If I could give Diamond Chevrolet in Auburn zero stars, I would…read more
We went in to look at trucks, and our salesman, Tom, was polite and took good care of us personally. We ended up finding a 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel that we liked. Unfortunately, the overall dealership experience quickly became frustrating, disorganized, and extremely unprofessional.
Things first started feeling questionable during negotiations. We were given an extremely low offer for our trade-in because, according to the dealership, it had "too many scratches." The truck we were looking at had some if not the same issues, and then some. No budge on price. It got to the point where it was a "let's get out of here" situation. After a significant amount of back-and-forth, we were eventually able to reach a more reasonable agreement.
When we were preparing to drive the truck home, we discovered a dent in the passenger-side door, several areas of rust and stains in the interior. Instead of correcting it before delivery, we were told that we needed to wait 30 days and then use the six-month paintless dent repair coverage offered by the dealership, and to come back for a service detail.
We were later told that we needed to return immediately to sign additional paperwork for the registration. We came in during the middle of a workday, only to arrive and find a line, and a bunch of out of control children throwing legos and screaming. We then had to wait approximately another 30 minutes just to complete the paperwork.
While we were sitting in the office signing, another man entered and said, in front of us, "We need to get these people taken care of, or we are going to lose deals." It was one of the most awkward, uncomfortable, and unprofessional dealership experiences I have ever had. Customers should never be made to feel like they are simply a deal that needs to be rushed through before they walk away, after spending this much money on a vehicle.
We then dropped the truck back off the following Monday for service, registration, temporary plates, detailing, an inspection sticker, and an overall review of the vehicle. Because this is our only vehicle, we made three separate trips back and forth trying to coordinate everything.
The supposed holdup was a brake light bulb. By Tuesday, the dealership still did not have the bulb in stock. I was originally told the truck would be ready for pickup at 2:00 p.m., but it had not been detailed and still did not have an inspection sticker. We were then assured it would be ready by 3:30 p.m.
What makes this even more concerning is that the truck was sold as Certified Pre-Owned and had supposedly already gone through the dealership's service department. How was a nonfunctioning brake light not identified before the truck was sold? Why was the truck not already detailed and properly prepared for delivery? We were told "we only take the best of the best pre-owned." Between the dent, brake light, unfinished detailing, missing inspection sticker, repeated trips, long waits, and constantly changing timelines, it appears the vehicle was sold before the dealership had finished preparing it, or given it any sort of attention any vehicle should undergo before a sale.
Purchasing a vehicle should not involve this level of inconvenience, poor coordination, and lack of communication immediately after the sale. Tom was polite and helpful, but the dealership's overall process, professionalism, preparation, and follow-through were extremely disappointing.
I still don't have our truck. There's a lot more details I could add, but I figured receiving a 1-star review was good enough to get the point across.
Based on our experience, I would NOT recommend Diamond Chevrolet in Auburn. BRING YOUR BUSINESS SOMEWHERE ELSE, to a dealership who isn't sales hungry, and actually pays attention to customers needs after spending so much money for pure inconvenience. ** STAY AWAY **