I had a GREAT experience at South Bay Pre-Owned. I'm an older guy, and I have bought a lot of cars,…read moreand I have never said that before. Ever!
I was looking for a very specific van on-line, and they had one. It's a popular van, there are lots of 2018's out there, so it was easy to compare prices and miles. The one they had was low miles and priced competitively. It looked just like the one I test drove in Burbank the day before. Exactly the same - same features, same racks, same color and everything - but - for less money. So I called to confirm the van was there and the price was what I saw on-line. They confirmed it was. I even asked for a total price including tax, dealer fees and all charges so I would know everything before I arrived, and I was given that information over the phone. I wanted to know that in case there was a discrepancy later. That made me more comfortable, so I made the long trip from Glendale down to Torrence by ride share.
When I got there I was greeted right away. I took the van for a test drive, and it was just as described. I liked it. I decided I was going to buy it.
We get back to the show room, and I sit down with Peter G. and I show him the pre-approval letter from my bank and who we need to call if there are any problems.
Now I am expecting the usual hard sell; for warranties, Gap Insurance, undercoating, over coating, inner coating, winter coating - the usual. But no, nothing. Instead we are having a nice chat about this and that while Peter fills out the paper work. He doesn't try to sell me a thing. He is just getting the paper work ready while my van is being prepped, and we are having a pleasant time. I was waiting for the other shoe, but it never dropped.
I read, I sign, I initial, I get the key and I am off. It all went very quickly. I was pleasantly surprised. This has never ever happened to me before. And when they emailed the paperwork to my bank, like they said they would, they Cc'd me so I'd have a copy.
The van is great, and my experience with Peter, Gumby and Jules was really great.
I can't speak to all the other reviews I saw here. I was hesitant to come all the way down to Torrance because of some of them, but I took a risk. I thought if the van is there, and it's as described, then it is just what I want, and I was prepared to deal with some BS. But there was NO BS, NO problems, and no hassles. Just the van I wanted and a great experience.
I'm probably going to drive this van for the next ten years or more, so I don't know when I'm going to buy another vehicle, but when I do, if I am still in LA, the first thing I'll do will be to call South Bay Pre-Owned. Thanks!