We were shopping for a (new-to-us) used car. We got a flashy ad flyer from Greenway, with fantastic prices advertised on their previously-owned cars, and generous trade-in allowances stated.
The sales rep initially seemed pleasant & friendly enough. We clearly stated our budget to him, emphasizing the price limit we were seeking, and asking to see some of their advertised cars, as they fell within that price range.
He asked for my husband's drivers' license - can't recall the exact reason but it *sounded* plausible, so he gave it over. Then the rep wanted to see our car. He asked for the keys so he could start it up & listen to the engine - but did not immediately return the keys afterwards.
So, now we were to see some of the cars. Surprise, surprise, they didn't have ANY cars at the advertised prices any longer! (This was only about 6 hrs into a 3-day sales event?? And it didn't appear as if they were being overrun w/ customers either...) OK, so the very best thing he could offer us well over TWICE the price & clearly outside of the budget limit we had told him.
We decided to go elsewhere, thanked him for his time & asked for our keys/license so we could leave. But he flat-out refused to return our keys & my husband's drivers license! Every time my husband requested these items, the rep would say something like, "Let me go talk to my manager & see if we can't work *something* out for you on that price" He'd leave us sitting 5-10 minutes, then return with a very similar "offer" on another car, never coming down in price by any significant amount at all - just offering us a "better" car at the same ridiculous price.
This went on for just over an HOUR, my husband finally told the guy, "I don't care what kind of offer you have at this point - just GIVE ME MY KEYS & LICENSE like I asked you to do over an hour ago!!!' The guy tried to hem & haw further, then got surly & rude, and tossed the keys & license to my husband & stormed away from his desk, muttering about how we'd wasted his time!
If he had simply taken "no" for an answer the first time we asked him for our keys, and told him we weren't interested in his other offers, we would have all saved over an hour of time. Also, after checking our car, he informed us that it was "a total complete piece of junk & not worth anything for trade-in, but I'll cut you a break and give you $1000 trade-in allowance on it. Our car was just barely paid-off at that point, and had been very well cared for & maintained - it was FAR from being 'a piece of junk'.
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