My experience working with D'arcy was a bit of a roller coaster, but ultimately it worked out nicely and I felt like they worked hard to satisfy me. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to someone. If you're interested in a GMC or Buick, it's worth the drive.
After my beloved Crown Vic finally bit the dust after a loving 9-year relationship, I was in the market for a new used vehicle. As if buying a new car weren't enough of a strain, I am also thisclose to having our second child and wanted to make sure we had a vehicle before he arrived. Car shopping pregnant is bad enough, car shopping with a newborn and a 4-year-old? *shudder*
I looked broadly around the Evanston area for a car in our price range that offered enough space for a family of 4 with low mileage. Shopped around a bit, and after enough research and browsing I settled on a particular model that sounded like a good fit. After honing in on this, I was able to find a certified pre-owned Buick in the model I wanted at D'arcy that was lower priced than any other dealer within 50 miles. I made an appointment to come out and look at it. Since my car is not running right now, this meant that I had to take public transportation from Evanston to Joliet, about a 2-hour adventure by train. This really wasn't the worst, but was at minimum time-consuming. I expected to be driving a car back so was okay with the hassle.
When I arrived at the dealership, I asked to speak with the salesperson I had chatted with over the phone to make my appointment. She wasn't in, and apparently neither was the car I came to see. I was shocked. They had apparently sold it the day before and no on let me know. This was aggravating, to say the least. Another salesperson, Jesus, offered to see if they had anything else available for me. I'm already there and it would be another hour before I can get on a train, so I figure I might as well see what they have.
Jesus looked through everything they had, gave me several options, but nothing was really hitting that sweet spot that I came in expecting. I was in no mood to be flexible or really very forgiving. Over the course of this process, he came to learn that I had come down by train and had really gone out of my way to come see this car. At this point he went at talked to Oscar (the GM?) and came back and said they had found a car just like the one I had come to see. Basically, they found a car that fit the specs of the car I had come to look at almost exactly from the manufacturer and offered to buy it and sell it to me for the price of the other one. They also said they would certify it for me, detail it, etc. They gave me a brand new fully-fueled car in the model I was interested in to drive home and keep until mine was ready, free of charge. This was, by the way, probably the only time in my life I will drive a brand new vehicle off the lot, this was a fun/nerve wracking experience all on its own. lol
They were as good as their word. They had the replacement vehicle in by the next business day, detailed, inspected, and certified it so that I got just as good as a deal as I had come in expecting initially. Throughout the process they apologized about the mistake of not letting me know about the previous car being purchased, but I think what matters is that when I came to pick up the car Jesus told me that they put the word out across the dealership that they needed to double check the morning of an appointment whether the car was still in stock. I thought this showed good follow-through beyond just apologizing and making it up to me personally by trying to make sure this kind of thing didn't happen for other customers in the future.
So while this wasn't maybe the fairy tale version of car buying, I got the car I wanted at a fair price without ever feeling like they were trying to rip me off or scam me. Jesus and Oscar both went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied and taken care of every step of the way, and made up for the initial mistake to my satisfaction. I'm really happy with the new car, and so is everyone else in the family. My 4-year-old said this car is better "because it is cool." Thanks for turning it around, D'arcy Buick! read more