UPDATED/REVISED
This is long, but the details are important…read more
I originally wrote and shared the following. I have made small edits as a courtesy to the owner of Crocker's Cars as he was disgruntled that I addressed one of his salesman personally.
THE FOLLOWING is my slightly revised original post, edited only as a one-sided courtesy.
When shopping for a vehicle, you hope to get lucky enough to avoid being taken advantage of.
If that's your goal, if you want your interests considered, RUN. RUN FAST AND RUN FAR from Crocker's Cars, Inc. in Lebanon, Oregon. If you have a teen looking to finance their first vehicle- well, just don't let it happen. They will walk all over your child's interests to ensure their pockets fill.
My 18-year-old son went to Crocker's Cars, 3+ hours from home to "look" at a truck he saw while driving by. Because he was away from home and it was short notice, he went in without mom or dad.
My son purchased a truck from Jimi on February 1st, 2023. In addition to financing the truck, Jimi also sold my son a warranty.
On February 8th, 2023, seven days after purchasing the truck, my 18-year-old is stuck on the side of the road with a broken down truck.
I'll summarize. Truck and warranty purchased on February 1st. Turbo goes out on February 8th. Crocker's Cars refuses to do ANYTHING to help. They are disgustingly nasty on the phone (thank you again, Jimi). More phone calls from a heartbroken kid to mom and dad. Parental advice leads 18-year-old to call warranty company. Warranty finally agrees to cover the cost of the turbo. Crocker's Cars refuses to help with towing/repairs- no, they have their money- the kid can apparently figure it out on his own.
Fast forward- October, 2023. The now 19-year-old is driving home from work, and again, truck breaks down. Transmission went out. We are again incredibly thankful Jimi sold the warranty. WRONG.
Jimi and Crocker's Cars sold my son a warranty for $4,855. What does the warranty cover? It covers a max of $5,000.00 in repairs. Since the truck Jimi and Crocker's Cars sold my son broke down 7 days after it was purchased, nearly the entire $5,000.00 warranty was exhausted. The entire transmission repair, $9,639.74 is to somehow be covered by my 19-year-old son.
After calling ASC Warranty, the warranty provider, we have been told that it is up to the dealership to choose what price they charge the customer for the warranty. What fantastic deal did Crocker's Cars pass along? Here it is:
$5,000.00 - max covered by the warranty
$4,855.00 - amount financed for the warranty
$1,051.51 - approximate interest my son will pay for this warranty
My son will have paid $5,906.51 for $5,000.00 of services. In addition, he paid for the vehicle towing. He has been out of a vehicle many more than a handful of days since purchasing his truck, AND has had to figure out how to come up with nearly $10,000.00 in repairs.
UPDATE
After I shared this as a Google review for Crocker's Cars and on my social media page, the owner asked me to call him, which I did. Once he was able to calm down and address the issue, he clearly stated twice that they (Crocker's Cars) were to blame for the issue and would make it right.
Through my conversation with the owner, my son was offered $3,500.00 to help offset the cost of the transmission repair.
I asked about the scam-feel of the warranty and was told that Crocker's Cars no longer uses that warranty company because they had no idea that is how the warranty worked (but they are the ones who felt comfortable selling the warranty.)
I removed my Google review, even though it was an accurate accounting of what happened.
As you can see in the screenshots of text messages, my son was ultimately promised half of the actual cost of transmission repair.
I deleted my post as a courtesy, and now we are told by the owner that because my post was up for 5 days, it now "doesn't excite him to help" my son.
Many negative posts are opinions, not this one. I will post screenshots of my conversation with Crocker's Cars.
I feel like business names should be spread far an wide by word of mouth. If a business is great, TELL EVERYONE! Support a business doing a good job! If a business blatantly chooses to do bad and even crooked business- warn people. Had someone been able to share the many poor experiences I have recently heard, maybe my son wouldn't be in this position but would have been able to visit a trustworthy car dealership.
