Hi Anthony, we understand the frustration and had tried our best to intervene and assist with getting this resolved, along the way we refunded you for our fee, offered to pay for a detail, spent countless hours trying to step in the best we could. It would be wrong for us to deny the fact that you found a document signed on your behalf by the finance manager on your deal, while we nor our dealer condone it, it was within 48 hours of finding out that the GM had been informed, the situation investigated and the finance manager being terminated without exception.
While clearly wrong behavior, nothing that was signed was used or put forth in any way - again not deflecting the fact it happened, but pointing out that the finance manager at least had enough sense left to stop and pursue having you sign instead, which is how you came to find said documents.
From that point resolutions turned into negotiations again where you no longer wanted to sign at the original terms and would not sign unless there were further discounts applied. While we can respect and appreciate the sentiment, this unfortunately had caused the dealer to feel like they were being cornered and strong armed as well. This, from our perspective, turned this already unfortunate situation into a more hostile one.
At face value this appears to be a nefarious act from the start, but the real truth is, agree or not, is that the dealership had zero experience with Maine taxes and registration, and when paperwork was done, it was not done properly in reference to how the taxes were collected, and reflected on the contract. Admittedly, it was the first deal we did in your state as well. This snowballed into a more urgent matter, which is where the finance manager made a crucial error by trying to fix it himself and wrongfully attempted to sign paperwork on your behalf, not for any financial gain, but to get himself out of a bad situation, with a worse solution. The bigger problem at that point was that by the time it came to light, now about 2 months after original contracts and the dealer had removed that manager and higher management took over, they have a ~$60k vehicle out in Maine, unpaid for (because the bank contracts were still not correct or cashable) and a, from their perspective, customer who now is refusing to sign paperwork and holding their vehicle has leverage for better terms. I personally believe this is just a poor situation that started with a small correctable issue and was allowed to snowball into something large and unnecessary for all parties.
Now to address where we are today, the very last we spoke was several weeks ago and we were all under the impression you were signing contracts, all was well and all was put to rest, this is the first we are hearing this is still an outstanding issue. If contracts are signed and now we just need registration done, we are still happy to help, if there are no actions required on your end and this is solely a hang up on the dealers end, then allow us to assist on that part. As I can tell from your previous sentiment, you were able to see that we genuinely had your interest at heart and wanted to assist best we can, that hasnāt changed. Please email me with the latest update on what is happening and allow me to review and assist. I am getting back this weekend from my honeymoon but will be back in office on Monday and will happily assist then.
-Matt
Upon further reflection, weāve decided this month to put a pause on all new out of region Jeep business so that we can focus on ensuring that existing orders get handled properly and efficiently. Local Deals (Florida) and surrounding southern states have produced smooth transactions at a customer experience level we can stand behind, but it is clear that we need to find a better solution for deals up here. As such, weāll limit Jeep business going forward for the next month or so to southern states. Additionally, we are in the process of onboarding a dealer local to the Tri State area, which we will begin offering deals with in mid may. Hopefully it will give people the option of picking the vehicle up, and expediting the turn around time on transactions. The priority at the current moment is making sure the large volume of orders now arriving get taken care.
Similarly, if anyone else has any issues, I can be reached directly at matt@autoleaseninjas.com