Just when you thought that once you are armed with good data about buying a new car, a new variable get’s thrown into the mix. We have had the new-car horry story experience with Triangle Mitsubishi in 2001. So we thought we would be skilled to handle anything that comes our way on the next new car purchase. We were proven wrong.Initial interest (05.26.2004)

So we get a piece of mail from Mitsubishi on how we can get up to $2900 in a refund to end our lease early, of course if we stick with Mitsubishi. Danyelle and I had thought of this in the past, and we weren’t hot on the idea of keeping a lease. So she goes to Rockville Mitsubishi to quickly eye a 2004 Lancer Ralliart and kind of likes what see sees. So she calls me to negotiate with the salesperson.

So I arrive at the dealership, and it seems to take forever to get a good deal. They had already marked up the car $2995, and it seemed the MSRP was a tad high. This is where the fun began.

Dealer Haggle (05.26.2004)

The initial negotiations with the salesperson seemed to be off to a very rocky start. First I tried to get them to justify the dealer markup and the salesperson noted that this was a hot selling car. Not quite true since there were a few on the lot and not that far away the same car could be had with only a $500 markup. I explained to him I wanted to make sure that he was fairly compensated for the sale, but I wasn’t going to pay for an outrageous sum.

The first real numbers he came back with were outrageous. 6% interest, $2000 down, and something like $380 a month. I immediately became frustrated but tried to maintain as much calm as I could. I explained that I knew my wife’s FICO score and it was in the 700s plus we were just in a Mitsubishi lease for three years without a single blemish.

A couple more times he came back with a different set of numbers. Some with a lower interest, higher down payments, longer terms. He attempted to use one of the slimy tactics that many sales people use; “what do you want your payments to be”. This is a huge misstate for a consumer to focus on and show instead look at the bottom line.

After threatening to walk out of the negotiations, a good deal finally came along with 0% interest but with a markup still. I was satisfied with the deal, like I said I wanted for the dealership to be fairly compensated. I went home for a couple hours waiting for my wife and then we headed to the dealership at night (7pm) and lo and behold the salesperson is anxious to give us the car that instant. Mind you the car still has its shipping tape on it, and we hadn’t gotten things out of the old car. It was decided to pick up the car the next day, and she proceeds to fill out all the paperwork on the car.

Delivery (05.27.2004)

So at noontime, Danyelle goes to pick up the car, but there is a problem with the paperwork. After another hour of redoing it, the car is ready to be driven off the lot. As soon as Danyelle gets back to work in the Lancer, she notices the scratch on the passenger front rim. She brings it home at 7pm, I take photos of it, and call the salesperson. He acknowledges the problem as says to bring it in Tuesday (we were heading to NY State on vacation) and it would get fixed. OK so it doesn’t seem to bad, but wait…

Rust?!?!? (05.28.2004)

So at 4:30pm the next day, after work for Danyelle, we decide to really inspect the car. Mind you this is only 30 hours after taking delivery of the car. Well at the photos on the right clearly show, there are serious gouges in the car, and even rust on the hood. Now why didn’t we notice this before, chalk it up to her being rushed at lunchtime when she picked up the car, and her being short (5′ 1″) didn’t get a good angle on the scratches/gouges till you were right up on it. So I call the dealership once again, and explain the situation. The sales guy says to still bring it in on Tuesday and he will talk to the manager about it.

Dealership Nightmare (06.01.2004)

So after an enjoyable trip up North, and really loving the car, I bring the car over to the dealer at 10am. What happens next surprises me. The dealer will still replace the rim, but the rest of the car they will not repair. Their excuse, well the detailer didn’t notice the problems, so it must have happened after we took delivery of the car. Um OK, so they are blaming us for ruining the car. Never mind that the car Danyelle traded in is in better condition than this brand new car. I talk to the manager, and he reiterates that they will do nothing but replace the rim. I am livid, and threaten calling the Attorney General and the BBB, which doesn’t phase him.

Action Is Taken (06.01.2004)

So, on my word, I call the Attorney General of MD, and they refer me to the Montgomery County Consumer Affairs division. I talk to a representative that lets me know that they can have an inspector come, asses the problem, and take it from there, and if necessary can be called as a witness. I also call Mitsubishi HQ and lodge a complaint with them on the issues at hand, and the lack of any remedy. They let me know that the regional rep. comes to visit dealerships once a month and that they will call to let me know when he will be at Rockville Mitsubishi.

Maybe a remedy in sight (06.01.2004)

So I swing by the dealership once again, to see if they have changed their minds, and if not let them know the avenues I am going to pursuit to resolve this issue. Finally, the manager lets the salesperson know that they will repair the gouges. So in the next few days I should be updating this page with new news.

Finally Fixed (06.09.2004)

We had dropped off the Lancer at Rockville Mitsubishi on 06.03.2004, and was anticipating the car to be done on Monday the 7th. Well two days after we thought the car would be done, finally we get it back. The car is in great condition with the exception of the antenna mast, and to be quite honest I am not all worried about it. We’ll keep a careful eye to make sure the pain dosen’t discolor, but I have to admit they did a great job on it!

Lessons Learned

Well there are numerous lessons learned on this. We had been burned before by Triangle Mitsubishi and their bait/switch moves, and we thought we had enough experience at hand. But as we learned in this experience, you have to have a watchful eye, and plenty of time before you drive off the lot with a car at hand. So please, heed from our experience, don’t drive away without a thorough investigation on the car, be it new or used.

Also, this will be our one and only dealings with Rockville Mitsubishi, and quite possible our last deal with Mitsubishi in general. I am up for a early lease out in 12.2005 and completely finish the least in 6.2006.

The Huntington Blue Eclipse is gone. Danyelle got a good deal to get out of her Eclipse and get into something a little more practical, a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. While it’s not an Evo, it’s got a lot of pep, better suspension and brakes, and looks pretty nice indeed.

There is a Club 3G event going on in Rockville MD in January so I decided to come up with a fancy flyer for the occasion.

Just for those who don’t know, FOX owns Speedvision and wants to turn it into the NASCAR channel. I for one would be very unhappy if this happens…

from the Business Journal:

Sports network needs home for new NASCAR effort, by Erik Spanberg Senior Staff Writer

Fox Sports has quietly begun scouting Charlotte-area sites for its proposed NASCAR cable network headquarters, eyeing a February launch coinciding with the Daytona 500. Area real estate sources say Fox wants as much as 50,000 square feet to house the network. Target sites include Huntersville Business Park, home to Joe Gibbs Racing and other teams, and Twin Lakes Business Park.

“It certainly would make sense (to have a Charlotte headquarters) from a lot of perspectives,” says Paul Brooks, NASCAR vice president of broadcasting. “Because so many drivers and teams are in that area, it would make producing and creating the shows much easier.” Brooks says the presence of Charlotte-based NASCAR Images, an archival video source, also works in the area’s favor. NASCAR Images is jointly owned by NASCAR and Fox.

The idea for a NASCAR network began two years ago, when the stock-car sanctioning body completed a $2.8 billion broadcast contract with Fox and NBC/Turner. That deal began this year. With viewership at an all-
time high, Fox and NASCAR executives have again turned their attention to starting a cable channel.

The plan is to convert Speedvision, an existing cable network reaching 41 million households, to the NASCAR Channel. By comparison, The Golf Channel, launched in 1995, reaches 37 million homes. A name hasn’t been selected, but it is expected to include NASCAR. NASCAR has already licensed its name to Fox for a motorsports cable channel.

Fox parent News Corp. owns a third of Speedvision and is negotiating for an 80% stake with other shareholders. David Hill, Fox Sports chairman, says the deal should be finished by August. “We haven’t finished the acquisition yet,” Hill says. “I don’t think the ink’s dry on the paper until August so we can’t do anything yet. We’re doing a heck of a lot of planning.”

Industry experts say the revamped Speedvision will emphasize NASCAR while incorporating other forms of racing and automotive collectors’ shows. Speedvision generates $75 million per year in revenue, with annual advertising gains of 40% to 50% the past five years. It became profitable last year.

So let’s do what we can to keep it from becoming the Nascar Network!

After many wonderful years driving her 1994 Audi 90S, my girlfriend and I decided to part with the car and get into something sportier. My girlfriend set her sights on a Eclipse GT with the Sun and Sound package. Built one on the Internet and decided this is what we wanted, Great choice, but we chose the wrong dealer to do business with.Wednesday, April 4, 2001. The test drive.
We travel on Rt. 15/501 to Triangle Mitsubishi. A “on the surface” nice little dealership on Durham. We hunt around and see a Silver Eclipse GT with the Sun & Sound package. Our salesperson comes up, Steve, and introduces us to the car. She test drives and know this is the car to get.

So we head back to the dealer and start working the numbers. We didn’t have the Audi on hand because this trip was spur-of-the-moment. After about 30 minutes or so he comes up with $308/mo with ‘A Tier’ credit. We are like cool, cheaper that what we are paying on the Audi. So we head home, wax the car and in a couple days head back to the dealer.

Saturday, April 7, 2001. The Audi gets appraised.
We come back Saturday with the Audi all waxed up, looking all nice. We knew that the Kelly Blue Book high-value of the car is $4600. We also know that the dealers “Black Book” value is somewhere in the range of $3000. The salesperson comes back after the test drive and plunks new numbers down on us. $425/mo with $1000 down and $1500 on the trade in. Um, these weren’t the numbers we were quoted originally. And why so low on the trade in? Well they claimed that the car stalled on them in the test drive (a mystery to us because the only time that car ever stalled was when it ran out of gas once) and it would need $2000+ in repairs. Furiously we began to walk out when they started to convince us on a lease. They rework the numbers and come out with $389.99/mo (12k miles/yr) + $1000 pending on ‘A Tier’ credit. Not too terrible. So we come home, and call back Triangle Mitsubishi to go ahead with the deal.

Monday, April 9, 2001. We get the Silver Eclipse.
Monday at around 5:30pm, we head over to pick up the Eclipse. We get there, wait around about 1½ hours and finally get to the paperwork. During that time I ask at least a dozen times that all the numbers were final, which I was assured they were. We signed what seemed to be n unimpressive amount of paperwork (the lease, odometer reading and the $1000 check down payment. We drive off in a new Sterling Silver Eclipse GT.

Tuesday, April 10, 2001. Bait and Switch APR begins.
We get a call from Steve the salesperson that we were not approved for ‘A Tier’ credit and that the payments would go up. We get very distraught about this because we thought that the paperwork was all finalized. We would have never left the dealership with the Eclipse if the numbers wern’t final. Our salesguy says call him tomorrow when the other financial person comes in, and “he’ll see what he can do”. Needless to say we don’t even sleep Tuesday night, contemplainting what we can do.

Wednesday, April 11, 2001. It’s final. Or is it???
Both me and my girlfriend take the day off, due to stress and lack of sleep and worrying about the car. We get a call from Steve reassuring us that it is taken care of.

Thrusday, April 12, 2001. Salespeople quit, numbers change.
I call Steve in the afternoon asking if the paperwork is all final and he says not quite yet, that the FedEx truck hasn’t made it to the dealership yet and that he will call later that night. At 7:30pm I call back only to find out Steve quit!

We end up talking to the owner and he says again that we were not approved for ‘A Tier’ credit and that the payments will rise. We start contemplainting again what we can do. It felt like a wicked rollercoaster that we couldn’t get off. We decide we will head to Leith Mitsubishi in Raleigh and see if we can get a better deal. Reguardless we will be taking the Silver Eclipse back to Triangle Mitsubishi and reclaim the Audi.

“Good” Friday, April 13, 2001. Finally, a deal!!!
We head to Leith Mitsubishi in the morning and tell them the whole situation. They say that we probably wont get ‘A Tier’ credit, but they can come up with better numbers. And they sure did. $413/mo (15k miles/yr) with ‘B Tier’ credit. We say cool, head over to Triangle Mitsubishi and give them back the Silver Eclipse, and bring the Audi to Leith. They give us $4000 for the trade in and end up giving us a fully equiped Huntington Blue Eclipse GT, worth $2000 more.

When we sign the paperwork, it’s a whole different situation. The typical cornocopia of paper expected in a car deal is in front of us. Much different than Triangle.

Beware shady dealers.
Well we have certinaly become the wiser when it comes to car deals. Turns out that Triangle Mitsubishi used to be Durham Mitsubishi with a slew of BBB complaints, so do extensive research!!! Make sure before you head out the door that you have fully signed documents from the dealer and that they are not taking you on a trip like we did.

The bad guys:
Triangle Mitsubishi
3601 Chapel Hill Rd.
Durham, NC 27707
919.489.2408
(go ahead, call and complain to them)

The good guys:
Leith Mitsubishi
5401 Capital Boulevard
Raleigh, North Carolina
919.872.1011
800.635.3433