ALM Marietta

Horrible Experience/Dishonest Dealership By far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a car dealership. I found what was the perfect car for me and contacted ALM Marietta and spoke with Mad By far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a car dealership. I found what was the perfect car for me and contacted ALM Marietta and spoke with Madison. Since the car had just been purchased in an auction it hadn’t been delivered to the dealership yet or I would have went the same day to view and purchase the vehicle. I asked what was needed to ensure the vehicle wouldn’t be sold before I could come see it since it was a 3 hour drive and Madison said a $500 deposit would hold the vehicle. I agreed to the $500 deposit but after Madison spoke with his manager he called back and said the deposit wouldn’t be necessary and he would let me know as soon as it arrived. I made it clear I would come the same day the car arrived onsite. It came in on Saturday and I was told it was going into the body shop for some repairs and I would be contacted as soon as it was ready. To my surprise I received a text Monday morning that the vehicle had been sold with a minimal apology. I have left 2 messages asking for a call back from the manager and of course, no response. If you want to do business with an honest dealership do not go here. I am still in shock with how this was handled, totally unacceptable. More

Illegal & Deceptive Pricing Unfortunately, due to their illegal and deceptive business practices, I had to walk out of here after wasting 2 hours and signing nearly every documen Unfortunately, due to their illegal and deceptive business practices, I had to walk out of here after wasting 2 hours and signing nearly every document they had to purchase a car. The salesman (Lionel) was fine for the most part. We pretty quickly agreed on a price of $18,300 (just $300 less than asking price), then I was moved over to their finance department to complete the paperwork. The first thing that rubbed me the wrong way was when the finance manager said something along the lines of "I like to make sure all my clients are fully covered" and, after some questioning, revealed that she had added well over $2,500 for an extended warranty and gap coverage (which any expert will tell you to practically never purchase either). It would be different if she had *suggested* adding additional costs, but she had already added these and was trying to quickly gloss over them. I had to specifically ask for details/pricing and then have her remove these, which should have never been added in the first place since I never requested, wanted, or agreed to them. Then I finally made it to the page that had a full breakdown of the actual fees. In addition to the typical (and expected) taxes, tag, and title fees, this sheet also included a $599 "dealer fee", which was not disclosed or included in the advertised or agreed to price. GA law is very clear about deceptive practices like this and states: "Advertised vehicle prices must include all nongovernment charges that a consumer is required to pay in order to purchase a vehicle, including but not limited to, dealer fees, previously installed dealer options, and electronic titling fees". I balked at this undisclosed "dealer fee" when I saw it and told them I felt that a significant fee like this should be disclosed up front (I didn't realize exactly how right I was until later looking up the laws). She brought in the manager, who insisted that this is a typical fee and something I should have known about. While it may be "typical", that doesn't change the fact that GA law requires fees like this to be included in the advertised price, which it clearly was not. Even after negotiating the price down a meager $300 from the asking price, this dealer fee still set the final price to $300 over the advertised price, which is clearly illegal. Eventually I told them I needed to go look at another car before making a decision since their price had significantly changed from what was agreed on. Once I stood up to leave, I gathered up the paperwork that I had signed so far since I wasn't going to just leave stuff like that with my signature behind. The finance manager wouldn't allow me to keep my paperwork, so I let her have it back once she agreed to shred everything in front of me. Now that I realize what they were trying to do is completely illegal, I better understand why they didn't want me to walk away with anything. A few hours later, the salesman (Lionel) called to tell me that they had reduced the advertised price to $18,200. I asked him if this price included the dealers fees, but he said it did not. When I explained to him that was against GA law to advertise a car without including all non-government fees, he tried telling me they've always done this and he's never heard of that law. I eventually told him I wasn't interested in doing business with a company that would engage in shady and illegal business practices like that, then shortly after emailed him a link to ga.gov which clearly outlines GA law and guidelines. At one point I actually had to sign a paper saying that I agreed to leave a review as well, so here you go ALM! ;) More