Yeah, they did try to screw me. And in my case, it wasn't even a question of money.
What I wanted was simple - black GTO with black interior and the manual transmission. I went to or called literally every Pontiac dealer in a 250 mile radius. I didn't care about the price. I was willing to pay sticker (i.e., the dealer-marked up price on the window, not the invoice price) plus the usual fees, no haggling involved, immediate payment via wire transfer - an easy sale, right?
I experienced terrible customer service ("Leisure Suit Larry" would have felt right at home) and outright stupidity. *Nobody* would sell me what I wanted. They kept trying to foist off automatic cars or cars in colors other than black. Now here's the thing - I was willing to pay the window sticker price with no haggling - and still no Pontiac dealer would sell, find, or order what I wanted. It wasn't even a matter of "It doesn't come that way," which I could understand if that was the truth (it wasn't); it was purely "We can't be bothered to order it."
I even called GM's Customer Relations number to see if I could order one directly. I mentioned that I was coming in from the import world and was one of the "conquest" sales they so desperately wanted. I also complained about one dealer whose behavior I found particularly offensive. GM's reaction: "You have to order through your local dealer. Ya gonna buy a car from us or what?"
I chose "or what" and promptly did what I should have in the first place. I crossed the GTO off my list and bought a pre-owned Jaguar XKR convertible for *less* money.
And GM wonders why nobody will buy their product....
