This occurred over a year ago, but as I start my car search again, I am reminded at how terrible this dealer is! So figured I’d post my Google review from 2023 here as well.
Thursday, we drove from Pittsburgh to look at a used Jetta. We looked over the car, test drove, and agreed to purchase. The front of the car and the rims were in rough shape. However, the price was decent.
They will try to sell you protection plans. Don’t fall for it. Very pushy.
Leaving, I notice a light was on the dashboard. I showed the team. I was told the car was still under warranty and to take it to my local VW dealer. Not something you want to hear about a car you’ve owned for 5 minutes.
When home, I parked the car and clicked the key fob to lock. Nothing. I opened the door and manually locked the cars. Nothing. The car didn’t lock. I immediately took video proof and emailed our salesman.
The next morning I made an appointment at my local dealership. I take time out of work to drop the car off. The dealership found 2 open recalls and said all the issues were due to after market parts that were not programmed correctly. As politely as possible, this dealer warned me that selling a car with open recalls is a huge red flag. They also said any reputable VW dealership should have been aware of the other issues.
Streetsboro agreed to fix the issues. We just have to drive back to Ohio and return the car. I was assured all diagnostic fees from the other dealer would be covered. We will be given a loaner and our car will be delivered. I asked about the 3 day exchange policy. I was told that didn’t apply since we were out of state. We agreed to drive back to Ohio and return the car.
Saturday I called GM Chris. Chris assured there was no issues, the car will be fixed, and had excuses to why the recalls weren’t addressed. He said things like “I don’t understand why you are so against this car, it’s a great car once we fix the issues.” I reminded him of the four major issues we had. After several calls, Chris agreed to let us exchange the car. He originally said they don’t exchange out of state cars because of distance. We live closer to the dealer than many cities in Ohio. We wanted to come in Sunday due to work, but Chris wanted to directly work with us. We agreed to come Monday.
As we went to leave Monday the loaner car didn’t start. We called the dealer and Igor apologized. The first and only apology we received from management. Luckily, neighbors were home and were able to jump us. This loaner was another beat up Jetta that is listed for sale.
At Streetsboro we met with our original salesperson. We looked at a 2023 Jetta. They agreed to knock off the interior insurance but would not budge on the car price or offer anything else to fix our situation.
Finally Chris made an appearance. Remember when I said we had to come Monday because Chris wanted to work with us? He came over for 3 minutes to say he won’t budge on price. He again gaslighted us by saying the original car was a great car. I reminded him everything his dealership has put us through. A car that had four issues within minutes (light on dashboard, doors didn’t lock, 2 open recalls). The fact we drove that car with open recalls with our two year old makes me feel unsafe. The loaner didn’t start when it was time to return. Three trips back and forth to Streetsboro, Tolls, gas, babysitters Friday night snd Monday, taking off work to make multiple trips.
He claimed he didn’t know about the loaner car issue. He also claimed he didn’t know about the check that was to be overnighted to us to cover the cost of the diagnostic VW dealer in Pittsburgh. Therefore, lack of communication in house. He finally agreed to take the cost of the diagnostic off cost of the car.
I am appreciative they allowed us the exchange. This though was the minimum of rectifying the issue. There was nothing more to make up the disaster situation we were dealt. Chris never even attempted to apologize
