Be Wary of "Special Pricing"

As I've posted recently we bought a 2005 Dodge 2.0 SX at Grove Dodge in Spruce Grove under the Employee Pricing guise. Ever since we bought it I had a bad feeling and was having some trouble sleeping because of it. It turned out my thoughts were correct, there was something wrong with the deal.

I have a friend here at work who knows someone in the car business that just happens to work with a local Dodge/Chrysler dealer here in Edmonton. We talked and he said to send him the paperwork and he will see how I did. Apparently, not well :-( First of all I was overcharged on the Employee Pricing. Second, he started asking me if it had aluminium wheels (no), spoiler (no), floor mats (no) and that really brought up the fact that they were taking advantage. I asked Grove Dodge to have the invoice faxed to me as I was supposed to sign it. I never did see it when I signed the deal because if I did I would have seen the missing "parts" on the invoice and not on the car. I was told by my 'new friend' what I should have paid for the car and what I should have on it. I talked to my salesman and told him I would be in after work.

We talked to the manager and I explained to him that I felt the deal was misrepresented. He agreed. He said what had happened was that there was another deal where the customer wanted the spoiler and wheels but the dealer didn't have them so they took them off this car. What was supposed to happen was the invoice would be marked that those items were not on the car and the price was supposed to be adjusted. So, with my new knowledge thanks to my 'new friend' I was able to get what I was supposed to pay on the Employee Pricing. The difference was just under $1000 + GST. I will be getting a cheque for that on Friday. Next, I will be getting the 15" aluminium wheels, spoiler, and floor mats as stated on the invoice. I was also given lifetime free oil changes. They promised to make things right. I think they come close.

A lessoned learned here is that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In hindsight, I should have went to a few other dealers but I was under the impression that the Employee Pricing was a fixed cost based on the invoice, which is was supposed to be. Grove Dodge did not follow the rules of the sale so not really knowing the rules of the sale before hand, I was taken for what they could get.

I would like to thank my friend Ray at work for passing me onto Phil Rutherford at Crosstown Motors who helped me get the deal that I was supposed to get. For my next vehicle I will be seeing Phil on the recommendation from Ray. Maybe you should too. Tell him I sent you!!