SH*TY! (-10)

I created the exact 2004 Crossfire I wanted on Chrysler.com then performed a search to find “David Ellis Chrysler” (CA) had the car. I called the dealer on Friday Aug. 27, 2004 (my birthday). I explained I wanted to buy the car or put down a deposit over the phone to hold the car since I was still at work and couldn't get to the dealer until Sat. morning. The salesman, Jeff Shapiro, said "I can't do it over the phone, its illegal". I said fine, I’ll be there first thing Sat. morning Aug 28th to pick up the car. I made an appointment for 9:00 am. I showed up at 9:00am & saw my ‘04 waiting for me.
I took a tour around the lot. I saw some ‘05 Crossfires but not in the color combination I fell in love with. I asked the Jeff if he would run a check to see if there were any ‘05's around & to run the numbers to see what my payments would be on the newer model. He seemed flustered & walked away. A long time passed. I walked into the showroom to be told that they (the General Manager – Eric Van Ace, included) just sold my ‘04 that I came to buy! I had a check in my hand ready to buy the ‘04. Apparently they thought I didn't want the ‘04 because I inquired about the ‘05. This was furthest from the truth. I was there to buy the ‘04 but just curious about the 05! Since I was the only person on the lot, I asked how they just sold my car from under me. They said "Well, there's a customer on the phone at another dealership that just bought it".
I called Foul! I was pissed off! I told them how I tried to buy the car over the phone the night before & I was told it was illegal. They had nothing to say about that and wouldn't budge!
I still had my check in my hand as I was standing in the manager’s doorway wanting to buy the car & they said “Sorry, just sold it!” We went back and forth. They offered to sell me the owner of the dealership's used Crossfire as a consolation and spent 15 minutes trying to find the keys. I was getting more appalled! This entire process of arguing back and forth and trips in & out of the manager’s office took about an hour. They wanted to sell me another car in another color combination because they said they “Wanted to make both sales”. I told them to give me the car and sale since I was the one standing in their office.
I was just getting ready to walk off the lot & they came back to me said I could have the car if I wanted it. I started yelling. "What are you talking about? Why did we have to go through this process?" Their answer was "We thought about it and we just wanted to do the right thing".

Grrrr! The bottom line is: it was the end of the month & they didn't want to lose the sale (since I was inquiring about a car they didn't have on their lot). I wanted to tell them to shove it! just for principle! I know there wasn't a customer at another dealer that wanted that car. I went against my gut and bought the car from them anyway. I didn't know if there were other cars out there with the colors & options I wanted so I didn’t want to take a chance. Plus, there were great rebates that month. Moral of the story: Don't buy from DAVID ELLIS CHRYSLER IN CANOGA PARK, CA. I wish I had a happy ending to this story but 48 hours after I drove the car off their lot.... it was in the shop (@ BURGE CHRYSLER in SANTA MONICA, CA) for 46 days & now I'm dealing with no return phone calls from a Chrysler rep and the CA lemon law.