Dealer insisted on giving me a GT even though I purchased the Touring

you gotta pay attention and be on your toes while at a stealerships at all times...


(iagree)

I was especially vigilant for this purchase since I knew I wasn't taking delivery until a week or so after signing papers and leaving my down payment. No such thing as being too careful when it comes to dealing with dealerships, I suppose.
 
Yep, I checked my VIN as well to be sure. They had to bring it over from another lot somewhere so I was definitely going to double-check and make sure it was the right one. Especially after being at the stealership for several hours.
 
Yep, I checked my VIN as well to be sure. They had to bring it over from another lot somewhere so I was definitely going to double-check and make sure it was the right one. Especially after being at the stealership for several hours.

I actually spent MORE time at the dealership waiting for them to prep MY car after they realized the mix-up than I did to sign papers. I negotiated pricing via email and text before agreeing to sign anything hoping to save time (doh)
 
I actually spent MORE time at the dealership waiting for them to prep MY car after they realized the mix-up than I did to sign papers. I negotiated pricing via email and text before agreeing to sign anything hoping to save time (doh)

Ditto, and I was 400+ miles away from home...
 
First new car I've bought. Didn't check VIN.

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Lets change this scenario so that youre the victim instead of the dealer. Lets say that you order a Touring model (like you did), pay for it, sign all the paperwork, take possession of it, and then drive home a new CX-5. On the following day to your horror, you discover that its really a lower priced Sport model instead of a Touring model and for some reason you didnt notice it while at the dealership. What would you do? Youd be angry as a hornet and on the war path about it.

What Thaumaturge said. You did the right thing.

You asked How many people actually check the VINs on their cars when they take delivery of the vehicle, and how often does something like this happen?

It happened to me. When I took delivery of a new 300ZX, I forgot to check the car's VIN no. to the VIN no. on all paperwork while taking possession of the car. The next day I discovered a mistake. It was the correct car model and options but the titles VIN no. did not exactly match the VIN no. on the car. The dealer had made a typo with one of the characters in the VIN no. and I didnt notice it at the dealership. It was a hassle getting it corrected. A cars VIN no. consists of 17 characters. Pos. 1-11 of the VIN no. is coded vehicle identification information (the manufacturer, model year, model, country of origin, etc.). Pos. 12-17 of the VIN no. is a 6 digit serial no. Luckily for me, one of the characters in pos. 1-11 was wrong so it was a small hassle to straighten it out. I was told that if theres a mistake in pos. 12-17, then its a big hassle.

Check the VIN no. on the car to all paperwork containing the VIN no. Dont sign anything, dont pay anything, and dont accept anything unless the cars VIN number matches all paperwork VIN numbers. Bring a check list with you so you dont forget anything.

All dealerships make mistakes. Its how well a dealer handles mistakes that you should judge them by.
 
Let’s change this scenario so that you’re the victim instead of the dealer. Let’s say that you order a Touring model (like you did), pay for it, sign all the paperwork, take possession of it, and then drive home a new CX-5. On the following day to your horror, you discover that it’s really a lower priced Sport model instead of a Touring model and for some reason you didn’t notice it while at the dealership. What would you do? You’d be angry as a hornet and on the war path about it.

You're absolutely right. Had I been on the short-end of the hypothetical stick, I would have wanted to rectify the issue with the dealer ASAP. Even if I had unknowingly driven off with a GT, I would've been stressed as all hell knowing the car I'm driving isn't really mine and worrying about the potential hassle I would face having to sign new paperwork, registration, title, etc. Like someone mentioned in an earlier reply, probably not worth the hassle even if I ended up coming up on top because the dealer would hound me to death to get me to step foot in the dealership again.
 
I have a brother that would have enjoyed playing with that dealer while putting miles on the car they forced on him. Ed
 
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