My parents (who are in their 70s) were looking for a used Honda Odyssey. They have a 2001 with 275k and love it. Just time to freshen it up. They are not the most computer savvy so I helped them locate Hondas in the area to consider. We came upon a 2015 Odyssey with low miles on it at McGrath in Elgin. I called in to find out some info on the vehicle before talking with my parents. I talked to Matt in the internet sales department who seemed helpful and friendly. After telling Matt that my parents were all cash buyers and asked about the price (listed at just under 30k), he said that he was not allowed to negotiate over the phone but he felt they could definitely get a few hundred knocked off when they came in. Told him I would not send my parents for a 2 hour drive unless all cards were on the table. We got my parents on 3 way calling and talked any additional fees (tax, title, license, doc fee was it). Repeated to my parents that he thought a couple hundred bucks would be knocked off too.
Today my parents go to McGrath in Elgin to buy this vehicle. Thank God I called them an hour into being there to learn that my mom was unhappy that they were being asked to pay an additional $1600 for body side molding, floor mats, splash guards and trunk container. Needless to say, I was livid. The cargurus ad clearly showed these as included in the price. I told my parents I would advise them to walk away from the deal as it seems like McGrath was trying to get extra money out of them. Told the sales person, Dinesh, to go get a manager as I was done dealing with him. Miraculously, Dinesh returned and the above accessories were now included in the price. You may be saying to yourself, "good for you, you got what was promised". You are right. However, I truly feel that this salesperson and this dealership tried to take advantage of an older couple ready to buy a car. Dinesh conveyed that these items are usually add-ons. He said that the ad on cargurus should not have listed them and therein was the issue. **NOTE** I did go check the McGrath Elgin Honda website after getting off the phone, to my shock...the accessories were listed there as well as part of the deal. Nice try Dinesh.
Had I not called to see how things were going, my parents would have overpaid. Based on this, I will not ever consider buying a car from McGrath. I will never recommend them. They had customers for what should have been an easy, all cash out the door experience and tried to rip them off. Unacceptable.
My parents ended up buying the vehicle and I am sure it will be a good one. That few hundred bucks that Matt thought could be knocked off the price, well that never materialized. When questioned about it, Dinesh said he had no room on this car. Something tells me had my parents ponied up the $1600, there would have been a little room. I wish I could have gone in person with them to get this car. The stress that was caused would have been avoided and I am sure there would have been a few hundred knocked off. My gut here is that Matt did not bring up things he thought would not be followed through on. Unfortunately, that is not enough for me to feel any better about what happened or change my opinion of McGrath as a whole. read more