Mercedes-Benz of Miami

I contacted Mercedes Benz of Miami regarding a 2022 Aston Martin Vantage F1 edition it listed for sale. Shortly after that, a guy named Julian contacted me about my inquiry. I told him I am interested in the vehicle but not at its listed price. He said he will consult with his used car sales manager and get back to me. Later I received a message from the used car manager inquiring if I was still interested in the car, to which I responded yes. When I didn't hear from him, I reached out to him, several days later, and told him that I was still interested in the vehicle. He asked me the price range I had in mind, to which I responded no more than $140,000. Later that afternoon a sales agent named Julian called me and said that the manager had repriced the vehicle for $138,995. I accepted. That was the beginning of my nightmare. Julian asked me to scan and email him my driver license and another identification. I sent my driver license and AAA card. He said AAA card was unacceptable, that it should be my credit care or US passport. I sent the latter. After that, he sent me the a sales involve that included $990 in dealer fee and $500 tag fee, along with a sales, tax of over $11,000, and $2,200 in shipping fee. I questioned why the $990 and tag fees were added. He barked at me for asking. He later called back and told me the deal is off. I agreed to pay the amount in the invoice. After that, a company named Maverick sent me an email message and requested that I upload my driver license and selfie onto their portal, which I did. After that, I received a message from it stating that a notary will bring sales contract for me to sign, and that I will be required to provide my thumbprint. I reached out to Julian and express my concern about providing my thumbprint given that I am not sure who has access to it, and where it will be stored and for how long. He again barked at me, and told me that it is their company's policy, and that if I don't want to provide it, the deal is off. Never tried to alleviate my concern or answer my question. I told him I will provide it because I have already committed to buying the vehicle. The Notary came with a sales contract and various other documents, including one that says that I will be paying sales tax to the state of Florida. I again called Julian and asked him why I should pay Florida sales tax when I live in California. He rudely ordered me to sign the tax document, and that I should stop asking too many questions. At that point, I became enraged and yelled back at him to stop talking to like a child, and that I didn't do any of the things they are demanding I do in my previous vehicles purchases from Florida. He then directed me to a guy named Ralph who insisted I should sign the document. I reiterated to Ralph that the dealership should simply collect only the sales price of the vehicle from me, ship the vehicle to me, and let me register the vehicle with the California DMV at which I will pay all the required fees that are connected to it. He insisted that they are required to do registration because Florida has reciprocity with California that requires the dealership to collect all the necessary fees and register the vehicle for me. I again reluctantly agreed. Ralph demanded that I wire the entire $153,000+ to the dealership. I refused because of potential fraud. I told him I will pay with cashiers check from either Citibank or Wells Fargo or both, and that they can ship the car after the check(s) clear(s). I sent them a Citibank $139,000 cashiers check from my Family Trust Account, which is merely my living trust. The rest was from my Wells Fargo business account. Ralph called me and said they will not accept the Citibank check because it is from a trust account. I tried to explain to him the nature of the trust. He was unyielding. That was an account I have used for more than 20 years to conduct countless transactions. He insisted I wire the money. He sent me wire details of Chase Bank. I went to my local Chase branch and was told the account number Ralph gave me was not in their system. I called Julian and told he what I was told. I also sent him a picture of the Chase branch I went to. He impertinently told me it is the account the dealership uses for money wire transfers, and that I should stop being too demanding. Ralph later gave me a different bank and account number. He sent me the check back by FedEx with incomplete address. FedEx couldn't deliver it. I was on the phone with FedEx agents several times that day pleading to them to deliver the check to me that day because it was Thursday. I was planning to leave for a vacation early on Tuesday the next week. I have to deposit the check that day, have the money returned to my account on Friday and then transfer the money to my Wells Fargo business account on Friday, and hopefully it will be in that account by Saturday or Monday, at which I will wire the money or send another cashiers check. The FedEx agents eventually persuaded the driver to deliver the check that Thursday. He delivered it at 4:43 p.m. I rushed to Citibank and deposited it. While there, I told a Citibank manager the dealership refused the cashier's check, and its reason for it. She was shocked by it. She suggested that, when the $139,000 is returned into my trust account, I should open a new Citibank checking account, transfer the $139,000 from my trust account into the new account, draw a new cashier's check from it and send it to the dealership because, if I deposited a Citibank bank check, of that amount, into the Wells Fargo account, it is unlikely the money will be in the account by Monday because of the upcoming weekend. The $139,000 was in my account by 10:00 a.m. that Friday. I rushed to Citibank, opened a new account, transferred the $139,000 into it, drew a cashier's check of that amount, and rushed to FedEx and sent it to the dealership. All these took more than 5 hours and cost me about $89.00 in mailing. I got a called from Julian on Saturday stating that they received the check. After that, I received a form from Ralph that required me to provide my date of birth, SSN number and drivers license number. I called Ralph and asked why, and to note my concern that someone with a nefarious intent can steal my ID with that information. He said they there were needed to verify the checks. I told him to deposit the checks, hold the vehicle until after the checks clear, and then ship it, which was the original plan. Also, there were numbers on the checks with which to verify them. I didn't hear from him after that About 2 weeks after that, I received a message from a lady named Kimbley requesting that I go to the California DMV or my local AAA office and verify the Vin number of the vehicle. She also informed me that there was about $800 shortfall in tax and registration fees I should pay immediately. I inquired why I can't take the car to DMV myself and register it, at which I will verify the VIN verification and pay all the required fees. I called her on March 21, 2024, during which she told me that they will allow me to take care of the registration, and that they will remit the sales tax I paid them to California. Which means that what Ralph and Julian told me were all false. I am totally shocked that a reputable dealership will employ a sales agent as obstinate, arrogant, and obnoxious as Julian, or as clueless as Ralph.