It would seem that my experience with this quasi-criminal organisation is consistent with anyone else on here who has also had a one-star experience. I would also like to point out that I have worked in and out of the automotive industry most of my adult life, and am former dept manager (not sales) of a dealership myself. NEVER, in my life, have I seen such conduct out of a sales dept. And that really, really says something. They have gone through a lot of trouble to earn every word of this honest, and thorough review. I first came in to contact with Dave Smith motors on 05/21/18 after an adolescent salesman named Kobe cold-called me in Seattle trying to sell me a car. This was one of several such calls I received after a different dealership i had made a cursory inquiry with illegally sold my information to about a half dozen random others. I told him what the deal was with that, but I said I would hear him out on some other cars. As my now-deceased father bought no fewer than THREE trucks from this dealer in his life with satisfaction. So, I told Kobe what I wanted, what I had to trade in (all in great detail). He chose a car from inventory (a 2018 Jeep Compass) that fit the bill, but was in the upper echelon of my price range with all assurances it would be fine for financing. All of this was over the phone, where I had to hand-hold him through every bit of the process (I was very assured from the outset that I was either his first customer ever, or his last) as he seemed to have no clue what details were needed as part of this kind of doing business. I had to give him my car's VIN SEVEN times (and he still requested it to be sent by print later that day, not yet having it). When he said he was going to take the info off to finance, I had to text him and give him the rest of the information he would need to doon, as they were ''just about to begin'' on my paperwork process....the day before I was to go get the car. I immediately text Kobe, and tell him of this, and remind him that after the 30th, I lose the incentives. And in a week's time period, I will make a new payment on my existing car, and walk. He says he will get an update from them in the morning. Morning comes, and he says they will have all ready to go by the 2nd. Assuring me not one single parameter of the deal would change regardless (dis-believable as that was). So, I move heaven and earth again at work to make a trip on the 2nd doable. And remind him, that any more surprises will make his managers my new hobby once more. And also mention that the story has changed on a daily basis, and I am not happy one bit about that. He promises an update the next day. Next day comes and goes, no Kobe. I text him the following morning thanking him for the lack of an update. He then claimed that no such promise of an update was made. Which I pointed to in the text right above where he said just that the last time we had talked. I said I WILL be getting updated that day and the next, and that I no longer believe the 2nd to have any importance for them. Another day goes by, no update. I demand that a manager calls me. And he ceases communication mid-conversation. This is the 1st of June mind you. The day BEFORE I was to go get the car. I have to leave a message with his direct manager (Cameron) to call me ASAP. Hours later I get a call from him, and he says he has my file, financing is approved and all ready to go. I ask him to read its contents to me: Not one single detail of financing is what I asked for. And he replies with ''Oh? What did you ask for?'' That earned the only coarse exclamation of the day from me, for which I immediately apologized, as he was new to this matter, and it was not he who had jerked me around for two weeks to date. I told him that was of course unacceptable though, particularly after all of this work and time; ON the day I was to pick up the car to boot. He offered to refund my holding fee, which I assured I would be accepting. And then went on to mention that I will re-visit this car buying matter in some months, with a larger down payment around Labour day sale time. And that after this treatment of someone who came to his dealership because his father had bought SEVERAL cars there in the past, I would not be doing that business anywhere near it. He then got very cross, and hung up on me. I have had no indication nor confirmation of any sort of refund. Much less an apology. I will get whatever authorities I need involved to get my money back. And those that know me know one doesn't want to be in between me and anything I actually feel like doing...such as, when I actually felt like buying a car from the ''number one dealer''. Whom ever from Dave Smith reads this review, you are going to call me first thing in the morning, or you are going to regret it. I do NOT say things I do not mean. I need not waste any more words describing how and how often I was attemptedly screwed over in the course of this all. read more

Warning to anyone wanting to buy at Dave Smith Automotive. This place was a nightmare! We had a truck picked out that we were planning on buying. My husband worked with Owen a sales rep during the initial process over the phone. We are out of state buyers... Ten hours away. Anyhow, the sales rep found the truck we were specifically after and then informed us that they needed a 500.00 deposit. We didn't like that one bit and basically told them that if they wanted to make the sale we were not paying the deposit. Owen's words were "I'll check on this and see how bad the boss wants to make the deal" We did hear back and Owen informed us that the deposit was not needed. His words were " done deal". We also kept all of this correspondence via text just in case. Second complaint... We lined everything out with the deal and we're going to leave the following week. Owen told us that the truck would be there and ready. We called the day before we had made arrangements to leave and Own had no idea where the truck was. Couldn't find it... We stayed in limbo not knowing if we were going to leave (10 hour drive) or not. I wondered if this sales rep would have even called us to let us know the truck was not there yet... So glad we checked. Third complaint.... A couple weeks pass and still no truck. Communication was just plain awful and completely unprofessional. Finally heard back from Owen and got a confirmation on truck arriving. We asked for some pics and that seemed to be complicated as well. We did end up getting a pic after many go- arounds. Fourth issue... We drive all the way to Kelli gg, arriving around 10:00 am. The dealership knew we were coming that day to pick up. When we got there, it seemed very unprofessional, no real greeting or communication. Owen looked frazzled/ confused. We asked to see the truck and he couldn't seem to find it. We waited in the lobby with our three children,(two, six and thirteen) and proceeded to wait, and wait...We weren't expecting to be in and out but what we went through was rediculous. Owen kept saying "I'll be right back" and "shouldn't be too much longer". At 1:00 we still hadn't seen the truck and didn't know what was going on. We demanded to tak with owen's supervisor, "Zig". He looked just as frazzled and acted like he was too busy to talk with us. We quickly looked over some paperwork and discussed our trade/in. He assured us that we would be on the road in no time. All the while we are still waiting to see/ drive this truck. He basically sent us back to the Lobby. 4:00 rolls around, we're still in the lobby with our three kids and got no info. We asked to speak with Owen and Zig again... Still no truck or explanation for what's taking so long. 5:00 comes and we finally get to peek at the truck for a total of two mins. Next complaint..... 5:30 we start the paperwork process. We get almost complete and the finance manager says we need that down payment of 500 to finish off the deal. I inform him that we were told we did not need to hand over any cash... Even had the text as proof. We have a check ready to hand over for our agreed on cost. At this point the finance guy has to call Owen and Zig back in to discuss the 500. Zig's boss Pual now gets involved. Zig and Paul acted like we were more of a pain than a customer ready to hand over some big money. We all had a very heated discussion.... And at that point they gave us some options. Cancel deal, they offered to cover half of the 500 or take a major hit on our trade. None of this sounded good. This was not what was agreed on or what we were told by Owen. We continued to talk/which continued into a yelling match between us Paul and zig. Completely unbelievable... Much dishonesty and unprofessionalism. Needless to say Paul was so completely arrogant he called the deal off. So nine hours later we walked out. Do not buy here! Save yourself a headache.... The three men/boys we dealt with were [non-permissible content removed] and just didn't like us challenging them. It became more of an ego thing than making the sale... Disgusting behavior displayed and pure dishonesty, disorganization and lack of communication! read more

We finally gave Dave Smith a try after all of the negatives we had heard about their company. Dave Smith tried working with us as out of state buyers, until we received the car from the shipping company. Conditions of the sale from Dave Smith were as follows: Vehicle was freshly detailed, vehicle was fully serviced, they would replace summer tires with 10 ply tires and put summer tires in the back of the car for shipment, they would install a three-way battery, block, and oil pan heater, they would pay to ship car to Washington, and they would prepare the vehicle, (fuel level and other requirements), for shipment to Alaska. As we have purchased many vehicles, we said we would not purchase the vehicle if these conditions were not met. Before the sale, the salesman said they would ship and prepare for shipment, detail, service, do service work, but not replace the tires, so we said no sale. The next day, the salesman called back and said they would replace the tires and put the summer tires in the back of the vehicle. So, all of the conditions were met, we agreed to the sale. When we received the car after 3 months, the truck delivery service instantly showed us the report of the damages on the vehicle prior to shipment. Our salesman told us the car was "freshly detailed" and mentioned nothing of the chips, cracks, and dents in the vehicle. However, I did not expect the car to be perfect. But, this could have been mentioned prior to the sale. The salesman also promised us the good, used tires as a condition of the sale of the vehicle, and said they were in the back of the vehicle. There were no tires in the back of the vehicle. We emailed our wonderful salesperson. During email correspondence, he said "Accessories lost your tires, not me", and "you can call Triangle transport for any damages they did". Most importantly, there was very little oil in the car upon arrival. A condition of the sale was the vehicle was freshly serviced. In an email, we were told by the salesman, "As far as I know the oil and filters are changed on all our used rig so yours should have been changed as well". This should be on a sticker or documented. But, he was unable to tell us for sure. Thankfully, I checked and added oil before driving anywhere. During more email correspondences, our salesman replied, (all spelling errors have been left as he wrote them), "I thought the Tahoe was one of the cleanest pre owned Tahoe's I have ever seen. It was a good deal and we gave you a substantial discount and payed for shipping so if you want to send us a check back for all the discounts, shipping and the crevice bill to drop the fuel tank and siphon the gas then I think we are even. Generally people are tickled pink with the vehicles and experience when here. It sounds like you folks are new car buyers that just dint want to spend the $." If the car had arrived as promised, we were on our way to purchase another new company and/or personal vehicle from their dealership. This salesman clearly does not understand how many sales he has just lost for Dave Smith. Not only from our family and business, but everyone we speak to. This salesman was completely rude, did not follow through on his conditions of the sale, and needs some further training in customer service. Even if a customer is wrong, his rudeness and arrogance is completely uncalled for. We would highly advise going elsewhere to purchase new or used vehicles. read more

My steel guy & his wife gave me some great feedback on their experience last Saturday out at Dave Smith..(& they don't do yelp......so..here's what they said): "We were very apprehensive to go to another state to purchase a truck, especially with Dave Smith Autos with the mixed/low reviews we saw..aside from the bit than normal wait time to sign our finance papers...(it was a Saturday..so busy). we are very happy. From the shuttle pick up at the airport, to driving away in our new truck..we were beyond amazed & pleased. We were called & texted at all times before & after the purchase making sure we were happy & ok..at all times. Shuttle Driver-Kind & courteous & knowledgeable. Boston-our sales guy-Kind, attentive & honest & straightforward, caring & beyond helpful. Axel-our stand in sales guy-an exceptionally wonderful guy-positive, caring, helpful, goes above & beyond, even put a big red bow on the truck for us. Jon-in finance-kind & thoughtful. Austin in financing-Amazing--we really cannot say enough about him..he is a true GEM. Some of the low reviews are definitely from lack of knowledge & not doing your homework or a just from a general lack of common sense. Every buyer can look at the car-fax. & Every buyer should take the vin # of the truck/car they are looking at & have their insurance company do a pre-quote on it-if you have a good insurance co. they can tell you right away the vehicle history, claim record etc. on any vin#. Every buyer can put the vin # into nada.com for the value. Every buyer should check out all aspects of what they are thinking of buying, including the finance side so you have no surprises. Every buyer reads the $500 deposit statement before they sign it & the terms on it. Every buyer can confirm & get a response via email & text with Dave Smith auto that all is 100% good to go before they make the trip out. Every buyer can get the personal cell phone of the salesman they are dealing with. Every buyer can confirm 100% with their sales guy if the truck/car is available & will be 100% ready. Every buyer can negotiate & even on the "bits" if something is wrong once your there. Every buyer can ask for a more experienced sales or finance person if the one you have isn't up to par. Look around at your local dealer- Especially in Utah at the price per odometer reading & year. Not one single Utah dealer could touch what Dave Smith offered. Not one-we researched for 4 months. Look around at your local dealer-hear the crickets in the lot? No-one is there-places are empty...Dave Smith's was packed & we had a California firefighter & a couple from Hawaii in our shuttle with us. We are VERY picky & detailed oriented, difficult customers, no matter what we are buying. They came through for us hands down. We are actually still in awe how well it went & how well it all worked out. Axel even texted us on Sunday to make sure we got home ok & all was still good....tell me where you are ever going to get that kind of customer care anywhere? Very rare!.. Thanks again to all out there. " read more

Honestly. This was my favorite place to do business. Until recently. They bent over backwards to help me. I had some tricky situations and they were able to help out.. with what seemed seemlessly. Today I received a call from Wells Fargo. A company that I held a loan through for a vehicle that I traded in with Dave Smith Motors 3/2016. It is now 12 months later and I have been informed that my vehicle I traded in was NOT paid off properly during the trade to the tune of over $9,000 and got sent into a Charge-Off instead of Paid off status of some kind (yes the vehicle was behind payments, but I had a settlement 10-day pay off) . I also received a 1099 in the mail for the same amount from Wells Fargo. I would like to believe that the error falls under Wells Fargo end because they are a shady company to begin with and I fully trusted Dave Smith for business. However, after a very lengthy phone call with Wells Fargo. I do not believe it was on their end. At this point I am at a total loss. I get that people make mistakes, I make them everyone does. But a mistake in this amount.. whether it was paid or reported properly/incorrect etc is detrimental to me or anyone for that matter. Not only does my credit suffer, but not everyone has 9k laying around to fix these kind of errors....I have also called and left a message at the dealership in hopes that we can all resolve this issue in a timely fashion. This is only the tip of the iceberg... again I did business in August 2016. I bought a 2012 Terrain with less the 90k miles on it, oil changed regularly.. that needed not only ONE but TWO new engines by 12/2016. Thank their lucky stars warranty covered that. Unacceptable. It's now Feb 2017 and I was just able to pull the car out of the shop I took it to on 2/15/2017. I also had post dated some checks to come out 2 weeks later for the down payment... the money was not taken out of my account until Oct... 3 Months Later 3 Days in a row.. Granite I had the $3313 dollars in my account to cover these. You would think that the payments would have came through before my FIRST payment I had in Sept 2016 for this vehicle. I will be seeking legal advice on all the above counts if I feel it is necessary. read more

Let me start by saying I'm completely shocked and amazed by this dealership. We are from Spokane WA and went online to truck shop. Found Dave Smith and submitted a form on what we are looking for. The next day got a call from a man named Phillip. Was super polite and helpful. Helped me over the phone find vehicles and look at them online. We found one we liked, but we were hesitant to buy a vehicle online and so far away. Phillip eased our minds explaining we can have it looked at by a mechanic of our choosing. Fast forward, we make the 2 hour trip to Dave Smith, see the car, buy the car without having it looked at. My fault completely, not Dave Smiths. It was a used truck and with buying used vehicles have issues. We get it home have a mechanic run thru it and they find almost $1700 in things wrong. I wasn't to happy. I emailed the manager of the section of the store we bought the car from and explained my dissatisfaction with this truck and the issues. Now I no its buyer beware and sold as is but I was mad. Within minutes Brian H called me and told me that he apologies for this and by no means is this the practice of there company to let a car leave there lot with issues. He told me to find a mechanic, have all the issues fixed and bill them. No cost to me what so ever. So within 2 days of buying the vehicle getting it home finding the problems, they were all fixed and cover by Dave Smith. It didn't take weeks, there was no phone tag, no games, no hassel, no questions asked. This has got to be the best car buying and sales experience I have had with any car lot. Normally it's sorry as is. Can't help you. Blah blah. Not with Dave Smith in Kellogg. I recommend anyone to give them a shot. Talk with Phillip Howard and Brian Hall for a good experience. This is a true and accurate experience. No gimmicks. Thanks guys. David and Samantha from Spokane Wa..... read more

The best dealership experience ever. I searched online and got contacted by Trevor Thomas. From the beginning there was knowledge, understanding of my needs and never any try to steer me into buying something else. He was ultra patient when I explained to him that I had many things going on for me at this same moment in my life and was very upset with some of the dealership I had already dealt with. After one month searching for the right price for my truck, the decision was made to drive all the way to ID. When you get there, they acknowledge you and don't make you wait around. Trevor was even more outstanding in person. We went straight to business. They even got me a better rate then what my credit union of 12 years offered. There are some sales pitches, but no one pushes it too hard and if you decline them, politely, then that's it. They were speedy and friendly all the way. Everyone working there seemed very knowledgeable and satisfied in being there. When we got to talk to the finance person, another surprise. Austin Garrett is the easiest finance person I ever had to talk to. Knows what he is doing, understands and explains everything you ask, and I asked a lot. Dave Smith was the best all around. Shame on the rip offs that we have here in Portland, Washington and anywhere close. They pull your teeth out to give you a truck. They are the ones that give car dealers the bad reputation they have. Dave Smith is on the other end of the spectrum. They earn your business and your respect. You feel confident that you can refer them to friends and family. This was my third new vehicle purchase and the most pleasant one. I will drive any friend of mine, who's looking to buy a truck, all the way to little Kellogg, ID. They will be thankful I did so. read more

Our family has bought 4 vehicles from Dave Smith Motors. We loved each deal,and the people that served us. My wife hates buying cars,but she loves going to this dealership. We travel 725 miles from So. Or. for outstanding deals in the past. I am now looking to buy my dream car--a new Challenger SRT8 Core. OK guys sharpen your pencils,so I can bragg on the deal I got on this one too. If you make this happen this will be the 5th vehicle we've purchased from Dave Smith Motors. By the way I've refered people from my business to yours to buy new cars. They too have traveled 725 miles for a great deal. Lithia down here in my area cannot touch you guys. It's the most fun We've ever had buying a new car. My wife looks forward to the trip. I look forward to the car. I need a real good deal on this (retirement) car that I want to buy in this terrible economy. I hope this goes back the other way through the chain of command,so the powers that be up there see this. Will be calling you again very soon. I've been waitting for this Challenger since they came out. Hope we can strike a very good deal. We could go right here close to us,and buy,but too many games have been played in the past. If I never end up with my car,I wouldn't buy it here. For all of us on this end of the country that buy from you--we get a good deal,and you sell a vehicle. We drive off,and you never see that vehicle again,unless we bring it back to trade on another. It's a win,win. Thanks, John N read more

I decided to get a new Ram 2500 diesel Crew, do to the fact that my Chevy Silverado 2500HD could not handle my new camp trailer so went to a few dealerships here in Bend/Portland area, and was not really happy on how I was treaded and prices, so I called up Dave Smith and got Devin Van Allen. He was great from the get go I was just calling to see about prices and options and Devin was not pushy at all and went over everything with me (I ask a lot of questions and I have to know everything before I make up my mind) I told him I needed to think about things and he still was not pushy at all I did follow up with Devin the next day with a list of options I wanted and Devin was able to get me the truck I was looking for and with every option I wanted and even was able to get it a color I wanted. I was able to work with Devin all week and he took care of the whole deal over the phone NO BS NO TRICKS!! They told me right up front what I was going to get for my two trades... I will never go anywhere else to get my next truck and was the BEST truck buying experience EVER!!!!!!! They even bought us dinner, no dealership has ever just offered to do this I have always had to ask. It was well worth the 1k mile round trip to get my truck. NO dealership here in Bend could even come close to what Dave Smith and Devin did for me. Devin you ROCKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dave Smith you have a customer for life now.... read more

I had an issue with a new car I purchased from DSM. It involved the wrong paint color being ordered (just for the record there are 2 blacks for GM vehicles....Onyx and Carbon). Anyway the salesperson ordered a carbon black and I had wanted a onyx black. The salesperson originally thought there was only one black option. I picked up my vehicle on a Saturday and the following Tuesday I found out that there was a onyx black available for 2011 GM vehicles. I was bummed out, because the carbon black was not as nice as the onyx. I asked for DSM to consider letting me return this vehicle for the proper color, because I had documented in emails my original request for an onyx black vehicle. I had already put about 600 miles on the new vehicle. I received a call from the GM as well as Ken Smith (DSM owner). They apologized for the issue and said they would order me the proper color vehicle from the factory to exchange for the vehicle I currently had. The part that really blew me away was that Ken told me to just keep the new car I was driving until my new car arrived from the factory, so I would not be inconvenienced at all. Their apology and generosity have made me a life long DSM customers. I have always known you could not beat their pricing, but now I know you cant beat their customer service either. They have created a raving fan! Michael H. read more

As an equine rescue based in southern Utah, our ongoing duties prohibited us from making the journey to north Idaho to inspect the 2009 Ram Cummins we wished to purchase from Dave Smith Motors. As a condition of purchase, we were assured through phone and internet conversations that an intricate inspection would be conducted by their "crack" inspection team, and corrections would be made to anything found prior to shipment/delivery of the vehicle. Sadly, we proceeded with the purchase, and within 24 hrs of receipt of the vehicle we discovered multiple mechanical discrepancies. It was clear that either no inspection took place, or the dealership felt no compulsion to correct any of the easily discoverable issues, which included significant oil leaks among the myriad of irregularities. As a result, we were forced to have the vehicle inspected by our mechanic, forced to correct the multiple discrepancies ourselves, and forced to pay 50% of the approximately $5,000 in repairs for our troubles. The actions, or more correctly inactions, of Dave Smith Motors suggests to me that their loyalty is to $$$, buyer be damned. Fact is, the truck is at the shop as of this writing for a whole new set of electrical issues. Purchase at your own risk!!! read more

Willie Clowser at Dave Smith Motors is my hero! My husband wanted a very specific used vehicle and, he was willing to wait until he found precisely what he wanted. We'd been looking all over the Pacific Northwest and, actually had the same model, year and mileage vehicles sold out from under us twice before we found Willie. Willie listened to my husband, asked clarifying questions and then began his search. Within a few weeks, Willie called to tell us he'd found "the one" for us. And, boy was he ever right! We found Willie to be knowledgeable, forthright, and honest. Our mechanic says this vehicle has been well cared for, and best of all, he literally found nothing - not one thing wrong! We'll definitely call on Willie for our next vehicle purchase! The only downside? Four hours to get us through the process - and we paid cash! In addition, the person who processed the actual sale, tried to up-sell us for a $3000+ warranty. That was a bit frustrating. In this regard, perhaps Dave Smith Motors is a bit regimented. On the other hand, with the number of vehicles they sell each day, they probably need to be! If you are in the market for a quality vehicle, give Willie Clowser at Dave Smith a call. read more

My husband and I have purchased both our vehicles from DSM. I had my 18 month old son in the vehicle with me and I was pregnant with my daughter when my headgasket blew in my Chrysler 300. I had my vehicle towed to service where they established a blown headgasket and many other significant issues that were found. Long story short, I decided to take the loss and look for something immediately. Bob Cameron and Stephanie Latina were ON IT. They sent me different options for an SUV and within 3 days I was signed and down the road in my brand new car. I was AMAZED at how quick and efficient everything went. Signing for it was short as well. I still adore my car. I have it serviced at DSM everytime I need it done, and they even send me detailed quotes on tires with specifics when I'm due for them. My husband bought his 2017 Ram in December of 2016 and it is everything he ever wanted. Long story short, we wont stop buying from DSM. Their sales teams are amazing and they really will go over every option you can think of before you sign on something. Everytime you walk in the door at the dealership, there is a friendly face greeting you. Our experiences were a great and I highly recommend it. read more

If you're looking for a new Ram, Roman is your guy. He was the first salesman we have ever had who had a personality while doing business. He told jokes while on the test drive. Roman made it very clear that he wanted to respect our time while we were at the dealership. He offered coffee from their espresso machine in the lobby. When he had to get paperwork signed, this man RAN AROUND! He made it happen! If he is eligible for a raise or a bonus he truly deserves it. His attention to detail was great. The online pricing he was very up front about any additional amount for registration. This man can even pair a flip phone to a vehicle via Bluetooth! The finance guy really knew his stuff. He sat there an answered all questions. The general manager and Romans boss stopped by and chatted for a while about places to eat near Kellog. They were both above and beyond kind. We are highly impressed and would like to come back the next time we need to upgrade! PLEASE ASK FOR ROMAN ON YOUR NEXT VISIT! He will even miss his baseball game to stay late and make things right when buying a Ram. Roman deserves more than a 5 star yelp review. He makes everyone feel like family. read more

Shout out to a top notch salesman, Anton Ferraro! I was in the market to purchase my first brand new vehicle and had no clue what I actually wanted. Anton spent time asking questions to identify what I was looking for and needing in a vehicle and he patiently worked with me as I test drove many different vehicles. I found one I loved but never thought I would ever be able to afford, a Cadillac SRX! Anton worked with me until we could make this a reality! The time and effort that Anton demonstrated was like none other I had experienced with dealerships in the past, I was treated like a person, not just a sale! After completing paper work with finance Anton was waiting for me with my new vehicle and set up my Bluetooth and accessories... which probably would have taken me hours to figure out. Since, my husband and I have purchased additional vehicles from Anton and have had more great experiences. We told Anton my husband needed a commuter car for work and let him know what we were looking for. Anton searched to find our car and called to have us come check it out and it was exactly what we were looking for! Thanks Anton for your stellar customer service!! read more