gone
Power User
So..............a bit of an update on my situation. The GM of the dealership called me last week because of some 'social media comments' he read. Maybe this forum? He didn't say, however he wanted me to go meet with him to try to sort out the 'concerning comments' that he read. At the end of a lot of discussion, and my calling him out on all the BS fees the dealership tacked on, I ended up getting $1000 back on the extra fees they decided to arbitrarily add for things I didn't want nor would I ever have agreed to. I believe he expected me to profusely thank him when I opened the cheque. Although it was appreciated it didn't alleviate much of what happened.
One thing that made me laugh was that he said part of the fees was because they emptied the air from the tires and re-filled them with nitrogen. I told him that was THEIR decision, not mine, and that I would have been fine with the air that they put in the tires in Bowling Green. He tried to justify that extra cost for again, something I didn't want nor was told about. When I also asked him why they tried to charge me $175 for a tank of fuel his answer was 'gas isn't free and we have over 1500 employees that we have to pay'. I told him a tank should be free when you hand him a bank draft for $106,000.00. He didn't have an answer for that and continued to lie and claim that 'everyone does these things'. When I told him other dealerships don't and other costs are minimal he again told me that everyone charges all the same fees.
He went on to say that all the rest of the commenters on the forum lied or didn't know how things worked. This included multiple dealerships I called along with half a dozen salespeople/managers at other GM dealerships that are NOT part of this particular ownership group. Not a single other GM dealer my family has bought from in the past 50 years, including my parents and in-laws, EVER paid a dime for fuel on a brand new car nor had fees tacked on for extras that they didn't order nor wanted. His answer again was that everyone else was wrong.
I also cancelled my order with them for the high wing spoiler and labor I had already paid for and I re-ordered the high wing for $300 cheaper from a dealer in Ottawa. The treatment I received from the GM at that particular dealership made my experience horrible and I walked away feeling like a 16 year old kid buying his first car and getting chumped by a GM who thought I didn't know better and was going to swallow all the BS he kept feeding me. Dealing with him killed any excitement I had after a 19 month wait. I really hope no one here has a similar experience but it might be a good idea to ask your dealer EXACTLY what the final price will be before the car arrives to avoid the garbage I dealt with.
Sorry to hear about this experience. I always recommend sorting out the "final price" before taking actual delivery. It makes the delivery quicker, a lot more smooth and avoids unpleasant surprises. Plus the car isn't actually sitting in front of you so you're less emotional and less likely to just accept everything, and you've got time before the delivery to sort things out, even if it means contacting a manager or in the case of rtrombley3 (it sounds like he dealt with the general manager) the owner of the dealership, if you feel that strongly about what's being proposed. As for a tank of gas, I've never paid for that and I've purchased many new vehicles, including a 2020 and (quite recently) a 2023 C8. Maybe it's more common in Ontario and more recently? I know I bought a BMW from Toronto years ago and had it shipped out West; it came with a full tank. I suspect the dealerships I've dealt with here in Alberta would be embarrassed to ask to be reimbursed for gas.