Recently been looking to buy a nearly new (Japanese Make) Diesel. After doing my research on Autotrader and 2 separate (Japanese Make) dealership websites I thought I'd found 2 examples of the ideal vehicle. After arriving for a booked test drive at the 1st dealership, despite their website and the Autotrader website advertising to the contrary, I was informed that the vehicle which was advertised a having cruise control actually didn't after all. The dealership staff referred me to the disclaimer on both their and the Autotrader websites which outlined that cars advertised may not have all the features detailed in the adverts; I was also informed that (despite the car being advertised for sale for well over a month) the dealership staff had not taken it upon themselves to check that the details on both their and the Autotrader websites were correct. Fast forward 2 days later when I rang up another (same Japanese Make) dealership enquiring about a 2nd (Japanese Make car) advertised on the dealership and Autotrader websites as having cruise control. This time I asked the sales person to go out onto the forecourt to physically check the car I was interested in had cruise control before booking a test drive and to ring me back immediately. 1 hour later I received a ringback informing me that it did not, after all, have this feature.

Is this a game that dealerships play to trick people into visiting their sites or are they simply OK with incorrect details about vehicles being posted onto their own and the Autotrader websites relying on the disclaimers on such websites to explain away why customers have been misled and had their time wasted visiting a dealership.

The irony is, had the 1st (Japanese Car Make) I found on line had been as advertised, I would have bought the car there and then on my credit card and driven away that afternoon. Not impressed - so much so that I've ordered a new car (from a different car manufacturer) this week from a local dealership where the customer service is superb.

Have any other readers had a similar experience?

Edited by somacose on 02/01/2014 at 11:50