So 2 days ago, my family decided to purchase our first luxury vehicle, which happened to be a CLA 45 AMG model fully loaded. We went to a local dealership in Edmonton, AB, Canada and we were told if we are serious they are ready to place a bid and reserve one for us, which should arrive at the dealership in 10 days. After 10 mins, the sales manager comes out and tells us he has managed to secure the car, and expected delivery date should be 10 days. They hand us some paper work to sign and we decided to put 5k down to show that we are serious about the purchase. Later that day we get a call from the sales manager that confirms that the car has been "shipped".
This is where the fun begins. I go in today after not being able to get in contact with the dealer for the last 2 days, and the president of the dealership tells me they have not been able to secure the car and they are working on finding a dealership across the country that has the model.
I don't know what to do at the moment. They are willing to reimburse us the down payment, but the manager couldn't even look me in the eye today, when I told him his sales manager lied to my face about this being a sure thing. What is more disappointing is that they misled us into a sale that was nothing but short of something certain, and guaranteed us over the phone that the car is on its way. Here is what I am considering:
1) Stick with this dealership and wait until they do find a car, but ask for a $3k discount along with free set of winter tires.
2) Go to a different city (380km away) which has guaranteed us a similar car
3) Regardless of option 1 or 2, I plan on calling Mercedes and telling them about this unpleasant experience and poor service from a brand that should hold its dealers to a higher standard than this.
Any other input would be greatly appreciated. This dealership also has 3.5/5 which is way below the standard of other luxury competitors and what it should be.

 

I told them exactly the car I wanted with exactly the options I wanted in detail. They put a confirmation sheet in front of us that contained a fully loaded cla45, and we signed it. This is the dealership screwing up because I had done everything on my part including the down payment, which wasn't even a requirement that day.

 

Was there a VIN on the confirmation sheet? My girlfriend went through something like this a few years back. She wanted a certain model, color, etc. but the dealer did not have one in stock. They wrote up a work sheet with the details of the car she wanted and told her they had one "coming in on a truck very shortly". She agreed to a price and gave them a deposit by check just to show good faith. In a few days, they told her the car was there, but the price had gone up (supposedly a price hike from the manufacturer). She balked at this and told them she did not want the car if it was going to cost her more, and she stopped payment on the deposit check. Well, the dealer was angry and told her that she had signed a deal. In fact, she signed only a work sheet with no VIN specified. So, the dealer couldn't hold her to it since it wasn't a sales contract on a specific vehicle, just a deal "in theory". So, she went to another dealer in the area and got the car she wanted at the price she wanted.
I agree that if the dealer couldn't provide the vehicle they promised (especially if there was never any VIN involved), they should return your deposit. You can then start a deal from scratch from that dealer (although I would be very wary of this) or preferably another dealer.

 

Very similar story here too. The only thing missing was the VIN and I had found that out the day after. I wasn't there in person when the deal was originally made, so my gf assumed the paperwork and their word is enough proof. I went and got my deposit back yesterday, and went with another dealer so it somewhat worked out. But I will also contact MB Canada to make sure they are aware of this virus, trying to profit off their name.

 

Go to downtown Mercedes in Calgary. They have been nothing but class acts for me.

 

That is the place that got my business. The service was amazing and expected delivery date is first week of October.

 

South or west in Edmonton if you catch my meaning... but I have a pretty good guess lol