Did everyone have to sign arbitration agreement?

[Katherine]

Hi all,

I came very close to buying a 2004 Solara SLE V6 the other day. I had a deposit and the order all filled out, but unfortunately the dealership tried an APR scam on me and I demanded my deposit back. They were extremely unprofessional with me (the business manager was basically screaming at me over the phone, telling me that I dont believe what he's saying because that's not "what I want to hear." He also said that he will not be "intimidated by me or talked down to by me" which I was doing neither...whatever. I posted my issue on Edmunds and someone emailed the dealership and told him they were shocked at what they did to me and you know what they said (this is from the general manager!): "We could care less." wow. Glad they refunded my deposit)). Anyway, so I am still looking (I was in love with this car too.. cosmic blue... dark charcoal leather... I can't find another cosmic blue, will probably go with silver). Anyway, the scummy dealership had an arbitration agreement right on the buyer's order. I knew what it was and that I didnt want to sign it but I did anyway. I know now that I do not want to sign another in the future from another dealership. Has anyone bought their Solara from a dealership that didn't require this OR that allowed them not to sign it and have it crossed off?

[mattyboyl]

Not familiar. Could you please elaborate on the details of the arbitration argreement?

[Shoe]

as far as finding the color/model you want:

up here in Toronto my dealer didnt have the red they had blk and silver but what they did was a trade with another dealer. WE probably have at least 10-15 toyota dealers with in an hours drive radius in the greater toronto area that work together to get people the cars they want. I thought that would be the same thing everywhere.

or you should be able to put an order in and get exactly the car you want but having to wait a few weeks - a month for it to get there. When I bought my car ( end of sept last year) the dealers took my downpayment and then did the search if the car wasnt avail then they said it would be in oct 13th as that was the delivery date of cars ordered from the factory. I knew my car would be in a dealership in the city and I had actually seen the make model at another dealership while i was looking around at the colors ( so i couild see in person rather than the net)

wow that turned into another long post. but anyway what i was trying to address was you shouldnt have to settle for second choice.

Shoe

[DocJohn]

I signed an arbitration agreement at the dealership when I bought my Solara.

Basically it says that if you have a problem with the car, rather than sue the dealership you agree to settle the dispute through a "neutral", third-party arbitrator. These are becoming more and more common these days.

I can find the document in my files and provide more details about this if needed.

KATHERINE: I think the way the dealership treated you sucks! You don't have to stand for this sort of abuse. There are plenty of Toyota dealerships in NJ and I suggest you find one that treats you with the respect you deserve.

[TW85]

I did not sign an arbitration agreement for my Solara and neither did my parents when they bought their two cars. Three different cars, three different dealers.

Toyota is not known for having customer friendly dealerships. The dealer you dealt with certainly proved it.

Remember, when buying a car or any high dollar item, the customer should always remain in control. If the dealer manages to get the upper hand, you're likely to be screwed.

[Jewls]

I have never even heard of a dealer doing this, much less having to sign one personally. I am a firm believer in the customer is always right, and that they should do what it takes to keep your business, within reason of course. As stated before, do NOT give them the upper hand.


My boyfriend and I recently went to 5 dealerships in one day looking for a truck, and finally we found one that agreed to all of our terms, we refused to settle for anything less than what we wanted.

I know it's hard being an impatient person myself, but don't ever settle for less than what you want.

[Katherine]

DocJohn,

Thanks.. you are right. Over a $25,000 car (actually they were going to give me the car for $25,330, MSRP was $28,103), I refuse to be treated like that!!! You know something though, I have definitely helped others avoid them, some fellow posters on edmunds told me that they were thinking about going over there but now are not...

Everyone else: Thanks. You convinced me that I am not going to settle. I want the cosmic blue. The silver is very nice too but I really like the blue. I asked a friend of mine to call Prestige and ask if they have the blue car, I am going to ask another dealer to get it from them. lol. I have had many dealerships say that "they can get any car" for me, I just used to shy away from that because ive heard it can get messy, they try to charge you for it, and they lose the holdback on it, etc. etc. i dunno if that is true or how it works. I'm going to ask a dealership i spoke with last night if they can do it.

Thanks!

[cklinh]

I signed one. But from what the dealership was telling me, it's not that you can't sue at all, it's just that you agree to go to an arbitrator before you can sue. I didn't see anything wrong with that, and the dealership was super nice.

Coincidentally, I had my dealership get the car I wanted from another dealership... a Cosmic Blue Metallic... no major hassle... did put on an additional 25 miles to the car on the drive over though...

[TW85]

It is no problem for customer oriented dealers to get a car from another dealer or state. My car was taken to Atlanta from Alabama and my mom's 4Runner was brought up to South Carolina from Florida. It made no difference in negotiations.

[DocJohn]

I signed one. But from what the dealership was telling me, it's not that you can't sue at all, it's just that you agree to go to an arbitrator before you can sue.

Absolutely correct. I should have been more clear in my first posting. Thanks.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

i've signed off on a few of those agreements. The dealership service sucked. I knew of someone who quoted a APR, but then the payment per month and his final price and down didn't equate to that APR (muchhhhhoooo higher)...when we spoke to the agent before taking delivery, he look dumpstruct..he said the finance guy gives him values. When we confronted the finance guy..he was missing for three day. (what dealership doesn't have a finance guy come in for three days). Finally when we sat in with one...we figured that the APR quoted and given were two DIFFERENT values, My dude was being charged 14% apr....way out of this world. Good thing i had my finance calculator and i was able to OWN the finance guy!

[Katherine]

I spoke with a dealer today. He said that there would be no problem in doing a "swap" for the car I want. I wonder if they are going to be less prone in negotiating the price... Anyway, I am so glad... Thanks for the advice!!

[Ikhandi]

Nope was not asked to sign that agreement and I went over all the paperwork with a fine tooth comb before my pen hit the paper. I wouldn't have sigined it anyway if it was there.

[Jon11582]

Wasnt asked by the two dealerships that I negotiated with in north jersey (Totowa/Wayne and Fort Lee). I dont think my mom did either with the Highlander she brought in central jersey (North Brunswick).

They didnt have the Solara I wanted at the Totowa/Wayne dealership, but they got the car driven from another dealership for me. No idea which one, but I ended up getting it with 47 miles on it. They didnt talk with me about "swapping" or anything. I just told them what I wanted, and they looked it up, found one, and drove it down later that week for me.

[trdkamuri51o]

I have never even heard of a dealer doing this, much less having to sign one personally. I am a firm believer in the customer is always right, and that they should do what it takes to keep your business, within reason of course. As stated before, do NOT give them the upper hand.


My boyfriend and I recently went to 5 dealerships in one day looking for a truck, and finally we found one that agreed to all of our terms, we refused to settle for anything less than what we wanted.

I know it's hard being an impatient person myself, but don't ever settle for less than what you want.

only thing i have to say to that is: THE CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT as the matter of fact 2/3 or the time they are wrong.