it was a "bog standard" Toyota Spec, how could he get that wrong????

So did you take the car?

Well yes, after agreeing a suitable discount for the missing functionality.

It was all properly cordial despite steam starting to gently issue from Senior managment.

I would have rejected the car, if for myself, and ordered another, but could not do that to Tiddles.

When I suggested we leave to discuss our options privately, the salesman was good enough to volunteer to leave us in his office to discuss, which we did, but actually did not need to as we were all of the same mind, each with the same acceptable (to us) discount figure, already figgerd so to speak.

The salesman did also offer to return our deposit etc etc, as I said all very cordial despite the unexpected. last minute stressors.

PS

After 30 years under instruction I am larning some negeotation skills from herself.

I have deliberately kept this somewhat vague so as to not embarass the dealership or salesman, or indeed perhaps myself?

Edited by dieseldogg on 29/01/2012 at 14:16

I do understand where you are coming from bonzo dog, but notwithstanding the different specification the car was still cheaper than either of the other 2 quotes we had recived, quite substantially.

Senior Managment & I can both do sums in our head, we knew exactly where we stood financially, and Tiddles would have accepted our decision, albeit reluctantly, if we had had of said NO.

I did note that the salesman "squeaked" at our proposed comprimise price, which was well hard-nosed, I can assure you, especially after the insurance mix-up.............. now perhaps as a connsumate salesman he could have that off slick, but at 52 years of age I saw it as a genuine reaction.

We are all capable of making mistakes and the salesman put his hands up and said quite simply " I made a mistake".

We appreciated that honesty.

My main misgiving was that having been given an option to cancel our order with the deposit refunded, could I have sprung a better deal for a different marque/model elsewhere????, with all the current car adverts in our NI press.

Skidpan - you don't buy from a car salesman, he is merely an employee. You buy from the business. In many cases dealerships lie about delivery dates, holding PX values etc simply to get the order. They then switch the customer to something they have available at a later date, blaming the "young, inexperienced salesman" or the "admin girl who we recently had to sack" or .......

Bonzo Dog

Hear what youy say but the salesman is the customers point of contact and its first impressions that count a lot of the time. A fancy showroom is no good if its full of idle liars even if that is company policy. The Mini salesman made a good first impression on the phone but denied any of what we had discussed when we arrived at the dealers. The BMW salesman also made a good first impression and did not lie,cheat or anything, he was exactly what a salesman should be, even the Mrs was impressed and she is normally out of a showroom before me if the salesman starts spouting nonsense.

No one at the dealership blamed the Mini salesman because I did not make any complaints about him, if he planned to carry on in that way he would soon have been out of a job without needing my help. I did not need a car at the time and was able to wait a few months and thankfully gat what we really wanted.

In the dim and distant past I have had salesmen change figures on an order after I have signed it, that one did not work since I had the top copy plus I had one salesman clone my trade in and sell it twice which was the end of his career at that garage and the end of his liberty for a while as well.

Hi skidpan,I understand the principle of cloning ,how did it actually work in this case.

Car was an 1984 XR3i, year was 1986. Part exchanged the hateful XR3i against a Golf GTi, never been so happy to see the back of a car. It wasn't that it was unreliable, uneconomical or anything like that, it was such a disapointment after all the hype. Golf Gti was a differt matter, did 170,000 miles in 2 of them over the next 10 years, brilliant cars.

Anyway, back to the posting, car went in part chop and salesman removed chasis plate which went into clone (stolen 100 miles away) and that was sold off the dealers forecourt. The original car with dodgy chassis plate went to his mates car lot and was sold. I used to see the car every week at least once since a mate of mone live a few doors away from the new owner, never spoke to him though. Exactly 12 months after I sold it 8.00pm Saturday evening during a blizzard 2 x Mr Plod turns up, I had genuine flu thus they did not stay long but from what I ascertained the car close by was the ringer, the genuine one was about 15 miles away. Back in the days before computers it only came to light according to plod when they both applied to Swansea for tax at the same time. All they wanted from me was who was the salesman at the dealers and did I have anyone look at the car before I part exchanged it. Never heard from them again.

Best thing was it had quite a recognisable and unforgetable number plate, wish I had kept it.