I just want to start my review on a positive note. I walked into Mathison,in need of a car…read moreimmediately and with no credit established. I was very pleased with how fluid and simple the process was. I left almost 3 hours later having financed a "nused" vehicle. A couple of other "Buy Here, Pay Here" dealerships turned me down, stating that I was too new of a resident to Minnesota and they didn't want to take the risk given that I had no established credit history (for reference, I prefer to pay cash as much as possible).
To be fair, I knew exactly what I was getting with a credit repair dealership so I was not the slightest bit shocked by the interest rate or the payment terms. After all I only needed the car for the job offer that I had accepted which meant I would have no issue meeting the payment schedule.
In fact, I felt like I had some solace in the knowledge that I at least had 24 months of warranty coverage on the powertrain. Coupled with the free oil changes I easily able to loosely justify the deal, given the position of need that I found myself in.
Now we get into the crux of my 3 star rating. I purchased the vehicle "As Is" which is nothing uncommon. one month after my purchase, Covid emerged and I inevitably drove my car much less than anticipated. I say that to say, I put maybe a thousand miles on my car before having to replace a wheel bearing. Not being a warranty covered repair, I paid the cost. Again, clearly stated in my contract, so no disappointment there. Although I did inquire about possibly being considered since I so recently made my purchase.
Anyway, as time gores on, I'm making on time payments and still am content with my free oil changes, because that to me is seen as a simple customer service detail that make me smile. You know, like a record executive that signs an artist to a crappy deal but still buy them a brand new car to take their mind of the fact that they've signed away their royalty rights. lol A little over a year passes and I decide that I can afford to pay off my loan early. I know right, adult stuff here. Even though, with my final pay out, I still paid way more than the vehicle was worth, I knew what I singed on for when I drove it off the lot, so there's very little disappointment there.
Still, I was quite content with my experience, simply because I felt that even though I had bought my car outright at this point, I was still taken care of because I had a year's worth of oil changes left on my deal. IN my head I was thinking, "Yeah, I might have outrageously overpaid for for my car but hey, at least they still got me on the oil changes. Now, that's good customer service. You know, it's the little things that make me happy" It's like when you spend 300K on a Rolls Royce and they take the time to make sure you have two nice umbrellas as a complimentary "Thank You for Your Business."
I mean, it's not in the contract(and believe me, I looked) but it's that little touch of "We Appreciate Your Business" that fosters relationships. I used to have have a glass of bourbon or champagne for my own clients when they'd come to spend a couple of grand or more with me as their clothier. They knew that the drink didn't cost me much but it said to them that I was grateful for their business relationship. I also found that it was often one of the highlights mentioned in their word of mouth recommendations to others.
So, you can imagine my disappointment when I scheduled a oil change, after paying of my loan, and went in to find out that I was not listed in the system anymore. I drove over to the finance office and I was told that since I paid my debt, I no longer was privy to my last year of complimentary oil chances that I was getting during my finance period. That really bummed me out simply because I thought I was getting a little morsel of thanks, especially after I had just paid almost double the car's value into the Mathison profit margin.
With all of this said and done, I still want to thank Mathison for financing me at a time when I needed it most, thanks for making the process easy, and Thanks for an overall well running car. Moving forward I will not personally continue to recommend people that I cross paths with to the dealership, I plan to stop freely advertising for the dealership in traffic(with their logo on the trunk of my car, I've replaced it with a magnet of my hometown flag), and I will shop elsewhere for my next used vehicle purchase.
In summation, it's still a business that thrives and profits on a clienteldisaapointmente base that simply has little to no options when in need of purchasing a second hand vehicle. I just hope my experience offers thoughtful shoppers some insight to further guide a purchasing decision while shopping around.
My only disappointment at this juncture, is assuming they had my back, even though they were no longer financially in my pocket. Business is business. Customer appreciation costs extra.
