Same thing happened to me. Dealer told me they could get me a black on black FSport in 2 days which would have been April 30. I was very very specific, black on black. So, I put a $1300 deposit down to secure delivery of the car. The dealer called me on April 30 that the car would be arriving a day late, May 1, but the dealer wanted me to come in April 30th, so the dealer could get credit for selling it before the month ended. I said i would come in if the dealer would offer me an incentive, but the dealer declined. Just so we are clear, the dealer wanted me to take off work, drive to the dealership, do paperwork and then do it all again the next day when the car arrived? So, i'm already spending 60K on a vehicle and now i have to accomodate the dealer for no incentive? Really? Well, good thing i didnt waste my time because i went to the dealer the next day because i got a call that my car arrived. I cant even begin to tell you how excited i was to drive my new car but as i rolled up to the dealer in my 2006 GS430 that the dealer raped me on in trade in value, i could see the interior of the new car was flaxen and not black. What a let down!!! I couldnt have been more clear on what i wanted and the dealer was apologetic about not getting me what i wanted, but they proceeded to try and sell me the car with the flaxen interior, Really? Anyway, they said they could get me a black on black Fsport but it could take 3 weeks. I told them if i had to wait 3 weeks then i wanted a black on black Fsport with Mark Levinson. They said that would take 3 months and i would have to pay sticker, Really? So, you screwed up my order, delivery time on the car i want, went from 3 days to 3 weeks, and then when i try to get an extra option that i would have paid for in addition to the deal we already agreed upon, they try to rape me some more? Needless to say, that dealer didnt get my business. I ended up having to drive a little further away, but Pohanka Lexus in Virginia ended up getting me everything i wanted and gave me $1500 more on my trade in than 3 other Lexus dealerships in Maryland. So, in short, no, dont do paper work on the car sight unseen. Whats the rush?

 

Do other dealers not actively search the database to try and find cars for customers? When I bought my 4GS from my dealership, that was the 1st time (of 4 times) that they actually had what I wanted...and had other ones to compare it to. In the other 3 times they searched the database for vehicles that were somewhat close and that could be traded for. Yeah you pay a transportation fee, but they truck it down for you. We have 3 dealers all within 75 miles of me...so I guarantee if my local dealership didn't want to help me, I would just let them know that one of the other 2 dealerships will be getting my money. Black/Black F-Sport with ML isn't that hard to find....

Oh, and OP....I would have told the dealer to go touch himself.

 

[QUOTE=jtrue28;7269412]Do other dealers not actively search the database to try and find cars for customers? When I bought my 4GS from my dealership, that was the 1st time (of 4 times) that they actually had what I wanted...and had other ones to compare it to. In the other 3 times they searched the database for vehicles that were somewhat close and that could be traded for. Yeah you pay a transportation fee, but they truck it down for you. We have 3 dealers all within 75 miles of me...so I guarantee if my local dealership didn't want to help me, I would just let them know that one of the other 2 dealerships will be getting my money. Black/Black F-Sport with ML isn't that hard to find....

What happens is that dealerships don't usually dealer trade to their local competition. I use to work at a dealership and it was a major PITA. I could see that a dealership right down the street has the vehicle but because we compete against each other we wouldn't do a trade.

 

Being in sales myself, I would never...EVER...expect a customer or client of mine to change their plans or structure their deal in any way because of how it would benefit me. To me even proposing that to you with no benefit to you is so completely unprofessional I'd be tempted to take my business somewhere else. Had they called you and said "hey, the car is going to come in a day late but if you can come down here and sign everything today with a right of refusal once you've seen the car we'll throw in some all weather mats for your trouble" that would be one thing...I still wouldn't do that as a salesman...but to ask you to do something like that is just unbelievable to me...

 

Yeah, it makes more sense now. Our local dealer has ZERO competition....other than MB, BMW, etc... So they're going to be more likely to try and trade and keep the customer happy than to say no. I still don't think they like to trade....but they've been very helpful in the past.

So now that it's June 1st....what happened OP?

 

I was disappointed that they asked me to do that. The lower price when I took delivery was a nice surprise, though.

 

Yeah so it all worked out in the end...

 

No question about that. I love the F-Sport almost as much as my 1994 SC400!

 

Congrats! I've driven the ES for about 10 years now, this is my second one and I'm thinking about upgrading to the GS when my lease is up next summer. I went and drove one right after they first came out and absolutely loved it. Great car.

 

no matter what, congrats on your new car!

 

Here is my new F-Sport, Starfire Pearl with Flaxen leather, Mark Levinson, Blind Spot Monitor and Parking Assist. It was worth waiting for.

 

Beautiful! Looks great in that color. Glad things worked out for you, and to say you love it almost as much as your SC400 is quite a statement. The SC400 was quite a fine automobile that has passed the test of time very well. I had an SC300 and have fond memories of that car (aside from the cupholders).

 

Very nice! Post some pics of the interior!