Let me walk you through my five-day journey into what I thought was a lease deal.
It started with a 52k MSRP Traverse and numbers that made sense. Straightforward. Professional. Promising.
Then came the broker agreement asking for the full broker fee upfront. Because nothing says “we’re confident in this deal” like collecting your money before the deal is actually secured.
We negotiate that down to a $150 deposit. I accidentally send $200. At the time I thought I was just being careless. Turns out I was just matching the general theme of financial confusion.
After that, communication turns into a slow drip of updates. The original vehicle we discussed? “Sold.” Convenient. But they assure me they’ll find the exact same spec and honor the deal.
I get looped into a group text with someone introduced as the dealership sales contact. A quick search shows he appears connected to a different company entirely. At this point I’m less concerned about the car and more curious about who works for whom.
Eventually, they present the “replacement” and send over numbers. And this is where the curtain lifts.
The structure of the deal — pricing, terms, everything that made it appealing — is no longer what was pitched. Not a slight adjustment. Not a market shift. A completely different arrangement. The offer that got me to engage simply evaporated once it was time to formalize it.
When I point it out, I’m told it was “a mistake.” I’m reminded they’re highly rated. I’m assured they want to earn my business. But earning business usually starts with honoring what you originally proposed.
Instead of a direct, accountable response — something along the lines of, “We misrepresented this and we’ll fix it” — I receive a carefully measured apology and a polite version of “this is what it is.”
Here’s the bottom line: if a deal transforms the moment you move forward, that wasn’t a deal. That was a hook.
If you’re considering working with them, proceed carefully. Five days is a long time to learn something that should’ve been clear on day one.