Libertyville Lincoln Mercury

Libertyville Lincoln Mercury - and why to not do business with them.

I've decided to create a web site with all the information related to this experience with the Sales Department and Owner of Libertyville Lincoln Mercury. I'll add this at a later date obviously, but want to get started here with our horrible attempt to purchase a car from this dealership. Please do not do business with Libertyville Lincoln Mercury. They have unfair business practices and try to take as much of your money as they can whether they deserve it or not.

Here is our complaint dated 4 May 2007 to the Better Business Bureau
My wife Julie and I ordered a new car (Black 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD VIN# 4M2CU39H58KJ09107) through Libertyville Lincoln Mercury on 3 March 2007. When ordering this vehicle we specifically asked what would happen if we didn't buy the car for some unforeseen reason and they didn't answer the question, instead stating that I'm sure we won't have to worry about that. While we were provided a copy of the order worksheet that we signed, we were not provided a copy of the back of this document where allegedly it states that if we don't take deliver of the vehicle after having special ordered it that we will forfeit the money we put down as a down payment which was $1500, keeping in mind we asked this specific question and were told it was nothing to worry about. Along the course of the vehicle being built and delivered to the dealership, several things happened that made us not want to do business with this dealership anymore and we were pushed beyond our limits for dealing with this business when told we would have to come to pick up the vehicle earlier than expected. The car should have taken about six weeks from the order date to come in and we had a verbal agreement that they were honoring for the dealership to retain said vehicle on their lot for 30 days after arrival from the factory. We were informed on 13 April that the vehicle had arrived (in my mind one day early) and we would need to pick it up by 7 May. When I questioned why we were only being given three weeks to pick up the vehicle I was told by the sales representative that they didn't know the car was on their lot for seven days and that they were informing me as soon as they knew. We weren't prepared with sufficient financing by the date they required us to pick up the car (7 May 2007) and when I asked if we could pick it up on 15 May instead, I was told that no, I'd have to come in on 7 May. Then the sales representative said that they didn't work on the 7th and that I could therefore come in on 8 May to get the vehicle. I approached the sales representative yesterday (2 May 2007) and stated that I wasn't happy with how I'd been treated, didn't wish to take possession of the vehicle any longer and wanted my money back. I was then referred to the sales manager and was basically told that they keep a lawyer on retainer and that fighting me won't cost them anything, that I'm wasting my time and that they have no intention of returning my money to me. I said you have the ability to tear up the document I signed and he replied that he only works there and doesn't own the walls. I said there is an owner (Dan Marks) that owns the walls that is capable of doing that. His reply was that the owner wasn't willing to do that.

This was assigned case number: 94119981
Here is their initial response dated 14 May 2007:
Contact Name and Title: Dan Marks, president
Contact Phone: 847-367-1700
Contact Email: llmdan@aol.com
In response to Mr. and mrs Serres complaint, The serres did order a vehicle from Libertyville L-M on March 3 2007. This vehicle was a special order 2008 Mariner Hybrid. All Paperwork was signed including a Buyers Order, Vehicle confirmation sheet, and credit apps. They also gave a $1500 non-refundable deposit. When the vehicle arrived from the factory in April, the customer stated he did not want to pickup the vehicle until May because he had one remaining payment on his other vehicle. The dealership said no problem and scheduled a date of May 8th. The first week of May Mr serres came in and stated he did not want the vehicle and wanted his money back. Bill Baroud, the sales manager, asked him why he was backing out, the vehicle was exactly as ordered and the price did not change. Mr serres first said he wanted to pick the car up on May 14th, Mr Baroud said fine But then Mr serres told Bill Baroud he had bought another vehicle the other day and just wanted his money back. The dealership now has a vehicle we ordered special, that was not intended for inventory and that we are paying 9 1/2 % interest carrying costs. The deposit is non-refundable however according to the Illinois Attorney General and previous cases regarding this matter, the deposit can be used in the future as credit toward another vehicle purchase less the current carrying costs. The dealership did everything it could to keep this sale however we should not be penalized because the Serres decided to buy another car two months after ordering the 2008 Mariner Hybrid.

Our response posted 15 May 2007
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Let me start by stating that when we ordered this vehicle from the dealership, we specifically asked the sales rep if for some unforeseen reason we had to back out of this deal if we would get our money back and she said not to worry about it. Also please note that it states nowhere on any documentation we received at the time we ordered the vehicle that the deposit is not refundable. Why would I cancel an order if I believed I would not receive the down payment back considering I received no product from this business?

While the dealership may classify this vehicle as a special order, they will have absolutely no problem selling it as the only thing not on this vehicle is a sunroof. It has every other option available. In fact the reason the dealership didn't want to come down on the price of this vehicle is because it is in such high demand. The sales rep stated this many times and also said after the vehicle arrived at the dealership that many people were looking at it because they wanted one and this was the only one they had in stock. So the fact that this was a factory order should have absolutely nothing to do with this discussion. Why don't we wait and see when the vehicle sells as it was readded to their regular inventory this week.

The next item Mr. Marks mentions is that we set a date of May 8 for pickup. This is true, but only after great discussion with Mrs. Benkiel. Our original agreement was that they would retain this vehicle on their lot for 30 days after it arrived from the factory. Mrs. Benkiel called us on the 13th and said it had arrived. She then stated we would need to come in by the 7th to pick it up. When I questioned the timing, she said that it had actually arrived on the 7th and that she just learned it was there one week later. How does an employee not notice a customer's car on the lot for a week? Their lot isn't all that large to begin with. I asked her at that time if we couldn't come in and pick it up on the 15th especially since this would be about 30 days after she called to inform us of the vehicles arrival. She said no, that we would have to come in on the 7th - no wait the 8th would be better because she doesn't work on Mondays and the 7th was a Monday. When Mr. Marks mentions that Mr. Baroud agreed easily that I could pick up the vehicle on the 14th, this was only after I said I no longer wanted the vehicle and they were trying to do everything they could to prevent the sale from being terminated. I have no intention of ever purchasing a vehicle from this dealership. The level of customer service is basically non-existent. Everything we asked for was denied until we stated we no longer wanted the vehicle and wanted our down payment returned.

Final response from the business on 21 May 2007:
THE BASIC FACTS ARE THAT THE SERRES ORDERED A VEHICLE SPECIAL AND THEN TWO MONTHS LATER THEY BOUGHT ANOTHER VEHICLE WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE BUSINESS RAMIFICATIONS OF THERE DECISION. LIBERTYVILLE L-M SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED. THE DEALERSHIP NOW HAS A VEHICLE IN STOCK WE DID NOT ORDER AND ARE PAYING INTEREST TO HOLD THAT VEHICLE. WE GAVE THE SERRES ONE MONTH AFTER THE VEHICLE ARRIVED TO PICK IT UP SO I BELIEVE WE WERE TRYING TO BE CUSTOMER FRIENDLY. THE VEHICLE WAS EXACTLY AS THEY ORDERED IT AND THE PRICE WAS EXACTLY AS WHEN THEY ORDERED IT. WHEN YOU SIGN AND GIVE A DEPOSIT FOR AN ORDER, THE DEALER CANNOT RETURN A $30,000 VEHICLE TO THE FACTORY. THE DEPOSIT IS TO PREVENT CUSTOMERS FROM CHANGING THERE MIND TWO MONTHS AFTER ORDERING A VEHICLE.
I AM SORRY THAT THE SERRES ARE NOT HAPPY BUT WE WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THEM TO TAKE THE CAR AS AGREED AND NOT STICK US WITH A VEHICLE WE DID NOT ORDER. AS FAR AS THE DEALERSHIP IS CONCERNED THE DEPOSIT IS NOT GOING TO BE REFUNDED AND THIS CASE IS CLOSED

So as you can see this led nowhere except that the dealership now has an unresolved complaint on their Better Business Bureau record for the next 36 months. We also were smart enough to put this down payment on our credit card and are disputing the charge with Visa. After this we sent a personal letter to the owner Mr. Dan Marks via certified mail with return receipt whom never gave us the courtesy to write back or call us as a result of this.

Our next line of defense is the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Since we received the nasty response that closed the whole BBB complaint, I immediately mailed the complaint to Lisa Madigan. I'll put this letter up on the website once I get the site created, which will hopefully be this weekend. She is doing the same thing as the BBB website and basically moderating our exchange of why I feel I deserve my money back and why they want to keep it. I spent several hours last night authoring our rebuttal letter to mail in and I think it's a good one. Hopefully they will see the light and just give me my money back. This is ridiculous. I'm not giving up until that money is back in my hands. This is only the beginning as I've got many more avenues to pursue and many more resources to pour into this.

So this is where it stands as of now. I just checked the USPS website and here were the results:
Your item arrived at 1:49 PM on June 8, 2007 in CHICAGO, IL 60604. So Lisa Madigan's office has my letter. Hopefully the dealership will get it soon. I will obviously keep you apprised of any changes in this "case" and I may even be asking for your help if the owner continues to be uncooperative--this is one of the avenues I can pursue.

Sorry for the long post. Hopefully it wasn't too boring. Comment if you feel this isn't or even if you feel it is fair, just please comment! I'd like to know if you feel we're justified. Just from the people I've talked to, many of which have much more experience in this type of situation than I do - including the law profession, agree completely with me.