Is the dealer misleading me?

[ahmed@morgan.com (Shakil Ahmed)]

I have a feeling my dealer has been misleading me and I would appreciate any insights 
or suggested courses of action.  

I was looking for a '97 A4Q in Europa Blue with a specific set of options.  I could
not find a dealer who had the car until I called Audi in Princeton, NJ (this also
happens to be my local dealer).  The dealer claimed she had the exact car coming in
within three weeks.  I was quite happy, negotiated a price, and went in the next
day to put down a deposit.  After I had signed the deposit check, she told me that
she did not yet have the serial number for the car and that she expected it that same 
week -- she would call me with the serial number as soon as she had it.

A week went by.  No news.  I call her and she says she does not yet have the serial
number, that the car is still in Germany.  She claims it is in "G" status and is
waiting to be put on the ship.  As soon as it is released for the ship, she will have
the serial number for me.

Another week goes by.  I call again and get the same story.

Yet another week goes by -- we are now at more than three weeks.  I called her today
and hear a different story.  She now claims that the car is in "D" status, and has not
left the assembly line yet.  She also claims that the car will not be here before 
another month and denies that she ever mentioned "G" status to me or that she had said
the car would be here within three weeks of my ordering it.

It is beginning to seem to me that they actually ordered the car while pretending
that they already had it.  In retrospect, it was highly unusual that they should
have the "exact" car I wanted with all the precise options that I wanted when no
other dealer seemed to have it.  If this is true, then it is very disappointing
because I could have ordered the car through other dealers who were more honest
and would offer me a better deal.

It is a fact that the dealer has lied to me.  The question is how much they are lying.
Is there any way for me to find out?  Is there anything that can be done?  Have other
people been in similar situations?  Has anyone else done business with the Audi
dealer in Princeton (they are a relatively new dealer)?

-- Shakil

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Dr. Shakil Ahmed                          
Process Driven Trading, Morgan Stanley & Co.
ahmed@ms.com
http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/ahmed-shakil.html
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