Mitsubishi, Me-so-bitchy

After being in the market for a new car the past few months, and trying some of the following; Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class, Acura RSX, Infiniti G35 coupe, Mazda RX-8, and so on, we decided to stop over at Hyatt Mitsubishi in the Calgary auto mall and test the "brand new" 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Our usual tactic is to be quite frank, skip right to the chase, and try to test drive the car as soon as possible before even thinking of talking about how great some new do-fangled pulley system works. How can one possibly comment on the car unless experiencing it?

Today our conversation with cheesy car salesman went as follows:

Me: Hi, I'd like to test drive this car Dealer: Sorry, too busy today, maybe Monday Me: Uuh, what about all those cars out there? (Three for sale, lined up outside, two of which were standards). Dealer: No one here can take you out in one Me: Okay fine, if I come back on Monday could I test drive one? Dealer: Possibly, but it would be an automatic Me: I'm not interested in an automatic Dealer (going off on some tangent): Have you ever been a passenger in one of these? Me: What? No. I want to drive it. (Passenger?! Wtf). Dealer: Well there is a $2000 deposit required to test drive the standard version. Me: (Heading towards the door) This is absurd.

So, to say the least, I was rightly aggravated with cheesy salesman after our conversation, let alone confused out of my mind at their sales approach. I have been out driving far more expensive cars without any hint of attitude, and none of which asked for a deposit to test drive.

As far as I'm concerned, Mitsubishi has lost my business long before I was even able to properly assess their product. I even contemplated ending my interest in the product when I was trying to research it on their Canadian website, (which is a usability nightmare). Thank you for showing the 2004 model and pricing, that was extremely helpful.

There is no excuse for this level of customer service.