355 Toyota

I located the 2008 Corolla that I wanted and put a $500 deposit on the vehicle. I returned later that day and waited for hours, in between times different people would try to sell me dealer packs such as maintenance package, accessories, etc., which I declined. I was also asked to sign a federal form required on sales of cars; I read the form and it was an authorization for the dealership to sell my contact information to third parties! I declined, which required a manager's signature, of course, same silly games the high pressure dealers always play. I was finally introduced to the finance guy, who proceeded to leave the room for 15 minutes. Everyone was aware that I needed to get to the back to get a certified check before the bank closed, so the time stress was even more critical. Since I was not financing with the dealer, I did not want them to run a credit check and declined to provide my ssn; I'm convinced that some of the stalling tactics were to get me to apply for credit at the dealer. After I had signed over the title to my trade-in and was just about to sign the sales contract, a manager stopped me and informed me that the car with 41 miles on it had been in a collision but had been repaired with genuine Toyota parts, but that before the sale could be completed I would have to sign a damage liability disclosure form. I looked at the 2 pages of parts that were replaced and the $2,000+ costs of the repairs and noticed that the paperword said 5 speed man. When I pointed this out, I was told the automatic was a 5 speed, which is incorrect. I also pointed out that the model year was 2007, and I was purchasing a 2008. I requested that the VINs be compared and was told they matched. So I'm not sure if the car I planned to purchase was the one that had been in a wreck or not. The deal wasn't good enough for the risk of purchasing a majorly damaged car. The price was almost $800 less than the other 4 price quotes that I received, so I'm not sure if this was a way to back out of the transaction because the $1000 rebate was mistakenly subtracted twice in the original quote, or if the dealer knew all along that the damaged car would be worth less and waited until the end to spring the surprise on me hoping that I wouldn't back out of the deal. Either way, I say that the dealer was unethical. I was told that only the finance guys know about damaged vehicles, so that is why I didn't find out until the end of the transaction about damage disclosure and having to sign the waiver. This seems highly unlikely adnd plain wrong. In addition, as of 10 days after the transaction, the dealer has still not reversed the credit card deposit, so I will have to pursue this issue with the credit card company. I plan to file additional complaints with Toyota and state authorities. Buyer beware!