Ordered a custom S580 for 155K in Feb 2022, dealer never mentioned any MARK UP price and was OK selling at MSRP
Car arrived July, very cleverly he changes MSRP to 165k in Buyers order page, i don't notice at the time of signing and when i ask he says oh don't worry, there's taxes, registration, document fees etc.
I believe him, last week, i request him docs, find the 10k difference which he finally confesses that it is a PREMIUM he applied.
I go to dealership, meet his manager, who does not care either.

MY options:
1. BBB complaint
2. Mercedes NORTH AMERICA complaint
3. Lawyer UP and sue for UNETHICAL business practices - there is NO section anywhere on any document that says "10K premium" - its a VERY CHEAP disgusting tactic.

Resolutions i may accept:
1. FREE service packages or 10k reimburse

Please help - thank you
This is my LAST merc from these guys, will order Maybach from another dealer, they lost a big paying customer for life, and i need to teach them a lesson

 

I've seen this happen before. Unfortunately, there's probably nothing you can do from a legal standpoint. This is why I ordered 3 vehicles from 3 different brands. If one dealer decided to be shady, I would have just moved on to the next.

 

I feel your pain and wish you luck and resolution. It does seem unethical and just plain chintzy. It must have come from management right? As if a lowly salesman has
that sort of control? Keep us updated.

 

I believe that would be considered “Fraud in the inducement” and yes, you can probably sue for the $10K and maybe more. Talk with an atty. While MB might be interested in helping you settle the matter, I don’t think they are responsible. Can you tell us the name of the dealer? At least let’s prevent other people from dealing with them. Dealers like that need to fail.

 

The bigger the dealer, the sleezier their antics are. I have had my run ins with them too.

 

Ray catena
union NJ
Apparently proudly declaring themselves as the second largest dealership in USA

 

One more reason to hate NJ

 

When you need legal advice it's best to contact an attorney and get professional help from someone who knows applicable law in your state. All we can do is commiserate with you and help spread the word on this scummy dealer.
Sorry you had to deal with this; we've all been fleeced and it's pure suck. In the future never trust any charge when buying a car; you have to verify them all.

I was helping my daughter buy her first car and showing her some of the things to watch out for when buying. One of them is changing numbers. A dealer we went to asked what we would be willing to pay, I told him 3 under which research has shown to be a reasonable get when buying. He proceeded to look it up on a PC (the screen of which we couldn't quite see)and pulled out a number which he wrote down on a piece of paper that then turned into a 4-square. You probably know about that gambit but the important point here is that the number he pulled up was actually 2k over sticker; he was hoping we hadn't done any research. This was the first pad. He explained he would have to talk to his manager and took the paperwork into him. What he didn't know is that I had taken a picture of his fancy 4-square before he left. When he can back he showed me a new one which had been amended by the sales manager authorizing 1k under MSRP with a final number. The thing here is that he had completely rewritten the page and added another 2k to the fake MSRP that had been on the original. That was the second add.

It was amusing when I showed him the picture of the original after he had just spent a few minutes denying it while also implying I was a Richard for suggesting that he might do such a thing.

This stuff goes on every day. You have to check every number. If you want to know how I learned this was a thing; I got taken in that way myself.

 

I would talk to a lawyer. Seriously someone needs to step up and put an end to this behavior...

 

I run a few companies and have the firepower to expose them and mess them up completely

 

Do all of us a favor and do it!

 

Cool, lets do MB World too

 

Spend few dollars and present your case to an attorney and if says yes it's doable, lets get these *******s. we'll start a "GoFundMe for sleezy dealers " and I will be the first one to contribute to bring these clowns down.

 

You’re silly, because if that were the case you would not have an issue or be asking strangers for advice. Want to test your power? Contact the attorney general of the state or the local prosecutor and file charges for fraud. At over the limit for grand theft, this charge might also suffice. But then again, you signed a contract and if you are outside of the time period allotted to you to sever the contract, everyone will simply just ask if you read the contract to begin with. That you were able to “get the papers that explained it all” after the fact makes me wonder what date you signed and did you sign the paperwork with that charge…and were just delayed in receiving your copy, or did they provide an unsigned new piece of date for you?

 

Indeed.

When OP signed without reading, that was an one big mistake. That $10k amount has to be on a document and I wonder what that amount was itemized as.

Anyway, consulting a lawyer is the first step. I am not a lawyer but I reckon, when one sues a dealership, the dealership can countersue the plaintiff for defamation. In fact, when the specific dealership is named and identified, terms like 'cheated' and 'unethical' might be serious enough for the dealership to seek damages for libel or slander?

 

Should file a complaint with the auto consumer division of the state attorney general's office and hopefully that would start the process going

 

There was no itemization on any document anywhere.
He simply changed the number 155 to 165k and yes it was my mistake to blindly trust and keep signing documents as I was in a hurry, in my head the deal was already finalized at 155k.msrp.sticker price in Feb, I had no clue I'm dealing with scam artists who will screw me over like this, one of the worst experiences ever

 

Paperwork was provided on day of sale in July. There was no itemization of 10k anywhere on the document, it was a cheap trick to fool, there was never a mention of premium by dealer on S class, I trusted his words and kept signing, this was done 2 months ago, times have expired hence the ****ty attitude of manager and salesperson, they still need to be exposed to BBB, merc north America, Google reviews, Yelp and everywhere else.
I would not have bought the car for even 1 cent extra over MSRP, it's that simple, but they perfectly played me because I trusted them

 

It is hard to believe.
I mean, the sales invoice must breakdown each items (eg msrp of car showing a list of standard equipment, cost of each optional packages (whether it is dealer installed or from the factory), registration fee, sales tax, document and delivery, destination, market adjustment, discount...etc). The sales invoice cannot just present no cost breakdown but a lump sum figure of $165k.
I would be curious to see this sales invoice.

 

YES! Rip them a new one in a review!

 

There was breakdown of taxes, document fee, but again in the car MSRP section he only mentioned 165K (that's the trick), there is nothing mentioned in optional package and there is no section of premium charged, that's how customers are fooled.

In my head I was simply playing 155k.plus 6.6% NJ taxes and other fee ...so should be 168k.ish...and I signed...not realizing that the game has already been played on me and the section at bottom shows 178K which I didn't pay attention to.

Again the whole thing here is his lack of transparency and mentioning of premium charges on paper and fooling a busy customer who won't read 200 odd pages they make you sign, it's a company car ...hence lot of paperwork

 

Sorry to hear of OP's situation, classic dealer sleaze. Buying cars always consisted of pitfalls if not careful, now full of landmines. Tough times to be buying cars, hopefully next year gets easier.

 

CLASSIC dealer sleaze haha! So true!

 

The issue is there are no buyer protections when it comes to car buying, and there need to be. There need to be standardized required disclosure of price breakdowns, like there are in the real estate industry. Its too easy for a dealer to hide money like this and rip the consumer off. For many consumers being ripped off of $10,000 is a real financial hardship vs just an annoyance.

 

Dealers are playing games for sure.

You listed out your options in a grandiose way but really it can be much more simple than that. Your accusation is that of fraud. TO prove fraud, you'd need the following:

First, do you have in writing that they were selling you the car at MSRP? Print that out.
Second, do you have in writing that they admitted to changing the figure prior to you signing because of the new market adjustment premiums? Print that out.
You only need those two documents to present to an attorney or attorney general of NJ.

Without those two documents, you have no case. Verbal means nothing.

Further, in a free market, prices are subject to change unless a contract is signed, and even then - it doesn't bind you to the sale.
Switching the price on the document before you signed it could even be explained as an error.
Their defense would be that they forgot they contractually agreed to sell you the car at MSRP whereas they have not promised this to others, and mistakenly rubber stamped the increase on yours.

Additionally, a dealership is allowed to change their price even if you have signed an agreement with them. It may stink - but they are not obligated to sell you the car, and you're not obligated to buy the car.
A contract means very little in this industry. A deposit however must be returned if the terms of the sale are different from the contract you signed. In this scenario - you as the customer are protected.

On a personal note, I've never seen a person who "runs many companies" coming onto a forum for advice instead of seeking advice from in house legal.

A lot of fluff to your first post - may I inquire, how old are you? You don't have to answer, and you can ignore this post completely.. It's just my curiosity that has me asking.

I'm not looking for trouble - I've just seen quite a lot of this fluff on here over the years.

I'll definitely concur, Its a crap situation to buy cars these days.