Brian Obregon sent a message to Michael J. Jackson - Chief Executive Officer of AutoNation Inc. - Email Address that said:
Mr. Jackson,
My name is Brian Obregon and I wanted to relay something that happened to me with respect to your Mercedes Benz of Naperville, IL dealership.
I viewed a 1999 Mercedes E430 stock #XA867683 on the MB of Naperville website on Monday 08/14. Seeing the price was $5,974 and this was the vehicle I have been searching for quite some time, I contacted the dealership to obtain additional information. The salesperson assigned to me was Peter Samaan. For the last few days, we have been discussing the vehicle and my trade-in. I am from St. Louis which is about a 4 1/2 drive from Naperville and I wanted to see if we could get close to the value of my trade-in before making a 9 hour drive roundtrip. I became comfortable yesterday 08/16 that we were close enough in value of trade-in that I would be comfortable making the drive to close the deal.
In order to hold the car for me, Peter asked for my drivers license, insurance card and a credit card number to place a small deposit. I provided all of this information to him as requested. However, after the information was provided including the credit card, Peter texted me an hour later to let me know that the price of the vehicle was no longer $5,974 and is now $7,500. That is not what the website shows and we have been negotiating on the purchase of this vehicle as a package (asking price of Mercedes and value of trade-in) under the assumption that the vehicle was the price as displayed publically, or $5,974. In looking at the website this morning 08/17, the price is still $5,974 so I am confused as to what the price is. But more importantly, this seems as though it is a bait and switch where I am negotiating in good faith but then at the final minute, the price changes and the vehicle is pulled out from under me.
There seems to be some unethical business practices going on at this dealership and I need an explanation. I have full documentation of our conversations with text and email if needed. I also left a message with Eric Hoffman (GM of dealership) last night 08/16 but have not received a call back as of 10:20 a.m. Central Time.
Any help would be appreciated as I am ready to purchase this vehicle at the price of $5,974. I also want to be sure this does not happen to someone else trying to purchase a vehicle at this dealership.
