My wife and I have purchased numerous cars over the years. Like most people, we hate car shopping. The stress of dealing with such a large purchase, coupled with the tactics of salesmen makes us feel as if we must prepare for battle (psychological and emotional).
However, over the years there have been a few rare occasions when we find a dealership at which our purchase is pleasant and stress-free. When this happens, we like to share our experience with other folks like us who do a lot of research before making a decision. We recently had such an experience at Rick's Kar Korner in Spokane.
Our daughter had been in a car accident and totalled her car. After being told by the insurance company how much they were going to give us for the car, we set about trying to find her a new one that was priced within our budget. My wife and I spent hours searching the internet for acceptable vehicles. Our search was comprehensive as we looked at dozens of vehicles listed by both private sellers and dealerships in northern Idaho and eastern Washington.
Ultimately, we narrowed our list down to three possibilities in Spokane and drove down the next day to check them out. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. In person, none of the vehicles looked to be anywhere near the condition portrayed on the internet by their description and/or photos. Not only that, the salespeople did their best to perpetuate the negative stereotype of used car salesmen (high pressure and completely full of BS). Needless to say, we were disappointed, but not surprised.
Upon returning home, we resumed our search and eventually found an acceptable vehicle at Rick's Kar Korner. I called the dealership the next day and spoke to Rick. I explained our situation and told him which vehicle we were interested in. He was very nice and said he would work with us on the price. We drove down that afternoon and were very happy to see that the vehicle's condition was exactly as it appeared on the internet. In fact, all the cars looked very nice and cared-for.
We drove the car and were impressed. So we told Rick we were interested in buying it. We wanted to have it inspected by a mechanic, but could not do so until the following Monday (this was on a Saturday). He was very accommodating and told us he would hold it for us until we could have it inspected.
We took the car to Bob's Service Center on Francis for a pre-purchase inspection. (see our Yelp review on them). After conducting a very thorough and comprehensive inspection, the mechanics told us that the vehicle was in excellent condition and was one of the best used cars they had ever seen.
We then returned to Rick's Kar Korner to complete the purchase. Rick is a very nice guy, very laid-back, no pressure at all. He was very fair on the price and really worked with us to fit our budget. The entire process was pleasant, easy and stress-free. Due to our experience and because all of the vehicles on his lot appear to be in similarly excellent condition, we will recommend Rick's dealership to all of our friends should they be in the market for a pre-owned vehicle.
Ron and Diane Weber
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