|
I feel like I've been withholding a significant amount of information from you guys for the purpose of protecting the dealership in hopes that things work out. I believe that y'all deserve the entire story.
Everything that whats77inaname posted is accurate.
Let's start from the beginning. While searching eBay for no reserve BMW auctions last week I found the listing for the M3 in question. I don't bid on reserve auctions because 9 times out of 10 the seller has set the reserve at retail level. I'm looking for a car because my 328i was hit by a hail storm that came through our area. I need something to drive for the month or so while my car is being repaired due to the fact that I don't have rental coverage. Upon finding the M3 I placed it on my watch list and kept an eye on it. I placed a few bids over the next 24hrs and was the highest bidder, winning the auction at close. I was extremely ecstatic at this victory as the M3 is quite a fine automobile.
The following day (4/20/2012 11:27am) I called Autodynamics to arrange the down payment as per the instructions on their eBay listing. Unfortunately, the excitement wore off rapidly. Upon introducing myself to the receptionist and stating my intentions to setup payment and pickup of my new M3 she immediately accused me of "hacking eBay" and changing the Buy It Now price on the auction. I told her that would of been difficult given the fact that there were other people bidding on the car just like me. So I asked to talk to the owner, Sanjay Varma. Sanjay told me a different story stating that his dealership had placed a reserve on the auction and that eBay had an error, since it "wasn't possible to have a listing with a starting bid price and a Buy It Now price." After some discussion he said since we had no written contract, the best he could offer was knock a couple grand off the price he had the car listed for on his lot, $40,500. Without coming to an agreement I told him I would call him later and we ended the conversation.
Upon receiving the advice of some members of this forum and additional research, I used the eBay messaging tool to send Autodynamics excerpts from the Texas Business & Commerce Code along with parts of eBay's policy. I included that I looked forward to doing business with them as everything seemed pretty cut and dry. I asked when would be a good time to finalize the deal and sent my message on its way.
The following day (4/26/2012 1:06pm) I received a voicemail from Ali Fazel of the Law Offices of Scardino & Fazel in Houston on behalf of Autodynamics stating that Fazel's client has requested he contact me to come to a resolution. "Great!" I thought "we were finally getting somewhere." Upon calling Ali back (4:47pm) I was instructed that the the M3 "Is no longer available to [me]" unless I am willing to buy it at $40,500, in which case it is available. After farther pushing Fazel, he says that he doesn't know the current status of the car and that it may have been sold. At this time I tell him it is unacceptable to have sold the car I purchased through eBay. His alternative solution, which he insisted was in my best interests, was to take a 335xi automatic that they found elsewhere. I have no interest in all-wheel drive, automatic cars and by this point had my sights set on the Dinan M3 (aka, M3 with some Dinan upgrades). So I tell him to find out the status of the M3 and we end the phone call.
A little over 30 minutes later (5:27PM) Ali calls me back. The car had been sold to another dealer for list price, $40,500, but Sanjay is willing to take a $500 loss and sell me the car for $40,000. I ask, "what about Sanjays offer on Friday to knock a couple grand off the price for me to make things right?" Ali tells me that Sanjay is not willing to take a penny less than $40,000 for the car. Sanjay is worried about going back on the offer to the other dealership and angering them. Once again we are unable to come to an agreement and we end the conversation.
This is currently where we sit. I'm back to square one with nothing to drive while my car gets repaired. I have a loan check made out for a BMW M3 with the vin number WBSVA935X8E215763, which is useless at this point. I am upset to say the least.
|