House Of Kars

by NickDavis on 08/07/2018

I'll start this out by saying that I live in Richmond, VA. From my home, the dealership is 1.75 hours away. I called this morning to inquire about a 2002 Audi TT ALMS Edition, which I was told was still available. I talked with Jaime about how good the car looked, but how through VIN research and Carfax reports, I knew that the car had been listed at the previous dealership at $8,995. Not only that, but it'd been traded into a dealership in February of this year, and up until now had been bounced between dealerships. I also told him that the KBB trade value was between $3-5,000 depending on options and condition. If I was going to make the drive, I was going to expect to not be jerked around and drive the car home today. Jaime told me he talked to his manager, who I later found out was Christian Flores, and guaranteed the previous 8,995, plus their fees. He explained the fees and taxes, which basically came to $1,000. Basically it'd be sticker price. No problem. I got my ducks in a row with a loan and insurance quotes, took a half day from work, and started driving. The problems started when I arrived. The place is hard to find. Jaime, to his credit, did try to tell me how to find them, but it's a pretty weird situation if you're trying to let Google take the wheel. When I got there, I was warmly greeted by Jaime, keys ready, and I was shown how the butterfly doors worked (the dealership didn't do that; one of the previous owners did. The dealership did, however, put the black vinyl on. This is important for later). I got in the car and found the stereo set to its factory safe mode - it won't work without the code. Jaime didn't know the code. We searched the manual - nothing. Finally, I find online that there's a SN on the stereo that matches a code that you have to pay Audi about $100 to get. I tested the other electric equipment, which seemed ok, but then the driver-side window wouldn't roll up. I also noticed the LED panel was only 1/3 working, and there were gold thumbtacks all over the headliner holding it up. The mechanic fixed the window quickly and explained the clasp - if you push down, it comes undone (not his fault, but dumb). I started haggling with Christian since $9,995 is obviously not the correct price (the liner nor LED were featured in pictures on the site). He offered to drop to $9,000, so I consulted an Audi-loving friend who told me it'd be a no for her; bottom line, $8,000 max, all fees included, with a warranty of some kind on extra things breaking, since Christian wasn't willing to fix any of the problems if he gave any discounts at all. He said, "Look, you know what the price was before you drove up here, the car is 16 years old!" To which I replied, "But I didn't know about these problems or about this tone you're taking with me." He countered with $8,700, no warranty, and told me they'd added the vinyl decals and put some extra love into this car. At that point I wanted to know what they paid for it at auction, but he wouldn't answer, so I left. As I drove off, Christian called offering of $8,300, but the damage was done, and it wasn't what I deemed acceptable. For reference, this is the description of the vehicle listed on the dealership website: [html removed] "2002 AUDI TT AWD with powerful 1.8L DOHC SMPI 20-valve 225 HP I4 turbocharged engine and driven only 91061 miles! Fully loaded and much more! COMES WITH A 3 MONTHS 4,500 MILES POWERTRAIN WARRANTY INCLUDED AT LISTED PRICE----VIRGINIA STATE INSPECTION DONE, READY TO GO!!!! WE FINANCE AND GUARANTEE CREDIT APPROVAL----CALL 703-331-1818 TO SCHEDULE TEST DRIVE -***HABLAMOS ESPANOL*** Optional Features Included A/C Front Alloy Wheels CD Player Anti-Lock Brakes Driver Air Bag Power Mirrors Power Steering Power Windows Side Air Bag Tilt Wheel Traction Control Chrome Wheels Passenger Air Bag Power Door Locks Cruise Control AM/FM Stereo All Wheel Drive Heat/AC"

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