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I am totally baffled by the bombshell my salesman just told me via email, but I've not yet caught up with him to talk to him on the phone. He told me that the bike I was expecting to have already taken delivery on would be at the dealership on September 14.
Background: Back in early July I made a trade deal with Southern Honda for my scooter and left a deposit on a CTX700. At that time, they had no expected delivery date and no guarantee on price other than they would stand by the trade value they had given me no matter how long it took to get in the bike and that I would pay less than MSRP with no dealer fees.
I left my scooter there at the dealership so that they would not have to reevaluate its value and to try selling it in this larger city since I was having no luck in my rural home. I was the first person to leave a deposit on any CTX700 fairing model.
My salesperson was so busy that day that the sales manager actually did the paperwork for me that day. I told him that I preferred a red one but if the first shipment came in with only white ones then I would take a white one, because I did not want to wait a month or more longer for a red one. At this point, Southern Honda had received no CTX's; no naked models or anything, but they had some N models expected July 26.
I could tell that day that none of them understood the different models, colors, etc., but they had an understanding of the exact model number on their order sheet that I would be getting, which was CTX700E. They told me that the E meant that it is a 2014 model.
Also, around this time, the person that communicates with the public on their facebook page posted that interested persons should check that page daily and whenever new bikes come in it would be posted on that page. Subsequently, I had been checking the page daily for weeks and had seen no posts about new bikes. I then inquired about whether or not I was coming to the right place to check, since I had not seen a single post about new bikes arriving. The FB communicator kind of got rude with me and said that yes I was checking at the right place, and that they put them on there all the time, and that if I want one, I should put a deposit on one.
A few weeks later, I inquired with the salesperson, and he stated that some red ones were due in on August 8 and one would be ready for me a couple of days after that.
On or about July 30, the salesperson called me and told me that my bike was in and ready for pick up, but that the only one they had was black. I told him that didn't sound right, because Honda doesn't make the fairing model in black. He inquired as to which one I had ordered; a fairing or non fairing model and then stated that he was pretty sure that the black one was a fairing model and for me to check back with him @ 1PM. Of course, when I checked back he had rechecked and realized that it was a mistake, and that the bikes that had come in were the N models that had been due on July 26.
I had been checking the FB page daily for mentioning of any new models. There had been no mention of the CTX700N or anything else except for the CB500X. It was misinformation that they posted all new arrivals, because I knew in fact that the CTX700Ns had arrived but were not posted.
On August 8, late in the day, I inquired about the CTX700s that were expected with the salesperson. He said that they had not yet come in; that it might be tomorrow (Friday) or next week, but that he would definitely mark one for me and call me as soon as they arrived. He stated that at least one red one was supposed to be with the shipment, so I didn't worry about asking about a white one.
This week is the next week. I waited until August 14 and didn't hear anything from the salesperson. I then emailed my salesman on Wednesday about picking one up on Thursday or Saturday; just let me know.
Then came the bombshell. He told me that he would get some red ones on September 14. He apologized but said it was good that we now had a confirmation date from Honda. He did not mention the August 8 shipment at all. I replied to the email and asked him about what happened to the August shipment. Did they not ship any? Were they all white? Were the all DCT/ABS? I also told him that if he gets a white one before September 14 that I would take it. His reply, which follows, totally confuses me...The white is the one you want but the only difference is the color. Let me know if you want pictures or I can reserve this unit for you. Please let me know. Again the white one does have the fairings.
I'm going to reach him or someone on the phone today, but I don't know what that reply means. Does it mean they have a white one but failed to tell me that some had come in but no red ones? Does it mean that they expect a white one before September 14? Does it mean that they thought I wanted a white one? I'm not sure, but I hope they have a white one that they've not yet sold, because I'm tired of waiting. And still nothing on the FB page. If it fact it turns out that some white ones arrived and he decided not to tell me then I'm completely at odds, because, if he thought I wanted a red one but then mistakenly called me about a black one back on July 30, why would he risk me missing out on a delivery by not telling me about a white one. I'm kind of stuck with this dealer, because the only other dealer that would take my scooter in a trade wants $1K more to make the deal.
Background: Back in early July I made a trade deal with Southern Honda for my scooter and left a deposit on a CTX700. At that time, they had no expected delivery date and no guarantee on price other than they would stand by the trade value they had given me no matter how long it took to get in the bike and that I would pay less than MSRP with no dealer fees.
I left my scooter there at the dealership so that they would not have to reevaluate its value and to try selling it in this larger city since I was having no luck in my rural home. I was the first person to leave a deposit on any CTX700 fairing model.
My salesperson was so busy that day that the sales manager actually did the paperwork for me that day. I told him that I preferred a red one but if the first shipment came in with only white ones then I would take a white one, because I did not want to wait a month or more longer for a red one. At this point, Southern Honda had received no CTX's; no naked models or anything, but they had some N models expected July 26.
I could tell that day that none of them understood the different models, colors, etc., but they had an understanding of the exact model number on their order sheet that I would be getting, which was CTX700E. They told me that the E meant that it is a 2014 model.
Also, around this time, the person that communicates with the public on their facebook page posted that interested persons should check that page daily and whenever new bikes come in it would be posted on that page. Subsequently, I had been checking the page daily for weeks and had seen no posts about new bikes. I then inquired about whether or not I was coming to the right place to check, since I had not seen a single post about new bikes arriving. The FB communicator kind of got rude with me and said that yes I was checking at the right place, and that they put them on there all the time, and that if I want one, I should put a deposit on one.
A few weeks later, I inquired with the salesperson, and he stated that some red ones were due in on August 8 and one would be ready for me a couple of days after that.
On or about July 30, the salesperson called me and told me that my bike was in and ready for pick up, but that the only one they had was black. I told him that didn't sound right, because Honda doesn't make the fairing model in black. He inquired as to which one I had ordered; a fairing or non fairing model and then stated that he was pretty sure that the black one was a fairing model and for me to check back with him @ 1PM. Of course, when I checked back he had rechecked and realized that it was a mistake, and that the bikes that had come in were the N models that had been due on July 26.
I had been checking the FB page daily for mentioning of any new models. There had been no mention of the CTX700N or anything else except for the CB500X. It was misinformation that they posted all new arrivals, because I knew in fact that the CTX700Ns had arrived but were not posted.
On August 8, late in the day, I inquired about the CTX700s that were expected with the salesperson. He said that they had not yet come in; that it might be tomorrow (Friday) or next week, but that he would definitely mark one for me and call me as soon as they arrived. He stated that at least one red one was supposed to be with the shipment, so I didn't worry about asking about a white one.
This week is the next week. I waited until August 14 and didn't hear anything from the salesperson. I then emailed my salesman on Wednesday about picking one up on Thursday or Saturday; just let me know.
Then came the bombshell. He told me that he would get some red ones on September 14. He apologized but said it was good that we now had a confirmation date from Honda. He did not mention the August 8 shipment at all. I replied to the email and asked him about what happened to the August shipment. Did they not ship any? Were they all white? Were the all DCT/ABS? I also told him that if he gets a white one before September 14 that I would take it. His reply, which follows, totally confuses me...The white is the one you want but the only difference is the color. Let me know if you want pictures or I can reserve this unit for you. Please let me know. Again the white one does have the fairings.
I'm going to reach him or someone on the phone today, but I don't know what that reply means. Does it mean they have a white one but failed to tell me that some had come in but no red ones? Does it mean that they expect a white one before September 14? Does it mean that they thought I wanted a white one? I'm not sure, but I hope they have a white one that they've not yet sold, because I'm tired of waiting. And still nothing on the FB page. If it fact it turns out that some white ones arrived and he decided not to tell me then I'm completely at odds, because, if he thought I wanted a red one but then mistakenly called me about a black one back on July 30, why would he risk me missing out on a delivery by not telling me about a white one. I'm kind of stuck with this dealer, because the only other dealer that would take my scooter in a trade wants $1K more to make the deal.
