I recently placed a $500 deposit at Berlin City (formerly Maine Mall Motors) for a Honda Fit soon to come in. After reviewing the pricing information they gave me, I noticed it contained a 'market adjustment' line item for $500. After visiting another local Honda dealership and discovering that this 'market adjustment' wasn't as 'typical' as the Berlin City people led me to believe, I called my salesperson there and cancelled my order for the Fit and requested that my deposit be returned. He said, 'ok,' as I expected he would since he'd previously indicated that this deposit was refundable if, for some reason, I decided not to buy the car. I assumed I would see this $500 credit on my next credit card account statement. The credit did not appear as I assumed it would, so I called Berlin City. I was transferred multiple times - always to another person who had no record of my name or deposit. Finally someone in finance at least acknowledged that they'd heard of me and that they had taken my credit card info, but somehow, his information indicated that my card had never been charged this $500. To be fair, I did not have the name of my salesperson in front of me, nor could I recall it. However, I did have my credit card statements (indicating both the charge to my account and the lack of a credit) as well as the original credit card swipe receipt at home. After chatting with Berlin City, I googled their dealership and 4 reviews came up - all not so flattering. One, in fact, desribes a very similar deposit/credit card issue. This place is shady. If I have any trouble getting this $500 back after work today, I plan on contacting the State of Maine Attorney General's Office.
Pros: ??...
Cons: Tough to get your deposit back
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