Sandesh Sreenivas

Review of Cars on 21

I'll try to keep this short and to the point: I in...

I'll try to keep this short and to the point: I inquired about a BMW X5, provided the stock number and VIN to be sure it was the correct car. I called and emailed. One person said it was no longer available and another person said they dont know why the first person said it wasnt, because they can assure me it was still on their lot. I'm from MD so its a 3 hr drive for me. I directly asked what the final out the door price was for the car. Wasn't too surprised, based on other reviews, that the $28,xxx advertised price was going to be $36,xxx out the door...although I was expecting something in the 34 range (absurd fees and nonsense charges I'm sure). Anyway, I read a lot of reviews saying they keep cars on their website to lure customers, even if they have sold. So I told the salesman that I would not even consider driving up unless he sent me a picture of the car on the lot, with the exact mileage (these small dealerships are notorious for advertising one mileage and using the cars as their personal vehicles, so the mileage may be 1-2k higher than you'd expect). After basically telling me he had better things to do than take pictures for me...i basically told him he had lost me as a customer. He finally sent me a picture of the car....and it was a COMPLETELY different car...not even the same color. I had asked about an Alpine White X5 with M package and the 20" wheel package. The car he sent a picture of was a MIneral White Metallic X5 without the M package and with some chrome aftermarket 17" wheels. When I told him this was a completely different car, he stopped responding to me. His name was Atrem. I was pretty disappointed about him wasting my time as I got all my financing in order, but I'm glad I didnt make the drive out there.

Make sure they send you a picture of the exact car you are inquiring about and have them give you the exact mileage.