In early December, I went to Sarasota Mercedes Benz, where I originally leased the car, to purchase my C300 after I paid off 45 months out of 48, after the salesman, Peter Bolduc, told me there was no pre-payment penalty. First, they tried to rip me off on the loan, charging me 5.5 %. So, I left went home and got my own loan on the Internet from Bank of America for 3.49%. I went back the next day, worked out all the details, and then at the last minute, Bolduc told me I owed an additional $1200 to Mercedes Benz Financial. He was vague about the reason; he just said, "They say you owe them the money." And then he showed me a printout showing that I owed the money to Mercedes Benz Financial. An assistant manager came over and also said, "You owe them the money," without any explanation. So, I walked out again and called Mercedes Benz Financial. They told me they didn't know what the Bolduc or the assistant manager was talking about. I did not owe an additional $1200. Then, I realized that they still had my loan agreement from Bank of America, and that they still had my registration. I immediately called the Bank of America and cancelled the loan agreement. As for the registration, I was so disgusted by their treatment of me that I did not want to call them, or got back to the dealership. So, I just simply ordered another registration on the Internet. Neither Bolduc, nor did anyone else, ever contacted me and said they had my documents. They must have figured, they had no sale, so out of sight; out of mind. Two weeks later I got a letter from Mercedes Benz Financial saying that I had returned my car (which I obviously didn't) and that I owed another $1900. I called them, and they told me the letter must have been sent out in error. Then, they gave me a buyout figure that was much cheaper than what I had been told at the dealership. This is larceny; plain and simple. People go to jail for less. I don't know how the parent company of Mercedes Benz International lets their employees get away with something like this. I guess the people at Mercedez Benz of Sarasota figure that the people in Sarasota are old and senile and will agree to anything to buy a Benz. But not me. I made a complaint to Mercedes Benz International over the phone. Plus, I posted reviews on Yelp, Google, and every other website I could find on the Internet that was car-related. Plus, I will go to another Mercedes Benz to purchase my leased car. And I will tell everyone I know not to go to Mercedes Benz of Sarasota if they don't want to get ripped off. The following weak after my ordeal at Mercedez Benz of Sarasota week, my daughter, an attorney in Sarasota, retuned her leased BMW to BMW of Sarasota and leased another one. She had been thinking of leasing a Mercedes, but after I told her about the nightmare I had there, she wisely decided to stick with BMW. We are now also considering legal action. I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.
Joe Bruno
Dec 30, 2019
AdChoices
