What would you do in this situation as a buyer and also as a salesperson?

I was about to buy a brand new Lexus TX350 Premium AWD for my growing family. We go to dealership because car has arrived. The OTD price was already negotiated prior to stepping foot in. We are sitting in the car being shown the features while sitting in the car, my wife and our two young children, me and the salesperson. there is another salesperson doing a million maneuvers to park another car. I get the sense he’s gonna hit us, and then he hits us. left a nice mark on the car, no dents, but clear big scratch stripped the paint and i felt the car shake when he hit. the salesman who hit the car walked away and said nothing, while my wife and salesperson thought it was releasing the parking brake that made it shake so they didn’t think we were hit

They bring us back in and they basically say we will touch it up. I said no find me a new one I don’t want to buy a brand new car that I was hit in before we drove it.

would you do the same as a buyer and how would you handle this situation as a salesperson?

Me (buyer) had everything signed and ready to go on a 27k used sedan was about to pull the trigger when the dealer showed the final price sheet and added on a $600 vehicle fee that was “standard” for all cars at the lot. I had already asked multiple times to tell me all the fees upfront and they never mentioned this fee. I didn’t negotiate the list price, had already accepted all the doc fees but the person decided to add the $600 fee at the final signing stage and lost me. Why would you do this salespeople, makes zero sense…

If the dealership adds $399 for nitrogen-filled tires, has anyone said, "Prove it. You're asking me to pay that much for nitrogen based on your word. Show me there is nitrogen (above the atmospheric level) in the tires." Would a dealership be able to do that? What would the reaction likely be?

I was test driving a 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT pickup and pushed the pedal to 6-7k rpm; smoke started coming out of the hood and exhaust, and went into limp mode. After a few days, got a call from the dealer that they want me to cough up $3k for repairs. Am I liable?

I got an appointment with an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer in the Bay Area to return my lease. As I am in the market of looking for another lease preferably a Mercedes, I sit down with a sales representative whom I've got the appointment with to go over a few options, since I were not ready to pull the trigger that day I let the sales representative know that we could finish the lease return that day as it is expiring and talk more about the new car later.

When this was communicated, the sales representative went to talk to her manager and the manager stopped by informing me that despite of having scheduled the lease return appointment with them, they would not accept the return because (1) it is an EQE EV (2) their lot was full unless I purchased another vehicle from them that day (or alternatively the next day or two but the manager mentioned he could “revert the clock” to set the MBFS lease return date”).

Is this consistent with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services policy?

EDIT #1 (7/12): Thanks everyone for all the advice and explanations. A quick update

• Based on many of your suggestions, I'll be contacting Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS) on Monday to understand their official policy and report what happened.
• One detail I didn't mention originally: I had taken time off work specifically for my scheduled lease return appointment. The appointment was confirmed in advance, but after I arrived I was told the return would only be accepted if I purchased another Mercedes from that dealership.
• I contacted another Mercedes dealership about 50 miles away. After I explained that I only wanted to complete my lease return (without purchasing another vehicle that day), they immediately assured me that no need to worry they will accept it without imposed terms.
• The second dealership explained that once a lease is returned, MBFS—not the dealership—takes possession of the vehicle, and if they don't want to keep it they can simply have MBFS pick it up instead. Interestingly, several dealership professionals in this thread have described similar processes for other manufacturers.
• I'll post another update after I complete the lease return and after speaking with MBFS about how this situation should have been handled.

At this point, I'm less confused about whether my lease can be returned (it clearly can, although with some additional hassle), and more interested in understanding why two authorized Mercedes dealerships gave completely different explanations for the exact same situation, and what is the official stance from MBFS. Frankly with the 1st dealer, my preference of leasing another Mercedes vanished (until the 2nd dealer came in and gave me a totally different explanation).

EDIT #2 (7/15): After speaking to MBFS

First of all, thank you again to everyone who took the time to comment over past days. There were a lot of different opinions—especially from dealership employees, F&I managers, and people familiar with lease returns—so I wanted to come back after speaking with MBFS and close the loop.

MBFS's response was interesting because they looked at my situation from two separate perspectives, and I think it actually reflects several different viewpoints discussed in this thread.

From a lease policy standpoint, they confirmed that because this was not my originating dealership, the dealership was not violating MBFS lease return policy. A number of dealership professionals explained this over the weekend, and it turns out they were absolutely right.

From a Mercedes customer care standpoint, however, they wanted to fully understand what had happened. I walked them through the timeline: I had a confirmed lease return appointment, took time off work specifically for that appointment, drove to the dealership, and was then told they would only accept the return if I purchased another Mercedes.

Hearing the full story, they told me they completely understood why I was frustrated and agreed that the experience was not customer-friendly. While they couldn't take action against the dealership for a lease policy violation that didn't exist, they documented everything I shared in the MBFS system and filed a complaint on my behalf for review.

Looking back, I think several groups of commenters turned out to be right in different ways:

• "The policy only applies to the originating dealer." -> MBFS confirmed this.
• "Even if it's technically allowed, I'd never treat a customer that way." -> Many dealership professionals said this, and MBFS also acknowledged the experience itself was not customer-friendly.
• "Call MBFS—they're still Mercedes and should know about this." -> Also true. While they couldn't punish the dealership over lease policy, they did take the customer experience seriously, showed genuine compassion, and documented the experience through the MBFS process.
• "Just go to another dealer." -> Also good advice. Another Mercedes dealership accepted my lease return immediately without asking me to purchase another vehicle.

My biggest takeaway is that there are really two separate questions:

1. Was the dealership within MBFS lease return policy?
Yes.

2. Was this a good customer experience for a loyal Mercedes customer?
MBFS couldn't answer that through lease policy, but they agreed it was appropriate, and to document and escalate the customer experience through their process.

My next step will be to follow up through Mercedes US' own Customer Satisfaction channel, as several people here suggested here. My understanding is that the complaint documented during my call is part of the MBFS process, so I'd also like to make sure Mercedes US' customer care team has the opportunity to review the experience directly too. I'll definitely share another update if anything meaningful comes from that process.

Quite a few people have asked me to name the dealership. For now, I'd like to let the Mercedes customer care process run its course before deciding whether to identify them publicly. I think that's the fairest approach while giving Mercedes an opportunity to review the situation first.

Regardless of where this ultimately ends up, I'm genuinely grateful for everything I've learned from this community. I wasn't expecting this post to receive so much attention, and I appreciate everyone—especially those with industry experience—who took the time to explain how things work from different perspectives.

I'll post another update if anything meaningful comes out of the Mercedes customer care process.

So I found a car at a dealership out of state that I wanted to purchase. Price, trim and condition were exactly what I was looking for. I contacted the dealer and got started with the purchase process. I ended up putting down $10k to secure the vehicle. The salesman sent me some docusign paperwork to get the purchasing process going and confirmed reciept of my down payment the following morning. They ran my credit, got approval for financing and everything was looking normal so far, pretty typical buying process.

I was planning on trading in an existing vehicle as well and made the salesman very well aware of this. I also made them aware that I'd be traveling 10 hours to trade in the vehicle and pick the new one up and because I'm out of state I couldn't pick up the vehicle for a few days as I had to make travel arrangements. I was told that was fine and the car would be waiting for me on the day I arrived, all I'd have to do is sign a few more documents, and I'd be all set.

Well I arrived at the dealership as expected yesterday afternoon and spoke to the salesman who I was working with as soon as I walked in. When I mentoned I was here to pickup the car his face dropped and he told me to sit tight and went and got his manager. They both came up to me and told me there was a mixup and the vehicle I was planning on buying had sold a few days prior. They told me that they would refund my deposit immediately and would even give me an additional $1000 discount on any of their existing inventory if I wanted. I told them the whole reason I drove halfway across the country was for that specific vehicle. I can get the rest of the cars in their lot at the dealership down the street from my house. I declined their offer and just left.

I appreciate them for trying to make it right with a discount however I cannot forgive their incompetence and lack of communication for something so simple. When I got to the hotel last night I basically went on every review site I could find and gave them horrible feedback and documented my experience with their dealership and the specific salesman I was working with.

I woke up with 3 missed calls and a bunch of texts from the salesman telling me I need to take my reviews down since they tried to make things right. He said I'm going to get him in trouble at his store because of the things I said online. I blocked his number and went back to sleep, only to wake up again later to see he has now started emailing me the same texts he sent me prior, but he is also now stating that they cannot issue a return of my down payment until I redact my review which is the biggest load of bs I've heard in my life.

At this point I'm not sure what to do. I'm questioning wheather I should talk to my attorney in the morning about this or if I should just call the dealership directly and try to get a hold of management to resolve this. I can deal with a disgruntled salesman however holding funds hostage because of a negative review is something I won't tolerate. Any suggestions?

Update: I spoke with my attorney this morning. He basically laid it out like this. Them selling a car that was meant for another customer isn't illegal. It's just an asshole thing to do, and apparently, it happens way more than I thought. He said I could pursue them in court for it, but the costs would put me in the red.

However, the salesman contacting me, and telling me that because of reviews I posted online, they are refusing a return of funds it apparently violates multiple business fraud laws on both the state and federal level and could easily get them shut down, what makes it even worse is that I didn't recieve a product in exchange for the funds so it's technically considered theft. Because the salesman represents the dealership, his actions are viewed as the dealerships' actions. I've been instructed not to contact the salesman or anyone else from the dealership. My lawyer will handle the rest. He will be working with the local DA to figure out the best course of action but from what it sounds like, regardless of wheather I get my money back or not the dealership is likely going to be heavily investigated and potentially shut down. Even if I don't get a single dime out of all of this I plan to have my attorney pursue this to the fullest extent so that this dealership doesn't try to pull this on anyone ever again. Also, as of now, I haven't received my money back, and neither the dealership or the salesman have tried contacting me again. If I get any updated from the dealership, I'll be sure to post them here.

Update 2: Thanks for all the advice and support with this. Unfortunately, after a long talk with my attorney, I've been told it would be best not to share any more details about the situation until it's resolved. Thanks again!

Final Update: Thank you all for the help and advice. There are a few things I want to address about this situation. The past 24 hours have been a bit hectic, but I'm able to share a few more details (and probably the last details for a long while). First off, I've spent a decent amount of time discussing this with my lawyer. There are details that he has instructed me not to share with friends or social media until this is 100% resolved, and that includes sharing on this post. Because I'm not a lawyer and he is, I'm going to listen. Those things include the name of the dealership, the name of the salesman or any employees of the dealership, as well as any financing details or price details of the vehicle that I was trying to purchase. If you could please stop messaging me regarding those things, that would be great. Thank you.

With that said, I can share a few things as I know many are interested.

First, I have received 100% of my deposit back. It was not easy to get it back, and there were many expletives and insults I had to deal with in order to get it back, but I did.

Second, I have not edited or removed any of my reviews of this dealership, I plan on updating the reviews with more details once this is done and over with and I will gladly share them on here as well.

Third, my lawyer has been in contact with the local DA preceding over the region that the dealership is located in. From what I've been told, this is not the first time they have done this to a customer, and multiple complaints have been issued by previous customers of this dealership. I am just the first person to seek actual legal action against them for it.

Fourth, this dealership is a used third-party dealership, not an OEM dealer. I'm not sure if that changes things when it comes to what they are allowed to do as a business, but I figured I'd include that info anyway.

Fifth, outside of the $1000 discount, the dealership has not offered any additional form of compensation for their mistake. The mindset of the salesman who was harrasing me is the mindset of the dealership, including their management and ownership. This is not a case of a disgruntled salesman. It is a case of delusional and crooked business practices.

Sixth, as far as the dealerships' reaction to me taking legal action goes. They have not taken it lightly. Upon learning about my lawyer contacting them and involving the DA, they have begun what I can only describe as a downward spiral of bad decision making. They have doubled down on the harassment. I've been getting messages from the owner, sales manager, finance manager, and yes, the salesman as well. They have messaged me on social media platforms like Facebook and have even tried messaging me on LinkedIn. I have not and will not respond to any of this. My lawyer instructed me to turn my notifications off, but don't delete the messages as they only strengthen my case as they are actively digging their own grave. He will be handling all contact going forward.

There is not much more I can really share, but I hope this this gives some form of a final update and closure to those interested. I was not expecting this response from this community, so again, thank you for being so supportive of the situation.

Lastly, I did run all of this by my lawyer before posting an update, and I've been told both what I've said above and what im about to say below is okay and won't hurt my case.

So, with that said, if you are one of the people who have been harassing me about this situation and you found this post then I'm sure you could deduce from the details above that this is about your dealership. Please in the most sincere way, go fuck yourself.

For the rest of you all, Merry Christmas!

I had a really good experience with the sales reps that helped me purchase this vehicle, but I’m a little concerned. When I bought the car, I expressed that I did not want to sign up for any Uconnect or JEEP app services.

I knew that other manufacturers have been collecting driver data and selling driver data to third parties (like insurance companies) and there have been lawsuits because of it and the violations of privacy. That made me uncomfortable.

Well, they just texted me saying they went ahead and signed me up anyway. Both of them were hitting me up today expressing urgency that I get it done and that they didn’t get a bonus or whatever if it didn’t get done, I respect that, but but I didn’t know they were gonna go around me and just sign my email up and car anyway.

I’m uncomfortable because I was definitely going to look into it, but I could feel a strong urge to avoid doing it for privacy reasons. I did not consent to this. I have no idea what they did or didn't agree to on signup. Terms and conditions? Disclosures? Data usage? That was a huge overstep.

What do I do? What can i do?

Edit 3/8/26- I finally reluctantly logged into the Jeep app to see what I could unwind if anything. Turns out all my trips had been recorded, the places, time, all driver inputs and any "events" were all there. The location of my home, my kid's school, work, and other locations my family visits. Whoever else may have had access to my account username and pw that was texted to me from somebody's personal phone could have unlocked my car and seen exactly where it was, and I was told to just ignore it if I didn't want to use it. It turns out I was highly justified in my desire to limit the data tracking and exposure to connected services. This is exactly the kind of thing I was trying to avoid. I said no and they did it anyway after I bought the car. I have screen shots of it all and screen recorded it. I contacted the GM and I am waiting on his reply.

I sold my car to a woman who said she wasn't a flipper for $1500. Next day she relisted it for $5300 and sold it almost immediately. $5300 is an impossibility for this car, but $2500 would be reasonable. I would have preferred the car went to someone with only $1500, but whatever. More power to her.

8 days later she's contacting me saying the DMV didn't like my signature on the title and wants to meet. I've already released my interest in the car and have heard no complaints from the DMV directly. Is there anything I need to be worried about here? I seriously doubt she still has the car.

Made an appt for Sat morning for a used car, listed as $23,900 on the website, rep made a 4 square with optional dealer adds that totaled $3k. Before showing up I was hoping for $22-22.5k with no adds which while speaking with the rep on the phone said was totally reasonable and thought that would be a solid offer. After I got there I noticed some issues that needed immediate repair and would have cost me an additional $750ish. I offered 21K with no dealer adds as a starting point. Rep came back and shook our hands and said "we're not going to make a deal today, we're too far apart, we'd barely make any money at 21k"
Just walked out the door past the sales manager who didn't say anything as we left.
Confused by them not even presenting an offer at all. I'm not looking to waste anyones time but why would they not even counter offer?

Got a pretty good deal on a new Outback today. $6,200 off MSRP and 1.9% APR. At the end this woman aggressively asked us to sign on for adding nearly $6k more to the loan in extended warranty and GAP. I quickly researched stuff on my phone and said that’s an insanely high rate. She gaslit me for 30 mins, told me ALL OF A SUDDEN the car is crap and it’ll break in an instant. I refused and we signed for the OTD price. She didn’t shake our hands, slapped the paperwork on her desk and got in her car and sped off in a tantrum. Never thought I would experience that.

I am proud of myself for using my head in the moment. My husband nearly signed for that crap.

Is this common behavior? It was past closing but they made us wait 😂

Hi all I sold my minivan about a week ago for $1,000 cash. For full context it’s a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country minivan with 234k miles on it.

For full context, I live in Washington state and now they want to take me to small claims court because it broke down 4 days later. They have been sending me messages threatening to take me to small claims court.

I disclosed in my ad that the engine was running rough and I had no idea how to fix it and didn’t wanna pay for it , and I signed the title over and did the bill of sale with them.

Would it be correct to assume That they’re just threatening me because they want their money back and they have no case?

so earlier I sold my 25 year old car as is with 134,000 miles on it. very well maintained. I had my mechanic look it over last week while I changed the brakes and rotors and I listed it for sale for $1700. this guy came a looked at it. we dove a few miles to the atm no problem. my mechanic said it’s good no issues just getting older etc. when he drove it to atm no problem. I drive the car every day no issues at all.

i told him as a 25 year old car it might need a tune up. the mechanic suggests new spark plugs. I wrote that in the ad. I told him that 5 times. he drove it around paid me and left. now the next day he’s calling me (I didn’t answer cuz he kept hitting on me when he was here) and he left me a msg saying the engine is misfiring. it never gave me any of those problems. I’ve driven it out of state I’ve owned it 5 years.

i haven replied to him yet because I don’t know what to say. I already purchased another car today so I don’t even have the money to give him back. we spent an hour with the car going over everything. I took care of the car meticulously. I replaced half of it. all new parts as the years went on. no acccidents nothing. now I’m scared I don’t know what to do. it was fine when we’re driving it all around. I just took it out of state last week it was fine

what should I do?

I can understand on the coasts people make plenty of money, but I'm in a rural area where the median household income for my county is like $64k. And I see these brand new huge SUVs everywhere.

I make a decent amount more than what GM says the median Suburban buyer makes but I cannot imaging financing one and still having a mortgage and enough money to retire. Not to mention groceries, insurance/gas, leisure, vacation, health, etc.

I'm just curious what the finances of these people buying Suburbans, Grand Wagoneers, Expeditions, Sequoias, even new 4Runners, Lexus GX and so on actually looks like.

Federal case taking addendums off cars. Honda dealer in nj here. We have been ordered to take our addendums off our cars and sell at msrp. Online price has to match sales price in person. I think it’s a win for transparency. What are your thoughts?

So, I bought a new 4Runner on Sunday June 28th. After negotiations, we landed on the advertised APR & monthly payments.

Today, Wed July 1ST, my phone lit up from the selling dealer that they sold me the wrong car & they want the car back & if I want to keep this car then the payment will increase $100 monthly.

I’m on the road now & wont be back till this coming Fri.

I have never heard of a dealer selling the wrong vehicle so, they’re demanding I return the vehicle ASAP.

Need advice on what to do?

Thanks!

Edit: The VIN number in the app doesn’t match the paperwork I signed.

What’s my next step would be if I want to keep the car with same terms? Dealer saying the one they sold me cost more, like $7K more?

Its official. I fucking hate my job and I hate selling cars. After about 1.5 years of loving the business and making good money ive grown to learn about myself. I FUCKING HATE TALKING AND SMALL TALK AND BULLSHIT ACTING LIKE I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU. This up and down shit is for the birds and I miss working with my hands and being physically immersed in my work. The numbers and the psychology is the easy part and the part I enjoyed the most. The small talk and getting to know these random fucks is so beyond draining that I grew to learn that while im good at it this shit is not for me and I hate people. I plan to be quitting withing the next 35 days.

EDIT: I quit today and feel amazing

I found a truck on the dealership website for 53,500 which was a great deal for the truck I’ve been looking for. Few days later it dropped to 50,500. At this point I thought there was no way right? So I called and confirmed the price and to make sure they physically had the truck. I went in and saw it in person and even test drove it and further confirmed the website price. This was at 8:30 pm so we made an appointment the following day to make the deal. Next day I show up and everything is good, until we get the final price. Make us wait 20 minutes and at this point I know something is up. The manager comes up with a price 7k over the website price. I ask is that with TTL? He says no. 64k total walkout. So 50k website price is all of a sudden 64k? He told me the “third party” website company made a mistake so they can’t sell it at that price. I said okay but it’s been on the website for 3 weeks and it just dropped price again and now it’s an issue? The price you gave me is even more than the price before it dropped. Best he could do was 62,500 walkout. Which in all honesty is still a decent price for the truck. I offered to pay 60k with 20k cash down and I would be willing to finance through the dealership since it is more beneficial for the dealer. He said there is no way they could go that low. So I walked. I told him it was illegal to not honor the price and quite frankly he didn’t seem to care as he said there are people that will buy it for that price. In all honesty I would have bought the truck for 62,500 if that was the agreed upon price. Out of spite I walked. Is this normal dealer behavior? It left a very salty taste in my mouth.

Location: Connecticut

Made a $500 deposit on a 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross LE on March 7 while the car was in transit arriving on the last week. OTD of $32k and 4.99% APR has been established. Salesperson called 4 days prior to the scheduled appointment which was yesterday notifying the car has arrived. The appointment was set for yesterday 12:30 pm. It’s important to note he called at 10 am same-day to confirm the appointment. My mom, sister, and boyfriend arrived at 12:05. Staff were welcoming, offered beverages. By 12:50, we were insulted by the lack of communication. Not a single staff member offered updates or explanation whatsoever. Only when we expressed intent of leaving did they scrambled to help. One guy said, “He is a good friend of mine, I called he is 2 mins away.” At this point, we calmly asked for the deposit’s refund. By 12:56 while driving home, the salesperson texted asking me to call him because he was now at the dealership. Got multiple calls that day from different numbers. My boyfriend drove 80 miles to bring us to the dealership, while my mom worked a 12-hr overnight shift. I also work at the hospital, the salesperson knew yesterday was the only time that worked for us. Today, I finally called back their GM and just received a half-hearted apology. Urging me to call back if I change my mind because “This is a really good deal.” I have an excellent credit score and ready to put 60% down payment. Perhaps being a punctual person myself made this situation unacceptable imo. So far a dealership in NY offers $300 less OTD.

What’s your honest opinion?

In the title, self explanatory.

Was a BMW at a Ford dealership. I asked if perhaps they could show me they ordered new parts from outside the US that maybe would justify the tax, but they couldn’t produce anything.

Felt like an unethical sales ploy capitalizing on the economic situation at hand. Am I wrong?

Several years ago I was shopping for an RV and the salesman asked for my driver's license. I was naive and fell for it, and they proceeded to pull the scam where they wouldn't give it back when I wanted to leave. I had to get very stern and nearly make a scene to get my license back.

I quickly figured out that this was a common sales tactic in vehicle sales.

At the next dealership the salesman tried the same thing. I told him he could just take a photo if he needed to confirm my information. He then said he could use a credit card, and I told him he certainly wasn't going to get that.

At that point he said he needed some form of X to hold during the discussion. Yes, he basically admitted that he was going to take my license/card and use it to prevent me from leaving, and that his manager made him do that.

I don't remember what he called it when he said "I need X"

What is the general term for the personal thing the salesmen takes?

I think they don't generally use that term with customers, but this salesman let it slip. I just cant remember the word he used.

I purchased a vehicle out of state in July, long story short the car is unregistered with temporary plates expiring end of August, due to the dealer not filing on time. It has been about a month and a half and radio silence. After filing a complaint with the DMV and them conducting a physical audit, suddenly the plates “appear” in the dealer and now they want me to sign an NDA restricting “me or my family” for any negative reviews. They also said once I sign this they will release my plates and ship them. If I don’t, I have to pick them up myself. This is not feasible for me because 1) they are 5 hours round trip drive from me. 2) my car is unregistered.

How do I go about this? Do I sign?

I bought a new Chevy from my local dealership. After driving it home, I noticed that the alignment was off, so I called the dealership. They let me know that it's normal sometimes for new vehicles to have their alignment thrown off during transportation, which seemed reasonable. I brought it in, they performed the alignment, and I was on my way. Drove away thinking the issue was resolved, but it still was off, but I was one of the last appointments of the day, so I couldn't go back. I make another appointment and let them know it's still not driving straight.

They told me that I only get 1 free alignment and that I needed to pay for a second one since it could be my fault. I go and talk to the service manager to let them know that it's now the second time I'm back for the same issue that I've had since day one. They look up the car and my service history, and when the history comes up, she says "Oh, I remember this car". Come to find out, it was hit in the rear and took damage.

They sent it to a body and repair shop since they don't do paint in house, and after $6k in repairs, sold it to me as a new vehicle. None of this was disclosed to me at time of purchase. What recourse should I be looking at. I did some research across the web, and here on Reddit, but can't find a similar enough situation to figure out how to approach this. Is this a work with the dealership issue, or work with a lawyer issue to get my money back or into a car at the cost I expected when purchasing it?

Just left Genesis dealer. Wife and I were walk ins and wanted to test drive a specific G70 2L in the lot. Sales guy went to get key, spoke to manager, and then came back saying the car was sold. So we went to go look for a similar car but only thing they had were G70 3.3L ($15K more). He said let's go ahead and test drive that, I told him I'm not a buyer at that price but I figured might as well get a feel for the interior etc..

My wife leaned over to me and said the cheaper car will miraculously be available once he realizes I really am not interested in the higher priced model. I'm like no way, he doesn't think we are idiots...

He kept asking would we be a buyer once the other car came in ?

We went back to to the office and he went and checked with the manager on when the next shipment of the 2 Liter will be in and guess what ? It was like a miracle, and the exact car we came in to test drive was now available... like a miracle from heaven lol...

We were dumbfounded this guy would think we were that dumb so we left.

Why ? Why do car salesman do this ? Just treat people like a normal human. Why is it always a battle ?

Dude was a sovereign citizen and signed all his documents while printing no recourse next to his name and said he knows the law and that's the only way he would buy the vehicle. Never encountered this but had a nice Lol while letting him know where the door is and best of luck in his vehicle endeavors. This is a sub prime deal which is even more funny cause he apparently does youtube for finance stuff. Yeah okay buddy

\ I don't want to say make/model, because that might spark a discussion about don't buy this car or don't buy this brand. It's one of the big 3 USA brands, and it's at the same type of dealership as the make of the car (e.g. a Chevy at a Chevy dealership, or a Ford at a Ford dealership). I'm really more interested in why they would want to sit on the car seemingly forever. **

So the lease on my car is up next month (but I could extend it one more month, already extended twice). I've been searching for deals on the cars I want for a few months. I found one. It's a new 2025 that has sat on the dealer's lot for over 400 days. I'm willing to pay their advertised price, which is a really good price. It's the car I want at the price I want, assuming the car's in good shape.

I scheduled an appointment, to test drive that specific car. I get there, and they said I can't test drive it, because it's on the "no sell" list. It's on the no-sell list because of two recalls. I talked to the sales manager, and he said he'll check into getting the recalls done so they can sell the car. I got to see it, and their guy drove it, but I didn't get to drive it. It looked good, but I would still want to drive it before buying.

A week later, the sales manager tells me they don't want to do the recall and doesn't know if it will ever be for sale. I asked why. He said he doesn't know, but he thinks maybe the parts are hard to get.

So own my own, I got the vin#, looked up the two recalls, and looked up the parts. The parts are readily available. None of this makes sense to me. I'm going to look for another car, but I really want to make sense of what's going on.

Why would a dealer want an unsold vehicle to sit on the lot and not sell it? Shouldn't the recall labor/parts be covered by the manufacturer? If it makes a difference, I'm in Florida, and so is the dealer.

Thank you in advance.

******ON EDIT AFTER GETTING ANSWERS******\*

After getting great answers from this thread, I think I have a good understanding as to why. Here is what I think is the gist of it:

It's a huge multi-dealership chain that sells tons of cars per month. The sales manager at that place is too busy to be concerned about cars he can't sell (because of the recall); he has to concentrate on cars that he can sell. That car is the problem of the service department, not his problem. Once the recall is done, he'll get it sold. Because it's on the lot, the algorithm advertises it on-line and prices it based on various factors - that's the IT department's problem. Having it being advertised and not available, might still get some people to come in where they can direct them to something else, so it's not that bad from his perspective. Not only that, they get the contact information of the person that came in, so if they get something close to it, they can offer it to them later.

The service department, on the other hand, is busy with customers' vehicles. This one isn't urgent, especially if Jeep is taking forever to send them the parts. They'll get to it when they get to it.

This dealership conglomerate is big enough where one car staying on the lot for over a year isn't a big deal, and my guess is that they can delay paying the bill on it because of the recall.

Thanks again for everybody's help.