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Frequently Asked Questions
I've been treated very badly at a dealership. What can I do about it?
Dealership behavior is a mystery. They are exceedingly difficult to deal with, old school, highly sexist and often misogynist. With all the effort that the automakers have made to make dealers and their salespeople treat customers with respect, very little changes. Every week Woman Motorist receives messages from readers complaining they were treated with disrespect in a dealership. It's a shame and all too common. You're not alone. As all customer's money is green, why any dealer would risk alienating a shopper defies reason.
Dealerships are independent businesses. They are NOT owned by the car companies. And thus complaining to the automaker's ombundsman will have little effect on the dealer. They pride themselves on their independence. Still, take it to the local zon representative, and follow up. If they hear enough complaints the automaker may decide not to renew a dealer's franchise agreement.
Document everything with names, dates and notes. Be sure to be cool and unemotional in your discussions and presentations. Ranting will only get you ignored.
Contact the District Attorney's office and the Department of Consumer Affairs in your area. They get so many of these complaints they often have special units to handle them. Again, you probably won't get any financial retribution, but you may get the law to come down on them. Especially if they have behaved in a fraudulent manner.
Speak with your money. If you don't like the way you are treated when you go to spend it, don't spend it where you are. No purchase, with the exception of perhaps emergency medical services, is so important that you have no choice but to give your hard earned dollars to an unethical, poorly behaved, seller of poor quality products. You don't need to do it. Go to another dealership. There are tons of them.
The Better Business Bureau collects complaints, but I have never heard from a reader who has filed a complaint with them of any satisfaction. They just made the report, but did not get personal service. You might get more gratification from taking your case to the local TV News Consumer Advocate.
If you think the dealership has behaved in a fraudulent manner you can call the local office of your State Attorney General. They will have a consumer fraud division and you can report the incident to them.
Woman Motorist also maintains a copy of the the Consumer Information Handbook. In it is a comprehensive list of state and federal agencies and consumer groups that you can report problems to. There are also instructions for writing an effective letter. Most efforts however will give you only the satisfaction of having written a strong letter and will do nothing other than build a list of offenses against a particular company.
