalism does not exist everywhere, however if it goes on at this location it most certainly happens at other establishments as well.
We need more accountability within the automotive industry. Accountability starts at the state enforcement level and filters down through NADA, the dealer associations to the independent dealers and their employees. We just might be able to instill a positive vision of the automotive industry in our consumers minds, a vision of trust. We all know that TRUST is the basis to a transaction.
David
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