I purchased my first car on my own from this company. It's a 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, obviously I didn't expect it to be without flaws. However, the condition the truck is in is a major bummer and I feel like I've been taken full advantage of. Before I agreed to buy it, I had a local garage take a look at it, since I was unable to drive 6.5 hours to Nashville. Appointment was set for a Wednesday at noon, the driver missed the appointment because of an accident on his route. It happens, so I reschedule with the shop for the next day at noon. Confirm it with the dealership and we're good. When I called after I found out about all the issues the truck has when it arrived, I asked for Todd because I had been working with him throughout the whole process. In the very beginning, he was cordial, charming, accommodating, friendly, funny. As time went on, he became less and less personable. So when I called about the issues, he could not have cared less. He basically said, "it's your problem now". He said that his mechanics looked at the truck and found nothing wrong and that the shop that I chose had it for 3 hours and they okayed it too. He suggested I speak to the shop, which I did. The shop manager told me that the driver, Mark or Mike was late AGAIN and they only squeezed him in because the mechanic, Wayne, knew him. They weren't able to drive it, only did a 30 minute inspection on the lot. It was too late to even put it on a lift because they had other appointments. I'm not sure why I wasn't told this by the shop or Todd. These are my findings and those by two shops here in RVA.
I will start with a list of the good stuff:
Exterior is great, minor fading on the wooden panel on the tailgate. Overall, minor rust. The interior is almost immaculate, reupolstered seats, clean, tight headliner, clean carpet. It starts everytime and sounds beautiful. No cracks in any Windows, tires are in decent shape. The a/c great. For the most part, everything is there.
The really bad stuff:
Rear axle needs to be replaced, there's an exhaust leak due to two cut exhaust tubes, the catalytic converter is missing, the front drivers side wheel well is rusted out, there's a possible oil leak, the transfer case was broken and poorly patched in two places. The console under the steering wheel that holds the tailgate wiper/washer fluid and fog light switches aren't connected at all to the dash.
The bad, but not really bad stuff:
The radio turns on and off when I go over bumps, make hard turns, come to a stop at a light, and sometimes when I turn on the a/c. It sucks when your jam is on, but it's pobably just a loose wire. The gear shift indicator is missing, the mirror adjuster, right front blinker, left marker light, windshield washer fluid and rear wiper, overhead console lights, temp display, and storage, and cruise control are all non-functional. I'm unsure if the 4WD works, which is a big reason that I bought it because I work at a homeless shelter for families and I need to be able to get to them when it snows (Richmond sucks a snow prep and my Pontiac Sunfire isn't my ideal poor weather vehicle). There is condensation in the headlights, the electric locks don't always work, the rear window motor is crapping out (important because you have to have the rear window all the way down to open the tailgate). The polarization of the gauges are off. And last but not least it needs an alignment.
Like I said, I NEVER expected to get a brand new car. That's why I got the Woody in the first place-so I can work on it. However, if the dealerships mechanic and the driver Mark or Mike didn't notice the incredibly loud whirring noise coming from the rear that I, a wee lass who knows nothing, and everyone who's ridden in it has commented on since the first drive around the neighborhood or any of the other blatantly obvious things that are wrong, either they're totally incompetent and are in need of replacement or they're dishonest. Not one of these problems that I or the local garages have found were mentioned AT ALL by Todd. I suppose they actually thought I was a dumb, young girl who knows nothing about cars and wouldn't notice or say anything? Or that as soon as it's paid for and off their lot it's good riddance and tough luck? Their customer service is poor, Todd was supposed to call me back about the truck after being short and annoyed with me when I called and never did. I wish I could say that I was surprised. The estimated damage done to my bank account for the repairs after a light inspection by one garage was $2,500 on the low end. They hadn't even gotten their hands dirty yet. It's absolutely my fault for being naive and thinking that my first experience in car buying would be so easy and trusting that I would be dealing with an honest professional. I love the truck and most likely would have still bought it if all of these issues were brought to light (for less, of course), I just wish that I was told. Hope to save someone else the grief read more