Ray Skillman Westside Auto Mall

Andrew Hart has been extremely helpful to me this week. He has gone above and beyond the normal call of duty to locate exactly the right vehicle that fits my price range, mileage, options, etc. He took the time to stop and look at a van for me at a different lot than where he normally works. He did this on a Friday night on his way home from work. Whether or not I ultimately purchase a vehicle from him is still in doubt, not because of anything Andrew hasn't done, but mostly because his location is not convenient for me as I live about 70 miles away from the dealership. But even if I buy elsewhere, I want to say Andrew has been the most helpful and pleasant dealer I have dealt with in my recent shopping experience. Regards, Bob Root New Cstle, IN

I had been contemplating either purchasing or leasing a new(er) car to replace my 15-year-old Saab with 182k miles on it. I wanted something small, reliable, reasonably thrifty on gas and sporty to use as a commuter car. I ended up dropping into Ray Skillman Westside Mazda on a Saturday afternoon to look at a Mazda3 and maybe take a test drive. Anthony came out to the lot to meet me, and inquired about my interests, and after a brief pleasant discussion I went out on a test drive of a Mazda3 Sport hatchback. This was not the typical spin around the dealership test drive; we drove all the way up to Zionsville on I-65 and back down along Lafayette, so I was able to get really acquainted with the car, which I really liked. When we got back to the dealership, Anthony introduced me to Vince, the sales manager, and we talked about the Mazda a little bit. I was still doing research and thinking through my options, so I thanked Anthony and Vince, took their business cards and left. By Monday night, I had decided I wanted to pursue a lease of a 2011 Mazda3 Sport hatchback with specific options, based on some other test drives of competing models as well as some pretty heavy-duty research into prices, lease residuals, money factors, and all the other numbers that come into play for a lease. I sent Anthony an email Tuesday morning outlining what I wanted to do, the exact vehicle in their inventory that I wanted (which I found on their website and was on their other lot at Ray Skillman Mazda Northeast), what price I wanted to pay, and where I wanted to be on a lease. I went back and forth with Vince on price during the day on Tuesday via email/phone, eventually coming to an agreement on a very good price. Anthony went to the other dealership to retrieve the car, and brought it back to Ray Skillman Mazda West, where it was detailed and topped off with a full tank. Tuesday evening, I went to the dealership and met Anthony, took a quick spin in my new car, went through the paperwork with Walt (the finance manager), went through a couple of things with the car, the manual and other materials with Anthony, wrote a check for my first month's payment, thanked everyone, and drove away. It was completely painless and I got a great deal. I love my car too. I'd recommend this experience for anyone. That being said, it's important to do your homework before you buy or lease a car - let the Internet be your guide. Know what you want and what a good price to pay is. Know your credit score/history. Have financing lined up already through your bank or credit union or know what you're doing with a lease. Those folks that you see waiting around at a dealership and/or have frustrating experiences are those that walk in ill-prepared. I did my entire deal other than signing a few papers before I even went in to the dealership, so I was in-and-out. It was fantastic. Thanks, Anthony, Vince and Walt!

I recently started a car search. I had been to several dealerships around town (with no luck on finding what I wanted at the price I was willing to pay) when a friend referred me to Ray Skillman (she had just purchased a car from them). When I got to the dealership I was greeted by Austin and he promptly started showing me around. I found a car that I fell in love with. Unfortunately, the finance manager was swamped - so after waiting for over an hour, Austin and Nathaniel suggested I just take the car home for the weekend and come back on Monday to "do the paperwork". When I came back in on Monday, they unfortunately weren't able to get where I wanted my payments to be. At this point I thought I'd just continue my search (at my own pace). However, just a few days later I found myself in NEED of a car (my roommate had been letting me drive his car - he changed his mind - so now I was without a car). I called Austin and told him my situation. He said "let me get you a few options and I'll get back with you". Within an hour, he had called with 3 options - he had remembered the things I was looking for in a car - I didn't even have to recap what I was looking for (that's very rare for a salesperson). I came in a couple of hours later and had picked out 3 great options - in the end, I decided on a 2010 Dodge Avenger with very low miles and pretty much loaded - and get this - FIT INTO MY BUDGET! That's right, not the back and forth dickering that you normally get at a car dealer. In a nutshell, Austin and Nathaniel were great - which is why I'm writing this review - I almost never do this. I want to thank them for helping me and getting me into a great car. I would recommend them to anyone!

Robert Katz Indianapolis, IN April 26, 2011 Justin Bunte General Manager Ray Skillman Westside Auto Mall 5155 Pike Plaza Indianapolis, In 46254 Dear Mr. Bunte, I am writing to you to bring to your attention the outstanding service of sales consultant David Gurdian. I am a supremely satisfied owner of a 2010 Lancer that I purchased from Ray Skillman Westside Auto Mall, with the invaluable assistance of David Gurdian. I purchased the car back in November 2010 as an early birthday present to myself, and now that my birthday is here, I knew that I must seize the occasion to write a long-overdue letter of thanks to Ray Skillman for two amazing things: first, for enabling me to buy a car that I love, could afford, and at the best price in Indianapolis, and second, for enabling me to navigate the car buying process from the most gracious, informed, helpful, patient, affable -- in a word, the best -- auto sales consultant I have ever encountered or heard about. I make these claims with a high degree of confidence. I can research matters very carefully (I am an attorney and a professor) and I brought all my researching skills to bear on my search for a car. I met and spent significant amounts of time with salepersons and floor managers at virtually every dealership in Indianapolis -- including Andy Mohr, Butler, Carmax, Bob Rohrman, Tutwiler, Woody Sander, and Penske. The differences between my experience with David Gurdian as compared to those other salespersons and dealerships were vast. Dave was far more than a salesperson for me. He was a guide -- a kind of sherpa -- on my quest for the right car. David spent an enormous amount deal of time helping me figure what kind and which model of car that I wanted and needed -- three dozen or so e-mails, several visits, at least a dozen test drives of various cars, and much time on the phone. This was a radically different experience than my encounters with other salespersons, who focused mainly on this or that specific car, and displayed little curiosity as to what I was looking to accomplish in my purchase, and offered no help in refining my preferences or clarifying in my own mind what I could and wanted to accomplish. David was very knowledgeable about every aspect of cars that bore on my decisionmaking and could explain it in a way that was very accessible to this layperson -- including very fine details about the differences of continuously variable transmission, which played an important role in my decision to buy the Lancer. David also found ways to engage my twelve year old son, a budding car aficionado who accompanied me in my car hunt, and made the experience both fun and educational for him. David candidly and fairly explained the pros and cons in buying a car from Skillman versus certain other dealerships. He spot-on-accurate guidance helped me understand the opaque and misleading nature of others’ practices and offers. The contrast between David’s approach to helping car hunters and those of salesmen and male managers at other dealerships is dramatic. Some of those people made me feel that if I asked too many questions, if I probed too deeply, took up too much of their time, they would explode. It was like they were trying to bully me into buying a car from them! If I were an auto sales consultant, I would want to conduct myself just like David did. If I owned an auto dealership, I would want to hire David as my CEO and train all my sales consultant. I can’t imagine ever buying a car for myself or a family member from someone else, and I enthusiastically recommend David to everyone I encounter who is thinking about buying a car. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and for making my birthday this year extra special. Best, Rob

Our buying experience at Ray Skillman was terrific. Nate Edwards was courteous, friendly and most importantly not "pushy". He and Jeff Polley knew what we wanted and what we wanted to pay and they worked really hard to get us into our beautiful silver Sonata. Because I wanted a silver Sonata and they didn't have one on the lot (they had to find one for me) I hadn't seen my actual car before I picked it up. When we got to the dealership to pick it up, there was this beautiful car sitting in the show room with balloons tied on it and a red carpet leading up to it. In the front window they had put a sign Judy and Dave's new car. It was a really fun experience. All in all, we highly recommend Ray Skillman Hyundai if you want a fair deal and great people to work with. Judy and Dave Wilson

My overall experience with the Ray Skillman west-side auto mall was fantastic. Dennis Kitchens (sales) was very knowledgeable and friendly making my visit enjoyable instead of stressful. The dealership offered competitive pricing and was still able to allow for negotiation, which greatly influenced my decision to purchase a new vehicle. The car I bought was immaculate and well kept while on the lot before purchase. I strongly recommend this dealership for all potential buyers.

As a first time new car buyer, I had heard bad things about what to expect from a car salesman. I did not have anything but a wonderful experience at Ray Skillman West. My car salesman, Dennis Kitchens, was nice, friendly, honest, and he didn't pressure me at all to make decisions or purchase a car I did not want at a price I didn't want. He held my hand through the process, which was what I needed as a first time buyer, and made everything as easy as possible. He was very thorough about the details of the car I was interested in buying both before and after I had made my purchase, which I really appreciated and then felt confident driving off the lot with my new car. I could not have asked for a better car salesman! Dennis Kitchens' honesty was refreshing and greatly appreciated!Dave Canary was also wonderful to work with. He made the process of having to sign a million papers easy and fun. I was really dreading the process of buying a new car, but Ray Skillman West completely changed my day into an experience that was fun and enjoyable! All of the staff I encountered while I was there were friendly and I felt they really took the time to be genuine to their customers. I wouldn't choose any other dealer for any future purchases! Thank you for such a great experience, Ray Skillman West! :-)

Austin was fabulous. We were referred by a friend. I called him when we were close to the dealership and he met us at the front door with a friendly wave. The entire experience was very pleasant. We knew what we wanted and had done our research, but he still got us a better deal than we had hoped for. He was friendly and not pushy. It was nice to see a salesman so enthusiastic about making sure we were happy. While we waited on the number crunching he talked with us about his family and pets. It was like talking to a friend. I would highly recommend Austin to anyone looking for a pleasant car buying experience (actually, we just bought the car last night and have already recommended him to a friend). Thanks Austin (and Walter) for a friendly, pleasant and fun car buying experience!

I came into the dealership looking for an inexpensive car for my son to take to college. Austin was very knowledgeable about all the cars on the lot and was able to help us find a car that was in our price range. When we had a small issue with the car Austin personally went to the service center with me to make sure that the issue was resolved. I have recommend him to many other people and when I am in need of a new car I will be going back to Skillman and Austin. The people at Skillman are very nice and do their best to make you feel comfortable and do not pressure you to buy, they allow you time to mull the choice over, which is why you will probably buy from them.

Being a female, I always feel that we often get ripped off when it comes to getting our cars serviced. The reason I send people especially female's to Ray Skillman's is because Carla Loyd makes us feel like we are human being first and foremost, she explains things in such a way that you really understand what's going on with your automobile. We do not feel that the dealship is going to take advantgage of us. The most important thing that Carla does is she will call with a follow up call about the service. Wow!!! That alone in the eyes of a female is great service. Thank you Ray Skillman and especially Carla for the integrity that you are bringing back to the service industry.