[Edmonton]

Just wanted to share an awful dealer experience in the hopes of helping others.

Went to a dealer here in Edmonton with $35K to spend. Its not that I am made of money, but we had budgeted for a new vehicle so were prepared to buy and not kicking tires.

Went into the dealership with a printout from Jeep.ca of 'exactly' what we wanted. My only ask was for a final price 'all in' so we could make a purchase decision. Sounds pretty simple right?

I did not want a price including a trade in, I did not want to fart around with discounts, incentives, or other games, he can sort all that out. Just give me your best price and if it not what I want I walk.

The dealer started off by requesting all manner of personal information from me, which I later found out was so they could badger me by phone, email and regular mail. They then refused to give me their best price saying I would need to commit to purchasing first????

They kept saying the purchase price would be 'around that amount'. I told them I was willing to purchase but without a final price that we can think over it is hard for us to make a decision. They simply refused stating if they gave me that I would go elsewhere??? Well, guess what, I am the customer and allowed to shop around right? If you don't give me a final price you are pretty much guaranteed not t have a customer. The Manager came out, and some other guy and it was a circus.

We had the little ones with us and they were getting restless. They had a waiting area and some disgustingly dirty toys that even our son would not go near. Basically it was awful with 1/2 a rotten sandwich sitting on a table for 3 days. In the end I basically said, if you decide you can give me your best price and how much I would be paying for what I want contact me.

So, they called and called and texted and texted me. I just kept saying, listen, give me your best price which they refused to do. Seriously??

I then emailed another local dealer, what a difference. I was contacted right away by a representative, who then had a salesperson text me at my request. I was up front and said I was hot to buy but wanted a FINAL price with no fooling around. I frankly was not about to drive anywhere until I knew I was not going to be jerked around. I was pleased that he wanted to sell me a Jeep, and was not driven by his Management Team to the point of paying crazy games. He was very up front and shared their sales people make a good living and don't need to play games. He even shared they make a couple hundred regardless of the model he sells us and just wants to ensure he gets all our facts correct about the model and will give us his best price which he did.

AFTER I received his best price we dickered around a bit an negotiated a price that worked best for both of us which is what it is all about anyway. I checked online and confirmed it was an excellent price.

It was a factory order so he sent me regular updates. He was accommodating to my schedule and their place of business was clean, modern and neatly kept. They even had a nice area for the kids to play in while they sell mom/dad a car which works for them and for us. Let me put it this way, if your place of business is a dump, it is very likely the staff working their don't care enough to make it nice for their clients.

I wont share where we did buy as not sure that would be fair, but thought it important to share my experience.

 

[roarkrd]

I'm a little confused why you have no problem publicly bashing one dealer, but don't want to share the name of the dealer you did purchase from... that just doesn't make sense. Anyhow, I'm glad you were able to reach a deal with a good dealer.

 

[Edmonton]

I am not 'bashing' Great West Chrysler, simply stating facts of my experience with them which anyone should be allowed to do.

Regarding the other dealership, I do not want anyone thinking I am promoting one against the other. In other words I am hopeful there are several other good dealerships out there to out weigh the bad apples like Great West Chrysler.

I'm a little confused why you have no problem publicly bashing one dealer, but don't want to share the name of the dealer you did purchase from... that just doesn't make sense. Anyhow, I'm glad you were able to reach a deal with a good dealer.

 

[gravitywell]

I am not 'bashing' Great West Chrysler, simply stating facts of my experience with them which anyone should be allowed to do.

Regarding the other dealership, I do not want anyone thinking I am promoting one against the other. In other words I am hopeful there are several other good dealerships out there to out weigh the bad apples like Great West Chrysler.

I agree with the other member that replied. I'd prefer the good dealer be named, so if other members in your area are looking, or need assistance, they know where to go.

It's not uncommon on car forums to have a great experience and rave about them in a post. Word of mouth goes a long way.

 

[Gersh]

I am not 'bashing' Great West Chrysler, simply stating facts of my experience with them which anyone should be allowed to do.

Regarding the other dealership, I do not want anyone thinking I am promoting one against the other. In other words I am hopeful there are several other good dealerships out there to out weigh the bad apples like Great West Chrysler.

Why not promote a good dealer? Leave a bad Google review of the bad one and a good Google review of the good one.

 

[Edmonton]

Let me put it this way...

There are likely several 'good' dealers in the area (or at least I hope there are). Not sure it is fair to highlight one over the other. There appears to be much fewer 'brutal' dealers like Great West Chrysler so hence I have no issue giving my experience with them.

Some information is better than none, right?

 

[TedB]

Some dealers, and their sales employees, can be axxholes. We first ordered from a Jeep dealer in Abbotsford, BC, but went shopping when they could not get any info at all on when the car would be built. After checking out a Subaru Outlander we went to another Jeep dealer in late February. They advised that the price had increased and also stuck on a big charge for the black wheels, saying that was the cost for aluminum wheels. We ordered, like fools, and when they could not get any info on delivery, we cancelled again and got our deposit back.. Then we went to a dealer in Chilliwack and wound up with a couple of real high pressure salesmen. They sure turned us off on that outfit, so we decided to keep the '08 Outlander for another year. Finally, we got a call from Abbotsford saying they had not cancelled our initial order, the THawk was in a freight yard just below the border, did we still want it, at the January price, and it would be here asap. We got it about a week later, and are still in love with our January '14 purchase, built in late April! - Ted.
:grin:

 

[lowtech]

We went to Great West Chrysler to buy a vehicle on Saturday September 5 , 2015 , We settled on a base model Cherokee Sport 4 cylinder . We gave a $500.00 down payment and filled out papers . On Sunday we decided we wanted to go with a V6 So we drove back to Great West to ask how much it would cost to upgrade to a V6 , but they didn't seem to be open , so we decided to go to another dealer and see if they could tell us , and they offered us a car, the same car with a V6 for the same price the other dealer [ Great West ] . We went back to Great West to cancel the deal we had with them . At that time they offered an even better deal. We decided not to cancel and go with the bigger motor and a fully loaded Limited . On Tuesday we went to Great West to sign the paperwork for the fully loaded car , we had a few minutes so we went to look the car over to see what it was like , we wanted to sit in the car and take it for a test drive but they said they lost the keys , so all we could do was look through the windows , but the salesman Sean said he had an identical car in a different colour that he would use to demo the cars options for us . The car was perfect for us , so we signed papers , and bought our brand new car . The car that we picked up on September 10, 2015 is not the car we looked at on Tuesday before we signed the papers . Sean the salesman took us out to the car to walk us through the basics again for the car and thats when we noticed this car didn't have the upgraded 4x4 system . We tried to explain this but he insisted this was the exact same car . But it isn't . We have no proof that we know of to back up our complaint . We have all the paperwork including the bill of sale for the car , but thats all the paperwork that we have .

 

[Trev]

Your post is confusing, did you want to buy the one with the lost keys or the demo? The bill of sale would have had the serial number of the vehicle you were purchasing, did you not confirm it matched the vehicle you had originally selected?

If you feel the sale was misrepresented you should sort it out with the owner or general manager as soon as possible.

 

[onefunkar]

no dealer would lose all the keys for a new vehicle. it would cost them more than they would profit on the car.

 

[jamie1]

no dealer would lose all the keys for a new vehicle. it would cost them more than they would profit on the car.

Honestly, you have NO idea how many cars keys are lost. Truly mind boggling at my dealership. Computerized key machine that the salesman, tech, lot guy, detail dept and managers must use to check a key out and in and they still get lost.

 

[Arsenal_man]

Honestly, you have NO idea how many cars keys are lost. Truly mind boggling at my dealership. Computerized key machine that the salesman, tech, lot guy, detail dept and managers must use to check a key out and in and they still get lost.

Agreed. I watched the lot guys rotating half their stock ( one side of the lot ) while waiting for my TH to be finished being prepped in the bays. There were Wranglers in rows, bumper to bumper .... every key was in the door - the more I looked the more I could see that if a vehicle had a key, it was in the door. There must have been a hundred cars like this, maybe more.

First thing that came to mind was that they MUST lose a lot of keys when doing this ............

 

[onefunkar]

but cant imagine they would lose all keys to one vehicle. we always kept the two sets separate.

 

[Jeepster1]

I am confused on this entire thread.
I do not mean to offend anyone.
Sounds like normal car dealers up to their sales tactics on unprepared customers who are not sure what they want.
Those are the ones they love to deal with and the ones that have the most problems.
Lost keys sounds like they do not want to sell that one. They want you to buy something else.

Consumers need to do research before they step one foot into a dealer with any idea of purchasing

#1. Know your finance rates outside the dealer, like at your Bank/Credit union.
#2. Know if you want an extended warranty (service plan) because the dealer will sure push one to you.
You can price out those plans on line and most dealers will match the price. That is Chrysler plans and not 3rd party plans.
#3. Know the price (your cost) by using a service like True Car on what you are looking at with the model/options you want.
You can figure a % to apply to other configurations.
This will at least give you an average price to work with, expect. You can usually do better.
#4. If you are trading in then know the price of your trade high and low. Your trade in should be treated as a separate negotiation.

Knowing the above will make a lot of the problems disappear and your purchase cut and dry.
When you have those points nailed down then and only then are you ready to buy.
A dealer will try to squeeze every penny out of you because that's their job. As was mentioned (good and bad dealers) there are refined dealers and unrefined dealers.
Unrefined dealers are dealers of the old days. If you are older as me you can remember those guys. You know, your trade in car keys lost, will not release your drivers license (so you can not leave), and the best of all sign this blank purchase order so we can factory order your car for you. Dealers are much more refined these days, thus much more slick.

 

[lowtech]

I understand that this is my fault. I did not copy the vin on the car we were told we were getting, to check it against the papers we signed later that day..
Yes we are an older couple, but this is my first ever new car. We love this car, but we overpaid..
I am preparing a complaint with AMVIC and Chrysler, the only things i have are my word and what we paid. It's too much for the car we got.
My only reason for posting, is to try to help other people avoid the trap i fell into. Simply take a pick of the vin, and when you go in to sign make sure it's the same number on the bill of sale.

 

[Mark_]

I understand that this is my fault. I did not copy the vin on the car we were told we were getting, to check it against the papers we signed later that day..
Yes we are an older couple, but this is my first ever new car. We love this car, but we overpaid..
I am preparing a complaint with AMVIC and Chrysler, the only things i have are my word and what we paid. It's too much for the car we got.
My only reason for posting, is to try to help other people avoid the trap i fell into. Simply take a pick of the vin, and when you go in to sign make sure it's the same number on the bill of sale.

We don't know all the details to a very... complex situation. But from what you've said, that Sean sure was in full predator mode with you guys. Moving so quickly from a base 4 cyl. Sport to a loaded V6 Limited had him frothing at the mouth. The lost keys thing, well, innocent until proven guilty right ? Sounds real bogus to me... especially now that we know he unloaded a less equipped Jeep for the same money.

There seems to be a very bad aura over this particular dealership. Going to the owner/manager may just get you the top predator in their food chain, which is not good news for you... but heck, no harm in trying.

Just curious : what are you missing on the vehicule you have vs the one with no keys ? It is just the AD2 4 wheel drive system ?

 

[Trev]

I understand that this is my fault. I did not copy the vin on the car we were told we were getting, to check it against the papers we signed later that day..
Yes we are an older couple, but this is my first ever new car. We love this car, but we overpaid..
I am preparing a complaint with AMVIC and Chrysler, the only things i have are my word and what we paid. It's too much for the car we got.
My only reason for posting, is to try to help other people avoid the trap i fell into. Simply take a pick of the vin, and when you go in to sign make sure it's the same number on the bill of sale.

It's too bad Global retired their Troubleshooter segment, they would love to sink their teeth into a story like this. CBC has the Go Public feature, they did a story about another dealership in the summer. I'm not sure if CTV still runs Consumer Watch but worthwhile to do a quick search. Perhaps file a formal complaint with BBB as well.

I'm assuming GWest has no interest in making this right by either exchanging vehicles or refunding the $1250.00 value of the AD II.

 

[lowtech]

Just curious : what are you missing on the vehicule you have vs the one with no keys ? It is just the AD2 4 wheel drive system ?[/QUOTE]

Yes AD 2 is the only thing we don't have on this car that was on the one he showed us.
I wanted to cut ties with this dealership by cancelling the extra warranty, and lifetime oil change, that is only good at this dealership.

Below is part of our exchange. I have been trying to cancel since Sept 19/15.


From: Alexandra Southwood [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 11:54 AM
To: EDW Fab
Subject: Cancellations

Good afternoon,
The warranty and tire will be cancelled and the cheque will be sent to the bank financing your vehicle. We will retain copies of your emails as proof of you discarding the warranty to prove it was offered and the only paperwork necessary for you to sign will be the cheque for you to endorse before it is sent. As for the lifetime oil, it is already remitted internally to your vehicle and is non-refundable as is the pro-pack that has been applied. I hope you will continue to see the value in that product as you will be receiving free oil changes from 2.75 years onwards and therefore will have no trouble keeping up with what is required for the manufacturer’s warranty. Thank you again for your business and if you require anything else, please let me know. I will be away this weekend and will return to work Monday afternoon. We will call you when the cheque is ready to be sent so that you may come by. Thankyou.

-Alexandra
Finance Manager
Great West Chrysler
P- 780.483.5337


-------- Original message --------
From:
Date: 23-09-2015 1:22 PM (GMT-07:00)
To: Alexandra Southwood <[email protected]>
Cc:
Subject: RE: Cancellations


Thank you Alexandra,
I just have one question. Seeing that I have 30 days to cancel the other services, why not the lifetime oil ? I haven’t used it . I do understand the pro –pack has been applied and cannot be refunded.



Your account has already been updated and stored with the oil. Same time as the propack was put on. The other products are not ours and have their own policies for cancellation. Whatever has already been applied to your VIN or vehicle is non-transferable. All prices and products were disclosed to you on the contract and bill of sale. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them on Monday when I return to work. Have a great weekend!



Sent from my Samsung device

 

[homac]

I hate to say this but I have to agree. Great West is awful. The salesman and sales manager need to accept responsibility. Unfortunately no matter what you do, the dealership can always take advantage of you should they be unethical like Great West Chrysler.

Check with their Manager, if not luck then go to the media as suggested above. To be frank the salespeople know less than the customer in many cases, sad but true. They are usually younger folks trying to make a buck and get talked into doing less than ethical sales techniques by a less than ethical dealership.

 

[Normandy]

hate saying which are bad Jeep dealers, but my Father (in his 70's now, and does not visit forums) has had a crap new car experience from Gulsons in Canberra (http://www.gulson.com.au).

he bought a runout cherokee limited from them 4 weeks ago, got a very good deal, as it was a model built late 2014, so got it real cheap... full loaded , so happy with the car. (he was super impressed with my new TH)

when he bought it, he made specific mention of all the recalls for it, TSB updates etc, and since it was a year old a full service to be done (even though it had only done 100kms), and thanks to my knowledge obtained here, demanded latest uconnect and maps were installed, well nothing he mentioned was done, even though it was in the contract. so he went back to the dealer today, and while they finally did most of the things the uconnect and maps were still not updated, when he questioned them why, got some lame excuse that the servers from FCA were down.... while this doesn't sound like a huge deal , he lives 300kms from a Jeep dealer, so makes every trip back to a dealer a total pain. to add insult he found out that since it was year old, a year of warranty has expired, lucky they come to the party and extended it, so he has a 3 years of warranty. but honestly no trust in this dealer doing the right thing. It seems people in Canberra have to travel some where else for a good Jeep dealer.

Buying a new car should be a pleasurable experience, not a pain, it seems this dealer is one to avoid !