Fremont Mazda

Well, where do I begin....the short version is that I would give this a ZERO (0) if this ratings system allowed for it. This is all still fresh in my mind as I just attempted to purchase a car from this unethical, [non-permissible content removed] dealership on 9/13 (Sunday). Without a doubt, I WOULD AVOID THIS DEALERSHIP LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! If you want to read the long version, here's the exact play by play: My story started with me researching dealers for a Used, Certified Mazda 5 between the years 2013-2014. I wanted to go through a Mazda dealership because: A) the certified warranty and B) I had a 2015 Acura MDX to trade-in. The ideal situation was to negotiate the price for a used car AND my trade-in before I set foot onto the dealership. Most dealerships realized that my car would be worthwhile for the trade because I only had it since August 2014 and only incurred 3K miles. Thus, multiple dealerships eagerly stated over the phone what they would give me for my trade-in as long as I was accurate in describing the car, such as no accidents, engine failures, clean title, mileage, etc. So on Saturday (9/12) about 11:30AM, I reached out to Fremont Mazda because they had a Certified 2014 Mazda 5 listed on their website. I clicked on their website to show interest and then of course got a bunch of automated emails from the dealership. At that point I exchanged info with a rep, Ehsan Meili, and then we actually talked on the phone. I explained my ideal scenario and then I provided all the details of my trade-in for him to "check with his manager". I clearly told him that the highest offer I received for my trade-in was $38,700. I made it known that I would not settle for anything less given how like-new my car still was. Thus, I was surprised that by the end of that Saturday, a rep by the name of Antonio calls me on my cell and explains that the used car I was interested in was sold, BUT that he would give me a great price for a brand spanking new 2015 Mazda 5 AND here's the kicker: he would give me $39,400 for my trade-in. Wow - he wasn't just going to match the $38,700 from other dealers, he was gonna go $700 higher without me even asking for it. While I got excited about the higher trade value, it also dawned on me that the savings was offset by having to buy a new car as opposed to buying a used one, which was the original plan. After talking it over with my wife, we decided the new car approach would be better in the long run because of a fresh new warranty, Mazda was offering incentives to clear 2015 inventory before those 2016s start arriving, and we really wanted to get the best value for our trade. With all those factors, I called Antonio back and told him we weren't available that Saturday late, but we could be there at his dealership 1st thing Sunday morning IF he was going to be good with his word on the quoted 2015 Mazda price AND the trade-in. He assured me over and over again, that we were all good as long as I was being upfront about the condition of my trade-in. In fact, he stated it twice on the call and I so I reiterated each time that my car was exactly in the condition that I said it was. That Sunday morning, we get prepped to leave the house, which was about an hour from the dealership and I called Antonio one more time to make sure we were on the same page. I stated the deal from my notes, going over both sets of numbers, and then he did his part again by stating a disclaimer that he would honor the trade value of $39,400 as long as I was being honest about the condition of the car. Feeling that we were crystal clear on both ends, we left the house at 10:45AM and arrived at the dealership, which is actually in Newark, at 11:30AM. We quickly walked through the crowd of salespeople, [non-permissible content removed], in the parking garage and stated over and over: "We are here to see Antonio". We eventually meet both Ehsan and Antonio, then proceed to test drive the Mazda 5. While we were on the test drive, we left our key with Ehsan along with our proof of insurance, so we figured they were checking out our car as we were driving around Newark. After we get back about 15 minutes later and are heading into the sales waiting area, we get approached by the Used Car Sales Manager (I did not catch his name). He walks straight up to us and then blurts out that there was a miscommunication with Acura. He begins to explain that Acura misquoted the price they were offering to buy our MDX from the dealership, thus, the best he can offer us for our trade now is $38,000. WTF! So, no one from the dealership told us our trade-in was inaccurate, but the circumstances were that due to this "miscommunication" they could not honor the price of $39,400. Talk about some shady, sleazy tactics!! Fortunately, I didn't put up for this BS. Called Tracy Mazda, worked with Nick Tan over the phone, drove to Tracy from Newark by 2:45, and left with my new Mazda5 at 4PM! SO AVOID FREMONT MAZDA!!!