Arrowhead Honda

Fraud awareness - Buyers beware! Get your Lending Retail Breakdown before you sign. On August 7th 2017 we purchased a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from the Arrowhead Honda dealership located at 8380 West Bell Road in Peoria Arizona. The purchase price for the vehicle was $6,875, the dealership had added a $995 “Data Dot” fee which they had said was a mandatory theft prevention charge, a $409 Doc fee + taxes and title for a total amount financed of $8,994.25.   On August 16th 2017 (9 days later) we were contacted by James Hockett, the sales representative who sold us the vehicle, who at that time informed us that we could not get financing on the vehicle at the terms we had agreed upon (7.25%) due to “the car being so old” Vantage Credit union was to only bank willing to finance the loan but at the much higher rate of 9%. At this point we were feeling uncomfortable with the sale and the bait and switch type tactics we were experiencing. We, in writing, communicated with Mr. Hockett that the car had not been driven (since there was no financing at that point the car could not be insured) and that we did not agree to the new terms and we no longer wanted to move forward with the purchase, the deal was off, and we wanted to return the vehicle to the dealership. At 2:01pm we received a text from Mr. Hocket that his sales manager was busy and that we could bring the car back to the dealership; one hour later Mr. Hockett sent another text stating that Vantage Bank had made an exception on the loan. We texted him at that point that we had rescinded our offer, no longer wanted the vehicle, for him to inform the bank that we did not resign the documentation and that we had already contacted the DMV and our insurance company. His response was that we signed the original paperwork, nothing had changed, and they would no longer work with us. Again, this was 9 days after the original purchase & after they attempted to hike the interest rate an additional 1.75%, and all of this took place during a workday where my wife and I were not able to leave our place of employment to deal with the situation.   We requested and received a Lending/Retail breakdown from Vantage bank. It is my understanding that this is the document the bank uses to calculate the amount to lend on the vehicle. There are numerous misrepresentations on the breakdown we received. For example, our vehicle does not include 20” rims, premium wheels or a towing package. Another misrepresentation on the contract was the $995 charge for the Data Dot theft deterrent system. We were informed by the finance manager Cory Caldarazzo that this was a mandatory charge. We have since learned that this is not a compulsory charge and the cost to the dealership is negligible.   Due to the deceptive sales practices, the misrepresentation of the cost and value of the vehicle (both to us as consumers and to Vantage Credit Union), and the fact that we have, in writing proof that as of August 17th 2017 we had, by Arrowhead Honda’s own admission, no binding contract as of that date; this along with both a written decline of the deal by us and an acceptance of that decline by a representative of Arrowhead Honda we are requesting that Vantage Credit Union unwind the deal and allow us to return the car to the dealership.   We have included the correspondence between Arrowhead Honda and us along with this complaint. We will also be filing complaints with the DMV, FTC, CFBP, the AZ Attorney general, & the BBB. We request your assistance in this matter as soon as possible.