View Full Version : The price wasn't right: Car Dealer Has Buyer Arrested
acevette2001
10-04-2012, 11:11pm
Car Dealer Has Buyer Arrested After Price Error - Yahoo! (http://screen.yahoo.com/car-dealer-has-buyer-arrested-after-price-error-30786161.html)
Car Dealer Has Buyer Arrested After Price Error
3 hours ago - 1:42
Priority Chevrolet Dealership in Chesapeake, Virginia made a mistake when they sold Danny Sawyer a new Chevrolet Traverse for $5,600 less than the asking price. So what did they do when they realized this mistake? They had Mr. Sawyer arrested for theft. After spending 4 hours in lockup and getting released on bond, Sawyer did the next logical thing: he sued the dealership for 2.2 million dollars. Well, I guess it IS possible to get a good deal in this crazy world of ours.
:issues:
mrvette
10-04-2012, 11:29pm
Some stealership guys are going to be FIRED on the spot when the owner finds out....BET on that......
Any of you know who Pete Estes was???
He was Pres of GM back in the 60's or so, and so at a Chebby dealership my old vette club hung with....
I ran into his grand daughter, working as a service writer, and so this sharp kid seemed to be as familiar under a car as the guys working on it, from bumper to bumper, she knew it all, lingo and everything....I picked up on that real quick and so stopped by her service writers' office, stood there in the door way with her name on it and flat asked her if she was any relation to PETE ESTES, she did a double take and said she was his grand daughter......
AND asked me to keep that under my hat, so I did,
a few months later there was a whole sale change of command at the dealership, what her job was......investigating dealer problems from the command level, and finding solutions for the owners......Reasons I picked up on her so fast was too well spoken for that job, too well dressed for that job.....and knew WAY tooooo much for any ~30 y/o girl.....:dance::slap::seasix:
Yerf Dog
10-05-2012, 8:30am
How do you come up with 2.2 mil? :toetap:
How do you come up with 2.2 mil? :toetap:
You add 2 and 2 together with a period.
Duh!
:D:leaving:
How do you come up with 2.2 mil? :toetap:
Free vette for himself and his friends.
VatorMan
10-05-2012, 8:40am
That's one way to turn Democrats into Republicans-Make them all millionaires. :lol:
GentleBen
10-05-2012, 8:50am
How do you come up with 2.2 mil? :toetap:
Value of the stealership maybe?
Dealership apologizes for error, customer arrest | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com/2012/09/dealership-apologizes-error-customer-arrest-0)
Dealership apologizes for error, customer arrest
Dennis Ellmer, president of Priority Chevrolet, apologized for the arrest of a customer in June.
By Scott Daugherty
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 27, 2012
CHESAPEAKE
The president of Priority Chevrolet apologized Wednesday for the arrest of a customer in June whom the dealership mistakenly undercharged for an SUV and who resisted the company's efforts to get him to sign a new, costlier contract.
Dennis Ellmer said he's heard from Chesapeake police that one of his managers told an officer that Danny Sawyer of Chesapeake had stolen a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse.
"I owe Mr. Sawyer a big apology," said Ellmer, who manages the entire Priority Auto Group - which includes 11 dealerships in Virginia and North Carolina.
He said his staff erred when they sold the SUV to Sawyer for about $5,600 too little and erred again when they went to police. He said Sawyer should not have been arrested and definitely should not have spent four hours in jail.
"It is my plan to let him keep the $5,600 and to make Mr. Sawyer right. I can't tell you how I plan to fix it, but it is my intention to make it right," said Ellmer, adding that he would like to sit down and talk with Sawyer.
Rebecca Colaw, Sawyer's attorney, said she appreciates that Ellmer is taking responsibility for what happened. But she said he will have to do more than say he's sorry and let Sawyer keep the SUV.
"An apology is not enough," she said.
Earlier this month, Sawyer, 40, a registered nurse, filed two lawsuits against the dealership accusing it of malicious prosecution, slander, defamation and abuse of process, among other things. The lawsuits seek $2.2 million in damages, plus attorney fees.
Ellmer and his vice president, Stacy Cummings, said they were unaware of the lawsuits until they read about them Tuesday on the front page of The Virginian-Pilot. Two managers at Priority Chevrolet declined Monday to comment on the lawsuits, and two phone calls and an email to an attorney for the dealership were not returned.
According to the lawsuits, Sawyer test-drove a blue Chevrolet Traverse on May 7 but ultimately decided to buy a black one. He traded in his 2008 Saturn Vue, signed a promissory note and left in his new SUV.
The next morning, Sawyer returned and asked to exchange the black Traverse for the blue one.
The lawsuit claims Wib Davenport, a sales manager, agreed to the trade without discussing how much more the blue Traverse would cost. Cummings disputed that, saying Davenport told Sawyer it would cost about $5,500 more than the black one and that Sawyer orally agreed to the higher price.
Regardless, the final contract Sawyer signed did not reflect the higher price, which Cummings said should have been in the area of $39,000. He blamed a clerical error.
"We definitely made a mistake there. There is no doubt about it," said Ellmer.
After signing the contract - which listed a sale price of about $34,000 - Sawyer immediately left the dealership and returned with a cashier's check covering what he owed after dealer incentives and his trade-in.
A week later, Sawyer came back from a vacation to find numerous voicemails and a letter from the dealership, the suit said. In a phone conversation, Davenport explained they had made a mistake on the contract and sold the car for too little. He asked Sawyer to return to the dealership and sign a new contract.
The lawsuit claims Sawyer refused. Cummings said Sawyer initially agreed but never followed through.
When Sawyer did not return to the dealership, Priority staff continued their attempts to contact him via phone, text message and hand-delivered letters. They eventually contacted police.
On June 15, three Chesapeake police officers arrested Sawyer in his front yard and took him before a magistrate judge. He was released on bond after about four hours at the Chesapeake jail, the suit said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr said her office dropped all charges Aug. 23 after speaking with representatives of the dealership and determining there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case.
In an interview Tuesday, Ellmer and Cummings said their staff never reported the SUV stolen and never asked for Sawyer to be arrested. They said they called police only for help locating the SUV while they pursued the civil action.
After speaking with police Wednesday, however, Ellmer said he'd learned one of his managers, Brad Anderson, had indeed said the SUV was stolen.
Kelly O'Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Chesapeake Police Department, said the officer told Anderson in advance he was going to secure a warrant for Sawyer's arrest.
Ellmer described what happened to Sawyer as an isolated incident. He noted that his dealerships sell about 13,000 cars a year.
"This shouldn't have happened," he said.
theanswriz42
10-05-2012, 9:16am
Yep, someone's getting fired.
Yerf Dog
10-05-2012, 9:22am
On June 15, three Chesapeake police officers arrested Sawyer in his front yard and took him before a magistrate judge.
Based on what? :skep:
Kerrmudgeon
10-05-2012, 9:28am
I hope he walks away with a free vehicle at least. 2.2 million for four hours in the pokey is a little extravagant.
People have sued for wrongful incarceration for years and got less $$$. :seasix:
VatorMan
10-05-2012, 9:30am
Dealership apologizes for error, customer arrest | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com/2012/09/dealership-apologizes-error-customer-arrest-0)
I hope he walks away with a free vehicle at least. 2.2 million for four hours in the pokey is a little extravagant.
People have sued for wrongful incarceration for years and got less $$$. :seasix:
But they apologized. In Canada they'd call it even. :lol:
Stangkiller
10-05-2012, 9:38am
This reeks of Bill Heard sales tactics
ApexOversteer
10-05-2012, 10:22am
On June 15, three Chesapeake police officers arrested Sawyer in his front yard and took him before a magistrate judge.
Based on what? :skep:
From the arresting officer's POV: Vehicle reported stolen is in the alleged suspect's driveway. Take suspect into custody.
FasterTraffic
10-05-2012, 10:47am
If you purchased a car from that dealership and later determined you paid too much, I'm certain the dealership would be willing to sign a new contract and return the difference.
:Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79: :Jeff '79:
Mike Mercury
10-05-2012, 11:05am
From the arresting officer's POV: Vehicle reported stolen is in the alleged suspect's driveway. Take suspect into custody.
had the title not been redone with the new owners name? You can't report an item as stolen - uinless you can first prove you are the owner of said item.
Yerf Dog
10-05-2012, 11:21am
From the arresting officer's POV: Vehicle reported stolen is in the alleged suspect's driveway. Take suspect into custody.
Sawyer had a contract for the vehicle in hand. :toetap:
From the arresting officer's POV: Vehicle reported stolen is in the alleged suspect's driveway. Take suspect into custody.
Was the car reported stolen? according to the article they only asked the police to find it.
On June 15, three Chesapeake police officers arrested Sawyer in his front yard and took him before a magistrate judge. He was released on bond after about four hours at the Chesapeake jail, the suit said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr said her office dropped all charges Aug. 23 after speaking with representatives of the dealership and determining there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case.
In an interview Tuesday, Ellmer and Cummings said their staff never reported the SUV stolen and never asked for Sawyer to be arrested. They said they called police only for help locating the SUV while they pursued the civil action.
kingpin
10-05-2012, 3:20pm
After speaking with police Wednesday, however, Ellmer said he'd learned one of his managers, Brad Anderson, had indeed said the SUV was stolen.
I bet you that's the whole story right there.
He mentioned to the cops that the dude stole the vehicle(meaning he got a crazy price) and the officers took it as he actually stole the vehicle.
I bet you that's the whole story right there.
He mentioned to the cops that the dude stole the vehicle(meaning he got a crazy price) and the officers took it as he actually stole the vehicle.
The manage should be charged with filing a false police report for two reasons
1) If he did he he lied.
2) If the police get brought into court for false arrest they need to have some cover.
And this turd should be fired.
carlton_fritz
10-05-2012, 3:30pm
Some stealership guys are going to be FIRED on the spot when the owner finds out....BET on that......
Any of you know who Pete Estes was???
He was Pres of GM back in the 60's or so, and so at a Chebby dealership my old vette club hung with....
I ran into his grand daughter, working as a service writer, and so this sharp kid seemed to be as familiar under a car as the guys working on it, from bumper to bumper, she knew it all, lingo and everything....I picked up on that real quick and so stopped by her service writers' office, stood there in the door way with her name on it and flat asked her if she was any relation to PETE ESTES, she did a double take and said she was his grand daughter......
AND asked me to keep that under my hat, so I did,
a few months later there was a whole sale change of command at the dealership, what her job was......investigating dealer problems from the command level, and finding solutions for the owners......Reasons I picked up on her so fast was too well spoken for that job, too well dressed for that job.....and knew WAY tooooo much for any ~30 y/o girl.....:dance::slap::seasix:
Pics?
RED-85-Z51
10-05-2012, 3:41pm
Back around 2003 my cousin was looking for a jeep and looking at WJ's priced around 12K....They drove past a used car lot and saw a Silver WJ, 4liter, 50K miles...for 8999.00. They test drove it, loved it, signed a contract saying they would be back the following morning with cash/cashiers check in the final sale amount of like 9600 bucks...out the door.
Well when they got there, the numbers on the windshield said "13,999"...they went in and showed the contract...the dealer ripped it in half and said it was null as the jeep is worth more. They called the owner, he came down...agreed that the original price was much lower than it should have been but agreed to sell it at that price...
Dealers = crooked
vetteman9368
10-05-2012, 9:06pm
Ask Loco Vette about this type situation
NEVRL8T
10-05-2012, 10:15pm
Based on what? :skep:
Supposedly, theft.
NEVRL8T
10-05-2012, 10:19pm
Sawyer had a contract for the vehicle in hand. :toetap:
Look at at this way, Shaun. If the bank accidentally deposits money into your account, you have a record of it on your bank statement (a form of a contract). You keep the money and it's still consider theft. Same thing here. The $5,600.00 didn't belong to him and when they asked for it back, he refused. The bank would do the same thing and when you didn't return it, you're arrested. And the bank always wins. This time the dealership is trying to save face. You ever seen a bank try to save face and let you keep the money? No, you haven't and you never will because people look at that and say, well, he knew it wasn't his and the bank should get their money back. Actually, there is no difference but people think he should get to keep the $5,600.00 because of a screw up? the bank screws up but people think the bank should get the money back. Double standard.
Stangkiller
10-05-2012, 10:30pm
Look at at this way, Shaun. If the bank accidentally deposits money into your account, you have a record of it on your bank statement (a form of a contract). You keep the money and it's still consider theft. Same thing here. The $5,600.00 didn't belong to him and when they asked for it back, he refused. The bank would do the same thing and when you didn't return it, you're arrested. And the bank always wins. This time the dealership is trying to save face. You ever seen a bank try to save face and let you keep the money? No, you haven't and you never will because people look at that and say, well, he knew it wasn't his and the bank should get their money back. Actually, there is no difference but people think he should get to keep the $5,600.00 because of a screw up? the bank screws up but people think the bank should get the money back. Double standard.
Huge difference an accidental bank deposit doesn't generate a notarized contract, selling a vehicle involves a botarized contract. Apples and oranges
NEVRL8T
10-05-2012, 10:45pm
Huge difference an accidental bank deposit doesn't generate a notarized contract, selling a vehicle involves a botarized contract. Apples and oranges
No totally. They are both still financial gain through deceptive methods whether they were intentionally or not.
Just because a contract is notarized, doesn't not make it legal. That just makes it witnessed. Once the money was deposited, there is authority given to the institution to oversee that the transaction was legally binding. They both make mistakes in the customers favor but one gets their money back with no recourse while the other has to fight tooth and nail to correct the problem. Double standard.
I think what this really boils down to is that people generally do not like car sales dealerships and love it when someone sticks it to "the man" but since there is no fighting the government backed institution, they let it go.
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