Dealer refuses to honor Nissan GT-R eBay auction
08-09-11, 01:10 PM
#1
Loves Snickerdoodles!
Thread Starter
Dealer refuses to honor Nissan GT-R eBay auction
Enthusiast Xou Vang spent this last weekend bidding for a used Nissan GT-R on eBay and, at $55,100, thought he'd gotten a fair price for his dream car. The dealer, Honda of San Marcos, thought the deal was too fair and reportedly said they'd refuse their deal unless he coughed up a few grand more.
Car dealers sell hundreds of cars on eBay every day, often sparing the buyer and salesman from having to go round-to-round in a stuffy back office situated a long, contemplative walk from the manager's office. Unfortunately, some dealers bring this experience to eBay.
Unlike some of the stories of poor eBay Motors salesmanship where the dealer ended up selling the car for a large discount, the case involving Vang is over an embarrassingly small amount.
According to Vang, he won the auction for the single-owner GT-R on Sunday night at a not unreasonable price of $55,100 for a car the dealership originally only wanted $59,000 for (and is now for sale for $62,000), and attempted to contact the dealer to find out the best way to submit his deposit. The next day he called the dealership and, after getting the run around, finally connected with the Used Car Manager Ian Jones.
Jones, apparently, claimed the rules of eBay Motors don't apply to dealerships, that the car should have included a reserve though no one put it on the listing, and that Vang would have to pay full price.
"Ian said he was aware that situation but I'd have to pay the asking price of $59K, which I'd already said was unfair," said Vang. "I won the auction and I wasted the time and effort to win it and now they won't sell me the car because that's not the price I'm looking at."
Vang later tried to submit his deposit since that was part of the original eBay contract listed online but reportedly Ian refused to accept it.
The car is now listed on the Honda of San Marcos site as for sale for $62,674 after being previously listed as sold.
Vang, for his part, contacted the local authorities as well as the Better Business Bureau, to which the dealership replied:
Mr. Vang has engaged in slander against Honda of San Marcos and attempted to purposley (sp) and unlawfully disrupt the dealership's ability to operate. As a result of these documented offenses and on advice from counsel Honda San Marcos will not discuss this matter with the BBB."
They also have so far refused to discuss it with us.
We attempted to reach out to the dealership, but Internet Sales Manager Raymond Ammons refused to discuss it. We were also told the owner was "out of town" for a week and the used car sales manager was "in a meeting."
Not selling cars to people is serious business.
Representatives of eBay Motors, having been contacted by Jalopnik, are now looking into the matter and released this statement:
We are reaching out to the dealer to confirm what happened. If the buyer's story is accurate, this behavior is in direct violation of the eBay User agreement.
Specifically, the Seller has:
1) Failed to deliver items purchased
2) Attempted to manipulate the price of the item
The eBay Dealer team will contact the Seller immediately and if warranted notify them of their violation of the user agreement. If the Seller fails to comply, and has further incidences like this, eBay may either limit or suspend account privileges.
Car dealers sell hundreds of cars on eBay every day, often sparing the buyer and salesman from having to go round-to-round in a stuffy back office situated a long, contemplative walk from the manager's office. Unfortunately, some dealers bring this experience to eBay.
Unlike some of the stories of poor eBay Motors salesmanship where the dealer ended up selling the car for a large discount, the case involving Vang is over an embarrassingly small amount.
According to Vang, he won the auction for the single-owner GT-R on Sunday night at a not unreasonable price of $55,100 for a car the dealership originally only wanted $59,000 for (and is now for sale for $62,000), and attempted to contact the dealer to find out the best way to submit his deposit. The next day he called the dealership and, after getting the run around, finally connected with the Used Car Manager Ian Jones.
Jones, apparently, claimed the rules of eBay Motors don't apply to dealerships, that the car should have included a reserve though no one put it on the listing, and that Vang would have to pay full price.
"Ian said he was aware that situation but I'd have to pay the asking price of $59K, which I'd already said was unfair," said Vang. "I won the auction and I wasted the time and effort to win it and now they won't sell me the car because that's not the price I'm looking at."
Vang later tried to submit his deposit since that was part of the original eBay contract listed online but reportedly Ian refused to accept it.
The car is now listed on the Honda of San Marcos site as for sale for $62,674 after being previously listed as sold.
Vang, for his part, contacted the local authorities as well as the Better Business Bureau, to which the dealership replied:
Mr. Vang has engaged in slander against Honda of San Marcos and attempted to purposley (sp) and unlawfully disrupt the dealership's ability to operate. As a result of these documented offenses and on advice from counsel Honda San Marcos will not discuss this matter with the BBB."
They also have so far refused to discuss it with us.
We attempted to reach out to the dealership, but Internet Sales Manager Raymond Ammons refused to discuss it. We were also told the owner was "out of town" for a week and the used car sales manager was "in a meeting."
Not selling cars to people is serious business.
Representatives of eBay Motors, having been contacted by Jalopnik, are now looking into the matter and released this statement:
We are reaching out to the dealer to confirm what happened. If the buyer's story is accurate, this behavior is in direct violation of the eBay User agreement.
Specifically, the Seller has:
1) Failed to deliver items purchased
2) Attempted to manipulate the price of the item
The eBay Dealer team will contact the Seller immediately and if warranted notify them of their violation of the user agreement. If the Seller fails to comply, and has further incidences like this, eBay may either limit or suspend account privileges.
http://jalopnik.com/5829166/dealer-r...r-ebay-auction
I think it'd be pretty sweet to get a GT-R for only 55K!!
08-09-11, 01:51 PM
#4
As a previous ebay seller, this dealer definitely played the scam, dishonest, unethical practice. You don't put it on auction if you are not intended to let it go at what ever the final bid. If dealer forgot to include a reserve price, its their mistake and they are responsible for it. If dealer sell a car well over the MSRP to a buyer, do you think the dealer would refund some $$ if the buyer comes back and say "I over paid for this car!!"
I went to car auction and most of them have a reserve price which is understandable. In this case, the buyer can totally file a law suit against the dealer and have the judge decide it. Bidding on ebay is bound by ebay policy and its like a contract. The seller can suit unpaid bidder as well as the opposite.
Imagine if youself bid & won and can afford it.
I went to car auction and most of them have a reserve price which is understandable. In this case, the buyer can totally file a law suit against the dealer and have the judge decide it. Bidding on ebay is bound by ebay policy and its like a contract. The seller can suit unpaid bidder as well as the opposite.
Imagine if youself bid & won and can afford it.
Last edited by grabber2; 08-09-11 at 01:55 PM.
Trending Topics
08-09-11, 02:15 PM
#8
Pole Position
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 270
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How do dealers not know this is wrong and brings about a lot of problems for themselves?
I don't know what's worse: the dealer backing out of the deal, or the dealer being so unfamilliar with the online car community to think that what they did would be OK.
I don't know what's worse: the dealer backing out of the deal, or the dealer being so unfamilliar with the online car community to think that what they did would be OK.
08-09-11, 02:19 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
I would have been pissed off as well, but with a car this rare and expensive its still a great deal either way. Its just a few grand. I would have coughed up the extra cash or just finance . The added 3-4k wouldnt do jack to your payment. I would not have let the car go ,especially if it was in good shape and had low miles
08-09-11, 03:34 PM
#12
I would have been pissed off as well, but with a car this rare and expensive its still a great deal either way. Its just a few grand. I would have coughed up the extra cash or just finance . The added 3-4k wouldnt do jack to your payment. I would not have let the car go ,especially if it was in good shape and had low miles
its not about the deal its about the fact that a contract was in place and the dealership thinks they can just bait and switch the guy.
YOU may be willing to give in and throw the dealer a "few grand" but once a price has been settled on most of us prefer to hold on to the rest of our hard-earned (or hard stolen? some GT-R owners lol) money.
08-09-11, 03:51 PM
#13
I would have been pissed off as well, but with a car this rare and expensive its still a great deal either way. Its just a few grand. I would have coughed up the extra cash or just finance . The added 3-4k wouldnt do jack to your payment. I would not have let the car go ,especially if it was in good shape and had low miles
08-09-11, 03:58 PM
#14
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: CA
Posts: 2,010
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Without repeating what everyone else has already said, let me just say I'm more curious about the person who decided to trade in a GT-R for a Honda in the first place (not to mention that the trade-in value of the GT-R was probably more than the MSRP of any Honda, fully loaded)! 
Last edited by ydooby; 08-09-11 at 04:02 PM.
08-09-11, 04:24 PM
#15
Without repeating what everyone else has already said, let me just say I'm more curious about the person who decided to trade in a GT-R for a Honda in the first place (not to mention that the trade-in value of the GT-R was probably more than the MSRP of any Honda, fully loaded)!