Possible Auto Dealership Fraud in TX?
I received a call from the car dealership where I had my oil changed offering me $25k-$30k for my vehicle which, if it were in good condition (it is not because of hail damage), would be worth $10k. It was the end of the month, and I thought they really had a buyer and were willing to take a loss on to meet a quota or some other numbers manipulation to make them look better in the eyes of corporate.
I showed up, and then, instead of offering me $15k+ as I'd expected them to since I had already mentioned the hail damage, they made me an offer of $5k on a trade in for a different vehicle. The entire story of "We have a buyer here who really only wants your model" doesn't pan out either since they had another vehicle of my same make and model from a newer year for less than what they were offering on the phone.
The entire reason for getting me to show up was to convince me to trade in my vehicle (which is paid off) for another vehicle and make a sale. They never offered to buy my vehicle at all which is the entire reason I considered it.
I have a recording of the salesman and his manager confirming what happened. Is this auto dealership fraud? Something similar to a bait and switch? Is it something else? Is it worth pursuing?
I'm in Texas about 2 hours away from any lawyers that even have auto dealership fraud in their specialties.
Posted Sep 2, 2025, 3:35 PM UTC