Madeline Leonard’s nightmare with an area Mazda dealership, who charged her an eye-popping $25,000 more than a car was worth, appears to have drawn to a close.
The dealer promised Friday night to tear up the Orangeville woman’s contract, reimburse all payments and apologize to her. Earlier in the day he fired two senior employees for their conduct in the sale of the 2010 Mazda6 G6 sedan.
“I will do whatever it takes to make this woman happy,” said Sonny Bains, owner of Mazda of Orangeville, although he stopped short of offering Leonard a new car for her troubles. “I don’t want her to be short one penny out of her pocket.”
On Friday, the Star reported that Leonard arrived at the Mazda dealership last December to replace her tires. She drove away the unexpected owner of a car whose price had been massively overinflated.
“I’m very excited and almost totally relieved,” she said Friday night. “It has been very stressful.”
Leonard, 56, who is intellectually disabled, said she had never intended to buy a car or trade in her other Mazda, but the salesman talked fast, confusing her with numbers, and she signed a deal.
A few days later, after doing some homework, she complained to the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, which regulates new and used car dealers.
“I felt manipulated and cheated,” she said.
The regulator’s investigation revealed that Leonard actually paid a whopping $66,000 for the car, including taxes and the value of a trade-in vehicle. The car should have cost $41,000 or less. Bains promises to reimburse Leonard $8,000 the dealership paid for her trade-in once Leonard returns the car.
Investigator Carrey Smith said the dealership had actually sold Leonard a “demonstrator” model, which dealers use for test driving. As well, add-on items had been sold three times what they should cost.
The dealership had also saddled her with an eight-year loan and heavy financing costs. Leonard, who is unemployed and lives on a disability pension in a subsidized apartment, should have never qualified for the loan, Smith said.
Last week, the regulator charged the dealership, business manager Kien Trung and sales manager Mohammed “Moe” Shaikh with “engaging in unfair practice by making an unconscionable representation” contrary to the provincial Consumer Protection Act.
In an interview on Thursday, Trung said he didn’t do anything wrong and “made a little bit of money on the deal.”
Bains said he could not discuss the reasons for the abrupt dismissals of the salesmen because the case is before the courts. The defendants are to appear in court next week.
“In my opinion, everyone thinks we did something wrong,” Bains said. “Therefore, I’m going to fix the situation. I do apologize for what she went through and suffered.’’
If found guilty, the dealership could face a maximum penalty of $250,000. The salesmen could receive fines of $100,000 each and/or two years less a day in jail. The regulator could also revoke their registrations to sell vehicles.
The Better Business Bureau of Mid-Western and Central Ontario has issued a D+ rating for the dealership, on a scale of A to F, after receiving complaints
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