My Review Of Herzog-Meier Volkswagen :
Let me start by saying, I would recommend this dealership - but please use caution.
For those who do not wish to read through my lengthy review - I will summarize by saying: overbearing sales staff, I felt rushed through the sales process - then felt as if they were just trying to get rid of me, shady practices during the "numbers and signing" - bring a calculator and know your prices! There is a lack of communication between sales/service. Service department ROCKS. Sales is hit/miss.
I came to this dealership after researching and visiting 3 other dealerships. I have been a VW owner my whole life, I have very specific needs and wants and I knew exactly which car I wanted, and how much it would cost (I bought a 2012 VW GTI Autobahn series - base price $30,595, and added roof rack and tint). I chose this dealership because their website showed that they had the car I wanted in their inventory. I did make note of their customer service ratings before I went as well (they are the lesser of other evils in the way of VW dealerships in the PNW).
I walked on to the lot and was met by sales consultant Ayman Achour. I informed him of the car that I wanted and he took me to it. Ayman spent a good hour with me, answering my questions and showing me around the vehicle of interest. I really appreciated that Ayman acknowledged that he did not need to use any sales tactics to try and sell me the car. I came on to the lot knowing what I wanted; he respected that and stepped back and let me explore the car, making himself readily available for questions. Thank you Ayman.
I left Herzog Meier VW that day, did some further research, checked into prices and vehicle specs/mods and came back to purchase the car one month later. Between the time that I met Ayman at the dealership and came back to purchase the car, I received 2 very polite emails from him - not pushy or salesy, just nice emails to remind me that they were still there if I chose to purchase the car.
When I returned to purchase the car Ayman was not there (it was his day off). I was met at the door by a hyper-salesy and extremely overbearing Shima Lotfi. I informed her that I was here to make a specific purchase but that I wanted Ayman to receive the commission for the sale. She proceeded to try and sell me the car but was so imperious that I politely had to ask for the sales manager to take over. Enter Nick Lee, Sales Manager. He seemed flustered that I refused Shima's services but took over none the less, and reassured me that Ayman would indeed receive credit for the sale if I made the purchase that day. Everyone at Herzog Meier VW REALLY wants to make that sale - it's almost a little gross, how obvious that comes across).
I continued through the purchase of the car, we discussed price, trade-in value for my other VW GTI, etc. As I mentioned before, I had specific needs/wants for the car I was buying. Nick seemed so anxious to get me to buy the car, he never went over additional options for purchase. I had to ask him to add in the modifications I wanted, I wished he would have shown me more (I would have bought wheels, etc). I realize that he is the sales manager and that it is not his normal duty to actually "sell" a car, but I feel like he should still have working knowledge of how to actually handle a sale. Because of his lack of knowledge there was a miscommunication about my roof rack and I purchased a rack that was NOT what I expected.
My first red flag came during price negotiation. I had a calculator with me and knew what the numbers should/would be. Nick came to the table with a much larger set of numbers. After several trips back and forth to the "finance guy in the other room", Nick came back and told me that their loan calculator program on the computer had someone else's numbers (from a Volvo sale) previously entered - when he "realized" that and re-entered my numbers correctly, our numbers suddenly matched. There was a couple thousand dollar discrepancy between our numbers. I was disgusted that he tried to get me to sign that contract with the higher numbers and pass it off as a mistake. Shady Nick.
The rest of the sales process went smoothly and I received my new car. I purposely waited until the next day to come back for my car so that I could receive it from Ayman. Ayman did a fabulous job of introducing me to the service department, showing me around my new car and handing it off to me. Thank you again Ayman.
I came back a week later for my service appointment to get my new rack and tint put on and the service department did not have the proper paperwork for me - they thought I was coming in for my 90 day service appointment. I was told I was in the wrong place and had to drive around the corner to H&M Motorsports (who rock, by the way). When I picked up my car from H&M later that day I was horrified to notice that the rack they put on my car was NOT the rack I thought I had ordered.
The next week and a half were consumed with phone conversations with Shima Lotfi to try and reverse the miscommunication and get me the correct rack. I will say that Shima redeemed herself in a less hyper manner and followed through in helping me get the proper rack installed on my car. She makes a much better administrative go-between than she does a sales consultant. Thank you Shima.
I came back a week later to have the correct rack installed and the incorrect one removed. I should mention at this time that I've used an entire tank of gas to drive back and forth between Beaverton to get mistakes, that were not mine, corrected (I live about 20 miles from the dealership). Dan Croft, Parts Manager, installed the new rack himself. Let me tell you - he went far above and beyond in taking care of me. Out of my entire experience with Herzog Meier - Dan Croft gets the gold star for service. Thank you Dan.
In conclusion, the entire sales experience was a bit of a let down. I walked on to the lot and told them exactly what I wanted. I was a sure deal - and yet I still felt pushed and a little bullied. It should have been a much easier and more enjoyable experience. I think that if Herzog Meier VW were to focus less on receiving a good review and concentrate more on providing honest, qualitative and respectable sales service, it would be a much sweeter deal for everyone.
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