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“I recently bought a vehicle at this "5 star"...”

written by thelittleirishlad on 07/09/2006

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General Comments
I recently bought a vehicle at this "5 star" dealership. I searched the BBB and other rating sights to make sure they were a dealer that was reputable. I was extremely surprised, aggravated and disappointed in my experience with Garden City Chrysler Jeep Dodge.



Garden City had the vehicle I wanted advertised (on the Internet) at about $3,000-$4,000 below any of their competitors plus a full warranty.



When I arrived at the lot...all was fine...I was a little surprised when I saw the price on the vehicle's windshield was $3,000 higher than the Internet ad. I completed my test drive and confirmed the warranty information (90 Lemon Law, 3 year bumper to bumper factory, and 8 year/80,000 Power train+)



Once I brought out the Internet ad showing the vehicle $3000 lower...all I got was attitude and problems. First, they added almost $1000 in dealer fees...which were "non-negotiable". This aggravated me greatly...but the price (even with the fees) was still 2-3 thousand lower than other dealerships. Since the dealership insisted on their fees, I decided that I would NOT finance with them (heck, they made enough profit off of me!). I told them that I was getting a Capital One Auto Loan(which I applied for the previous day) and that I was just waiting for the check...this was fine. This was confirmed, again, with the dealership the next day...a Capital One Auto Loan was "a-o-k".



When the check arrived 3 days after signing the contract, I called the dealership to say I was coming with the check. At that point I was notified that the dealership does NOT accept Capital One Auto Loans. (Of course, they were willing to finance for me "at a competitive rate"!) (I checked with Capital One and Garden City has accepted their checks!! The dealership claims the check could "bounce"...even though there is a 1-800 number to call and confirm the validity of the check!)



I called the dealership manager several times (and left several messages)...but he was either "busy" or never returned my messages.



The dealership called the next day and said they WOULD accept my check but I would have to sign all the papers and drop off the check, then I would have to wait 5-10 days for the "check to clear" before I can have the vehicle. (Since the check is confirm-able through the 1-800 number..this is bull! Since I live two hours from the dealer via mass transit, this was a major inconvenience for me too)



Finally, after getting no results (from the dealership, the BBB and the Consumer Affairs Dept., Dodge Customer Service), I got a second car loan. I went to the dealership. I was the first person there to see the finance manager. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the finance manager took two people before seeing me...he made me wait almost 3 hours to sign my papers!!!!!!



The first thing the finance manager did was he charged me two additional fees! (even though the contract I signed said what the final cost was...he still charged me. "Inspection and temporary license fees") I paid the fees cause I wanted to leave! I was then told that my vehicle WAS NOT a pre-owned certified vehicle and had no warranty (I was also told that the NY Lemon Law warranty doesn't apply to me since I was from out of state...even I knew he was wrong on this!) I showed them their own website, which I had printed out...and he claimed that the pre-owned symbol etc. "was used for decoration" on the web site! (Of course, they were glad to sell me a warranty!) Thank god..I had my car fax which advertised it as a certified pre-owned vehicle. He even refused to give me anything in writing that I had warranties. He claimed I would get a packet in 45 days or so and that I had the car fax which showed it was under warranty! He said I didn't need anything cause the VIN number told all the dealers that I was under warranty (but at this point I was having major trust issues!!!)



I confirmed with the finance manager that I had everything I needed and he said yes. When I left and got home, I had a message that "I had "forgotten" the title"...I left over 1/2 dozen detailed messages to mail the title...I got no response for a week. Finally, I was told they would mail it...of course I still don't have.



Today, I was called by my bank...instead of having the bank as the lien holder on the title. The dealership put me on the title, so now when I get the title (if they ever send it) I have to get a NEW one!



Because of all the problems, I sent an e-mail to the Central Dodge customer service to confirm that the dealership registrar ed my vehicle properly (IE: with ALL the warranties)...something tells me....well..you know.



So because of the attitude, financing problems, poor customer service, excessive fees, extra fees, warranty issues and title problems...I would never recommend going to Garden City Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Hempstead NY.