Kingston Toyota

I am looking for a used car and test drove several at Toyota Kingston recently (June 2012). I emailed the salesperson and made an offer on one car. He responded that he would be happy to present my offer Toyota Kingston recently (June 2012). I emailed the salesperson and made an offer on one car. He responded that he would be happy to present my offer to the manager, and said as soon as a credit card number was provided the process could get started. I replied that I was unwilling to provide any deposit on the vehicle until the price was settled. He explained that if I were at the dealership he would ask me to sign an offer and provide a credit card number, which would then be presented to the manager, and assured me that no money would be deducted from the credit card until a mutual agreement had been reached. He then said that if I wanted to put a deposit on the vehicle to hold it until I went to the dealership and the offer could be presented in person, the deposit would be refunded if the offer was not accepted by management. I checked with two coworkers who bought used vehicles at other dealers, and asked if they were required to provide a credit card number (or deposit) before the price had been decided. Both of them said no, and thought it was a little odd that I was asked to do so. I then emailed the salesperson again and said I was unable to understand the rationale for providing a credit card number or deposit when I was making an offer but it had not yet been accepted. I also mentioned that I intended to check with the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council as to whether this is considered standard practice. That last message was sent at 12:52 pm. At 1:12 pm I got this response: “Our rationale for requiring a deposit on a vehicle PRIOR to making an offer on a vehicle is simply that we do not want to "tie up" a vehicle in inventory if there is not at least SOME commitment on the part of the customer to purchase it. Having said this, I have shared the details of your proposal with my manager and he has declined the offer.   We appreciate your interest in our vehicles and wish you all the best in your vehicle search.” Obviously at that point they wanted as little to do with me as I wanted to do with them! My issue is not with the salesperson, but rather with what seems to be a management policy that I do not understand, and frankly, that seems a little shady. First, I don't expect, when I make an offer, for the dealer to stop showing the car before a price is decided and a deposit is paid. Second, even if, from their perspective, this does “tie up” their inventory, it took them less than 20 minutes to make a decision, which isn't really tying up anything for very long. I intend to contact Toyota Canada to ask whether requiring the customer to provide a credit card number or deposit when an offer is made but before it has been accepted is Toyota corporate practice, or whether this is something unique to this dealership. I had another, more minor issue: when I asked about fees other than the actual cost of the car, I was told the registration was $389. I questioned why their website listed the registration as $289. In response, I was told the fee had gone up the previous month (in May), but he would “present” it to the manager as advertised. I don't know what the outcome would have been regarding this, but this exchange took place on June 25. I do not understand why the website is updated on such an infrequent basis. I thought Toyota had a great reputation for customer service, but I was not impressed. More