Don’t Forget: Some Car Salesmen Are Still Scumbags

A Virginia car dealership mistakenly gave a customer about 6 Grand off a new SUV. The customer rightly wouldn’t sign a new contract because they made the mistake, so the dealer called the cops and accused the customer of car theft. The customer got arrested before the prosecutor dropped all the charges. Now the customer is suing balls off the dealership to the tune of 2.2 million bucks.

From the Pilot here:

The president of Priority Chevrolet apologized Wednesday for the arrest of a customer in June whom the dealership mistakenly undercharged for an SUV and who resisted the company’s efforts to get him to sign a new, costlier contract.

Dennis Ellmer said he’s heard from Chesapeake police that one of his managers told an officer that Danny Sawyer of Chesapeake had stolen a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse.

He said his staff erred when they sold the SUV to Sawyer for about $5,600 too little and erred again when they went to police. He said Sawyer should not have been arrested and definitely should not have spent four hours in jail.

“It is my plan to let him keep the $5,600 and to make Mr. Sawyer right. I can’t tell you how I plan to fix it, but it is my intention to make it right,” said Ellmer, adding that he would like to sit down and talk with Sawyer.

Earlier this month, Sawyer, 40, a registered nurse, filed two lawsuits against the dealership accusing it of malicious prosecution, slander, defamation and abuse of process, among other things. The lawsuits seek $2.2 million in damages, plus attorney fees.

According to the lawsuits, Sawyer test-drove a blue Chevrolet Traverse on May 7 but ultimately decided to buy a black one. He traded in his 2008 Saturn Vue, signed a promissory note and left in his new SUV.

After signing the contract – which listed a sale price of about $34,000 – Sawyer immediately left the dealership and returned with a cashier’s check covering what he owed after dealer incentives and his trade-in.

A week later, Sawyer came back from a vacation to find numerous voicemails and a letter from the dealership, the suit said. In a phone conversation, Davenport explained they had made a mistake on the contract and sold the car for too little. He asked Sawyer to return to the dealership and sign a new contract.

The lawsuit claims Sawyer refused.

On June 15, three Chesapeake police officers arrested Sawyer in his front yard and took him before a magistrate judge. He was released on bond after about four hours at the Chesapeake jail, the suit said.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr said her office dropped all charges Aug. 23 after speaking with representatives of the dealership and determining there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case.

A contract is a contract. The man paid 34,000 dollars for a vehicle with cash! And the thanks he got was to be arrested? The dealership had no right to even attempt to get a new contract after they already signed the first one. I hope Sawyer gets every penny he is asking for.