Today, May 17th, I went to Marvin K. Brown GMC, and from the start, it was one of the worst…read moredealership experiences I have ever had. I stood outside in the parking lot for about 10 minutes, and no one came to greet me or ask if I needed help. I then walked inside the showroom floor, and two employees made eye contact with me from their offices and still did not acknowledge me at all. I went back outside and waited until I finally found someone. That person was already helping another customer, so he contacted someone else to assist me.
Eventually, I received help and test drove the 2026 GMC Sierra 1500 TurboMax. Honestly, I loved the truck. It was exactly what I was looking for, and I was genuinely interested in purchasing it that same day.
However, once we got to the numbers, everything changed. I made it clear from the beginning that I was a cash buyer. Compared to other dealerships, they were only discounting about $4,000 off MSRP, which already was not very competitive. I understand that GMC is currently offering strong Memorial Day incentives on the GMC Sierra lineup, including the $3,500 trade-in assistance and other rebates. However, those incentives are being offered across the board at multiple GMC dealerships, so that is not something unique to this dealership. The main difference came down to the actual dealer discount. Other dealerships are discounting these trucks by $7,000 to $7,500 before incentives, which made this deal much less attractive.
Then I noticed an accessory fee of $2,290 added to the invoice without any real explanation of what it even included. The biggest red flag was the $5,495 service contract they added without me ever asking for it. From what I understand, that was an extended warranty. In the 15 vehicles I have purchased over the years, I have never bought an extended warranty because I usually trade in or get rid of my vehicles before they even reach 50,000 miles. There was no reason for that to automatically be added.
On top of that, I had my 2021 Lexus IS350 F Sport with only 25,000 miles appraised at another GMC dealership just three days ago, and they offered me $39,000 for it. Since then, I have only driven the vehicle about 35 more miles. This dealership only offered me $35,000, which was a $4,000 difference and honestly felt like a very bad lowball offer. Obviously, I was not going to accept that deal. The only reason I did not already purchase a GMC Sierra at the other dealership was because they did not have the color I wanted. Otherwise, I would have already bought the truck at Honor GMC.
Overall, the entire process felt full of hidden fees, lack of transparency, and pressure tactics. It honestly gave me a really bad feeling throughout the deal. If I could rate this experience a negative 1, I would.
I was honestly disappointed because, living in San Diego, I wanted to support a local dealership and buy the truck here. Unfortunately, because of this experience, I will now most likely have to drive to Tustin GMC or somewhere in Orange County, where I have consistently had much better experiences and pricing. It sucks having to take my business somewhere else, but if it is going to save me money and provide a more transparent buying experience, then why not?
I just wish the customer service, honesty, and transparency had been much better because I truly wanted to buy this vehicle today.