Try a PORSCHE Much Better!

ITS NICE!

You shouldn’t accept that. (as my old boss used to say “The meek shall inherit the Earth – after every other b*****d’s finished with it”) …..

Do a few things :

1. Create a diary note with the date and time of who you spoke to at the dealer, and exactly what they said. Outline your specific question to them, about ‘updated versions’.

2. Clarify the confusion in your mind first – ie. ALL Swift Sport have ABS and EBD – even though the dealer has apparently told you Aus models would never have it ?? ESP is the only safety feature that was ‘added’ in what Queensland calls “Series 4″ for the SS. Series 3 had everything except the ESP (and they had slightly different bumpers and a different 2-piece folding mechanism for the rear seats).

The thing that is wrong is they have told you “there’s no new/updated version planned for ages”. Its worrying though that neither you or the salesman understood the difference between the features you’ve mentioned. Try to record exactly how the conversation went. Be careful not to slant it to the way you’d ‘like’ it to have sound (ie. completely one-sided) and just focus on facts.

3. Call Mayfairs Wholesale at Eagle Farm (they import Suzuki to QLD Dealers) and clarify with a representative (get a name and date/time of conversation) when they would have told dealers the ESP addition was being added (it was on all models BUILT after May 07 I believe). Make a diary note of the conversation. Tell them a dealer has told you on the above date there were no new models due, and you would like to clarify how they could be so confused – were the importers passing on the information to dealers ?

IN BOTH THE ABOVE DIARY NOTES WRITE *** ONLY *** FACTS – NOT A ROUGH RECOLLECTION – THIS COULD GET LOOKED AT BY LAWYERS/MAGISTRATE ETC. – so needs to be completely honest.

4. Write to the Dealer Principal of the firm you bought the Suzuki from and quote the above diary notes.

At the top of the body of the letter (after Dear Sir/Madam) write :

“WITHOUT PREJUDICE” then outline :
a) You were clearly told by the salesman that no new model was due in the near future (assuming that is correct?)
b) You based your decision to purchase on this advice and assessed the competitiveness of the pricing assuming you were buying a fully up to date and current model
c) You have clarified with Mayfairs Wholesale the date when Dealers were advised the model you purchased was no longer current and a new model with ESP would be available
d) Based on these facts you believe the dealership and their representative have acted unethically by failing to disclose relevant information

5. Offer the Dealer Principal the opportunity to rectify this unfair and unethical action on the part of their salesperson. Suggest the avenues you are prepared to accept :
a) Retrofitting the ESP safety feature to your vehicle
b) Replacing your vehicle with a current up to date model
c) Refunding $x to compensate you for reduced resale of your vehicle and compensation for the unethical treatment you received.

6. Request their response in writing within 7 days. Tell them in the absence of a satisfactory reply you will pass this correspondence and diary notes, contract of sale, and other relevant paperwork to the Queensland Department of Fair Trading to pursue your rights under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000.

See how you go. Its worth a try – buyers should no longer have to accept being treated like idiots by car salesmen. (BTW if you want to forearm yourself for the tricks that STILL go on – see http://www.carbroker.com.au/car-dealer-tricks-tactics-scams.php ) – useful as a reminder to any of us tyre-kickers.

I started looking for a Swift Sport around the same time as you, and the dealer I saw tried to sell me on the day with promises of a great deal and absolutely NO MENTION the ESP addition was on its way. I ALWAYS go away for at least 2 weeks and do plenty of internet research. As soon as I looked for Suzuki Swift Sport and scanned the usual motor vehicle sites and forums (always look for a community forum for the model you’re after – in this case http://www.redlinegti.com/forum) I straight away found info on the ESP addition.

In the end I bought with the ESP included for more than $3,000 less than he quoted me for the ‘run out’ model.

I agree its not safe to ‘trust’ any car dealer (Qld or otherwise) if you mean trust means they are as worried about your interests as you are – they are there to make money and there isn’t huge profits in car sales – so it is in their favour to sell to people who sign on the spot after lapping up the usual sales tactics.

However it is BUYER BEWARE. Do your own research. NEVER sign up on the spot. Shop around plenty or use a car broker. Visit the web-based forums and discuss the prices you’ve been given. Etc.

The difference in your case is it appears the salesman LIED to you – and that is a completely different situation to not being careful when buying.

Hope that helps.

i guess that dealer lied to u, to get rid of their old car, but hey ur version does have abd+traction control, it just doesnt have the ESP.

i know i did hours and hour of research on swift sport before buying it ^^

(btw i waited 7 weeks for my sport) *they had the same one at the dealer when i went, but it had no ESP, so i said i want the new one! and than yea..

it means that they didnt come with ESP and now the NEW MODELS WILL!!!! READ!!! USE UR BRAIN!!!