When 50-year-old Surjeet Bassi approached Prestige Motors Inc.in Bergen County, New Jersey, at the beginning of June, he meant to trade in his Mercedes-Benz ML350 for a newer model – a GLS550 with the black interior he desired.
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The lawsuit says Bassi, who has lived in the region for 30 years, told the manager he is an East Asian Indian and has nothing to do with the Taliban, which controls parts of Afghanistan.
According to Bassi, the manager told him that he came from a “high-risk area” where people often buy cars and send them to the Taliban. As mentioned in Times Herald-Record, Bassi had called his insurance company to make the necessary arrangements, when the manager called him and refused to sell the auto. But the manager still refused to sell him the vehicle.
NJ.com reported that Bassi told the news portal that he wanted to trade his Mercedes-Benz ML350 for a newer model. Bassi even offer to sign a three-year-waiver, promising not to export the vehicle for tat time period, something he’s done before.
Bassi’s suit says Prestige broke federal laws and engaged in “blatant racial discrimination”. The Times Herald-Record has performed the same search, and found nothing related to Mr. Bassi.
But Prestige refused, Bassi said.
Bassi was “heartbroken” at the treatment meted out to him and the fact that he could be associated with terrorist. At that point, the manager informed him that he couldn’t sell him the auto, Bassi reportedly said.
The Mercedes GL, like other large luxury SUVs, are very popular with wealthy customers in the Middle East and China. Due to the limited inventory and high tariffs, many high-end customers in those areas will pay two or three times the sticker price for a black market vehicle.
An American Mercedes dealership that denied an Indian-American the chance to purchase a posh Merc SUV, over fears that he would export the vehicle to the Taliban, have been dragged to court by the victim.
Still, this case is beyond the pale.
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Still, the manager refused to extend $83,000 in credit, for which Bassi “was qualified and had been approved by the defendant”, the suit states. While several of the sales staff were fired, no formal charges were brought against the dealership.
