We had very high hopes for our experience with CarShop, especially because everything started off…read moreso well when we purchased our vehicle. Unfortunately, about three weeks after purchasing it, everything seemed to go downhill.
We started noticing that the car wasn't running smoothly and eventually got to the point where we genuinely did not feel safe driving it. It was also failing to do basic things properly, which led us to contact CarShop and bring the vehicle back on Monday, July 13th.
When we dropped it off, we were told, "You probably won't hear anything until Wednesday, July 15th." However, the following day we received a call from a woman telling us that our car needed to be sent to Chevy because there was a recall on it. This was extremely frustrating because NOT ONCE during the purchasing process were we informed that there was a recall involving the transmission.
To our knowledge, the vehicle was sent to Chevy on either Tuesday the 14th or Wednesday the 15th. From that point forward, communication was extremely disappointing. We were never told which Chevy dealership our car was sent to, we received little to no updates unless we called ourselves, and we were given very little information about what was actually happening with our vehicle or when we could expect it back.
About a week later, we called asking for an update and again received very little information. We also made sure to let them know that we would be leaving to go out of town on July 31st. We were told, "Oh, it shouldn't take any longer than two weeks." Throughout the following weeks, we called multiple times trying to get updates and continued reminding everyone we spoke with that we were leaving town.
Then, on July 30th, we received a phone call saying that the rental car we had been given had been sold and needed to be replaced. They did come to us and exchange the rental, which we appreciated, but the overall situation was already frustrating considering we had been without the vehicle we had JUST purchased for over two weeks with very little communication.
On the morning of July 31st, I called around 8 a.m. because I needed to get something out of our car before leaving town. Instead of simply telling us where our vehicle was located, someone was sent to go get the EZ pass for us. Again, while we appreciated them doing that, it was frustrating that we still weren't being told where our own vehicle was or what was happening with it.
I specifically explained that we would not be home after 12 noon that day and that if the vehicle was finished after that point, it would have to sit there for over a week until we returned. After weeks of waiting and calling for updates, we received a call around 4 p.m. THAT SAME DAY saying the vehicle was finally finished.
We also later found out that additional issues occurred while the vehicle was being repaired, which we were not informed about until after the fact when WE OURSELVES read the maintenance reports.
Overall, this was an extremely frustrating and disappointing experience. We understand that recalls and repairs happen, and some things may be outside of CarShop's control. However, communication and transparency are absolutely within their control. We should have been informed about the recall from the beginning, told where our vehicle was being sent, updated throughout the repair process, and notified about additional issues as they happened. After having such a positive experience initially, we are extremely disappointed with how everything was handled once problems arose with the vehicle.