McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago

BUYER BEWARE. Acura is not taking accountability for a known safety defect and it could happen to you too. I want to start by saying I love Acura. I chose this Acura is not taking accountability for a known safety defect and it could happen to you too. I want to start by saying I love Acura. I chose this brand because of its reputation for quality, reliability and safety. That is exactly why what I am about to share is so deeply disappointing and frankly unacceptable. I own a 2023 Acura Integra and have been dealing with a recurring sticky steering wheel condition that was subject to an official Acura recall. When the recall was performed, the so called fix was simply applying grease to the steering components. That is it. No replacement of the defective part. No permanent solution. Just grease. Shortly after the recall repair was done the problem came back. And here is where it gets even more frustrating. The sticky steering is intermittent. It comes and goes. That makes it extremely difficult to diagnose because when you bring the car in, the technician may not be able to reproduce it during a short test drive. The service advisor told me they could not find anything wrong and sent me home. No further diagnostic steps. No follow up. Just sent on my way. This puts customers in an impossible position. The problem is real. You feel it every time you drive. But because it does not happen on command during a dealership visit, you are left with no choice but to walk away with an unresolved safety issue and hope for the best. That is not acceptable for a steering system defect. Here is the mechanical reality that Acura does not want to talk about. The steering gear rack is a precision metal component that relies on proper lubrication to function smoothly. When the lubrication is insufficient or breaks down, the internal gears experience metal on metal friction every single time you turn the wheel. This friction creates heat. Heat accelerates wear. Wear causes the internal surfaces of the rack to degrade over time. The more you drive with an insufficiently lubricated steering rack, the more microscopic damage accumulates with every single steering input. This is not speculation. This is basic mechanical engineering. By applying grease as the recall remedy rather than replacing the defective component, Acura essentially slowed the damage without stopping it. Once that grease wears off, and it always wears off, the metal on metal friction resumes. Every turn of the steering wheel after that point is grinding away at the gear rack. It does not happen overnight. It is gradual. But it is inevitable. Eventually the gear rack will wear out entirely. That is exactly what happened in my case and it will happen to other Acura Integra owners who received the same temporary grease fix. Let that sink in. Acura sells itself as a luxury brand built on precision engineering and safety. Yet when faced with a known defect in a critical safety system, they chose the cheapest possible fix, knowing full well it would not last. When the inevitable damage occurs, they leave customers with an expensive steering rack repair bill that is entirely their fault. This is not a minor inconvenience. A failing steering system is a serious safety risk to the driver, passengers and everyone else on the road. If you own a Integra 2023 or newer, watch for these warning signs before it gets to gear rack damage. A steering wheel that feels stiff or resistant when turning. Resistance that comes and goes rather than being constant. Here is something critical that Acura is not telling you. This symptom does not show up the same way in all driving conditions. You will most likely feel it on longer drives, highway curves and suburban roads where you are making wider gradual steering inputs. You will not feel it as much in the city where short quick turns are more common. This is exactly why a technician doing a short city test drive around the dealership will tell you they cannot find anything wrong. They are not lying. They just are not driving the car the way you drive it every day. And Acura knows this. More

I started car shopping on Chase website. Chase will finance any car they listed and send you to the Dealer that listed it. I chose three different Dealerships. The two of them said they did Chase will finance any car they listed and send you to the Dealer that listed it. I chose three different Dealerships. The two of them said they didn't have the cars listed and tried to sale me other cars. I went to McGrath Acura Downtown Chicago. They didn't have it. I decided to go to another, but Mr Guillermo Perez, my Salesman, advised me to wait. He had another car I may like. I wanted a Honda Civic. He had a Honda Accord. He was right. While I waited. They found a Company to finance it. My credit wasn't that great. I drove out with a great car. I took it in because of a recall. McGraph of Honda did a thorough check of the car and found many things that needed repair. I took the car back to McGrath Acura. I couldn't afford to repair it. I was on my way out, but was stopped by Mr Johnny Fernan, the Manager of McGrath. He said I can't let you leave without a car. He showed me a Honda Civic, It was five years younger than the one I had. He found financing and I was elated. I had the best experience from this Dealership ever and I have purchased many cars. They made me feel like a favorite family member. I highly recommend them…AL Jam. More

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but this experience was so negative that I feel obligated to share it. I’ve purchased several vehicles over the years, and this was by far the worst dealership experienc was so negative that I feel obligated to share it. I’ve purchased several vehicles over the years, and this was by far the worst dealership experience I’ve ever had. The biggest issue is that no one there communicates with each other. I went in with a set price that had already been agreed upon with their online/business department. When I arrived in person, they immediately started haggling with me as if none of those prior conversations ever happened. It was clear the sales staff had no idea what had been discussed or agreed to. I ultimately had to ask for the sales manager to come in so I could negotiate directly with him and get things straightened out. Then in the finance office, the numbers were different yet again. The finance manager actually called the sales manager in just to make it clear that she hadn’t changed the final sale price — basically proving a point that the mistake wasn’t hers. Once again, it showed how little communication exists between departments. It was disorganized and frustrating from start to finish. When I finally took delivery of the vehicle, I noticed it hadn’t even been properly cleaned. Yes, it’s a new car, but every other dealership I’ve worked with has always delivered the vehicle fully detailed inside and out. This one looked like it had barely been touched. A couple of days later I went to start the car just to run it, and it wouldn’t start. Dead battery. A brand-new car with a dead battery right after purchase. Completely unacceptable. And the cherry on top: they never physically transferred my license plates from my trade-in to the new car. I called looking for answers and was basically told they think someone stole my plates. That makes zero sense. The only place I drove this car was back to the dealership to get a new battery. It’s been stored in my garage this whole winter. There’s four bolts with their McGrath paper plate on there. This was never touched and my plates were never put on the car. From poor communication, to incorrect pricing, to lack of basic delivery prep, to missing plates and a dead battery — this experience was a mess from beginning to end. Needless to say business with McGrath will be nonexistent in the future. Thanks for everything guys. More

Ethan Bailey is a treasure! !! The absolute best new car buying experience from start to finish. He is friendly, knowledgeable, hard working and just the right kind of person you !! The absolute best new car buying experience from start to finish. He is friendly, knowledgeable, hard working and just the right kind of person you want when making a major purchase decision. A standout guy at a standout dealership! More

Tl;dr: I sold my low miles, no accident vehicle to McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. I absolutely would not recommend this deal, and would even go so far as to call them predatory based upon their pa McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. I absolutely would not recommend this deal, and would even go so far as to call them predatory based upon their payment policy (which they strictly uphold) which places all risk on the individual. Long form review: April 7: I sold my vehicle to McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. We were able to reach a fair sales price very quickly and the sales transaction itself was fairly quick and easy. At the time I was advised that they do not release payment until the title is received by the dealership, typically 10 business days (they now stringently deny ever saying this) April 16: The check is received by the lien holder (VW Credit) and the loan is paid off. I call to request the date that they will be mailing the title, in order to make sure that I will be able to pick up the check around childcare and work travel responsibilities. VW Credit informs me that McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago chose to send the payment via unsecured funds (which they told me is quite rare) and so they will be holding the title for 15 business days to ensure that it will clear. However, what the majority of dealerships do is call them, and VW Credit will be happy to verify that the title will be released and the date, so that the dealership can release the funds. April 17: I speak with Theo Noor regarding this, and share my frustration that at this point it is going to take more than a month to be paid for my vehicle, contrary to the expectations that they have set (which, once again, they deny having ever said). Given that I only had a loan for about 50% of the value of the car, McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago is now in the position of holding both a large amount of money they owe me, as well as the vehicle, so I have no access to either the funds or the usefulness of still having a car. Theo did understand, and agreed that if I could provide an email stating the lien-holder would release the funds, he would cut the check. April 17, part 2: VW Credit isn’t able to send emails due to system limitations, but kindly agrees to expedite the title being sent out to help, although they were surprised as this is the first time they’ve ever heard of a dealership requiring this. April 17, part 3: In order to make it possible for me to pick up the check around the work travel I had previously made them aware of, Theo kindly agrees that a tracking number will also be sufficient, and I agree to call him once I have it available. April 23: Tracking number is provided to McGrath Acura of Chicago. Theo happens to be off that day, and when I call to arrange picking up the check, I am once again told that “because things can happen in the mail, we don’t pay without the title”. Of note, at no point did I sign an agreement to this effect - I trusted the 10 business days estimate, which was clearly never expected to be a reasonable estimate, or else they would have stood behind saying it. As of the time I write this review, I still do not have the payment they owe me, or confirmation on when I will receive it. If you’re looking to sell your car, especially through the Kelly Blue Book program, I would advise you to stay as far away from this dealership and their “policies” as possible. More