Craig's List post on Ed Bozarth (Topeka)

[Lzen]

http://topeka.craigslist.org/ctd/1827628546.html

That sucks. Doesn't surprise me with those guys. What do you guys think of Bozarth's?

[Saulbadguy]

Meh. It's business. My tip is don't live 3 1/2 hours away from civilization.

[Old Dog]

Not seeing the big deal really. It's not sold until it's paid for.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

I wouldn't deal with Bozarth for anything, but that's unrelated to this.

[ArrowheadHawk]

Maybe they should shop closer to home and buy when they get there.

[AndChiefs]

Maybe they should shop closer to home and buy when they get there.

The only time you do something like this is when you're buying a rare car you can only find every once in awhile. For some reason I doubt there was anything really special about this car.

[Reerun_KC]

Sounds like their customer service is second to none....

[Bugeater]

Meh, they have no way of knowing if someone is really going to show up or not. The guy should've offered a substantial deposit via credit card before he left home.

[Lzen]

I wouldn't expect them to hold anything. And that is simply for the fact that the guy may get there, look it over, and decide that it has problems and he doesn't want it after all. I totally understand how a dealership has to work this way. But the salesman should have been up front about that in the first place. He should never have lead the guy to believe that they would hold it for him until he got there. I have dealt with those guys (Mike and Chris)just recently) and he is right in suggesting that they are scumbags. This is exactly why I trust car sales people about as much as I trust politicians.

[Lzen]

Also, at the very least the mgr should have apologized profusely and talked to his sale people about not doing this sort of thing. Its bad for the reputation. Then again, they have not had the best rep. for many years and it doesn't seem to bother them.

I haven't bought a vehicle from that place in 14 years because of this and also the fact that they are high on their vehicles and refuse to be reasonable when you make an offer.

I also had issues with their service dept. about 8 years ago. They were crap. I love how they always claim their service is rated #1 or whatever. That claim seems dubious to me.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

The stories I've heard about how employees are treated there are amazing.

[Lzen]

The stories I've heard about how employees are treated there are amazing.

My uncle used to be the service manager there years ago. Yeah, they hosed him pretty good. He went back eventually and now he sells new cars from what I hear. Not sure why you would go back to a place that did that to you, but I think he is one of those people that likes familiarity more than anything. :shake:

[Bugeater]

I don't think people realize what a colossal pain in the ass it can be to try to buy a vehicle from out of town. I did it last year when I bought my truck but I'll never do it again unless I have a connection in the area that can at least give the vehicle a looking over before I make the trip. Pictures on the internet can be very deceiving.

[Lzen]

I don't think people realize what a colossal pain in the ass it can be to try to buy a vehicle from out of town. I did it last year when I bought my truck but I'll never do it again unless I have a connection in the area that can at least give the vehicle a looking over before I make the trip. Pictures on the internet can be very deceiving.

So true. I usually buy in KC, though. I have to make a day of it looking at several vehicles just to make it worth my time/effort.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

my brother bought a car from a KC dealer last year and it was a disaster. Had to make 3 trips back to finalize the deal and straighten our irregularities in the GM Certified paperwork, get his floormats they kept giving the run around on, etc.

Never buy from McCarthy Chevy.

[Dayze]

the person in the CL add doesn't have a pot to P in. If he had 'paid' for it, then yeah. But if he didn't put down a deposit and get an agreement in writing from them that the deposit would 'hold' the car for X days, then be applied to the purchase price...then it's hard to feel sorry for him.

in my experiences with dealerships, it's best to have your chit together; don't be an idiot an make a lame low-ball offer; go in, be direct and respectful and make fair offer etc.
and don't sign any finance papers or any other document that commits you to the car until you have all items you negotiated/they agreed to (floor mats, oil change coupons, car washes etc); otherwise walk. Period. And if you've been direct/respecful up to this point, they should have a good idea that if you say you'll 'walk'...that you actually will.

I've never had a problem with a dealer, from the 'sales' standpoint. Parts/Service etc, that's another story.