WH
Whitney Hedgepeth
6 days ago
I would give the dealership 3 stars and my salesperson (William "Bill" Peterson) 1 star. If I purchase in the future, I will be using Tut Geth (see end of review for kudos to him)!
My biggest issue was the lack of communication throughout the buying process. I came to the dealership with two college degrees completely qualified for the graduation program incentive, but my salesperson never explained their was an online process for that until after the hassle of a purchase was completed and two days of having my vehicle home. That created unnecessary confusion later considering the discount was already applied during my transaction.
Communication from my salesperson was frustrating from the beginning. When he explained something, it often came across as, "This is what it is because I said so," without actually explaining the reasoning or the process behind it. Whenever I asked follow-up questions for clarification, he would simply repeat the same statement instead of answering the question. I was left feeling like I was being talked down to, and his demeanor made me feel as though I was expected to just accept the answer without understanding it.
The financing process became extremely frustrating. There was an issue with my auto check "type" from my bank (NFCU), but instead of resolving everything before moving forward, I was instructed to cancel the insurance on my trade-in and activate insurance on the new truck before the deal was actually finalized to make the transaction smoother and faster. When the dealership wouldn't accept my trade-in check, I had to be driven by the sales team to my bank because I no longer had insurance on my trade-in and not technically finalized purchase on my new vehicle.
The situation became even more confusing when the dealership informed NFCU ( trade-in lender) that additional money was needed to pay off my existing loan. The payoff amount they requested did not match the amount provided directly by the finance company. When my NFCU representative questioned the difference, she spoke with the sales manager, who essentially responded that "it is what it is" and that was the amount they needed in order to complete the sale. That explanation was not satisfactory.
At that point (5:30 pm on a Friday; arrived at dealer at 10:30 am), I returned to the dealership prepared to cancel the purchase. I explained they were about to lose a sale over what I understood to be an $823 difference that conflicted with the payoff information from my lender. The manager then told me the difference was actually closer to $1,300 and blamed my bank for providing incorrect information and doing me a disservice.
In the end, I agreed to finance through the dealership, but only after clearly stating the terms I was willing to accept and giving them 10 minutes to either meet those terms or I would leave. To their credit, they returned within the time I gave them and agreed to my requested terms, which ultimately saved the sale.
Overall, the dealership eventually made the deal work, and I appreciate that they honored the financing terms I requested. However, the experience was far more stressful than it needed to be because of poor communication, inconsistent information, and a lack of transparency throughout the process. My salesperson's dismissive communication style made an already complicated transaction even more frustrating. The highlight of my experience during this day long transaction was actually with another salesman (Tut Geth) due to his positive, genuine, and overall caring attitude and demeanor. He wasn't even my salesman, but he interacted with me and my mom throughout the day and had us laughing and eased all of the anxiety of the transaction and communication issues! I will 100% purchase with him the next time around.
I hope the dealership improves how it communicates with customers so others have a smoother experience.