Mcfguy 1st Gear February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 I am now full of mixed feelings but one thing for sure among these mixed feelings is that of anguish in my heart. What I am about to relate is not aim particularly at an authorised car Distributor but to point out that one black sheep is all it takes to soil it's reputation. I fully understand that no one organisation is able to fully keep track of all the nitty gritty little details of how their sales staff conducts every trade and transaction. My (ex) car was nearing its ten year last December and due to family commitment, I needed a replacement. Reading many horror stories about unscrupulous second car dealer, I decided on getting a new car as I do not want to go through the ordeals those second had car buyers did. I did some research in November, narrowed down two brands/models and contacted them respectively. I expressed my concern on the limited COEs while wishing to replace my old car. The first distributor’s sale staff told me chance is fifty-fifty in securing a COE. The second one, which will be abovementioned Distributor’s sales staff hinted there are ways to secure a COE for me confidently as they are a big, reputable new car distributor. This claim (unfortunately, in words only) also ended up being refuted later by that same person who claimed I had misunderstood his statement. I had signed for a showroom car as the sale staff claim they are no more stock for the colour I wanted. The price I signed for is the exact same price as a new car price but I will be given a $1000 price rebate (again, verbally) on the total car price if I accepted the showroom car. This amount was also later denied to me after signing of contract for reason that I am not entitled to it as I took minimum loan! At that time, I had also made arrangement to trade in/scrap my old car with them. During the signing of contract, the old car money arrangements were made as such: Old car PARF value to offset new car price : $10497 Deposit to car distributor : $10000 (A second hand car dealer company’s name came into the picture as this point in time. This second had car company was supposed to handle my old car trade in and I didn’t think much about it since the PARF of my old car will be used to offset the new car price anyway. ) When paying my deposit, the sales staff said I only need to pay $9000 instead of the $10000 as the other $1000 will be borne by the Second Hand Dealer to ascertain their commitment in the deal. Sounds logical. So, I paid deposit of $9000. COE bidding started (2nd round, Nov 2013). By the 3rd time my COE bidding failed, the dateline for my old car is up. The sales staff told me that the 2nd hand car dealer will pay me $9479 to collect my old car as they had borne the $1000 out of the $10000 deposit. OK, I thought. Mathematically correct. PARF value in cheque by second hand car dealer to me : $9479 I was asked to top up $5000 during COE bidding which I rejected. There was once the sales staff asked if I wanted to remove some accessories from the new car in exchange for topping bidding amount. The sales staff then made a mistake by saying I could used the $1000 showroom car rebate to top up COE bidding to which I responded that I was not getting it because I took minimum loan. He then quickly changed subject but I already smelt a rat. My sixth COE (Feb, first round) attempt failed. I had no wish to extend my COE bidding any more and asked for a refund of my deposit. The sales staff made arrangement and I was told to wait 2 – 3 weeks for it. Deposit refund : $9000 as that was the amount I paid for the deposit. The other $1000 borne by the 2nd car dealer. Yesterday, while looking at my bank statement, I realized I had been careless and almost lose a $1000. Quickly called up the sales staff and demanded that he return it to me. He apologised saying its an honest mistake and made arrangements for the second had car dealer to bank ATM transfer $1000 to me last evening (14th Feb). Thinking it through, I was full of anguish and disappointment that such a thing could happened and if I have not seen the mistake, I would have loss $1000 and never knew about it. Can you guys spot where the lapses are? I am still waiting for my refund of deposit $9000 via cheque through mail. Please do not flame me for writing such a long story or that I am too naïve, etc. I am a rather trusting person and believes in the good of people if I treat them good with respect. But this episode may just change my view. What do you guys think? ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watwheels Supersonic February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 There are lots of loopholes in this market. There's no proper body or commitee to govern it. The authorities couldn't care less and there's no protection for the buyers. If you look at the entire retail industry be it sell car or sell clothes it's pretty much no protection for the consumers. You see reports of scams and frauds abound. Being cautious is the only way to safe guard your money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kangadrool Supersonic February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 trust nobody except yourself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcfguy 1st Gear February 15, 2014 Author Share February 15, 2014 There are lots of loopholes in this market. There's no proper body or commitee to govern it. The authorities couldn't care less and there's no protection for the buyers. If you look at the entire retail industry be it sell car or sell clothes it's pretty much no protection for the consumers. You see reports of scams and frauds abound. Being cautious is the only way to safe guard your money. Yeah, looks good on the outside, inside, all rotten. trust nobody except yourself. That's a sad state to live one's life but I guess no choice. Whatever bad things one does, it not only represents you only but your family, believes and religion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fcw75 Hypersonic February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 (edited) The sales staff lost money at the casinos and looking around to cheat people's money. This was told to me by someone in the used car industry. She said it's very rampant nowadays esp for guys. Edited February 15, 2014 by Fcw75 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohto Hypersonic February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 New car or old car dealer, all are the same. Bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcfguy 1st Gear February 15, 2014 Author Share February 15, 2014 The sales staff lost money at the casinos and looking around to cheat people's money. This was told to me by someone in the used car industry. She said it's very rampant nowadays esp for guys. sad. Lose money in gambling is own fault, but if still be professional about selling car, can still get more business and earm more commission. But, can't be all gambling right, some are just greedy and want to make more doing less. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_prince Supersonic February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 2nd hand dealers all bloody con men. havent met a good one yet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxcvb Turbocharged February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 I doubt $1000 means much to TS, but the anguish and mistrust which was created made him tulan. And yes, the car industry (sales, workshop, insurance, loan) are still very much cowboy way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahgong Supercharged February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 sigh... sad rite? one of the most expensive things we buy in our life, out of which almost 3/4 goes to the G. and G never bothered to do anything to regulate or ensure the industry is honest~! [shake] 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezfaun 3rd Gear February 15, 2014 Share February 15, 2014 (edited) All dealers are con men. It's how the system works. Buy low, sell high. If theres any opportunity to raise price then raise it. If there's a factor that might cause prices to drop, hold your price for as long as you can. In other 1st world countries, the used car market is mostly controlled by the consumer demand. But in sillypore, it is controlled by the dealers and their conglomerates. And as "good" businessmen, they have to maximize their ROV even if it means that they have to tamper with odometers and swap out good sports rims and sell them and then put those ugly ones as a replacement. Truth be told, my car didn't even came with oem carpets. But I got sucked into their warranty deal. With the above said, I think we, the consumer end, should start negotiating our own direct deals more often so that we won't be capitalized by dealers into selling our car at sometimes even only half the market value of our car. Because the con process mainly takes place when we sell our car, that's where we have to be smart. Edited February 15, 2014 by Ezfaun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckrogers 2nd Gear February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 I had a pleasant experience when I bot my Korean mpv donkey years ago, perhaps the salesperson was a national footballer or he is the real him. Wrote down everything we discussed on the s/a and gave me every accessory i requested. Even call up to ask if everything was ok after I took delivery of the ride. My ex colleague was not so lucky - first time buyer of a brand new car from AD and she was told to pay a additional "premium" because she was a new driver (car was registered under her husband's name) - which was paid to the sales person and no receipt issued. Depends on individual luck i guess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_prince Supersonic February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 I had a pleasant experience when I bot my Korean mpv donkey years ago, perhaps the salesperson was a national footballer or he is the real him. Wrote down everything we discussed on the s/a and gave me every accessory i requested. Even call up to ask if everything was ok after I took delivery of the ride. My ex colleague was not so lucky - first time buyer of a brand new car from AD and she was told to pay a additional "premium" because she was a new driver (car was registered under her husband's name) - which was paid to the sales person and no receipt issued. Depends on individual luck i guess. AD also chut pattern?? she should complain to the management Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Bear Turbocharged February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 2nd hand dealers all bloody con men. havent met a good one yet 2nd hand car dealers, dormitory operators, durian sellers, Sim Lim Sq salesman are amongst the worst kind of human around. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_prince Supersonic February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 2nd hand car dealers, dormitory operators, durian sellers, Sim Lim Sq salesman are amongst the worst kind of human around. not sure about dorm operators. but the other 3 are right down there with bankers and lawyers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Bear Turbocharged February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 (edited) not sure about dorm operators. but the other 3 are right down there with bankers and lawyers Oh... You should have seen how dormitory operators make use of every legal loophole, human conscience and basic trust to exploit every single party that has any remote dealing with them. Edited February 16, 2014 by Bavarian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex976 5th Gear February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 2nd hand dealers all bloody con men. havent met a good one yet i can't agree more even my dad's own friend who is a 2nd hand car dealer want to take in my car at only 80+k while all the other dealers could take in at 90k to 93k. lucky i did a check around before deciding against selling my car like that. Even friends wanna eat your son's $$. whats there to say about dealers ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_prince Supersonic February 16, 2014 Share February 16, 2014 i can't agree more even my dad's own friend who is a 2nd hand car dealer want to take in my car at only 80+k while all the other dealers could take in at 90k to 93k. lucky i did a check around before deciding against selling my car like that. Even friends wanna eat your son's $$. whats there to say about dealers ? a fool and his money is soon parted. lotsa bloody inhuman car salesman around. ppl like that will get their just desserts ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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