I Got Screwed By Mercedes Benz of Pleasanton...Pictures Attached

I read of gittledog's unpleasant dealings with a major, supposedly "reputable" dealership and I was inspired to tell my own story of dealing with a major Mercedes Benz dealership. Gittledog, I'm so sorry to read about your experience with your car and the dealership. I hope it is eventually resolved to your satisfaction. Nothing will make up for the frustration. My wife is an angel. She put up with my restoring a salvaged 1999 996. She never once complained about the time or money I spent bringing it back from the dead. She even helped me work on it. She has stood by my side through five back surgeries. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is.....she even shares my passion for cars. The least I could do for her is buy her the car that she has always dreamed of...a Mercedes SL600. I shopped for months on Autotrader and Cars.com. I finally found just what she wanted....a 2001 triple black SL600 with 30,000 miles. It was at Mercedes Benz of Pleasanton which is about 100 miles from where I live. I called and talked to the used car manager. The car was pictured on their showroom floor. I asked all of the appropriate questions about it's condition. I specifically asked if the car had any door dents or scratches. I told him that I had just looked at one locally that had a couple scratches and paint work done. I told him that I wanted one with no door dings or paint issues. He told me that their car had no dings or scratches and there were no issues with the paint. I made him an offer over the phone dependant on the car being in the condition that he described. He called me back a couple hours later and accepted my offer. My dad drove my wife and I down to get the car. The salesman asked me to call ahead so they could have the car ready for me. When we got there, the car was nowhere to be found. I started on the paperwork while we waited for the car. When they finally brought the car out, my wife noticed that it was dirty. It had a coating of dirt over the entire car. It appeared to be perfect. I inspected every panel for dings and scratches...there were none. We took it for a drive and it drove like a dream. My wife suggested that we get them to wash the car. I didn't want to be petty, so I told her not to worry about it. It was dark, we had a long drive ahead of us, and I was having back surgery in another week, so I just wanted to get home. I wasn't able to wash, wax, and detail the car until about a month after my surgery. I was shocked to find hundreds of white spots all over the hood, hardtop, and trunk of the car. They were rock chips that had been filled in by the fresh coating of wax. I could see that several had been touched up with a brush. They ranged in size from the size of a pencil tip to the size of a BB. I took the car to the local body shop and they quoted me a cost of $5,000 to repair the paint (not counting the hardtop). I called the dealership to tell the used car manager what I had found. I was informed that he no longer worked there. I spoke to the salesman that helped me. He told me that they had a detail person that could work miracles. He directed me to the new car manager. I spoke to him and he told me that the paint damage was my problem. He said, "What do you expect when you buy a five year old car". I asked to speak to the owner of the dealership. I left messages describing my problem. We just wanted it fixed. He never called me back. I contacted MB USA. They told me that the problem with our car was between us and the dealership. It was not their problem. I apologize for such a long rant. I don't mean to be a whiner. I was stupid not to listen to my wife and have them wash the car. I have only myself to blame. I have given up trying to get the dealer to make this right. I did not expect this from a major Mercedes Benz dealership. I was ignorant to think that because they were a large dealership, dealing in high end cars, they were more ethical then any other used car dealer. If I can prevent one other person from experiencing what we did, then writing this was worth my time. If anybody makes it all the way through this...thanks for letting me vent. I feel a little better. No need to kick me for being an idiot...I already know. See 2nd page for pictures.

Post this on MBworld.org in all of the forums regarding models. There are alot of Mercedes owners in the bay area that are members of that forum & I'm sure they'd be interested in hearing about Pleasanton MB. I have an E55 that I take to Fletcher Jones in Fremont & after hearing what Pleasanton did to you, I'll never take my car there!!! Sorry to hear about how they treated you.

I feel for you, but realistically you inspected the car when you picked it up and by your own admission you inspected every panel for dings and scratches and it appeared to be perfect. And then you didn't notice the white spots until over a month later. Maybe the dealership could have been a bit nicer about it, but from their perspective you waited over a month to make your complaint about something you should have seen when you picked up the car. I suspect their attitude would have been a bit different if you had called back the next day. Was the car being driven at all during that month delay? If so, you really did weaken your case. If all you did was drive the car home and park it in the garage, that would be a bit more explainable.

Sad to hear. Hope your back heals (I had a lumbar fusion years ago). On the car though, lesson learned: NEVER take a deal like this until the car is clean, inspected, and perfect, at least to your expectation. This includes buying one in the rain. NEVER let it go through until you've seen the car under lights, dry and clean. Bummer. Hope you get something worked out. Probably needs a full repaint though.

+1 -- Eric couldn't be more correct. As much as I sympathize with your plight and agree totally that you got screwed, you do have responsibility to see the car first before buying. I bought sight unseen from Isringhausen, and the car really was as advertised. But, mine was virtually new when purchased. When I found a couple of small defects on delivery, they told me to have my dealer here in PA repair them, which they did, and Isringhausen picked up all charges. Good luck!

Clum, thanks for the kind words. I am a member of that site...I might do that. rmillnj, we brought the car home and parked it in the garage where it sat for over a month. I washed it and thought it had sap on it because I could feel imperfections. I used McGuire's claybar and Zymol cleaner/wax. The white spots didn't become visible until after I waxed it. At first I thought that I damaged the paint with the clay bar. Someone had spent hours touching up all of the chips with a brush. The claybar must have removed the touch up paint and the wax filled in the chips. I have never seen anything like this on another vehicle. The body shop told me that the damage was probably caused by the car following a gravel truck or someone on a gravel road. There must be over 300 chips on the car. Eric and Phil, you guys are both right...it was 100% percent my responsibility to inspect the condition of the car prior to buying it. I have no one to blame for my stupidity but myself. I think it was incredibly dishonest of the used car manager to describe the condition of the paint to me as being in "showroom" condition. I still have no idea what their detailer used to cover up the damage. It was no accident that the car was dirty; however, their ad shows pictures of the car parked in their lighted showroom. Is there a wax on the market that would have filled in the holes with black rather then white? I went into this transaction with a false sense of security. I have had incredible luck with my numerous dealings with my local Porsche dealer (Niello Porsche). They were absolutely fantastic in helping me with the restoration if my 996. I expected the same honesty and integrity of the Mercedes Dealership. I was mistaken. The used car manager was a fellow 996 owner. I was sure that he would make things right when I told him about the problem. I got a sinking feeling when I called and found out he no longer worked there. I later realized that he had to have known about the condition of the paint and he lied to me about it. My lessons learned were: ALWAYS listen to your wife , never buy a car at night, or in the rain, or that is dirty. I hope someone else benefits from my mistakes. Eric, thanks for the well wishes regarding my back. You have obviously been there too. I have my second fusion surgery coming up in three weeks...I'm not real excited.

Oxymoron

1) Used car sales people lie. Not all, but many lie. 2) They likely used 'color wax' a detailer/used car sales person's top tool to hide problems in the paint. This works especially well on Black cars with swirls and scratches. Countless customers buy a used Black car in pristine, flawless condition, and cannot understand why all the swirls appear after the first wash (when the color wax disappears). 3) second one, same location? Hope not. Had mine over 25 years ago, right after college, L4S5 by one of the best in the country. 18 month full recovery, just can't touch my toes without bending at the knee. But hey, that's just age. Be well, and don't let this one get you.

arrOgant, I love your new turbo. Unfortunately "moron" is more appropriate in my case. Eric, where can I buy some of that black wax, so I can make it look presentable until I can afford to fix it? Do you carry it? That really explains a lot. That was why I could not see the problem until after I detailed the car. It also explaines why they didn't wash the car and how it was able to sit on the showroom floor without embarassing them. How do you protect yourself against something like that? L-3-L-4 & L-4-L-5 last time...L-5-S-1 this time. I am amazed that you went through that at such a young age. Thanks.

MFletch - It does sound like they really scammed you and unfortunately circumstances put you out that month before you realized what they had done. Unfortunately probably not much you can do other than what you have already done. Maybe if they hear about it from enough people they will get back to you and offer some help.

Graaatzi!!!

Never buy a car while you are in a hurry, never buy a car (especially used) late at night, always have it inspected by a mechanic and a body shop. Sorry for your trouble but I have learned these rules the hard way also.

Mfletch....I would not bother with color wax. Find a high end detailer and have them take a look at the car....they might be able to do some things to improve it. But I think most auto parts places stock color wax in black. Fusion - yeah, I broke two vert. water skiiing at age 18, went off to college for 4 years, then had it done after graduation.

Mark: I've seen your car and have seen how extensive the nicks were, and there's no way you could have missed all those nicks in the paint if there hadn't been a CONSCIOUS EFFORT on the part of the dealership to mask the deficiencies. Although it is your responsibility to make sure you go over a vehicle when you buy it....it's also an obligation on the part of a REPUTABLE dealer (**Oxymoron terminology noted) to be forthright and ethical when selling a car to a client. This isn't Joe's fly-by-night used car lot we're talking about. Unfortunately for you, your back surgery precluded you noticing the defects for over a month, after which time the dealership had a built in defense that the damage was your doing rather than theirs. A truly class dealership would have worked with you on this. I guess that classifies them doesn't it? Since the dealership obviously was less than honorable with you, I don't see why you are retiscent about posting their name in the forum....but it does show that you have a lot more class than they do. As far as I'm concerned, burn the bastards. Chuck

Eric, Thanks for the advice. The information about the colored wax makes me feel a little better. I spent about 15 minutes going over the car with a fine tooth comb (or so I thought). I could not figure out how I missed so much damage even with the car dirty. Hats off to their detailer. Chuck, thanks for the kind words. You have seen just how bad it looks. It's hard to believe a car that sold new for over $140,000. could have gotten so trashed in just 30,000 miles. The interior, engine, and underside look like new. It looks so nice from 10 feet away....any closer and I get kind of ill when I look at it. It was kind of an expensive lesson. gittledogs unfortunate experience made me realize that by posting my experience, I might save someone else a lot of heartache and grief. It never previously occurred to me that someone searching the internet under the dealership's name might come across this post.

Does anybody have any experience with a paint problem of this nature? Is there anything that I can do to make the car look presentable until I can afford to have it painted? I would appreciate any advice.

Mark: I think there's a rule of thumb...if you can feel the "nick" by catching the indentation with your fingernail, you're screwed. You are through the clearcoat as well as the paint....the light flecks you see are the undercoat....I don't think there's any reputable detailer that can do much except for using the colored wax to mask the nicks. This is a repaint job on your nickle....or a lucky not-too-extensive strike by a CalTrans truck.

I guess I could always buy a couple cans of Krylon from Pep Boys.

If you want to try and tackle it, I'll bring my Porter Cable and polishing compounds up...you're due for surgery, so you just be a voyeur and watch....I'll do the hard part. You put on the coffee and get some Krispy Cream donuts....Oh yeah!

Just have it repainted. The insurance may even cover it since the damage appeared after the purchase. $5k to repaint hood, trunk only seems high. I'd get a few more estimates.

You can always take the dealer to court. Find the last owner ..can they document that the damage was known to them and the dealer as well ? You could have a provable case for fraud in court.

I bought 2 cars from ebay that I never saw until I went to pick them up. One was a dealer, the other was a broker. The dealer told me that the 996 had some standard road debris in the nose typical of many cars. He was right and I wasn't surprised when I picked up the car. I had the nose repainted last week. The other car came from a broker and is the wife's CTS-V. This person said that there were zero defects in the paint. There were none. Zip. Better than any new car I had bought and this V was 3 years old! Driving it from NYS to Houston I picked up 2 chips in the paint. You never know what you get and need to keep the emotion out of it somehow. I got lucky. Some people aren't so much lucky.

One thing you could try, Mark, is to find a detailer that works with Langka. In the right hands, the stuff is pretty effective. It probably wouldn't be economical to fix every single chip, but you could get the worst of them and it would be a lot cheaper than a repaint. Just a thought. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice guys. I really appreciate the offer Chuck....I polished my Dad's SL and it turned out great....unfortunately, it only worked on scratches, not chips. Insurance won't cover this because it was a preexisting problem when I bought the car...thanks anyway though. I know that I could go to court, but I would have to do it in the area where I bought the car (100 miles away). I'm three weeks away from major surgery (again)...I don't have the energy. I still blame myself for this...I should have been able to spot the damage. I have bought three cars off autotrader.com from both dealerships and private parties, I have always been extremely pleased. I still think the majority of people out there are honest and ethical in their business dealings. I'll look up the "Langka" and see what it is...Thanks.

www.langka.com I've never used it myself, but I've heard nothing but good things about it, especially if the person using it is experienced. Sorry to hear about your car and, more important, your surgery. Good luck with that. Don't sweat the car too much. It's understandable that Porsche owners are so fussy about their cars' appearance, but at the end of the day these things were made to go more than show. Enjoy it.

You can file in your home town under the argument that a substantial part of the transation occurred where you live since it was over the phone. The dealer would have the burden to transfer it to their home jurisdiction, and there is a good shot that they will either waive it or not do it. In Texas, there is a statute called Deceptive Trade Practice Act. It would apply in this situation and not only are you entitled to your actual damages, you can also get your attorney's fees, and possibly treble damages (if a willfull act on behalf of the dealer). It requires that you send a specific demand letter outlining your allegations and what sub sections under the act you intend to sue under. When the dealership gets this letter, they will refer it to their counsel, who will be easier to work with. Basically, you are in a good position because the defense of a suit will far out weigh a fair settlement to you. I suggest you hire an attorney just to write the letter and see what happens. They will have 60 days to respond. It is highly likely that your state has the same or similar statute. If they do not respond favorably then you can decide to sue or not to sue.

PS I do not practice or am I licensed in CA (where I think you are from), so it is best to consult with a CA attorney.

BruceP, Thanks for the encouraging words...you are right this is kind of a low priority right now. sat40th911, I really appreciate the legal advice and the time you took to give it. I will consider it. Here are the pictures that were attached to the ad in Autotrader.com. You can see why I believed them when they told me that the car was in "showroom" condition.

Here is what it looked like after I washed and waxed it. And no, I don't have a severe case of dandruff.

Yep....IF that is the same car in the showroom as what you have in the driveway, it was color-waxed. They should be sued.

This is a good lesson for people trying to buy cars over the phone or internet. I don't even bother asking the sales guy any questions on condition. Because I have found that most will tell you all sorts of b.s. They just want a sale. I usually will call a high end body shop in the area and sweet talk the manager into having a quick look at the car I am considering. If I have to, I pay them a small inspection fee. Then I have the saleman take the car to the body shop for a look. If the car checks out I then go for the mechanical inspection. I will always fly to where the car is and close the deal in person, just to be sure that everything is OK. I have had to learn this the hard way. But the good thing for me is that all the lessons I have learned were in my starter sports car days.You know, Corvettes. So I wasn't risking large amounts. But a porsche. Well I try to be pretty on top of things.

Thanks Eric....it's the same car. At least now, thanks to you, I know how I missed the damage. Red996, Your advice for future purchases is very sound. My wife's Range Rover I bought over the telephone about 4 years ago. It was almost too good to be true. It was at a used car dealership in LA called "The Car Factory". The car had just over 20,000 miles. The price was $23,500. It sold new for about $75,000. The original owner took it to a tuner called "Special Vehicle Concepts" and had $40,000 in modifications done (including a supercharger). The owner of the dealership, Nathan, told me it was in great shape except for a couple of small scratches. I paid him with a credit card over the phone. When I got there to pick it up, I was shocked...it looked like a new car. He had a detailer dye the interior and paint the scratches. I still can't find the scratches. I would buy a car from him again in a heartbeat. I have also had incredibly positive experiences with my local Porsche dealer, "Niello Porsche". I would trust whatever they told me without a second thought. There are some trustworthy dealerships out there.....they are a very precious commodity.

I had a similar experience a little while back with a range rover, bought on ebay, sight unseen. They played it up on the phone-- I asked MANY questions. I flew in, they picked me up at the airport. The car had been smoked in, was missing the front lower valance grill (was on in the pictures), no navi cds, some wear on the seats and door panels that was "just barely" left out in the pictures. I made them put the $500 deposit back on my credit card and give me a ride back to the airport. An honest car dealer seems to be a rare find these days. I guess when you are honest it is a bit tougher to make money.

post it here: www.autodealercomplaints.com

Mark: If you look at the nicks, you can see that from a ballistics point of view, they come from the front, and deflect over the top and hit the trunk at an angle.....this sort of damage was probably done with the previous owners....who I'm sure would have LOST some trade in value because of the damage. It's also the type of damage that the PO would have seen or experienced first hand. If you can find the previous owners, I'm sure that any statement they might have would go a long way towards helping you prove that the dealership sold the car to you and represented it as "showroom" condition when they knew it was not. The PO's undoubtedly had some up front discussions with the dealership when they turned in the car. You just KNOW that the condition oft he paint was used to drive down the trade in value, then the dealer turned around and increased the profit margin by covering up the defects. Likely the PO's from the Santa Rosa or bay area and can be contacted. Was there any paperwork in the car that identifies the PO?

Thanks for the advice Chuck...I had the dealer print the Car-Fax report. I think it included the previous owner's info.

Although I'm really sorry to see you're not happy with your new car, I find it hard to see how you can reasonably feel you got screwed. You picked up the car in person! The point is if it was color waxed and looked great, then do it again. I think you're in for a long, uphill battle, to return that car.

I have no desire to return the car and I have given up on getting the dealer to repair it. I just want to prevent someone else from having the same experience. I don't think anybody would be real happy if they bought a used car that was advertised as being in "showroom" condition and the first time they washed & waxed it, the paint came off. The car was dirty when I purchased it. When I discovered the damage, I thought that I missed the damage because the car wasn't clean. I still didn't understand how I could have missed so much damage. I spent probably 10-15 minutes examining the exterior of the car for damage. It appeared almost perfect. Eric offered the only possible explanation as to how I did not detect the damage. The car was not dirty to conceal the damage. It was dirty because if they had washed it, they would have had to pay the detailer to color wax it again. I wash all of my cars one or two times a week (yes I'm ****). I really can't see myself waxing the car every week, just so it looks presentable. The following is from the dealer's homepage....apparently this doesn't apply if you are buying a five year old used car. Mercedes-Benz of Pleasanton has but one goal: your total and complete satisfaction. We strive to consistently surpass the expectations of not only our customers, but of ourselves. "Give us a reasonable chance to satisfy your expectations, and we will!" Sincerely, Uwe Waizenegger President/Owner

The car was not dirty to conceal the damage. It was dirty because if they had washed it, they would have had to pay the detailer to color wax it again. I wash all of my cars one or two times a week (yes I'm ****). I really can't see myself waxing the car every week, just so it looks presentable. I've color waxed cars on many occassions, and it's a good way to minimize imperfections, but it certainly doesn't make them disappear. A close inspection should have revelaed the damage that you observed after the wash, unless the combination of dirt and very favorable Dealer lighting were able to hide them. Your comment about the car being in "showroon condition" can be misleading, since I've seen many high end cars on Dealers' showrooms with swirl marks all over the cars. I cringe every time I'm at a Dealership, and I see some lot boy use a dirty cloth to wipe off the dust of some $100K+ Porsche 997. Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences, but personally I dismiss almost anything a salesman tells me about a car he's trying to sell.

fast1, whatever they did made the car good enought to display on their showroom as evidenced by the pictures. If you saw the car in person, you would be shocked at how bad it looks. There is no "favorable" lighting that could have covered it up. It was outside in daylight when I saw it. I actually have a little bit of experience with automotive restoration. I brought my 99 996 back from the dead (see pictures). They should not have been able to pull the wool over my eyes. I do appreciate your kind words. I dealt directly with the used car manager (who no longer works there). He is a fellow german sports car enthusiast...his personal car was a 996. I was very specific in my pre-purchase discussions with him. I already owned a 99 SL600 that had a salvage title. It was a flood victim. I brought it back to life, but it wasn't perfect...it had several door dings and scratches. My wife liked the 99 SL so much that I wanted to buy her one that was perfect. (She really deserved it for tolerating my car addiction) I did not want to dump $10,000 into another salvaged titled vehicle to make it perfect. I explained this to the used car manager during our negotiations. As a side note, I found a paintless dent guy locally that was able to get all of the door dings out of the 99 SL. I spent several hours with a buffer and various compounds working on it's paint. It looks far better then the paint on the 01 that I bought to replace it. It turned out so nice that I couldn't bear to part with it....I gave it to my dad, He loves it! (see attached before picture....flood victims are way easier to bring back to life then burn victims) My dad and I have bought three salvage titled cars from Silver Star Recycling (99 996, 99 SL600, and 2000 Jaguar XJR). I have nothing but good things to say about them....at least when I buy a car from them, I know what I'm getting.

it may take some doing but it can be done for less than 5k. don't you have friends who have friends.

Thanks for posting your problem here. I never realized that a color wax could hide such sins. I will be looking alot more closely at any used car i buy in the future

lic265, you are welcome. If I have prevented one person from going through the same experience, then posting this was worth the time. I think that the only way to detect the damage would have been to run my hand over the painted surfaces of the car. I probably would have been able to feel the imperfections. This was a huge high end dealership. They probably have close to 100 used cars. They only have space for five or six cars on their used car showroom. They featured this car in their showroom...I don't think they would have done so if the damage was visible (unless the picture of the car in the showroom was staged for the ad only).

My guess is they pulled the car in, took a picture, pulled the car back out. Sorry about the car but screw the car I just hope you are recovering and wish you all the health in your future!

I guess they are just as bas as autohaus west in irvine. sorry had to put it.

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Look it’s Jeff Bezos first post. Welcome, what 996 do you have? Edit: I was reacting to someone digging up a 15 year old email. Looks like the admins have appropriately deleted it.

This thread is useless and this shyte doesn’t belong here sorry but the Op got bitten by himself

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I'm sorry you didn't find my thread useful...I posted it over 15 years ago. Thanks for reminding me of it. My wife still loves that car.

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so amazing to see someone still poking around here after so many years! What happened to the car? You ever got it repainted?

Tr4ckD4ys, the Mercedes R129 SL600 was my wife's dream car over fifteen years ago, when we bought it. All these years later, she still loves it. About a year ago, my wife and daughter drove the Mercedes to a local store and parked it away from everyone in the parking lot. She heard an announcement over the PA system, "will the owner of the black Mercedes convertible please come to the front". A young man with a lifted truck parked next to her. He forgot he was parked next to a smaller car, when he went to leave. He drove almost all the way over the driver's side front fender. He was an active duty Marine and an honorable young man. He spoke to me on the phone...he was almost in tears because he was so upset about damaging my wife's pride and joy. I was just grateful that he went back inside the store and reported the accident. The insurance company paid to replace & paint the fender and front bumper. I paid to finally have the hood repainted. I still have the same 1999 996 that I bought from a fellow Rennlister, after he had a dashboard fire. It is my second 1999 996. I have been a 996 owner since about 2002. There aren't too many of the old timers left here. Several of them can probably be found on the turbo and GT3 forums. I still enjoy reading the posts here, I just don't chime in too often. Frequently, people post here when something has gone wrong with their car and they are trying to fix it...or they need to vent (like I did when I posted this rant fifteen years ago). My 996 has been so dependable that I don't have anything to complain about. When something small does need replaced, the search button is my friend. I would be hard pressed to find any repair that hasn't been covered here multiple times already.

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Glad she is still enjoying the car all these years later. I have a similar negative experience with 2 different dealerships that were both close to 3 hours away, one with my Audi S6 and one with my 996. Different issues, but both ****ty experiences. The 996 I did go look before buying and the car was filthy when I got there to look. It drove ok though and other than clearly needing a new top, it seemed decent enough. I scheduled to have a PPI done at a third party shop. They found a few small issues and I negotiated the price down accordingly. When I went to complete the purchase, the car was not present and being washed. I know now that this was done on purpose, as when everything was finalized, they brought the car out and I could see the scratches. On my 3 hour drive home, I had to stop multiple times as the low coolant light came on. Suffice to say the 3 hour drive didn't take 3 hours. I had the car in for a post purchase inspection at a local shop and had the coolant system flushed. In the end I got a high optioned car, and discovered its an X51 car which I did not know at the time. Pulling the build sheet and original sticker, I discovered this car was optioned up to $134,000 back in 2004. I still have to replace the top and will get it professionally detailed with paint correction at some point. The Audi experience was worse. I bought a aftermarket warranty and when I had a coolant leak leave me stranded and needing a tow, I discovered the dealership never purchased the warranty on the car. The service manager and general manager dodged my calls for 3 weeks while my car sat at the local dealership. ONLY after I contacted the state attorney general did I get any response. I've come to realize that any dealership that is not within normal driving distance should be avoided. They are all scum and I cannot be persuaded to believe otherwise. They see an out of state buyer and they just automatically turn on the screw them over mode.

Yep, buyer beware !! New car and used car dealers sell cars like "commodities" ...just like a barrel of rice or beans....make sure you know what you are buying and check it out for yourself...

Goldenzrule, thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your two negative experiences with car dealers. At least on the Porsche, it sounds like you got a great car. Porschetech, it sounds like you have a little more experience with car dealers than the rest of us. I wasn't shy about naming the dealer that I bought the Mercedes from fifteen years ago. It seems only fair that I name a couple dealers/repair shops in the Sacramento area that I can't say enough good things about. I rebuilt two 996s that were burn victims. The first had a severe engine fire. Niello Porsche in Rocklin helped me out numerous times. At the time, the 996 had only been in production for a couple of years. I needed a wiring diagram for the engine compartment, but I was not up for shelling out over 2k for it. The service manager was kind enough to xerox it for me. This is only one example of the numerous times they went above and beyond to help me. Another shop that I can't say enough good things about is Stewart's Automotive in Sacramento. They primarily specialize in British and Italian cars. The owner, Stewart, rebuilt the transmission in a 1959 Maserati 3500 that I was restoring. It took over a year for me to locate a NOS second gear. After I installed the transmission in the car, I discovered that second gear still didn't work. He tried to refund me all of the money that I paid him, including what he spent on parts. I would not let him refund what he spent on parts; however, he refunded everything I paid for labor. Two other shops tried to repair the transmission and were unsuccessful.....one of the shops was an exotic car repair shop in the bay area....the other was the a gentleman in Italy who installed the transmission in my car at the Maserati factory in 1959. The transmission finally had to go to the ZF factory. They fixed it in a few hours. I'm sure for most of us car guys the good experiences with car dealers and repair shops far outweigh the bad. Unfortunately, the bad ones tend to be harder to forget.