buyers beware - sport suspension

[Lams]

This is just a little warning for potential Eos customers out there

A few months ago, we enquired about a new Eos at an unnamed dealership. This Eos has been sitting in stock for a while as it is a manual with no options. A few weeks later, I noticed the car had new 18" Chicago wheels. It was then that we started looking for an Eos, I went in and negotiated, the salesman tried to tell me the car had sport suspension on it. It clearly didn't, as it sat high and I knew the car originally had the 17" wheels on. I told the salesman and he confirms that it in fact doesn't have it.

We ended up buying a used Eos privately, which was sold new by the same dealer. On every Eos taht I've seen with sport suspension and 18" from factory, there are little black plastic 'fender extenders' on the wheel arches. This one doesn't have them. I also noticed it was sitting high when parked next to my mother's White Night Eos, and the ride was noticably softer.
The seller optioned the car with 18" and sport suspension.

Not that it bothers us much as we would probably do a suspension upgrade later, but it angers me that the dealers are out there ripping people off like this. The sport suspension option has a code on the sticker found in the spare wheel well. It should also have those little black fender fins, and sit lower than a stock car. Hope this will help those purchasing a new car!

[gareth_oau]

hehe, just goes to show that its worthy to cross reference anything that comes out of a dealer's mouth

[Umai Naa!!]

There are coloured stripes on the springs you can cross-reference with.

[Lams]

My point is - how is the general public going to know any better?

[gareth_oau]

there is a philosophy called "buyer beware".....

if someone is coughing up $40 or $50k of their own money, then learn how to spend it properly

[Umai Naa!!]

Naturally, if you took the salesman's word for it, and found out later that you didn't get what you payed for, you're quite within your rights to kick up a fuss about it with the dealer.

Often it comes down to a lack of product knowledge on the saleman's behalf.

[gareth_oau]

thats true, but if its not in writing, I suspect he "wouldnt recall ever saying that" or "hmmm, sounds like you misunderstood what I said"

[Manaz]

Often it comes down to a lack of product knowledge on the saleman's behalf.

Even if I were naiv... trusting enough to believe that such errors are often honest mistakes, it's still no excuse.

The job these guys have is to sell cars. There's no justifiable reason for them to not know the product range - it's not actually that big to start with, and even if they don't know the answer to every question off the top of their head, then they should easily be able to research it.

When an enthusiast can pick the differences by sight, a salesperson should be able to get the right parts ordered for the car as specified, and they should not be making claims about cars which are not true.

By the same token, as has already been said in here - buyer beware. Be an informed purchaser, and make sure you're getting exactly what you're paying for - the saying goes that a car is the second most expensive item you'll ever buy other than a house, so why treat it as a triviality? Do your research, and you walk in with a clear advantage when it comes to negotiations around features and price.

[gerhard]

Even if I were naiv... trusting enough to believe that such errors are often honest mistakes, it's still no excuse.

The job these guys have is to sell cars. There's no justifiable reason for them to not know the product range - it's not actually that big to start with, and even if they don't know the answer to every question off the top of their head, then they should easily be able to research it.

When an enthusiast can pick the differences by sight, a salesperson should be able to get the right parts ordered for the car as specified, and they should not be making claims about cars which are not true.

By the same token, as has already been said in here - buyer beware. Be an informed purchaser, and make sure you're getting exactly what you're paying for - the saying goes that a car is the second most expensive item you'll ever buy other than a house, so why treat it as a triviality? Do your research, and you walk in with a clear advantage when it comes to negotiations around features and price.

And Judges should not discount sentences for villains, but they do.

Always assume the salesperson is selling, not giving a lecture on the technical specifications of what they are selling. They are taught to sell on emotion, so you end up buying a "lovely car" "beautiful wheels" "sports suspension" ....

[team_v]

And Judges should not discount sentences for villains, but they do.

Always assume the salesperson is selling, not giving a lecture on the technical specifications of what they are selling. They are taught to sell on emotion, so you end up buying a "lovely car" "beautiful wheels" "sports suspension" ....

It is also the case with Tiguan owenrs being told the off-road package gives an increase in ground clearance to allow better off-roading when in fact hte suspension is the same as the standard model.

Unfortunately, an enthusiast is more likely to know about the car than the salesperson becasue we enjoy the vehicles rather than trying to sell them.
A lot fo the salespeople are not vw enthusiasts and are likely to switch dealerships many times throughout their career's.
You have to remember, their qualifications are in car sales, not in the VW brand.


On a side note, i went for a test drive at the austral open night and i got the accounts guy as a passenger, he said i knew more about the car than he did.

[Lams]

since the start of this thread I've put the sticker that lists all the options of the car into the VAG checker thing online and confirmed that it doesn't have sport suspension

and since the start of this thread I've fitted my own sport suspension - very happy with it!
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/07/DSC_0041-1.jpg

[Jmac]

My point is - how is the general public going to know any better?

Agreed here, my opinion is and ive been around the trade a LONG time is the cars sell themselves generally, well sorry for generalising here as ive worked for Dub, Audi and Porsche so pretty much if you want a 997 it has sold itself before the boof tries to tell it has what it hasnt. As the powerful net now is a great tool before you shop i think the boofs are crazy to try and baffle you with the crud, after all you dont know who you are talking to. If a question is asked be as honest as you can as it will bite you and as lams has clearly pointed out he used a net tool to chekc what the car actually had
Jmac