Reason for Visit: Sales
I recommend this dealer: No
My Review of Autobarn:
Long story short: Went into the dealer to get info on my lease because no one would tell me over the phone. Once there, no one seemed interested in helping me until I started poking around the offices. I talked to the Finance guy who informed me that due to the low mileage on my car I could "for sure use it as a downpayment on a new car". So, I looked around, took two cars on a test drive but was unable to test drive the exact car I wanted because, according to the salesman "we don't have it here, but I can get it".
I left the dealership but was contact by the salesman the next day by phone. He told me he could get me a "great deal" on the car I wanted. When I asked again if he had obtained the car, he responded that he had not as he could not do a dealer trade for inventory only. I wound up driving to Evanston again only to find out that the car I wanted (color, trims, options) was no longer available and had not been available for some time. Instead of admitting he had no idea what he had been talking about he insisted on placing the blame on the inventory, despite my having listed exactly what car I wanted.
Instead of just leaving, I figured I'd at least find out how much I'd get as a downpayment on my current lease. The salesman made me wait over an hour while he pulled up the account info from VW Credit, then had the car appraised. All the while he would point out other cars that were "similar" to the one I wanted. When I repeatedly told him that I was not interested in another car and that I just wanted to know what my car's trade-in value was he would just get up and say he was going to "look into it".
After being there over an hour and a half and complaining to a sales manager the original salesman came out to once again show me the list of inventory they had. I told him one last time that I wasn't interested and wanted to know the trade-in value of my car. He left again, this time conferring with five other salesmen at the dealership. I started walking toward them and the salesman, along with another salesman came out to tell me that they had no car in the color or trim I wanted, but could get me a slightly used one. I demanded they hand back my keys and left the dealer. No car, no quote, no apologies, just wasted time.
I complained to VW of America and I received a call from the Finance guy who left a message on my cel about the lack of inventory, not mentioning the salesman's behaviour or the quote on my car. I called him back and after a twenty minute phone call, could not get him to commit to a quote, stating that he did not know what it was and he had no idea what had been going on (even though he was one office away from where this had all happened). While I did receive an apology nothing was taken care of.
The VW of America rep called me and admitted that the Finance person had also refused to give her the information on my car. She called my experience "horrible" and asked if there was anything she could do to remedy the situation. Since there was nothing short of closing the dealership down, I told her that while I might be interested in purchasing a VW, I would definitely not be doing so from the Autobarn.
I highly recommend avoiding this dealership.
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