"Recently I went to lease a new Audi and I was tricked into over paying for my lease. I was negotiating on an A4 sports package w/ convenience package. All the paper work that was shown to me were sports package w/ convenience package. I never saw the car that I signed for nor did I hear what options it had. Now that you are on the same page I will tell you what happened.
I was recommended to go to Audi of Torrance by a friend of mine, Stevie an auto broker, because they would give me a fair deal on returning my lease back with about $900 of damage. (2009 A4 premium & convenience package) Stevie, a week earlier gave me a verbal quote for a 2012 A4 premium quattro w/ convenience package for $734 down and $427/month for a 3year lease including tax with 12,000miles/year. I also got a quote from Roger Choueiri @ Audi of Downtown LA on the exact same car in white for $1350 down & $426/month for 3 years with 12,000miles/year.
I then make an appointment to see Ryan over at Pacific Audi in Torrance at 10am on Saturday December 31, 2011. Eager and excited to get my new car, I arrive promptly. After some small talk, Ryan takes my car across the street to assess the condition of the vehicle & to get the miles for my lease return. I told him I replaced the two worn tires, & have my spare key but I could not find my manual. He said no problem that he would be able to dig up a manual for me. After about an hour he returns and asks what I would like to do? I asked for pricing on a white A4 sports package with convenience package. Why not since I already know the range of a lower A4 premium package. Ryan prints me out a spreadsheet with an A4 written with sports package & convenience package along with its VIN#. It had payment schedules for purchase & lease options which seemed pretty high. He points out the lowest amount for a 42 month lease. He asked if that was what I was thinking? I said no and the only way I would get that if he lowered it to $500. So the grinning back and forth lasted for awhile & Ryan said I came in on the right day, they really want to make this deal & lets see what they can do.
Ryan then introduces me to Nathan the sales manager. He tells him what I am requesting & Nathan suggested maybe a different color & that I came on the right day because they are making insane deals. Ryan asks me if color was an issue because he has more blacks than whites to make a deal on. He did not mention the packages after this point. As Ryan begins to go down his list, he jots down two sets of #'s with prices next to them on the same printout with the sports package, the same & only page we had on the table. The first was $634. I stayed firm so he got another one for $607. I added, the most I would go is $750 down, $520/month including tax with Audi care. Ryan gets up and goes into the managers office, comes out with $598, I stay firm & then he comes back with $575. I told him I could raise my down payment by $250 totaling a $1000. Now with my loyalty of $1350 (this will be my 3rd consecutive Audi out of 5 vehicles I have owned my whole life) that is $2350 down. Now Nathan has emerged once again and says they want to make this deal happen but they would need to phone the owners to okay it. I told him to make the call. They come back to me 10 to 15 minutes or so later, $528.98. I get up, shake his and Ryan's hand. I am so happy I am grinning from ear to ear & tell them I will take it. Nathan goes back into his office as Ryan & I sit back down. He (Ryan Shipman) whispers to me that he will throw in a clear protective coating on the car and that he is going to run the keys to the shop and tip them $20 to rush it for me. Now I am excited, it’s hard for me to wait. Rosa comes out of a finance office and ushers me in. She then sits another document down showing additional packages that they can add to the lease. I stay firm & keep my same lease. At no point were there any indicators that I wasn't getting a sport, neither was there any stating the premium package that they switched me to.
I signed all the documents and returned to Ryan's desk. Its now 12:30pm & I did not realize it would take this long. I past the time by texting friends & family of the deal I thought I was getting. As I wait, I am wondering if everything is okay because its now almost 1pm and my hunger begins to get the better of me. I felt like if I did not get a bite soon I may pass out.
Finally, Ryan comes over and says my car is ready out front. Excitedly I hurry out front, it appears as if they are giving me my same car I just returned. Its not my same car, it has less features. I get into the drivers seat & I am shocked to find no paddles on the steering wheel. I immediately ask Ryan Shipman, sitting in the front passenger’s seat like he’s my friend, “where’s the paddle shifters?” He then puts a sobering face on & says, "Jon you couldn't afford that, we had to give you this." So I ask Ryan what THIS package was? He says, "its one item less than a premium plus." I was in total shock. After spending hours negotiating and sitting around, I'm given the same car I just had at a deal that was worse than I was previously offered. I was in disbelief. At about that point I was furious, fatigued and starving and I knew that I better get out of there before I did something out of character that I would later regret. I had a lunch appointment with a friend and I got in the car, went & had lunch. I thought to myself, why would they have to call the owner, unless I was getting the Sport? I could have paid less elsewhere. What just happened? No way did they stick me in a lower featured car for another 3 years. Now what do I say to my friends & family whom I told I about the deal that I didn’t get. They switched me to a car that doesn’t even have fold down back seats, no multiple disc player, no dual climate control, automatic lowering side mirror when reversing, a functioning homelink, & with Sirius that cuts in & out constantly.
After eating lunch and clearing my head, I returned to Pacific Audi. I had been gone for less than an hour. I assumed that I would be able to return the car that I don’t want & get my old car back. At this point I just wanted to call it a day & get a different Audi after the new year. I go to speak with Ryan & he didn’t seem too surprised but stressed that I was there. He acted too busy to speak with me even though there wasn’t anyone sitting at his cubicle. I wait with all of my stuff in my hands to speak to him. He finally addresses me but doesn’t really look at me. Hi, Hi yes how, whats up, Ryan befriends? “I want to return the car you gave me & I want my car.” Ryan acts shocked, he explains that he wants me to be happy but there isn’t anything that can be done. Ryan shakes his head and says he doesn't know where the mix up was and repeats he doesn't know what can be done. Once more I ask for my old A4 back, that “there isn’t a mix up, you didn’t give me a sports package & that's what I wanted. Now I want my car back & to leave.” He points to the cubicle wall right next to his desk where a sign says there is “no cooling off period in California."
Wow, where was that sign, I didn’t see that there but I turn back & tell him I have three days to return the vehicle & I want to leave with my car. Ryan shrugs & gestures to the sign again & says there is “no cooling off period in California". So I read the sign and at the bottom it mentions, & i am paraphrasing, “there is no cooling off period, unless there is fraud.” I immediately say, "you fraudulently put me into a vehicle I didn’t want.", I wanted a sports package." He restates that I couldn’t afford that & there is no cooling off period. Once more I ask him for my old Audi A4. He says its already submitted to DMV and it is out of his hands. I said, “the DMV is closed.” He replies, “it doesn’t matter, its automated.” I told him “if you made a mistake you would be able to change it. You would be able to make things right.” He gets up & leaves, I am left there for roughly 30 to 40 minutes. Mind you its now close to 3:00PM & I have been dealing with this since 10am. Nathan then comes over & tells me that they are sorry for the confusion but the only thing they could do for me is a free tint. I feel so terrible at this point. I can’t believe I was just duped I feel I was just robbed. Never have I not been excited for a new car. How could this be legal. The law cannot protect these types of transactions or allow them to occur. I tell him, ”I wanted a sports and you gave me a car that I got quoted $100 less than what you just put me in.” He asks me what can he do to make me happy. I told him to put me into a sports like I negotiated for or reduce my payment for the car they put me in or return my car. He then tells me no way, that is impossible, that they are already losing almost $2000 on the deal. I told him, “my father and I, were given a written quote a week earlier from Audi of Downtown LA for $1350 down $426/month for A4 Quattro premium with convenience package. 12,000 for 36 months, & in the color I wanted, WHITE! With my credit rating.” I also told him about the deal Steve had given me a week earlier. Nathan again tells me that’s impossible, so I say, “Your telling me that either I'm lying or Roger & Steve lied to my father and I?” He replied, "Yes".
I could not believe that three hours earlier Ryan & Nathan were acting like my best friends and now they are being unprofessional, deceitful and calling me a liar. Nathan finally has the idea to reduce my term for the car. Its now close to 4:00PM & I am exhausted, so I accept because I just wanted to leave. My Sister & father were in the car headed down to Pacific Audi from Newport Beach because they knew I was getting messed with. I didn’t want my father, to drive all the way there to get aggravated, so I told them I am leaving & will settle this later.
If that wasn’t enough, to make things worse, I get a bill from Audi Financial f"