Buyer Beware - Questionable Ethics at Play I recently experienced a situation with Herrnstein Chrysler that I feel the need to share. My 2018 Ram truck was stolen, and I began searching for a replacement. After finding a truck (2016 Ram 2500 4x4) I liked online, I coordinated with Herrnstein Chrysler through Cars.com on Friday, November 29, 2024, I sent an email to the dealership to schedule a test drive. The following morning, I was contacted by Austin, a dealership employee, and he informed me that the dealership closed at 6 pm. I told him I would need about 3-4 hours to drive there, and Austin confirmed that it would be fine. I live in Louisville, KY. At 2:17 pm that same day (Saturday, 30 November 2024), I received a text from Austin asking if I was still coming to test drive the 2016 Ram 2500 4x4. I actually had just arrived at the dealership and let him know I was there. However, as I drove around the lot, I couldn't find the truck. When I went to the office, I was informed that the vehicle had already been sold earlier that day. Furthermore, they seemed unaware that I was coming to test drive it, and they offered to show me other vehicles instead. Understandably and unfortunately, I got upset and did not react well. I had just driven 3.5 hours to get there on a holiday weekend, only to experience a classic bait-and-switch tactic. I stormed out of the building, furious about the wasted time and effort. After leaving the office I sat in my car for a while, looking up other dealerships in the area, that's when the police knocked on my window. I guess, one of the male employees got nervous and had an accident and got sent home. Dealership management called the police, concerned about my outburst. The officer informed me that the dealership wanted to avoid escalation and had requested that I leave the lot. I explained my side of the story to the officer and left without further incident. In my many years of car shopping and buying, I've never been treated like this before. I will never return to Herrnstein Chrysler, and based on my experience with them, I strongly advise others to avoid doing business with them also. read more

The service department is very dishonest. I know this is an old trope "dishonest mechanic", but this place earns the title. I had a $4600 repair done on my Cummins and they broke the parking brake cable when they pulled the cab off. They refuse to fix it unless I pay, claiming "they found it broke". Only a moron would believe that. I released the brake to drive it over there. So, they would have me believe that in the 5 mile drive over that the cable was severed with no other damage in the area. Get real. Also, they replaced my serpentine belt without my approval. They took that $100 off after I informed them that I had a new belt under the back seat ready to go if the one on there failed before it was due. Find another mechanic, I know there are trustworthy ones out there; I'm just new to the area and didn't know where to go. read more

Our family had an amazing experience with Ryan the sales person, general manager, finance person Melody were so great too. Thank you so much for the outstanding help with our next new ride! read more

Herrnstein Chrysler Dodge Jeep - Car Dealers Near Me - Chillicothe, Ohio

I bought a used truck from these folks didn't even have it a month and a half and it dropped a valve in the head had 76 thousand miles on it very nice truck thank god i got a power train warranty which turned out to be really not that great, but called the dealership for help and they basically told me that I lived two hours away and it would cost to much to tow it there and my warranty wouldn't cover it . Didn't bother to offer any type of assistance I called the sales manager left a message prior to that call and never called me back. yep! less than 90 days and all I got was sorry! I'll never go back and will never recommend them either and for the extended warranty, not really please with it either all I can say is they were nicer than the dealership was. left a bitter feeling on me from them, you'd think a dealership would stand by something they sell I guess not this one be cautious is all I can say. read more

Couldn't be happier with the service provided by Herrnstein. I recently purchased a 2019 Ram Rebel from them and had it delivered directly to the house. Their communication was excellent and kept me up to date with everything going on. Specifically a lot of help and knowledge from Ryan Milliken, 10/10 would recommend him again. Compared to my last experience buying a new truck, this was night and day. Low stress, no headache, great truck! read more

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I had never been to this location previously, although recently found a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate with only 28,000 miles on their website......I actually thought it was too good to be true. I submitted a request on line to see if the vehicle was still available and was contacted by Ricky Hayden. I ended up making the nearly one hour drive down there and could not have been more pleased with my entire car buying process. I was kept in the payment range which I was seeking and received good value for my trade-in. I will definitely be referring people to Ricky and he will see me again on my next vehicle purchase! Thanks read more

Trash, second Kia we have purchased from here. Both under warranty and can't get them into service them, "gonna be 2 weeks before we can look at it, then 2 month for the parts. " same sorry excuses each time. Last time we just traded it in be we weren't wanting to wait. These people are a joke. Kia should pull their name from the building. Just trash these people are. FYI I'm going to Dan Cummins in Paris KY read more

My 2020 Kia telluride is at Hernstein Kia service department for their second attempt to repair a problem under warranty. They have had it 2 weeks now (3 weeks total). The problem is still not corrected. Poor attitude from service person. No sense of urgency. Kia corporate has been no help either. I will not return to Hernstein regardless of the outcome. read more

DO NOT SERVICE YOUR VEHICLE HERE! Absolute worst service center we have ever taken our vehicle to. Initially the truck went it for factory warranty issue, turns out the transmission was going. Found out after a few days they would be replacing the transmission. At this point they have had our truck for over two weeks and NOT ONE SINGLE CALL. They even stressed to my husband that he shouldn't call again... great. So we wait a couple more days and find out the transmission was installed and the service was complete, but still no one called! We ask to come pick it up and they claim they were "clearing codes". Friday comes and they are still clearing codes. Same for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday... you see where this is going. Wednesday comes, we file a corporate complaint with the dealerships service center, and they finally release the truck, with a couple HUNDRED MILES ON IT! Then they lie on their paperwork and claim our odometer was at 50,775 when the odometer clearly read 50,953! 200 miles they tried to hide as if we wouldn't notice. Finally got back in our truck and it's FILTHY! Grease all over the doors and handles, grease debris ALL OVER THE CAB! You touch this stuff and your whole hand is black... it's disgusting and they are pathetic. Also, all of this disrespect to a disabled Veteran fighting to get his truck back so he can drive to cancer treatment appointments..... pathetic. Don't take you vehicle here. read more

Herrnstein Chrysler Dodge Jeep - Grease stains on every handle and visor. - Car Dealers Near Me - Chillicothe, Ohio

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As soon as I got out of my wife's car, I saw large dent at the wheel well and up the passenger side door. Again, I was disappointed and frustrated! I said to my wife, "Well let's check out the bumper." It was also done poorly (wasn't painted fully like Jeff said it would be and it wasn't even prepped well as a professional painter would have done). I became angry and told Fred "This is crap!" Fred said, "that was there before," when I pointed out the large dent in the wheel well and passenger side door to him. He then showed me pictures that from his phone of my car that showed the damage on it and he said this was there before they worked on the car. I asked if he had a time stamp on the picture and he said no he did not. Then Jeff came outside asking, "What's the problem?" I showed him the bumper and he agreed that the bumper wasn't done well. I showed Jeff the new damage done to my wheel well and passenger door of the car and he said, 'We didn't do that." I tried to show him my video proof that it wasn't there prior to me leaving it at the dealership but Jeff said he didn't want to see the video. I feel Fred has it out for me and I told Dave Blanton this. I went inside and two men by the name of Matt and Tom Buck told me my car at the time is worth $18,950 and they would give me $14,500 for it. My response was, "You want me to take a $4,000 dive for the damages you have caused?" I felt I needed to talk to the owner at this point so I left with my car and said I would be calling. Even the other professional painters I later showed my car to said it seems to have been damaged by a jack that was put under the car and released too quickly. I later called the dealership, and they suggested a deal of fixing the bumper or to give me $14,500 for my car. I said I wasn't okay with either deal. I called back the next day to speak to the owner but the secretary told me that the owner was on vacation and would not be back until August. August 3rd came around when I called back and the lady who answered said the owner was in a meeting. Around my 7th call back now in September I got Matt, the account manager, who told me the owner knows about my situation and that I will not be allowed to speak with him at all. Funny thing is, when you are on hold with the dealership, it says 'if you need Bart for assistance, he can help.' Matt again reminded me about the two options they would give me. I then protested to Matt that I seem to be getting the run around. Matt then threatened to press charges on me saying that if I called back or came back out to the dealership, they would call the police. I explained that he couldn't do that and went to the police station myself to verify it with officer Lee. I spent countless hours calling the mayor, senator, congress, and about 30 lawyers, and even called out to the VA (being in the military vet myself) thinking I could get some help, but I got nowhere. It is sad the lack of help given to the average man unless someone benefits from it, especially to a Veteran like me. I went to the other Herrnstein dealership to see if Doug who I have talked to before would help. He said he would try to get ahold of Bart Herrnstein which he did. Next, I talked to Dave Blanton again and he said he would talk with Bart next week and see what he could do. I contacted the dealership again and Dave Blanton was in a meeting. At this point, I felt like it was time I get my insurance involved since I wasn't getting anywhere in trying to work with the Herrnstein management. Bart Herrnstein finally returned my call. Bart quickly cut to the chase and told me that he did not want to hear my side of the story. Bart told me that I was threatening his employees and did not want to work with me. He then hung-up the phone after about 4 minutes of him telling me there would be no resolution. Customer service is absolutely terrible and at Herrnstein in Chillicothe and I have never felt so disrespected by a company. I would rate the business NEGATIVE 5 stars if I could. I beg you not to do business with this crooked company. read more

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I bought a vehicle in March 2022, I have been trying for months to refinance the 638/mth car payment contacted numerous lenders and NO ONE will touch my loan, I've been to 2 different dealerships and no one can even take it as a trade in because the loan was written for $10,000.00 more than the vehicle is even worth. I called hernstein's today for them to help me and they won't even take back the vehicle that they sold me on trade-in and the refuse to even attempt to help me find a company to refinance the loan. This was my 1st car dealership buy and I do absolutely love my vehicle, I just need a lower payment and the dealership that misrepresented the entire sale won't even help me. They now have 15 open complaints with the better business bureau and at least 1 with attorney general read more

Worst experience I've ever had. Bought the car and the check engine light was one. I was told it was nothing to worry about or they wouldn't sell it. Driving home I could smell anti-freeze. Had the car 10 days. Broke down. Took it to my mechanic. Fuel pump went out and the part that holds the fuel pump in was all rusted out. Called and was told it was sold "AS IS." My mechanic also said the car was rusted out underneath and that someone painted it to cover it up. A few months later, I took it back because of the anti-freeze smell and it was the heater core. $700 to fix that one. These were just the problems from the day I bought it. They had to have known about it or there service department doesn't fix things. They almost sold me the car without a gas cap, until my wife pointed it out. I really wish Ohio had better lemon laws because that is what they sold me. read more

Non-friendly service Other than Steve, my customer service manager, there was a lack of customer friendliness and an overall attitude that my time was not valuable. I was not greeted at the door and the gentleman that I dealt with was rude in general. In his reply to my review on another site, Mr Coleman continued to be rude and arrogant. The attitude he shows is both non caring and down right irresponsible. How does this dealership maintain any repeat business? It has been over a month since I picked up my vehicle and still no one has contacted from Herrnstein in regards to the damages to my car. read more

Terrible customer service from Angie in the service department. Very rude to work with. When a customer calls in, you cannot speak to them as if they have the vehicle knowledge that you do. Very unprofessional and I won't be going back. read more

Brought my truck in for service for the 3rd time for the same issue. They left my window down for close to a week. Had major rain storms in the area for 3-4 days. Door handles were filled with water. They don't want to pay for damaged personal property that got soaked. Nevermind the interior of my $50,000 truck. Cant give less than 1-Star. Update - They paid for the damage to personal property, detailed & fueled truck up. Will never deal with them again. read more

My wife and I had worked a deal on a new 2021 kia Seltos that was coming in in a week. We had put a deposit down as we finalized the deal. We were called a week later stating our vehicle came in and we could finish the process on Saturday, this was Thursday. We went and withdrew our money, changed the insurance and prepared for the exchange of our car on Saturday. About an hour before we to meet to finish the deal we received a phone call from the dealership stating our vehicle was sold the day before! They stated that a previous person had put a deposit down 2 weeks before us and that the salesman ha d failed to put the info in the correct place. We went to dealership and got our deposit back, but I am quite sure that someone at this dealership (sales manager who had to know by signing off on these deals) that there were multiple people with deposits in on this car! I am of the belief that they received a better deal from someone who walked on the lot, saw the vehicle and sold it and told us this story about having a deposit in before us. If my belief is incorrect why would they NOT known about someone else placing down a deposit before us? The sales manager still had to sign off either one of the deals! This what you get dealing here! Roger& Vicky read more

My initial contact with Herrnstein Auto was pretty standard. I spoke with a salesman, John Brant. I advised what I wanted, color, specs and ect. I advised him I have been shopping around and got some pretty good prices. He of course guaranteed me they would beat any price and he asked me to email him the quotes, which I did. He convinced me, they would be dropping off the new car I wanted within a couple days because the price would be "so" good. At this point, I was ready to buy and extremely happy with the service. I sent Mr Brant the email and he responded with which colors I was interested in and if I wanted to test drive first. I replied with the colors and that we had already test drove and we knew what we were getting. Next day, nothing. The day after, nothing. A week later nothing. I finally got a generic email from the dealership asking if I was still in the market. I advised I was but had not heard anything. Over a week later, John called me and was very irritable. He asked if I was still in the market and I told him I was. He also stated that I had told other people at the dealership different things? I advised him that I sent him the exact information he wanted. At which time he accused me of not being a veteran amongst other things, which made me eligible for additional rebates. When I started looking for a new car, initially I didn't care about the service as long as the price was good. Herrnstein changed my point of view on that stand point. If you want the best deal, while being treated with respect I highly recommend that you skip this dealership. read more

I needed to trade in my truck for a car to save on gas and needed an upgrade. I have bought 4 cars there and have always been very please with Fred Kunkel. I called and told him my situation and asked if could be creative and help me out! Well, he did. I wasn't really thinking "new car" but Fred made that a reality and at a price I could afford! Thanks to Fred, I drove off the lot with a 2017 Hyundai Elantra. read more

I took my 2004 Jeep Liberty in for a blower motor, oil change and exhaust leak. They called me to diagnose a back-firing problem and oil leak. THIS VEHICLE NEVER DRIPPED ONE DROP OF OIL AND NEVER HAD BACKFIRED. After trying to sell me a 3300.00 repair for things that had NEVER occurred with this vehicle, I let them do the oil change and blower motor and change spark plugs, for the bargain? price of 700.00. Brought the car home, and lo and behold, I HAVE A QUART OF OIL DUMPED ON MY DRIVEWAY FROM A CAR THAT NEVER LEAKED A DROP BEFORE. WHAT A BUNCH OF SHEISTERS! AND NOW MY VEHICLE IS NOT DRIVEABLE. read more

Very disappointed with my experience at this hometown car dealership. Salesman lied to me several times and was told if I didn't go with financing thru them deal was off!!! So guess what, yep I walked!!! If you can't beat my local bank I won't go with you. Don't threaten this woman. #wontbback read more