Customer Arrested For Theft After Dealership Sold Him SUV for $5000 less than Actual Price

[Knight Rider]

When dealing with car salespeople, most buyers are looking for a deal, if not a steal. A Virginia man got the former, while the dealership that sold him the vehicle initially thought he illegally got the latter -- and had him arrested when he refused to pay more for their mistake. The buyer, Danny Sawyer, was taken into custody in his front yard and sat in jail for four hours before being released on bail.

The sales staff at Priority Chevrolet of Chesapeake inadvertently sold the Virginia man a Chevrolet Traverse for about $5,000 less than the vehicle’s actual price, and when Sawyer refused to sign a new, more expensive contract, a sales manager at the dealership called the police to report that Sawyer had stolen the vehicle. It turned out to be a clerical and communication error on the dealer’s part, and its president has since apologized and offered to forgive the $5,000-plus discount that Sawyer got on his SUV in error.

But now that Sawyer has decided to sue for $2.2 million in damages, it could end up costing the dealership much more than if it had just let the slip-up slide.

 

[Jesus Quintana]

I don't think he'll be going to Priority Chevrolet for his warranty work.
Funny how Americans work sometimes though, I used to deal with a company who seemed to have the "Sorry we fucked up, you have to pay more." philosophy.

 

[Madman]

I blame the Police and would include them in the law suit. Why would they lay a charge of theft when it's clearly a civil matter?

 

[Jesus Quintana]

I blame the Police and would include them in the law suit. Why would they lay a charge of theft when it's clearly a civil matter?

It depends on what the police were told. If it was reported to them that the guy outright stole the vehicle then the liability lands back on the dealership. If they were told that the guy refused to pay more than the previously arranged price then they share liability.

 

[tboy]

I blame the Police and would include them in the law suit. Why would they lay a charge of theft when it's clearly a civil matter?

Because the dealership told the police that he had stolen the vehicle....the dealership, or whoever called the police, should be charged with filing a false report.....the police would be exempt from a lawsuit because they were acting in accordance with the law: a crime was reported, a suspect named, they arrested the suspect based on the report.....and let him go when it was discovered he was innocent.....

I can guarantee you the salesman is history.....not only did he screw up the deal, but he screwed it up worse by filing a false police report.....

A similar thing happened to me with my current truck.....to keep this short I'm not going into how I chose this truck but after viewing it, the salesman emailed me the price, I confirmed via email (thereby sealing the deal). I was busy at the time so couldn't pick it up right away but after a week I went and got it.

After picking up the vehicle I got an email back from the salesman saying that they gave me one too many discounts.

So how it works is, since there are so many incentives etc, they punch in a vin number on their computer, and it applies all the discounts taxes fees etc. Well since I got a discount because I had two family members who worked at the dealership, I got a little more usually than the next guy.

After writing up the paperwork, and me picking up the truck, they found that a computer error had given me a little too much off.....I offerred to bring back the vehicle but they said, no worries because then it wouldn't and couldn't be sold as "new" since it had already been registered to me.

I'll tell you, I got $16,000.00 off the sticker price. They even threw in a tank of gas and a bedliner......

 

[ShowmeThemoney]

The manager fired yet?.

 

[Chucky]

The manager fired yet?.

Fire the accountant.

 

[SillyGirl]

I can understand the guy being angry about being arrested, but $2.2 million? for 4 hours in jail? That seems a bit excessive.

 

[peace]

Because the dealership told the police that he had stolen the vehicle....the dealership, or whoever called the police, should be charged with filing a false report.....the police would be exempt from a lawsuit because they were acting in accordance with the law: a crime was reported, a suspect named, they arrested the suspect based on the report.....and let him go when it was discovered he was innocent.....

I can guarantee you the salesman is history.....not only did he screw up the deal, but he screwed it up worse by filing a false police report.....

A similar thing happened to me with my current truck.....to keep this short I'm not going into how I chose this truck but after viewing it, the salesman emailed me the price, I confirmed via email (thereby sealing the deal). I was busy at the time so couldn't pick it up right away but after a week I went and got it.

After picking up the vehicle I got an email back from the salesman saying that they gave me one too many discounts.

So how it works is, since there are so many incentives etc, they punch in a vin number on their computer, and it applies all the discounts taxes fees etc. Well since I got a discount because I had two family members who worked at the dealership, I got a little more usually than the next guy.

After writing up the paperwork, and me picking up the truck, they found that a computer error had given me a little too much off.....I offerred to bring back the vehicle but they said, no worries because then it wouldn't and couldn't be sold as "new" since it had already been registered to me.

I'll tell you, I got $16,000.00 off the sticker price. They even threw in a tank of gas and a bedliner......

Good for you! Also it was nice of salesperson to let it go as well.

 

[Dan]

T, I'm bringing you to negotiate my next around if that's ok :biggrin2:

 

[tboy]

I can understand the guy being angry about being arrested, but $2.2 million? for 4 hours in jail? That seems a bit excessive.

remember: he's a lawyer lol......he'd probably charge that to a client for representing them in a case like this.....

one thing about filing suit against a company or anyone for that matter, it's a lot easier to negotiate down, than negotiate up.....I've never known anyone to offer more than you're asking during a settlement hearing.....he'll probably settle for $100K or something like that.

I can kind of see his point though. If he was arrested at home, and his neighbours saw, it would severely damage his reputation as a lawyer. Plus, he'll have to sue the police department to have the arrest itself removed from his record. It is my understanding that even if you're not charged with anything, an arrest is there for all to see.....I know a co-worker was arrested but not charged and it came up when we were crossing the border.....we had to go inside and explain to the border guards what happened before they'd let him in/cross....

 

[Guido]

That is why the Police should really investigate all possibilities before the charge anyone with anything.

Lawyers are very expensive and so is peoples time, not too mention stress levels. If the guy showed the Police a bill they should have left him in his home instead of taking him away.

 

[Jesus Quintana]

"The buyer, Danny Sawyer, was taken into custody in his front yard...." that's enough for starters.
Plus the victim is a Registered Nurse not a lawyer.

I'm surprised he hasn't claimed that it was a hate crime yet.

 

[tboy]

"The buyer, Danny Sawyer, was taken into custody in his front yard...." that's enough for starters.
Plus the victim is a Registered Nurse not a lawyer.

I'm surprised he hasn't claimed that it was a hate crime yet.

lol sawyer..lawyer that's what i get for speed reading lol