Surjeet Bassi stands next to his Mercedes-Benz at his home in Middletown. Bassi has filed a $1.26 million lawsuit against Prestige Motors Inc. in Bergen County, N.J., over a June 3 incident at the dealership.
Surjeet Bassi stands next to his Mercedes-Benz at his home in Middletown. Bassi has filed a $1.26 million lawsuit against Prestige Motors Inc. in Bergen County, N.J., over a June 3 incident at the dealership.

NEW YORK, NY (Diya TV) — A New Jersey-based Mercedes Benz car dealership recently refused to sell a car to a man of Indian-origin, fearing the man, Surjeet Bassi, might export the vehicle to the Taliban.

Bassi, who has been a New Jersey resident for more than 30 years, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the dealership for $1.26 million, claiming Prestige Motors Inc. refused to sell him a Mercedes GLS550 SUV. The manager cited concerns Bassi might export the vehicle to the Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist organization, the lawsuit said.

Bassi, who owns Orange County Medi-Coach in New Jersey, said he visited the dealership with his business partner to trade in his Mercedes ML350 for a newer model. He said he chose Prestige Motors because it had a better price on the SUV, plus the black interior that he wanted.

After spending several hours at the dealership negotiating on price, a salesman Bassi said treated him with respect, he passed the credit check and placed a $1,000 downpayment. The deal was done, Bassi called his insurance company to add the new car to his policy, he said.

That’s when a manager called them into his office.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry I can’t sell you the car,'” Bassi said.

Bassi said the manager told him he came from a “high-risk area,” where people buy cars and export them to the Taliban regularly. Bassi told the manager he was in fact Indian and not connected to the area in question, he said, adding that he was even willing to sign a waiver, as he had done in years past, promising not to export the car for at least three years.

“I said, ‘Give me the paper, I’ll sign it,'” Bassi said. “I had a Mercedes already, if I wanted wanted to export it I would sell that one.”

The manager refused to do the deal, Bassi said. He said the implication that he would sell or be associated with terrorists hurt him.

“Heartbroken,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you how bad I felt that day.”

Bassi’s attorney, Michael Sussman, says the case is just one example in a systemic matter of discrimination against immigrants and those who look different.

“This is an instance of the madness we’ve come to,” Sussman said.

Sussman has brought the case on the grounds of “blatant racial discrimination” as well as refusing to extend credit under the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Prestige Motors’ website says it’s one of the premier and largest Mercedes dealerships in the country, serving the area for more than 45 years.