Man arrested after car dealership says he stole a car he had legally purchased

[rexmitchell]

I would absolutely lose my shit over something like this I hope he gets every penny he is asking for

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/02/c...wbauto00000002

A Virginia man spent four hours in jail after purchasing a Chevrolet Traverse from Priority Chevrolet in Chesapeake, VA. The dealer's sales staff accidentally sold the SUV to Danny Sawyer for $5,600 less than they should have, and when Sawyer refused to sign a new, more expensive contract for the correct amount, the dealership called the local police alleging the buyer had stolen the vehicle. Law enforcement then picked Sawyer up and held him for four hours before getting the situation straight.

Dennis Ellmer, president of Priority Chevrolet, says he owes Sawyer an apology on behalf of the dealership, and had intended to do right by the buyer by letting him have the vehicle at the agreed-upon price. But Sawyer's lawyer says it's a little too late for saying, 'sorry.' The briefly-incarcerated owner has filed two lawsuits against the dealer, accusing the business of malicious prosecution, slander, defamation and abuse of process. All told, the suits seek a total of $2.2 million in damages, plus attorney fees.

That $5,600 seems awfully cheap now.

The lawsuit says Sawyer originally purchased a blue Traverse on May 7, but took the SUV back the next day for a black one. The dealer's sales manager made the swap, allegedly without saying anything about a price differential between the two. Either way, Sawyer signed a final contract for around $34,000 when the vehicle he took home had an actual price of closer to $39,000. On June 15, Sawyer was taken into custody by police, but the Commonwealth dropped the charges after finding insufficient evidence to pursue the case.

[KMac]

That sucks, but how is it worth $2.2 million?

[rexmitchell]

Originally Posted by KMac

That sucks, but how is it worth $2.2 million?

Not sure he will get that but I don't know how you explain that shit

[Moonlighter]

Originally Posted by KMac

That sucks, but how is it worth $2.2 million?

Aim high...then settle for $600K

[rexmitchell]

Originally Posted by Moonlighter

Aim high...then settle for $600K

Or a million Now its on the news, his family is humiliated, he can't get a job, etc.

[KMac]

Originally Posted by rexmitchell

Not sure he will get that but I don't know how you explain that shit

You apologize.........sincerely.........then offer the guy an extended warranty and their top-of-the-line maintenance plan, along with free rental while his vehicle is in the shop, for the life of the vehicle as long as he owns it. Gonna cost the dealer no more than 10 grand, but it will cost more than that just to get lawyers involved.

[rexmitchell]

Originally Posted by KMac

You apologize.........sincerely.........then offer the guy an extended warranty and their top-of-the-line maintenance plan, along with free rental while his vehicle is in the shop, for the life of the vehicle as long as he owns it. Gonna cost the dealer no more than 10 grand, but it will cost more than that just to get lawyers involved.

A situation came up involving trespassing at a theme park south of Austin. They caught some kids after hours in the park, then agreed to release them to their parents and not file charges. One of the spoiled little bitches sued the park for false imprisonment/kidnapping for holding them in the security area and won. Different situation but I could see the argument going that way, maybe even against the police.

[Racer Dude]

Originally Posted by Moonlighter

Aim high...then settle for $600K

My thoughts exactly.

[racerboy88]

Originally Posted by Moonlighter

Aim high...then settle for $600K

Dealership USA little screwed now.

[Raven1Actual]

I've seen 2 similar incidents, but neither one involved jail.

My exgirlfriend's roommate bought an acura. They charged her for the base model (contract signed) and delivered a premium model. They asked her to take it back, and she did.

My mom bought her vehicle, agreed to a price, signed the contract. They called her back A WEEK later and asked her to return and sign a different contract with a HIGHER interest rate because they're financing department "messed up". I told her not to sign anything, that it was their mistake, too fkn bad. She went back, and after refusing to sign the new contract, the salesman said, "well, I guess I'm gonna lose a little bit of money on this sale..." Idiot.

I'd be one PO'd son of a gun if someone put me in jail for THEIR mistake. And I sue the sh!t out of them. In an instant. Not for the money, but to make them suffer.

[WarMachine]

Originally Posted by Moonlighter

Aim high...then settle for $600K

[Creeping Death]

Originally Posted by KMac

You apologize.........sincerely.........then offer the guy an extended warranty and their top-of-the-line maintenance plan, along with free rental while his vehicle is in the shop, for the life of the vehicle as long as he owns it. Gonna cost the dealer no more than 10 grand, but it will cost more than that just to get lawyers involved.

I'd like to see you settle for warranty and maintenance after being arrested for grand theft auto and held in jail for four hours.

I agree a couple mil is excessive but others have said... shoot high and settle.

[KMac]

Originally Posted by Creeping Death

I'd like to see you settle for warranty and maintenance after being arrested for grand theft auto and held in jail for four hours.

I agree a couple mil is excessive but others have said... shoot high and settle.

Didn't say I would, I only answered Rex's question of how they explain what they did. There's remedies for the victim in this case, but $2.2 million is not going to be one of them. And where did it say he was charged with anything? They just held him until they straightened it out. I think the guy is going in the right direction with what he's pursuing them with, but $2.2 million is going to get laughed at. This guy doesn't have any real damages, other than inconvenience.


Nevermind, I see where they say they "dropped the charges", but in the first part of the article they only said they held him. Awesome reporting.

[cataclyzm123]

They screwed up and expected the buyer to do the right thing. When he didn't, they got pissed off and called the police.

They tried to help him by allowing him to trade for a different color. I thought you were stuck with the car as soon as the tires hit the gutter!

[smalltrack]

Originally Posted by KMac

That sucks, but how is it worth $2.2 million?

Isn't that the point of the good 'ol USofA?
People have gotten TONS of money for dumb shit in the past so why should this guy not try?

[Meister37]

Honor your good deals and hold the bad deals up as a symbol of your honesty.

Evidently the art of the deal is lost on them.

[Racer Dude]

Malicious prosecution, slander, defamation and abuse of process.

The stealership pressed charges when they called the police


I agree, he'll get laughed out of court for asking for a ridiculous sum of money, although I do believe he has a solid case, just not a 2.2 million case. He'll be lucky to get $50-$100k.

[cataclyzm123]

Originally Posted by Racer Dude

The stealership pressed charges when they called the police


I agree, he'll get laughed out of court for asking for a ridiculous sum of money, although I do believe he has a solid case, just not a 2.2 million case. He'll be lucky to get $50-$100k.

If Stella can get $160,000 for dumping hot coffee on her own vagina, he should be able to get at least $500K.

[KMac]

Originally Posted by Meister37

Honor your good deals and hold the bad deals up as a symbol of your honesty.

Evidently the art of the deal is lost on them.

The dealership needs to ask themselves this question: If the customer mistakenly bargained to pay for $39,000 for a $34,000 car because he was confused over which model it was, then got home and realized his mistake, what would the dealer say if he came back with it and said "there's been a mistake, let's tear up the contract and re-sign another one for $34,000." they would laugh his ass out of there; not a fcvking chance they would undo it.

[Meister37]

Originally Posted by KMac

The dealership needs to ask themselves this question: If the customer mistakenly bargained to pay for $39,000 for a $34,000 car because he was confused over which model it was, then got home and realized his mistake, what would the dealer say if he came back with it and said "there's been a mistake, let's tear up the contract and re-sign another one for $34,000." they would laugh his ass out of there; not a fcvking chance they would undo it.

Without a doubt. The DA should press charges against the person for false informing.