I spent literally dozens of hours researching vehicles until I found one that met all of my criteria. It was a used Toyota at Denchel's in Prosser. I drove over there CASH IN HAND, THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED THE VEHICLE, and did the test drive. First off, the cup-holder had been removed. There were at least a dozen cheap, and I do mean cheap (looks like my 7 year old tried to fix it with fingernail polish) repairs to the body, and many water spots on the windshield. Not as great as it was advertised to be on line, of course. So we sit down to do the dance, and after driving the car-which looked WORSE in person (Missing cup holders, scratches in interior leather, stale smoke smell, chips/dings/ a DENT etc.) and the salesman has the audacity to start the quote off HIGHER THAN THE ADVERTISED PRICE! After a quick "truth in advertising lesson, that was quickly remedied. After all was said and done, I ended up paying a few dollars less than the advertised price.
I will say here that I HATE car shopping, and it is experiences like this sale that only reinforce that feeling. Crooked, high pressure, and the constantly having to go "run this by my manager" back and forth with them starting way beyond ridiculous. After hours of the back and forth, I finally just gave in...still paid too much, but at least I got out of there before having to spend the night!
But wait! The story gets better! The next day, I go to start my car- nothing. Not even a click. The power locks wont even work. The battery is DEAD. There comes another couple hundred dollars to fix that- I blame myself. I should have looked and seen that the battery was 4 years past its date. It had a dead cell-so it had to be replaced. I find it incomprehensible that they would sell me this car, knowing that, because I would almost guarantee that they must have had at least some of the same starting issues while the car was on the lot.
But, the piece de resistance comes with the whole issue of the plates. See, they have NO PROBLEM charging you the extra $150 for filing fees and making sure all the paperwork is done correctly and such- and then they don't do it correctly!!!
I got a call from one of the managers saying they had received my new plates, and if I drove to get them, they would wash my car and put on the plates and such. While that is nice, it was not worth the 2 hour drive. I was asked if I was really sure that I didn't want to make the drive just tog get my car cleaned and have vacuumed, and they would put the plates on, and it would all be for free. When I still declined I was told "Gosh, I really hope nothing happens to them! They could get lost in the mail, or stolen. It happens all the times. Then coincidentally, the day that my temporary tabs expired, and no new plates were in the mail, I called Tom Denchel Ford and demanded to speak to an manager. I explained to him my situation. I have two young kids, who are sickly, and I didn't really want to drive all the way to Prosser. I then mentioned the fact that I found iit HIGHLY suspicious that the salesman would make a comment about my plates getting stolen, and then they never show up.
Well, the manager did some sleuthing, and there they were, sitting right on the sales manager's desk. Not ready to be mailed Not ready for anything! Not only had the sales-manager failed to send me my plates, he failed to even attempt to prevent that from happening to them. As soon as the sales manager saw this, he did do the partial right thing, and did send them over next day mail. Now, if only they would reimburse the "optional" $150 documentation filing fees, since it is obvious that the person I was dealing with was NOT doing his job.
In summary, between the shady dealings (high pressure at that), selling faulty equipment, and just flat out not doing the job I would recommend going anywhere but there!
**UPDATE**
LITERALLY HOURS AFTER POSTING THE INITIAL REVIEW, I WAS CONTACTED BY THE SALES MANAGER, BRANDON JOHNSON. HE WAS VERY SINCERE IN HIS APOLOGIES AND ASSERTIVELY MOVED TO MAKE THE SITUATION CORRECTED AS WELL AS HE COULD. OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN'T GO BACK IN TIME, BUT HE DID PROMISE TO COMPENSATE ME FOR MY TROUBLES. BRANDON AGREED TO REPAY FOR THE ENTIRE COST OF THE BATTERY AND ITS INSTALLATION, AS WELL AS REFUND THE "OPTIONAL" DOCUMENT HANDLING FEE. APPARENTLY, THE PERSON WHO HAD LEFT MY PLATES ON HIS DESK FOR WEEKS RECEIVED A LESSON IN CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND THAT WON'T BE HAPPENING AGAIN.
AS FAR AS AFTER THE SALE, I WOULD GIVE BRANDON 5 STARS. HE SINCERELY WANTS THE CUSTOMERS TO LEAVE HAPPY, AND WORKS TO FIND WAYS TO RESOLVE ISSUES TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY. ABOVE AND BEYOND ANY CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE SEEN.
I STILL HOLD THAT THEY STARTED WITH A "TRUTH IN ADVERTISING" PROBLEM, AS THEY ARE NOT AS TRANSPARENT AS THEY COULD BE, AND DO THE BAIT AND SWITCH. ALSO, THE GOING BACK AND FORTH TO THE UNSEEN MANAGER BEHIND GLASS ROUTINE IS A WASTE OF TIME AND INSULTING, read more