[penner2k]

http://jalopnik.com/5533462/dealership-charges-mentally-disabled-woman-63000-for-used-mazda

I hope whoever is involved in this gets fucked over bad cuz this is just messed up.

Reading some of the comments of other stories makes me even more pissed off.

Yes, it was Huling Brothers in West Seattle, where I worked a few years before the incident.

(This is all from memory, so some details may be off.)

They sold a mentally disabled man a base Chevy Colorado for over $30k. He paid in cash, which apparently caught the dealer's attention even further. Unfortunately, he told them he had more cash in his home.

A group of salesmen (6, I believe) figured out when he wasn't home and took turns in pairs combing his house for approximately $70k in cash, which they found and stole.

To add to the matters, the man was shortly thereafter admitted to a psych ward in Seattle, and another salesman met the man at the psych ward and tricked him into signing off his ownership on the new truck.

In the midst of all this, the dealership was also sold to new ownership, apparently without disclosure of the pending legal/ethical issues. Once the news hit the media, everyone stopped buying cars there, and the new owners had to close the doors in less than a year.

The new owners sued the Huling family over the lack of disclosure, but I honestly don't know the outcome of that lawsuit, if one has even been reached yet.

[!Aznboi128]

wow, no heart what so ever

[hotjoint]

WTF

[Presto]

There's a special place in Hell for sleazy car salesmen.

[unit]

its nothing new, the world functions off greed and capitalism.

[hotong]

wow wtf

[InvisibleSoul]

Those guys sure don't help to improve the car salesmen stereotype!

[FerrariEnzo]

arg.. it was a canadian dealership to top it off...

[q0192837465]

may them burn in hell

[dannyy72]

I work at a dealership in Vancouver but that is just unheard of!!!

[Marioo1991]

Talk about not having a conscience. Thats pretty fucking low..

[Datsun]

Mental fitness isnt a requirement to drive...?

[tonyvu]

pretty fucked up people these days...

[95Z28]

The quoted story is rough but the linked story about the Mazda dealership isn't that bad. A lot of people don't understand how car dealerships/loans work. The negative equity on the trade in probably created the majority of the add on, 15G neg equity(not uncommon), 5G warranty/life ins and 5G undercoating/etching. As for the women being mentally disabled, it is possible the dealership wasn't aware of the degree of her disability, or aware at all.

The one thing which may get the dealership in trouble is how they got her financed. for that size of loan, there is no way, even with a 850 beacon that she would get approved while receiving $1900 a month on disability. They likely fudged the numbers and greatly exaggerated her monthly income which is certainly unethical.

[jpark]

:facepalm:

[FI-Z33]

sigh, what has the world become?

[sleazyho]

wow those fukin bitches have no morals

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

world is coming to an end, thats all i gotta say

[hal0g0dv2]

dam that is low

[TheKingdom2000]

Mental fitness isnt a requirement to drive...?

i don't think the salesmen were to worried about that...

[seakrait]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-SK1-iILlY&feature=player_embedded

[johny]

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/805836--woman-pays-66-000-for-car-worth-41-000?bn=1

Salesmen at Orangeville dealer proclaim innocence on charges of ‘making unconscionable representation’

Tony Van Alphen
Business Reporter

The Mazda dealership in Orangeville may have given new meaning to the automaker’s slogan of “zoom, zoom, zoom” for motorist Madeline Leonard.

Leonard walked into the dealership wanting to replace the tires on her 2004 car.

By the time she left she was on the hook for a spiffy, black 2010 Mazda6 sedan at the eye-popping price of almost $66,000, after taxes and the value of her trade-in vehicle.

That’s $25,000 more than she should have paid, according to Ontario’s auto regulator.

She says “Moe,” the salesman, talked fast. The numbers whizzed by and before she knew it she had bought the 2010 model.

“I was overwhelmed and confused and I soon felt like I had been mistreated,” the 56-year-old woman said in an interview from her small, subsidized apartment in the town 85 km northwest of Toronto.

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, which regulates new and used car dealers, took action after she complained. Its investigation found she should have paid about $41,000 for the vehicle — which wasn’t even new.

“In my eight years here, I haven’t seen a case like this,” said Carey Smith, the regulator’s director of investigations. “The deal was way over the top regarding pricing.”

Smith has charged Mazda of Orangeville and two senior employees with breaching Ontario legislation that protects consumers. The dealership could face a fine of up to $250,000 if found guilty.

Kien Trung, business manager at Mazda of Orangeville and one of the employees facing charges, said he did not treat Leonard improperly or make any big profits in the deal in late December.

“We didn’t do anything wrong in the case of this transaction,” said Trung. “We made a little bit of money on the deal. I guess she was not happy with it.”

In promotional messages, the dealership says it treats customers “with dignity and respect.”

But Smith said in Leonard’s case, the store and two employees used several tactics to unfairly jack up the price.

“They put a list price of a new vehicle on the model but it was a demonstrator that the dealer used with about 6,000 kilometres on it,” he noted.

Mazda Canada lists the base price of the new sedan at $39,969 on its national website, but the dealership allegedly posted a sticker of $45,846 on the car.

Smith said the salesmen also billed Leonard, who is intellectually disabled, about $4,500 for a “protection package” that included fabric guarding, rust and sound proofing and window etching. Other dealers charge about a third of that for the same items, he said.

Furthermore, Smith said Leonard, who is unemployed, should not have qualified for a loan from the dealer because her monthly income including a disability pension is less than $2,000.

But Smith added that didn’t stop the two employees from offering an eight-year loan that will result in about $16,000 in financing costs for her, including a final balloon payment of $7,000.

Mazda of Orangeville says in a promotional message for phone callers that owning “your dream vehicle might be easier than you think.” The message goes on: “If you are a great person with not-so-good credit, we have you in mind.”

Leonard said she originally came to the store to replace the tires on her 2004 Mazda3 and didn’t even want to buy a car.

“I wished I had never walked into the place,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping up with these payments. The stress has been terrible.”

Leonard described the salesman at the dealership as “slick” and the process mesmerized her. But after signing a contract and driving the vehicle away, she checked prices at other Mazda outlets.

“The differences were shocking,” she said. “I felt very disappointed how I was treated.”

The regulator charged the dealership; Trung, 38, of Vaughan; and sales manager Mohammed (Moe) Shaikh, 46, of Mississauga with “engaging in unfair practice by making an unconscionable representation,” contrary to the provincial Consumer Protection Act.

Trung said the defendants will plead not guilty when they appear in court this month.

Under the act, the employees could receive up to $100,000 each and/or two years less a day in jail if found guilty. The defendants could also be liable for damages to Leonard.

The regulator could also revoke the registrations of the dealerships and salesmen.

“Dealers tell me there is nothing wrong with making money but the law says there is something wrong if you take advantage of someone,” Smith said.

Mazda Canada said it would not decide on any action involving the dealership until a court rules on the charges.

“Obviously we expect our dealers and staff to operate professionally,” said spokesman Greg Young. “We’ll see what the (court) determination is.”

Mazda of Orangeville has also popped up on the radar screen of the Better Business Bureau of Mid-Western and Central Ontario.

Although the dealership is not a member, the bureau has received six complaints and issued a D+ rating on a scale from A+ to F since January 2008.

“It speaks for itself,” said a bureau official.

[TheSalesman]

wow....
People like this just make it way harder for me.

[Armind]

Assholes.

[v.Rossi]

Hello, Huling family, I would like to play a game.

[GLOW]

filthy animals...

[jgossin]

that's just wrong.

[slammer111]

Both cases are insane.

The 1st case isn't really wrong per se (the actual selling of the truck) but the salesmen actually went to the guy's house to steal his cash, then take their truck back!? wtf. Criminal charges are in order here.

2nd case - holy geez. That is some mad sales skillz I must admit. With that said though, those salesmen should have their licenses revoked permanently.

[tool001]

UPDATE on the Mazda case,,, couldn't find the original thread..

Mazda Canada terminates dealer who sold car for $25,000 too much to woman

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR May 5, 2010 Madeline Leonard was taken for a ride by The Mazda dealership in Orangeville. Ontario's regulator for auto dealers says a shopper should have paid $40,000 for a 2010 Mazda6 GT sedan before taxes but the bill quickly took off to a whopping $68,000 because of the work of two senior salesmen. They have been charged with breaking the Consumer Protection Act and face hefty fine. in Orangeville
Tony Van Alphen
Business Reporter

Mazda Canada has terminated a dealership in Orangeville for breaching the company’s business practices including an incident where the store sold a car to a woman for more than $25,000 above its real value.

In a rare move, the auto maker announced Thursday that it had ended the sales and service agreement for Mazda of Orangeville effectively immediately, which means the store cannot sell any new vehicles and parts to customers or make repairs.

The move comes less than a week after the Star revealed the dealership had sold a 2010 Mazda6 G6 sedan to a local woman for about $66,000 including taxes and a trade-in car but she should have paid less than $41,000.

“We informed the dealer this morning that we were terminating the agreement because he had not adhered to the business standards, under the terms of the sales and service agreement,” said Greg Young, Mazda’s director of corporate public relations.

Young noted the huge overpricing of a car to the woman was one example of a breach but the company conducted an investigation and found other violations.

He added there are clauses in the agreement that state the dealer must conduct business in a way that reflects favourably on the image, reputation and goodwill of the store and Mazda.

Young, who could not recall a termination for such breaches in almost two decades at Mazda, said the company has received calls from customers in recent days in response to negative publicity about the incident.

As a consequence of the termination, Mazda will buy back any new vehicles and parts from the dealership. However, the dealership could still sell and service used cars on the lot.

Sunny Bains, president and principle of Mazda of Orangeville, met briefly with company officials at corporate headquarters in Richmond Hill on Thursday and later confirmed the decision.

“You heard that, it’s probably true but I got to go,” Bains said before hanging up.

Bains, who has operated the medium-sized Mazda store for about three years, could seek a temporary court injunction to stop the company from ending the franchise agreement.

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, which regulates new and used car dealers, charged Mazda of Orangeville and two senior sales employees recently with “engaging in unfair practice by making an unconscionable representation,” contrary to the Consumer Protection Act.

The dealership faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and the two employees could receive $100,000 fines plus jail time of up two years if they are found guilty. They could also lose their provincial registrations to sell vehicles.

The Star found that the dealership sold a 2010 Mazda6 G6 to an Orangeville women for almost $66,000 or about 60 per cent more than she should have paid by charging her three times the value of extra items and saddling her with an eight-year loan. The woman should not have qualified for the loan because she is unemployed and living on a disability pension.

Furthermore, the dealership slapped several thousand dollars on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price on the car which wasn’t new.

Bains said he fired the two employees after the Star reported details of the deal but the regulator indicated that he has known about the questionable sale for somewhat longer.

Ex-manager “Moe” Shaihk, one of the defendants who lost his jobs, and Bains are also partners in a Suzuki dealership in Pickering.

Bains promised last week he would reimburse the customer, Madeline Leonard, so she “would not be short one penny out of her pocket.” But Leonard said she has not received anything yet including Bains’ promise of a new car.

Regarding Mazda Canada’s decision, Leonard said if the company thinks it is fair, “it’s alright with me.

“I’m the fairest person in the world,” said the 56-year-old woman. “I believe everyone should be fair and honest.”

[slammer111]

Supposedly many dealers have made HUGE strides in recent years to make their salesmen less sleazy, but unfortunately car sales to tend to attract a certain personality.

Good on Mazda for pulling the license. That's some seriously bad publicity from Orangeville.

[Kiiid]

Heartless