My Review Of Gateway Chevrolet:
I was not impressed by the used car purchase experience at Gateway Chevrolet. I bought a pre-owned Chevrolet and paid for it with cash. Prior to taking delivery of the vehicle, I had noted that the right front quarter-panel (fender) had some damage to the clear coat. I asked the salesman whether or not it was possible to have the paint damage addressed, and was told only “I’ll see what I can do.” The dealership’s idea of an amicable solution to paint damage was simply to give me a business card for a mobile auto detailing business and a promise to call me with their schedule.
On October 29, 2012 I took delivery of the vehicle. I had travelled to the dealership with a friend of mine, and had to inform the three salespeople (frankly speaking, mobbing that friend to the point where they couldn’t take more than two steps without one of the sales people invading their personal space) at the dealership that it was I, and not my friend, who was there to take delivery of a vehicle. Two and a half hours after arriving, I finally received the ignition key and, to be completely honest, nothing more than a head nod and a hasty turn of the back from my salesman. Apparently my presence there, even though my presence was warranted by my spending twelve thousand dollars IN CASH on a vehicle, was bothersome.
Prior to leaving the dealership lot, I noted that the Chevy Silverado’s ignition sound resembled that of a 1942 Desoto. I ultimately found out that the battery was the causative agent for this problem and returned the vehicle to the dealership the next morning. I had anticipated spending at most one hour at the dealership getting the matter resolved. Three hours passed before I was told that the left front tire had been punctured by the mechanic and that it needed to be replaced. Three hours after I arrived at the place, I finally was able to leave. I was not given any indication of what the mobile auto detailer’s schedule (the schedule of the company that my salesman told me about and had recommended as an “amicable solution” to the problem that Gateway never fixed) was.
On 8 November 2012, I was in the vicinity of Gateway Chevrolet and decided to press the issue of repairing the paint damage. Rather than being afforded the opportunity to speak with the auto detailer- the business whom my salesman had given me the business card for- I was simply told to go to Gateway Chevolet’s body shop. To make a long story short, the paint damage,-that which I had asked my original salesman to address prior to my picking the vehicle up-was estimated to be a repair costing in excess of one thousand dollars. I immediately requested an audience with the used car sales supervisor (who, interestingly enough, sneered when I had used the word “grievance” and acted as if he had been selected for jury duty when stepping into his office). I discussed the matter at hand- the cost of the vehicle, that I had paid cash, had been saving for the vehicle for seven months, etc etc. He sneered at me and asked “You paid twelve thousand dollars, right?” I said yes.
“You paid twelve thousand dollars.” He asked again.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You could have easily paid twenty. I would have made you pay twenty if I could have.”
“I paid cash. We’re not talking about changing the amount on a bank loan, we’re talking about actual cash that I paid out of pocket. I wouldn’t have paid twenty thousand for this Silverado. ” I answered. The used car manager placed his hands behind his head, rolled his eyes, leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling and said, quite frankly, “if you want something normal, you should have paid twenty thousand dollars for a car. If you’re not willing to pay that much money, stop wasting my time and get out of my office.”
And so, after announcing my disgust for the used car sales manager’s pomposity and lack of professionalism I walked out of the building. I received an estimate from a reputable body shop no more than ten minutes away from Gateway, and was not entirely surprised that Gateway Chevrolet couldn’t even be bothered to spend five hundred dollars to rectify a paint issue to ensure customer satisfaction.
Apparently people have to spend twenty to fifty thousand dollars at Gateway in order to be treated as a human. The used car sales supervisor’s attitude is appalling, and I demand an amicable solution to the detestable and ghastly treatment I have received at the hands of this Chevrolet dealership.
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