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An adventurous lesson in car shopping & tale about this 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis:
Looking back, I probably should’ve seen it coming, but that maroon-tan color combo!

It all started a week or so ago, when I saw THIS Autotrader listing [see EDIT NOTE at end of article]. Looks great, doesn’t it? Then, I looked at the ad on Schaumburg (IL) Honda Automobiles website HERE. Slightly higher price (tho, at the time of this writing, the prices on THESE 2 ads are the same….) A day or 2 later, I was sifting through Craigslist ads & came across THIS CL entry & then THIS CL entry. Hmm. Same car, lower price. Er, but wait: what’s that around the driver’s side rear wheel well? RUST! Ugh. But, I wasn’t sure if it was rusted through or not. Hindsight 20/20, of course, I see it is….

Anyway, despite my misgivings about dealing with a dealership, I decided to contact them this past Monday morning. It is, after all, 1 of my favorite color combos … & I wouldn’t have to “carry cash” to buy it. My Email via AutoTrader elicited the standard “yes, this car is still available”, yadda yadda yadda, reply. Late that afternoon, I sent several on-point, direct questions, including:
“I noticed rust in some of the pics, namely around the chrome strip along the rear wheel wells. How bad is that rust? Is it through or just surface?”

A few hours later, a reply:
“With regards to the rust it is above those chrome moldings and is surface rust. The rear rocker molding on the passenger rear before the rear passenger tire has rust too. The car does run and drive great and doesn’t have any major leaks or mechanical problems with it.”

At this point, we exchanged a few more Emails, namely about the price. I did NOT let him know I had seen the CL ad, but he quoted me a lower price, closer to that ad. He also mentioned he was under the car when the mechanics were looking at it, so he “knew” the car “very well”. Uh huh.

Against my better judgement & self-imposed “to work & back only” drives in the current daily driver 1979 Caprice Classic, I spoke with my cousin & OC,SHer BEN M about going to take a look at the car. We did so Tuesday evening, 08/02/2016. I left Elgin ~5:35p &, after meeting Ben, got to the Schaumburg dealership ~6:40p. We walked around a bit, trying to find the salesperson with whom I’d exchanged Emails, then spent another few minutes waiting for him to find the keys. In fairness, I hadn’t alerted him we were coming.

Ben & I decided to go check out the car while he retrieved the keys. Within 5 seconds of seeing the car, I could tell the rust was THROUGH! Yep, a pinhole in that wheel well area, but still, CLEARLY THROUGH! & that wasn’t the worst part! A closer inspection revealed part of the rocker panel on the passenger side was simply GONE, due to rust. Opening the back passenger side door, it was immediately obvious.

I. Was. Livid. & still am a bit.

I didn’t wait around for an explanation, nor a “test drive”. The dealer was clearly trying to entice me to still consider it, but I wasn’t having any of it. I was in such an angry state I forgot about dinner & drove back to Elgin non-stop, arriving just after 7:30p.

An hour or so later, I was still so mad I sent a message to the dealer via their website, thinking management would see it. Wrong. The salesperson replied:
“I just saw your email that you sent I’m sorry that you felt you were mislead. I said the vehicle had rust in the spots I mentioned to you. It is a older car and cars do rust unfortunately from this area. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you. I wouldn’t want to waste your time our my own.”

That sparked further frustration, & I wrote this, perhaps not my best, but, it is what it is:

“Allow me to refresh your memory.

I asked this specific question about the rust:
“” I noticed rust in some of the pics, namely around the chrome strip along the rear wheel wells. How bad is that rust? Is it through or just surface? “”

YOUR answer, taken from your Email to me, 08/01/2016 (Monday) at 7:41pm:
“”With regards to the rust it is above those chrome moldings and is surface rust.””

You SPECIFICALLY told me it is SURFACE RUST. 5 seconds of looking at the vehicle & I could tell that was NOT the case.

I am livid for wasting 2 hours of my time, not to mention gas driving between Elgin & Schaumburg.”

5 minutes later, he responded:
“I understand your frustration. It’s a very old car and they do rust and I was very clear in what I told you. You even saw in the photos the car had rust and I mentioned to you about the rocker panel that you didn’t know about. I’m sorry that this wasn’t the car for you.”

My anger reached a level I don’t think I’ve really hit in a while, & I replied, in part:
“I know old cars rust; I’ve had plenty of them. That is why I asked SPECIFICALLY if the rust was THROUGH or SURFACE. YOU TOLD ME it was SURFACE rust. THAT is why I am very angry. As for the rocker panel, you only mentioned it was rusted, you did NOT mention it is GONE: “The rear rocker molding on the passenger rear before the rear passenger tire has rust too.” ”

A few days later, & I’m still slightly furious, partly because I know I can’t do anything about it, nor can the dealership do anything to “fix” the situation. I don’t want the salesperson fired; that would be extreme, especially since I’ve had similar experiences with PRIVATE owners…. But, maybe, if dealers see this, they’ll think twice about how they communicate with & treat potential buyers-customers. I can hope, right!?

EDIT NOTE, 08/07/2016: All but 1 of the ads have been removed.  I am told the car (with ~90,000 miles) was auctioned-junkyarded, a shame because it could have been repaired & given someone years of additional, reliable service.  Sound familiar? Cash-For-Clunkers!

ADDENDUM, 08/11/2016: After the salesperson indicated the car would be wholesaled-junkyarded, THIS new CL ad published.

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