Buyers Beware! My horrible experience with Fletcher Jones; good exp at Laguna Niguel
11-07-2007, 10:53 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Buyers Beware! My horrible experience with Fletcher Jones; good exp at Laguna Niguel
So, apparently Fletcher Jones is the largest MB dealer in the nation, and they are close to me, so i visit to buy a C350. I go on the test drive, everything seems fine and so I go into the sales office to talk about the price.
The sales guy (I'll refer to him as Eric here) tells me that the car will not go for anything under sticker, if it does it will be a few hundred dollars. I tell him that I do not buy cars for MSRP, and that I will come back in 9 mo.
Eric tell me that if i put a $2000 deposit on a car that is coming on the boat, that he will put a deal together for me. I tell him that I dont want this to be a waste of OUR time. I ask him to talk about the price of the car ahead of time and his response is: " i cant talk about a car that I dont have".. what bullsh*t. Anyway, Eric agrees w/ the consent of his manager not to waste my time and I leave a $2000 deposit with him and await the arrival of the C350.
Over the course of 2 weeks, I get phone calls from Eric... they are suppsed to be status updates on the car, but they always go like this: "Hi this is Eric at Fletcher Jones and I look forweard to your call back." Heck, just tell me what the status update is on my voicemail... anyway, lots of phone tag due to this type of practice that apparently Fletcher Jones requires.
So I call Eric two Sunday's later to hear that the car has arrived, so I drive ove to Flatcher Jones and meet iwth Eric. He takes me to look at the car, but Im in a rush so i quickly look at the car & go inside to discuss price. Eric tells me that he can not do anything better than a few hundred over MSRP. I tell him that he has wasted both of our time. I tell him that I can get $1000 over Invoice as a costco member, Eric says that he can match that but adds a bunch of fees on top of the price. Eric has no decision on the price of the vehicle as he has to go into his managers office every time I negotiate the price... I tell Eric to send me my deposit back & I leave. Eric hounds me for days & has the floor manager and the sales manager call me to try to get me to come back into the dealership... all of their messages are "I look forward to your call back"... Three weeks after I told Eric to send me a refund, I still do not have my money.... Fletcher Jones is a rip off, poor customer service, poor communication, TERRIBLE experience for me. I have even gotten into arguements w/ my sales guy (glorified title, really is just a guy that goes on test drives)
On the other hand...
I then called Laguna Niguel MB and spoke to the internet sales manager John Maxwell. John is a no nonsense guy that will just do what he can to sell you a car. No deposit, he is fully empowered to made a deal. Leaves status of the vehicle on your voicemail. VERY pleasant to work with, if you are looking to buy a Mercedes, and you are close to Orange County, call John Maxwell at Laguna Niguel MB.
The sales guy (I'll refer to him as Eric here) tells me that the car will not go for anything under sticker, if it does it will be a few hundred dollars. I tell him that I do not buy cars for MSRP, and that I will come back in 9 mo.
Eric tell me that if i put a $2000 deposit on a car that is coming on the boat, that he will put a deal together for me. I tell him that I dont want this to be a waste of OUR time. I ask him to talk about the price of the car ahead of time and his response is: " i cant talk about a car that I dont have".. what bullsh*t. Anyway, Eric agrees w/ the consent of his manager not to waste my time and I leave a $2000 deposit with him and await the arrival of the C350.
Over the course of 2 weeks, I get phone calls from Eric... they are suppsed to be status updates on the car, but they always go like this: "Hi this is Eric at Fletcher Jones and I look forweard to your call back." Heck, just tell me what the status update is on my voicemail... anyway, lots of phone tag due to this type of practice that apparently Fletcher Jones requires.
So I call Eric two Sunday's later to hear that the car has arrived, so I drive ove to Flatcher Jones and meet iwth Eric. He takes me to look at the car, but Im in a rush so i quickly look at the car & go inside to discuss price. Eric tells me that he can not do anything better than a few hundred over MSRP. I tell him that he has wasted both of our time. I tell him that I can get $1000 over Invoice as a costco member, Eric says that he can match that but adds a bunch of fees on top of the price. Eric has no decision on the price of the vehicle as he has to go into his managers office every time I negotiate the price... I tell Eric to send me my deposit back & I leave. Eric hounds me for days & has the floor manager and the sales manager call me to try to get me to come back into the dealership... all of their messages are "I look forward to your call back"... Three weeks after I told Eric to send me a refund, I still do not have my money.... Fletcher Jones is a rip off, poor customer service, poor communication, TERRIBLE experience for me. I have even gotten into arguements w/ my sales guy (glorified title, really is just a guy that goes on test drives)
On the other hand...
I then called Laguna Niguel MB and spoke to the internet sales manager John Maxwell. John is a no nonsense guy that will just do what he can to sell you a car. No deposit, he is fully empowered to made a deal. Leaves status of the vehicle on your voicemail. VERY pleasant to work with, if you are looking to buy a Mercedes, and you are close to Orange County, call John Maxwell at Laguna Niguel MB.
Last edited by delirium; 11-07-2007 at 10:58 PM.
11-07-2007, 11:36 PM
#2
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2008 Palladium C350 Sport
I actually just got back from Flethcer Jones tonight dude ! they gave me $926 discount on a C350 at the port, didnt wanna/dont have the time to sign any papers tonight so i left a $31000 check deposit on the car which equals to my down payment, they say the car is at the port being held by the customs so it might take a maximun of 4 days for me to get the car, and im doubting myself if $926 is really a discount or not ..... lol i just post a thread about the deal that i got tonight, plz do let me know what ya think man, as we went to the same dealership 
11-07-2007, 11:46 PM
#3
Super Member
Thread Starter
I actually just got back from Flethcer Jones tonight dude ! they gave me $926 discount on a C350 at the port, didnt wanna/dont have the time to sign any papers tonight so i left a $31000 check deposit on the car which equals to my down payment, they say the car is at the port being held by the customs so it might take a maximun of 4 days for me to get the car, and im doubting myself if $926 is really a discount or not ..... lol i just post a thread about the deal that i got tonight, plz do let me know what ya think man, as we went to the same dealership
11-08-2007, 03:09 AM
#5
i vouch for john maxwell too.
i am working with him, and i haven't even spoken to him ONCE on the phone. EVERYTHING has been strictly through email, so that i can print out our conversations to have it in writing, and he respected my decision. i ordered my c300 through him, and await delivery which will be a few weeks early than promised!
delirium -- did he throw in any type of dealer cost on top of the TTL? because i flat out asked him to list all the charges besides the cost of the vehicle in writing... and he said just Tax Title Licensing. was there any kind of BS doc fee? can't wait to pick up in a few weeks!
i am working with him, and i haven't even spoken to him ONCE on the phone. EVERYTHING has been strictly through email, so that i can print out our conversations to have it in writing, and he respected my decision. i ordered my c300 through him, and await delivery which will be a few weeks early than promised!
delirium -- did he throw in any type of dealer cost on top of the TTL? because i flat out asked him to list all the charges besides the cost of the vehicle in writing... and he said just Tax Title Licensing. was there any kind of BS doc fee? can't wait to pick up in a few weeks!
