So I called Colonial Ford this a.m. The main sales guy was with a customer, left a message with him. His mgr. out today. So after not hearing back from sales guy, I asked for Wanda, who was the one who had me sign the purchase agreement.

Victory #1: I said etching was never discussed, i didn't sign it or agree to it. First she says it's mandatory, then I read her the law out loud (eg, that i don't have to pay it) and she fairly quickly said they could take that off.

I said, well why did you just tell me it's mandatory? She quoted me the law number and said she's show me when i came in. I have a different law number here in hand so it doesn't really matter; I still don't have to accept it.

So, just to be clear, CT law does REQUIRE a dealer to offer etching service but it's optional and the customer can decline the charge.

So if someone was not paying attention, when she said "it's mandatory," if you hadn't already investigated the law you might not realize that while it's mandatory they offer it, it's not mandatory that you accept..

Then I brought up the $820 add-on charge for the "comfort upgrade package" (this included heated seats, alarm, some moldings). I said that when i built the 2013 (same model) on Ford's website with the exact same options/add-ons, the heated seats, alarm and moldings are INCLUDED in the base price!

So why was i paying $820 extra, i asked her. She said that even though it said on the Ford website that those features are "included" as standard features on the Ford "build your own" website, that they will also be listed as separate line items. Maybe that is so. The price when i built it online, after including tax, incentives and trade in, came to $19,994 vs the $20K i had negotiated with the 2012 model. But shouldn't i be paying LESS for a 1-year-old car, even if it hasn't been driven?

Victory #2?? I told her i thought this was all deceptive sales practices (thought not illegal) and that I wanted my deposit back. She didn't dispute that but said ok. I asked her when she would do that transaction and she said i don't know, i have to find out from my sales mgr. I asked her to let me know. She said ok.

I am a little surprised they didn't say you won't get your deposit back. It says you lose it on the back of the purchase agreement. Maybe that news will be delivered by the sales mgr. or maybe they will back down more easily becus i mentioned calling Ford Motor Co. and DMV to "clarify" things.

What do I make of this? I think that they are just skirting the edges of what's legal here. While what they're doing is not illegal, it is deceptive.

They say things like "it's mandatory," that lead you to believe something that isn't really true. If I hadn't challenged it, I'd be paying $200 more for useless etching, and i think they count on at least a portion of customers to fall for that. I didn't even challenge the $399 conveyance fee. I don't have the energy. I just want out. Once I get my deposit back, and I'm still anxious that i will, i will STILL file a complaint with DMV (i already printed out the form) to complain about how this all went down. You practically need a degree to go head to head with these sharks.

And then, after learning SO much about car-buying, I will head over to the Honda dealership. Hondas maybe boring (I've had 3 in a row now) but they are very reliable.