Ed Napleton Acura

I am not one to usually leave bad reviews but I don't want what just happened to me to happened to anyone else so in light of that, here it goes: I met with Kristen Montijo yesterday to look at a used Toyota Rav4. Kristen was great and very friendly and I enjoyed working with her very much. We took the car for a test drive and then sat down to talk about numbers. I wasn't quite ready to go home with the car that night, so I asked Kristen if there was anything we could do to put a "hold" on the car for 24 hours. She ensured me that this was something they could do and that they do all the time. Kristen told me that if I put a $500 deposit down, it would prevent the car from being sold to anyone over the next 24 hours. I paid the $500 and we negotiated the price of the vehicle. We agreed that I would return the next day to either purchase or pass on the car. I had 1 other vehicle at a different dealership I was going to check out and then I would make the decision. So I go home, very excited about the possibility of getting this new car, feeling good knowing that it wouldn't be sold out from under me in the next 24 hours. I had just had an apartment sold out from under me the day prior (which I told Kristen) so knowing the deposit would prevent that from happening again gave me much peace of mind. Our appointment with Kristen was on July 25, 2017 at 7:15pm. On July 26, 2017 at 2:33pm I received a text from Kristen stating "Hey there... sorry to report but earlier this morning someone came in with a better offer on the RAV4 an my manager took the deal. So sorry. I'm not at work at the moment I can have someone refund your deposit." ........... To say I am furious is an understatement. I called the dealership immediately where I spoke with GM Benjamin Jacobs. I told Ben what happened and he told me that the deposit only secures the price for 24 hours it does not prevent the car from being sold. This was the exact opposite of what Kristen assured me on multiple occasions. The whole point of me putting a deposit down was to ensure the car wouldn't be sold the next day. While I do not believe it was Kristen's intention to lie to me, she did regardless. Multiple times. Ben then tried to “make good” by offering to sell me other cars that were also not in my price range nor were they the car I wanted and had put a deposit down on. I then called Kristen to get her side of the story and while she was very apologetic, did little to help me understand how this possibly could have happened. She stated that she received a text from her manager that morning asking her where the keys were for the Toyota Rav4 (the car I was going to buy) were. At this point, Kristen should have either 1 - told the manager it was on hold for her client (me) or 2 - called me immediately to let me know what was going on. I was so excited to get this car, we had a contract drawn up, I had a deposit down, everything was going very smoothly and yet here I am, writing a scathing review because I was lied to. I would not recommend this dealership to anyone. As someone who doesn't a big budget to spend on a car, I was so excited to finally find a car that met my criteria and that I could afford. I feel completely taken advantage and am very upset. We will be seeking legal action.