sign and pay before delivery?

My i is expected to arrive "at the port" any day now. My dealer is pressuring me to sign all the sales paperwork and even give them a check in full (no loan) for the vehicle BEFORE it arrives at the dealership. They explain that if they don't have the completely signed sales packet from me when the car comes off the boat, then it will be sent to the next person on the list. I told them I'd bring a bank check on the day of delivery or even xfer funds. They said no way. I have to sign before it gets off the boat. They said they don't want the vehicle to arrive at the dealership and then have me "flake." That's the word they used.

This sounds like a big pile of BS to me. It also sounds like the dealer things these cars are lead balloons and won't sell off the lot.

I'm wondering if anyone else was made to sign or pay in full before the vehicle arrived at the dealer.

tia

Well, I certainly wouldn't pay or sign before I did a test drive of my exact car. When mine arrived in Honolulu I flew up from Hilo to take mine on a long test drive, and have my salesman give me a rundown on how everything worked, before I completed the sales agreement and paid for the car. My opinion anyway...

That dealer's actions sound highly suspicious. You should call Mitsubishi corporate and discuss it with them.

Thanks. I'm going to transfer my order to another dealer. Even if I can get corporate to get them to do the right thing, the deal is sour with them now. Unfortunately that takes me out of range. So I have to carefully plot my maiden voyage home.

Much has happened in the last two weeks. The bottom line lesson is CHOOSE YOUR DEALERSHIP. Don't let Mitsubishi choose it for you. Find out what they require from you and when in the process. Do your research checking places like google and yelp for reviews. If you have to go beyond 60 miles, do it and plan a nice day trip to get your car home using http://carstations.com and http://plugshare.com.

There is a point in the order process beyond which you can NOT change the dealer where your car will be delivered and the sale completed. I'm not sure exactly where that is. When you sign-in on i.mitsubishicars.com, if it allows you to change the dealer online, you are good. I suspect that once the dealer confirms your order with you, you are stuck with them.

Some dealers are making requirements that you may not like. In my case it was the requirement that I sign all papers and pay in full (or sign a loan agreement) before the car comes off the boat. I found out here and by calling other dealers that this is not a typical requirement. I told my "preferred" dealer this and asked them to forgo this requirement or I would switch dealers. Well, apparently they knew I couldn't switch dealers at this point so they cancelled my order. That's right. They cancelled my order against my written wishes, without notifying me, and without refunding my deposit! :evil:

In the meantime because I hadn't heard from them, I contacted the dealer I wanted to work with and had them trying to make the transfer. They got the Mitsubishi regional sales manager involved because the car had arrived at the dock, but they couldn't find it. Yup, it was immediately sold to another party since my order was cancelled. I ordered my car on Oct 23, 2011. I had been waiting 4 1/2 months and it is sold to someone else. After some help from the (very helpful) regional manager, I'm scheduled now to get a car in another 6 weeks. I almost turned around and bought a Nissan off the lot because I was so torqued, and I still might.

Hats off to AAA who will be putting this dealership on probation, which means one complaint in six months and they lose their AAA affiliation. And kudos to the Mitsubishi regional sales manager who proactively contacted me and did what he could to fix this mess. I made two calls to Mitsubishi corp customer service and they seem to think my order was never cancelled and they are still "researching."