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Letter To The Editor
Author: Mike Lohman

I’m not going to say which dealership it was, but the more I think about it, my wife and I had a bad experience with a former trusted salesman.

When the CARFAX arrived, which is a trade-in/sales tool designed to be used for “their” maximum profit, her vehicle had been reported as a total loss. We knew this to be untrue because we had a state title issued 4 years after this alleged loss [from when she paid it off] and there was absolutely no brand anywhere on the title. We explained that couldn’t be, but the dealership said they wouldn’t take it as a trade-in because of the CARFAX report.

We left and went elsewhere only to find nothing to our liking at another dealership (we don’t care for turbos). In the meantime, we received an offer on the first vehicle with their dealership markdown. I asked if it included a specific incentive markdown, and they responded as “yes, that’s with her markdown included.” I looked at the dealership markdowns online and noticed it didn’t include the incentive – thus not only had we been mistreated, but now we had also been lied to. We decided to go home, and later, went to Helena. We found something nice, got very good mileage, and we bought it. I was so impressed with how we were treated; on the next day I traded mine in [getting nearly $2000 more for my trade-in than I thought I would], and I left with a new car that gets excellent mileage but lacked the kung-fu grip tires I like.

I wrote to CARFAX on their dispute page, presented the evidence, explained the error, and – while it took two weeks, they investigated it, apologized, and corrected it without issue.

What did the dealership/salesman do wrong? A bunch of things. They looked across the table at a customer they had known for 16 years, disbelieved him, and took an internet generated report over a duly issued official state certificate which was 4 years newer than the CARFAX, then they said no to the trade-in, made a deal completely in their favor, and lied to us about an incentive she qualified for but they had NOT applied to the sale. None of what happened at the dealership was CARFAX’s fault, but if you are somewhere with an official document 4 years younger than the CARFAX, which cites a loss and the salesman/management tries what they did with us – get up and leave - we did. Don't even argue; they're not worth it when they treat you unworthy. They are full of what comes out the north end of a southbound quadruped. Ensure you grab your paperwork plus whatever they have and go somewhere else. They do not respect the sale, and they do not respect you, regardless of how many years you’ve worked with somebody. Gas goes in the car; gas-lighters go home without a sale.

They lost two customers forever, and the sister company to the one we went to sells the same brand as the "former" salesman does. Regardless, we’re glad we did what we did because now her former car is worth more – and it even qualifies as a low-mileage car to boot. Talk this up too, as some people may not be as alert to these things; plus, you’ll be doing your community a service.

Thanks for reading my letter and have a good day.

Mike Lohman

Townsend, MT