Sales response when my car is not available

[lulu]

Hi,

Afer a week of signing the contract, I got a call from my sales that my car is not available ANYWHERE in Canada for delivery (GT Orange, Moonroof, A/C, Manual). They said they have a leather seat car available in their lot, and all I have to add is $700 (versus MSRP $900 + tax).

I said NO, and I insisted *my* car.

Then he said he\'ll suggest to his manager to remove the leather seats from that car in the lot, and replace them with cloth seats from other car.

Does it do any harm if I take this option?

Lulu

[majic]

i don\'t see a problem with that except for making sure that all airbag sensors are plugged back in correctly. maybe you also have a choice of the colour and/or type? GT vs. GS/GX seats

go for it!

[lulu]

Thanks!

How do I make sure that the airbag sensor is plugged back correctly? ;-) Hope not until I need to use it :p

What\'s the difference between the seats you mentioned?

[majic]

i THINK that you\'d get a CEL/airbag light on if there was a problem so that should be easy to detect. The onus would be on the dealer when they are swapping the seats

GT seats come in red/balck, blue/black and black leather
GX/GS come in beige or black cloth (depending on the chosen exterior colour)

I never sat in the GS/GX so i can\'t compare but from pix they look like they have a different cut to them. are the GT seats more firm/sporty? maybe, i don\'t know for sure.

[chaser]

The seats material for GS/GX is different from GT\'s
Also, I think leather equipped cars have different door trims than \"regular\".

[TheProfessor]

If you were buying a Sport I would say jump on it since the Sunset Orange will not be available for the 2006 model. Since you want the sedan, and the colour is supposed to remain, I would suggest perhaps waiting it out either for them to find a 2005 or get you a 2006 for the same price (not sure how likely that is).

[Optimzer]

I would go for the $700 leather option and add in heated seats! :D

[Krakilin]

Get the leather and tint your windows so it won\'t be boiling under the sun.

[nifty6]

Originally posted by Krakilin


Get the leather and tint your windows so it won\'t be boiling under the sun.

Try another dealer and have them search the car you want. Some dealers will use this tactic to sell you a car with more options to make more money off you by telling you that the car you want is not available but we have the same car with these extra options. I had this done to me when I was looking and almost bought a Honda Accord. Told me they had the colour I wanted but had the leather option etc. which I didn\'t want. Walked out and bought a new M3 off the lot exactly what I wanted. I really don\'t think they will switch the seats. Too costly a change. Personally I don\'t like leather. Too hot in summer even with tinted windows and a weak A/C, not worth the money.
Let us know how you make out.

[lulu]

Thanks for all who replied.

My sales called me and told me that my M3 Sport (Orange) just arrived. No car seat changed was required. Well... I didn\'t question him about the unavailibility he mentioned last week.

The other thing that upset me (I am still dealing with him) is that my sales told me 2 times that I can charge my credit card *in full* (I can almost get a round trip ticket to Vancouver free, with my Aeroplan card). So I called my bank to push up my limit temporarily (it was a hassle and lots of credit check). But just an hour ago, I called the \"finance manager\" about licence plates and stuff, and I mentioned I will bring my credit card for final payment. He said \"NONO\" and he can charge up to 2,000 to my card only.

So the information provided by my sales and the \"finance manager\" is different. That really upsets me. Now I have to get a certified cheque (a week!) and stuff. I called up my sales and told him he gave me wrong info. He said he\'ll try to straighten it out with his \"manager\". He better let me swipe my card!!!!!!!

Has anyone paid full by credit card before?

[Optimzer]

yeah - one of my family members put a car on their CC in full..

[TheProfessor]

We were also told that only $2K of our $5K down payment could be put on CC, we just gave a draft for the remainder :sarc

[BangHatch]

if the dealer didnt give you any \"warnings\" whatsoever that your car may not be available, BITCH about it.... tell them to give you the leather for FREE.... why should you bend down to them? you signed a deal for a specific car, and they\'re giving you the leftovers on their lots that they want to get rid of...

with regards to the payments etc... why are they telling you all of this after the fact of everything done?! .... threaten to complain to mazda canada head office...

i got screwed around by a sales manager and got him fired for it......

[majic]

Originally posted by lulu


Thanks for all who replied.

My sales called me and told me that my M3 Sport (Orange) just arrived. No car seat changed was required. Well... I didn\'t question him about the unavailibility he mentioned last week.

The other thing that upset me (I am still dealing with him) is that my sales told me 2 times that I can charge my credit card *in full* (I can almost get a round trip ticket to Vancouver free, with my Aeroplan card). So I called my bank to push up my limit temporarily (it was a hassle and lots of credit check). But just an hour ago, I called the \"finance manager\" about licence plates and stuff, and I mentioned I will bring my credit card for final payment. He said \"NONO\" and he can charge up to 2,000 to my card only.

So the information provided by my sales and the \"finance manager\" is different. That really upsets me. Now I have to get a certified cheque (a week!) and stuff. I called up my sales and told him he gave me wrong info. He said he\'ll try to straighten it out with his \"manager\". He better let me swipe my card!!!!!!!

Has anyone paid full by credit card before?

the reaseon they allow you to put $2K (max) on your CC is b/c after $2K they pay a HIGHER service charge to visa/mc/amex. i was told i could pay the entire car on the cc but i\'d have to cough up for the service charges (i forget how much)

ppl who buy luxury cars (say 60K+) either don\'t care about the extra charges or they are already built in the price negotiated. I know a friend bought her bimmer using only the cc.

btw. a certified cheque takes.. umm 5minutes. that is if you have the moolah in your account. and if you don\'t and you use PC cut a bunch of $5K cheques and deposit them to PC (they clear immediately) and then go to CIBC and get a draft/certified cheque (whichever is cheaper - $6.50 i remember paying for mine) and you\'re done.

[BangHatch]

Originally posted by majic

the reaseon they allow you to put $2K (max) on your CC is b/c after $2K they pay a HIGHER service charge to visa/mc/amex. i was told i could pay the entire car on the cc but i\'d have to cough up for the service charges (i forget how much)

ppl who buy luxury cars (say 60K+) either don\'t care about the extra charges or they are already built in the price negotiated. I know a friend bought her bimmer using only the cc.

btw. a certified cheque takes.. umm 5minutes. that is if you have the moolah in your account. and if you don\'t and you use PC cut a bunch of $5K cheques and deposit them to PC (they clear immediately) and then go to CIBC and get a draft/certified cheque (whichever is cheaper - $6.50 i remember paying for mine) and you\'re done.

if im not mistaken on the \"service charge\" which btw, they are not supposed to charge is 2%......

and the certified cheque no matter how easy it is to get, lulu was told a totally different thing initially..... besides, its all about the points!:)

[majic]

oh i agree.. that\'s why i wanted to pay it all on my driver\'s edge platinum mastercard.. :D

but i didn\'t want to pay an extra 500 to get that 500 back in points .. unfortunately for lulu is his word against the sales guy and not much can be done about it now :(

they\'ll say.. ok so don\'t buy from us period.. sux.. c\'est la vie ..

[DeLaY_NoMoRe]

hm.....it\'s weired......I\'d paid over 2K of downpayment from my VISA when I picked up the car.....and the funniest thing was the sales actually encouraged me to paid by a CC, since I was telling him over the phone i would like to pay cash, then he just said \"why don\'t u pay w/CC, it\'s more convinient for both me and u!?\".....:)

[lulu]

Oh well... on my Vehicle Purchase Agreement, it doesn\'t say anything about credit card payment. It was a verbal agreement with the sales only. I guess I can\'t revoke the contract with this. In fact, I found that I could have gotten a better deal with another sales in the same dealer (he doesn\'t have a seat, so he takes lower margin).

Anyway, my sales who miscommunicated to me apologized and offered me an accessory. It\'s a rear bumper protector (for hatch back). Not sure what it is and how much it actually worths.

Anywayz..... :(

LuLu

[wtom]

Originally posted by lulu

Anyway, my sales who miscommunicated to me apologized and offered me an accessory. It\'s a rear bumper protector (for hatch back). Not sure what it is and how much it actually worths.



Hallo ... rear bumper step plate for the Mazda3 Sport only, Mazda.ca price C$26.00

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/mazda3/step_plate.jpg

[oroboru]

Well glad it worked out... sort of. Which dealer did you go to, Lulu?

[lulu]

I live between Ottawa and Toronto. I went to Bank Street Mazda (Ottawa), and they claimed to have the best sales in 2005 (until June) in Ontario.

It\'s $26500 OTR = GT Sports Manual + Moonroof + A/C + Wheel lock (- cash payment rebate of $750). I thought it\'s a good deal, but apparently, it could be better :(

LuLu

[TheProfessor]

You definately could\'ve done better, but you know what, who cares, it\'s too late. Just enjoy the car :)