Hillside Honda

Hillside Honda attempted to commit a blatant bait and switch when I was attempting to lease a new Honda. When I went into the dealership, (a) the price was sharply higher than I had been quoted, and (b) the vehicle I was told was in stock was not actually available. Bottom line, they outright lied to me, knew they were lying, and just didn't care. I wouldn't buy chewing gum from these guys. On 3/31/09, I emailed Hillside Honda for a quote on a lease of a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L Sedan V6 with Navigation, in Black with Ivory interior. I got a call from Tom Patanio at Hillside, who confirmed the exact model and color, and said he'd call me back. He called me back to inform me that they had that vehicle in stock, and that the lease would be $388.02/month, including all taxes and fees, for 3 years/12k miles/yr, with only the first payment and DMV fees due at signing. I asked him to email me the deal, so I would have it on paper, but he said he couldn't, as the dealership was concerned that I would "shop" the offer to other dealers. As a result, I went through and confirmed the exact model, color and lease terms with him verbally, and then left to come into Hillside and sign the paperwork. When I arrived at the dealer, I met Tom briefly, and was then handed off to Dennison, a salesman, to complete the transaction. He took my information, and I informed him of the deal that had been reached. He went off to talk to a manager, and came back saying there must have been a mistake, that the quote I had was for a car WITHOUT navigation. I told him there was no mistake, I had been very explicit, and Joe had been explicit, the offer was for a car with navigation. He brought his manager (Mohammed Chowdry) over, who continued to refuse to complete the committed-to deal. I offered to compromise by splitting the difference between the $388 and the $422 he said I "should" have been offered, but he refused, offering only a slight concession ($405/month, with an extra $600 upfront). In addition, he said that the color I was explicitly told was in stock was not in fact available, and I would have to take a different color to get that price. At that point it was clear that there was no honest "mistake," and that the quote offered was simply the fraudulent "bait" designed to lure me in, so I left.