Lima Auto Mall

Lima Auto Mall responded

We want to apologize for the experience that you had. As a dealership owned by the same family for over 100 years, we constantly strive to make every client and customers experience one that they feel is worth sharing. However, it sounds as though this experience fell short of your expectations and we are sorry to hear that. At times, we are also disappointed in the amount of time that it can take lenders to give us a decision for a proposed loan. Over the last ten years, many banks have changed how they look at an application. In most cases, they look at the overall risk which can include the amount financed, miles on the car/truck, loan term requested, the clients credit history and the credit score that they pull at the time that the application is submitted. Even though we use some of the newest technologies, market base price our vehicles to be the most competitive, and stream line our process to make things go a quickly as possible, this unfortunately can still leave us waiting to hear from the lender for a decision. And, while we do market base price our vehicles to ensure that we can maintain the most competitive prices in the area, we utilize the same technologies to give our clients the best possible trade in values. We are sometimes surprised at how the market changes on not only the cars that we have in stock, but also the vehicles that get traded in to us. We can certainly understand that this sometimes creates frustration in regard to the trade in values that are provided. In some instances, clients that owe more money yet on their trade-in than what they are able to sell it for on their own or, trade it in for, this can leave negative equity that some lenders will allow to be financed in with their new vehicle. This leaves the sale price the same, but does increase the amount that would be financed. As we have all of our vehicles clearly priced out on the lot, we adhere to the same pricing throughout the process. If you have any further concerns, we encourage you to reach out to us and we look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you again for your business. 419-993-6000

Lima Auto Mall responded

As a dealership owned by the same family for over 100 years, we here at Lima Auto Mall take our customers experience very seriously. That said, it sounds as though the experience that was had, was less than what was expected. We would like to acknowledge, in regard to the concern on negotiating, that the vehicle had been discounted more than $1000. When posed with the ultimatum that there would not be a visit to our dealership from the customer without an exact figure for the trade, before having the opportunity to see it, we did give an exact dollar amount. That same amount, once the truck arrived here at Lima Auto Mall, was still honored regardless of the few minor things that we were not made aware of before the visit. Before the visit to the dealership, the customer had seen all of the nearly 40 high definition pictures online and had talked about multiple ones during the conversation. Once at the dealership, the customer spent much time inspecting the truck as well as test driving. Once satisfied, the deal was consummated. After the customer had gone home, days later we had been called with a concern that there was a dent in the bed of the truck directly behind the rear cab window. The customer then sent to us the exact picture, with the dent in it, that was disclosed on our website when the truck was for sale. With the apparent frustration from the customer, we offered to reverse the purchase. In doing so we explained that we would take the new truck back that was purchased and in return give back the vehicle that was traded in with the customer owing the cost the dealership placed into their trade in as we prepared it for sale on the lot. These costs included a hung up caliper, detail, and several other items. When offered, the customer said that he wanted to keep his newer truck. We understand that a vehicle can be, for many, the second biggest purchase that is made in their lifetime. As such, we take the experience very seriously and want to make sure that it is as important to us as it is them. With that said, we again appreciate your business and if you need anything further, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 419-993-6000