They say if it's seems too good to be true, it probably is, and it was. Last Friday we started a String (Sky-less with 2 Deposits) sharing our good luck story about snagging a Sky when we stopped by an out of town dealership. When we walked into the dealership that Friday afternoon, a sales person saw us looking at the demo Sky. We told him that we had been on the Sky waiting list at our local dealership for over 3 months, were still patiently waiting. He then said "Would you be interested if I told you I could put you in one today? We have two of them here from canceled orders, one red, the other black. They're both for sale. You can drive one off today." We asked to see the cars that were currently in the shop being detailed. "Sure, let me see where they are. I'll be right back.” When he returned he informed us that the cars were NOT there at all, but had been taken to the local Expo for display. "However, they will be back on Monday, and we can have you in one on Tuesday." We didn’t have a good feeling about committing to a car that we haven't seen, and the idea of dealing with someone that couldn't keep track of his cars was a bit scary. So we said no thanks, and left.
Later that evening, we decided that we may have passed up a real chance to snag one early, so we called the dealer to see if the Red Sky was still available, and of course, it was. I asked him about the current options on the car, and he told us he couldn’t give us any information because their computers were down. Funny, 5 hours ago when we were there, he gave us all the information we needed from a piece of paper. But, he promised to call us back that evening or early the next day. Yea, right.
We called him back the next day, Saturday, and finally found out what options were on the car, and it was just what we were looking for. SOLD! So, I asked what we needed to do to lock this thing in. Obviously they needed a deposit. However, there was no one there authorized to take a Credit Card number over the phone. On a Saturday afternoon??? Give me a break! But he assured us, the car was ours. All we needed to do was call on Monday, give them a CC #, and we would be locked in. WRONG!
When we called on Monday, we got a little surprise. He told us that all the cars had been returned from the Expo, with the exception of the black and the red Sky. He was trying to find out where they were and when or IF they were going to get them back. By the end of the day we got the full story. Saturn decided to put both cars on display at Lincoln Financial Field for the Philadelphia Eagles opening day game, and the cars MAY not be coming back to the dealership for 21 days. He told us the manager of the dealership was going to talk to Saturn Corp the next day to try to get the cars back. At this point, they also have some one trying to place a deposit on the black Sky who is also getting jerked around. But, we were assured once again, that when and if the car comes back, it was ours. We were told to call back on Tuesday.
The plot thickens. When we called on Tuesday, we were told they still didn’t have all the details from Saturn Corp, but would be able to give us an update by the end of the day. When they called us back later, they really dropped the bomb. The deal was, the cars will not be returned to the dealer for 21 to ‘35’ days. Plus, Saturn has taken the liberty of upgrading both cars (which have already been promised to customers) by adding a spoiler, upgraded wheels, so on and so on. But again, we were assured that when the car comes home, we were more than welcome to buy it, at a much HIGHER sticker price. So we have gone from ‘I can put you in a Sky today’ to ’Maybe in 35 days and we’re going to stick it to you’. Obviously, we decided this isn’t a fun game any more and have decided to stick with the original waiting list at our local dealer.
So to all you football fans, as you are watching the Eagles game on opening day, if you happen to see a couple of Saturn Skys roaming around the field, just remember how Saturn screwed their customers to get them there. Hopefully, this story will make it’s way around before opening day. Gee, do you think this is the kind of publicity Saturn is trying to get out of the game? HIKE !
Later that evening, we decided that we may have passed up a real chance to snag one early, so we called the dealer to see if the Red Sky was still available, and of course, it was. I asked him about the current options on the car, and he told us he couldn’t give us any information because their computers were down. Funny, 5 hours ago when we were there, he gave us all the information we needed from a piece of paper. But, he promised to call us back that evening or early the next day. Yea, right.
We called him back the next day, Saturday, and finally found out what options were on the car, and it was just what we were looking for. SOLD! So, I asked what we needed to do to lock this thing in. Obviously they needed a deposit. However, there was no one there authorized to take a Credit Card number over the phone. On a Saturday afternoon??? Give me a break! But he assured us, the car was ours. All we needed to do was call on Monday, give them a CC #, and we would be locked in. WRONG!
When we called on Monday, we got a little surprise. He told us that all the cars had been returned from the Expo, with the exception of the black and the red Sky. He was trying to find out where they were and when or IF they were going to get them back. By the end of the day we got the full story. Saturn decided to put both cars on display at Lincoln Financial Field for the Philadelphia Eagles opening day game, and the cars MAY not be coming back to the dealership for 21 days. He told us the manager of the dealership was going to talk to Saturn Corp the next day to try to get the cars back. At this point, they also have some one trying to place a deposit on the black Sky who is also getting jerked around. But, we were assured once again, that when and if the car comes back, it was ours. We were told to call back on Tuesday.
The plot thickens. When we called on Tuesday, we were told they still didn’t have all the details from Saturn Corp, but would be able to give us an update by the end of the day. When they called us back later, they really dropped the bomb. The deal was, the cars will not be returned to the dealer for 21 to ‘35’ days. Plus, Saturn has taken the liberty of upgrading both cars (which have already been promised to customers) by adding a spoiler, upgraded wheels, so on and so on. But again, we were assured that when the car comes home, we were more than welcome to buy it, at a much HIGHER sticker price. So we have gone from ‘I can put you in a Sky today’ to ’Maybe in 35 days and we’re going to stick it to you’. Obviously, we decided this isn’t a fun game any more and have decided to stick with the original waiting list at our local dealer.
So to all you football fans, as you are watching the Eagles game on opening day, if you happen to see a couple of Saturn Skys roaming around the field, just remember how Saturn screwed their customers to get them there. Hopefully, this story will make it’s way around before opening day. Gee, do you think this is the kind of publicity Saturn is trying to get out of the game? HIKE !