3 stars might be a little high, but I just couldn't go with "meh, I've experienced better". In fact, my other car dealership experiences were worse. Shopping for a car is just unpleasant, somehow. Some things I experienced at MAG were great. Others, not so great.
I don't drive often, and I live in German Village. So, I wanted a small car (to fit in my tiny garage), I knew I wanted a lease, and that I wanted my payments to be low. (Who doesn't want low payments?) I ended up test driving a Mini Cooper and a Volkswagen.
I saw on the Mini Cooper website something about a special sliding scale lease where you have a little bit more flexibility in mileage. I figured I could get away with a 6,000 annual mile lease without going over. However, the MAG Mini dealership had no idea what I was talking about, even when I emailed them the information directly from the website. Although my experiences physically AT MAG were great with Mini, their followup on the special lease was lacking. I never did hear what was up with that. I also did some calculations (via the website tool) for a more traditional lease. I came up with what looked like a fab payment, but then they said they didn't have anything even close-- no base model Minis.
The Mini test drive experience was relaxed and comfortable. Unlike some other places I felt like they wanted me to have fun with the car. They didn't need insurance proof or to send a salesman with me. In the end though, there wasn't enough follow up and we never did get around to haggling a price. I moved on with my search and ended up with another car.
At Volkswagen, the experience was mostly good. The showroom is pretty, there's more specialized attention, and I didn't feel like it was crawling with people. The sales tactics were not as aggressive, which I really liked. I still had some problems getting the salesman to look at ME instead of my boyfriend, who was only there for moral support. There were times I had to physically move my body to get in his line of sight to remind him to talk to ME, the customer.
I ended up liking the Jetta for my needs. Maybe I was just really worn down from the car buying process, but I just really didn't want to go to another place and do it all again. That day, we weren't able to come up with a deal... and I was on my way out of town for a week. We ended up doing the haggling process via email, which was convenient and clear for me. I still feel like my payments were a little too high (automatic models didn't fall in the deep discount sales special categories... it's more than $60 per month additional cost just to have an automatic! wtf?), but honestly I just wanted to be done. They offered me a decent deal on my trade-in (eventually). Okay, great-- we have a deal. I paid my first month lease amount plus fees or whatever, and we made plans for me to pick it up the following weekend.
Here's where things got weird. First, I neglected to bring my current insurance paperwork (it had just renewed), so we had to wait quite awhile (my dad went out to my house to look for it and bring it back to the dealership). My bad. During this downtime, however, one of the dealers I'd never seen before approached me and told me the payment we'd discussed was incorrect, and that it should actually be higher "based on your credit score." Nuh uh. We had offer, acceptance, and I paid the first amount. Lawyer'd. They said that "in the computer" it was higher and that no one had any knowledge of "official" approval for the ending amount. Oh, I was steamed. Of course, I had all of this in WRITING because we did the haggling via email.
Finally, they honored my original payment amount, but... they made a big deal about how they were making an effort to "accommodate me." After I signed all the paperwork, the finance agent even said "I want you to know that even though the amount should have been higher based on what two of our agents saw, we honored the amount you claim you were told." 'Claim' I was 'told' nothin! I had it all in writing from the dealership, and I'd already paid!
Finally, there's this business about a "Survey." I've been told by my salesman AND the finance agent that these reviews are "crucial" for them and they "must" get perfect scores. Both told me that if I planned on giving them less than perfect scores to call them first to discuss. I suspect a portion of their commission depends on the form getting filled out AND receiving perfect scores. This whole process feels really coercive, which is why I'm glad I have Yelp to vent. This is a big burden on the customer, plus it just feels wrong to tell the customer that the perfect scores are so "crucial." Gross. If VW or MAG or whoever wants an honest pulse on their business practices, this is not the way to do it.
Overall, I'm happy with my car. I get roadside assistance and basic maintenance with my lease. Free car washes (at MAG) whenever I want. read more