Volkswagen SouthTowne

Don't trust John or Trevor They lied to my mom and told her it was going to be cheaper in the long run for her to lease the vehicle and then buy after a year. She would have bee They lied to my mom and told her it was going to be cheaper in the long run for her to lease the vehicle and then buy after a year. She would have been better off buying outright when she first went in. Eight months in to her lease they let her know it would be $7000 more to buy the vehicle than when she first went in. Of course they "couldn't do anything" unless she just wanted to return the vehicle. She had already put down so much and been making monthly payments in anticipation of buying after a year. WORST SALES PEOPLE! Or possibly the best if your company is looking to lie and cheat people out of their money... 🤔 More

Be warned and be smarter than I was I have struggled with writing a review because of how embarrassed I am that I signed the financial documents that I did for the car loan I entered int I have struggled with writing a review because of how embarrassed I am that I signed the financial documents that I did for the car loan I entered into on 7/13/18 here at VW SouthTowne. I made my first newish used car purchase here in 2011. They worked with me and helped me get into a VW Rabbit that I loved. I visited them again a few years later in 2015, to find out if they could help me figure out a deal to trade in that VW Rabbit. I left with a 2016 Jetta lease. The payment worked out for me and was reasonable, considering there was some negative equity in the VW Rabbit I traded in. After these two financial transactions, I was super happy and a fan of the dealership. Fast forward to July 6, 2018. I had to take the 2016 Jetta in for an oil change. After that oil change, I received a phone message from Chris at VW SouthTowne to see if I was happy with the current lease. I called him back and talked to him briefly. I let him know that my husband and I might consider looking at getting into a newer vehicle if the payments would be around the same or less as what we were currently paying. Based on my past experience, this seemed like it could be a good thing for our family. On Friday, 7/13, we arrived and talked about what we wanted: a better situation for our family, be it a new car and lower payment, then great. After test driving a couple of 2018 Jettas, we sat down to have the "numbers guy", not Chris, come and present us with options. Before we could start talking options, my husband had to leave with our two toddlers who were cranky. The options were far from what we had discussed with Chris: $1,500 down and $699 a month. No...that is actually two things that we were not coming to do, bring cash AND increase our monthly payment by $300. Another option was given, and it was just as backwards as the first. "Numbers guy" finally came back with lease buyout and a $400ish a month payment. To my trusting mind, that sounded great. So we proceeded. During this process, my husband is calling and texting me to hurry and finish because driving the kids around is not helping and they are irritated. 45 minutes later, after finding my insurance coverage info online, I proceeded to meet with Tony to sign papers electronically. Tony was very knowledgeable, friendly and kind. He made the signing process quick; we were done in 10 minutes max. I admit I was distracted by the insistence of my husband's texts to hurry out, but I still remember most of what was said in my signing. Tony gives me a thumb drive with my loan papers and his card. I left feeling like I had been taken care of again by VW SouthTowne. 2 weeks later, I contacted a bank to refinance my loan to a much lower rate. For the first time, I saw all of the loan costs. I called & talked to Tony to clarify that I did not want/need these additional costs. I was told that they were needed or I would have had to bring money down. That was the 1st time I had heard that. I wasn't asked about money down for the lease buy out at any time. I tried to figure out how I had signed away the next 6 YEARS of my life for a vehicle that is 127% upside down, for costs I did not agree to because no one ever said in order to do this lease buyout we have to add additional services to offset things. I emailed with Tony, trying to explain that I wasn't aware of the situation and that I needed help to undo the bad loan. After many emails & an in-person visit, the bottom line was that the loan had funded. There was nothing that could be done. I should have paid better attention to the bottom line loan amount & term of the loan.I may be the stupid one here & I'll pay for it. BEFORE YOU BUY HERE: Don't think this dealership will stop you from entering into a car loan that is not best for you or your family, even if you are a long time customer. If you don't ask them for details, they won't offer them transparently. Be warned and be smarter than I was. Make them explain where every $ is going before you decide what to do. I can only hope this will help others avoid the HUGE mistake I made. Good luck. More

Federal Recall- Abandon Customer My first experience with the Volkswagen South Towne dealership was terrible. I received notice from VW advising the Federal Government put a recall on My first experience with the Volkswagen South Towne dealership was terrible. I received notice from VW advising the Federal Government put a recall on my Passat relating to a fuel pump control module. The part can cause the battery to drain, quit running while driving and a potential to crash or lose power. Coincidentally, my car broke down a month ago for this exact reason. When I scheduled an appointment to have it fixed I asked if they would be towing it as I cannot drive a vehicle that won’t run. They declined to tow or cover cost. That said, I have to pay $200 to have my car towed yet VW and their service centers and dealerships won’t assist with getting cars that broke down due to this reason to their center. This is my only vehicle for my wife and kids. I’m in the market for a new vehicle but will not buy from VW or VW South Towne as a result. More

Fantastic Experience- Bests other VW Dealers I had been to another VW dealer earlier that day and the sales team had been aggressive and tried to push me into a vehicle I didn't want. They also s I had been to another VW dealer earlier that day and the sales team had been aggressive and tried to push me into a vehicle I didn't want. They also stated that they didn't have any 2019 Jettas in the base model but the sales member I had spoken to on the phone stated they had several. It was not a good experience. I called South Towne VW and spoke to Sijan, he listened to what kind of cars I wanted to look at and had one of the cars I wanted to look at up front and ready when I arrived. He provided a good demo of the vehicle and answered all my questions. He wasn't aggressive or over-eager to make a sale, it made my experience so much better. The finance department was also amazing! Axel spent a long time on the phone securing the best deal and rebates on the car he could. He was friendly and upfront about all the offers and charges involved. This was one of the smoothest experiences I have ever had. More

SouthTowne is Downgrading its Customer Service - Disaster Can I do zero stars for service? Don't waste your time or money at SouthTowne. They're in it for the short-term buck and not a long-term customer rel Can I do zero stars for service? Don't waste your time or money at SouthTowne. They're in it for the short-term buck and not a long-term customer relationship. Our history with SouthTowne has been over the last few years. Historically their service department was very pleasant, reasonably priced, and accommodating. However, very recently they made a conscious decision to downgrade their customer service. What a poor short-sited decision. Over the past years we have gotten repairs and oil changes from SouthTowne. There have been a couple times where after they have completed the oil change, our oil gauge light would come on. In those couple instances, we took the car back in and SouthTowne was good about topping off the oil and all was good. Recently we changed our oil, the light came on. We took it in last night and they said they could "sell me a quart of oil and that I could it put in myself". What has happened to their Customer Service?? Disastrous service!!! I don't care about a few bucks for a quart of oil. I care about the messaging of my worth as a customer. I called today just to make sure I really understood correctly that they were downgrading their customer service policies. They confirmed with me on the phone. I also corresponded with someone on their website. Person on the website said she would forward my information and a manager would contact me shortly. It's been a day and I haven't heard anything back from them. We're buying a new car soon. I will NOT consider buying from SouthTowne. I want to buy with somebody that will value a long-term customer relationship that benefits both parties. SouthTowne appears to have changed it's customer service policies. Avoid using them!! More

Please do not waste your time I am just hoping to help other people to not have to go through what we have been through with this dealership. The mailer they sent out saying we had I am just hoping to help other people to not have to go through what we have been through with this dealership. The mailer they sent out saying we had one $3,500 to Walmart is a scam. There were many people there who were also scammed and very upset. It is sad that a company would play with people's emotions this way. I hope we can all ban buying from this dealership and show that honesty and integrity wins over lying and deception. More

They scammed us and tricked us! Worst dealership ever! Whatever you do, do NOT go to Volkswagen Southtown!!! We had a co-signer. They sent the papers to our co-signer in a different state to sign the paper Whatever you do, do NOT go to Volkswagen Southtown!!! We had a co-signer. They sent the papers to our co-signer in a different state to sign the papers only to find they had changed the terms in the agreement behind our back. I have never met more of a slimey man than the finance guy, Tony Seaver. Before all this happened, once we thought we had bought the car, they sent us to Tony where he tried to pressure us and make us feel uncomfortable with upgrading to a package we couldn’t afford even though we kept telling him this. He only hears what he wants to hear and he has that gross salesman type of feel about him. We did however have good experiences with Gabe, our salesman and Nicole who did extend herself for us once Tony threatened us. Overall, I would not return to this place as long as Tony Seaver is working there. This man is shady. More

Worse than you think. Without a doubt, South Town Volkswagen was the worst experience my wife and I have ever had attempting to buy anything in our lives. We feel highly di Without a doubt, South Town Volkswagen was the worst experience my wife and I have ever had attempting to buy anything in our lives. We feel highly disrespected, frustrated and couldn’t be more unhappy with how we were treated. Without reading this entire review you can understand my point being made by the apology text Tom, our sales representative who is a manager, sent to us after we left the final time. In his own words “if Ken G (Ken Garff Volkswagen) is going to do that deal with no funny business then I would go that route.” The following review highlights the highly unprofessional nature of South Town Volkswagen. My wife and I went in on a Friday morning to look at a specific Jetta. We found the exact one she liked and went from there. At first Olivia and Beto, who are newer employees, were very kind and friendly. We have no problems with them at all – they were just not able to talk numbers because they were so new and inexperienced. Tom, one of the sales managers met with us and attempted to force us into a lease option. After telling him we did not want to lease multiple times he finally showed us financing options for buying. None of them were reasonable. After being at the dealership for 3 hours (most of that time sitting and waiting with Tom gone) we informed him we were going to look around and he told us if any other dealer is able to beat their out the door price he would beat that price by $500 no questions asked. He then gave us a $500 dealer discount card to verify that offer. Later that night Olivia and Beto called us back and informed us that Tom had verified with them that they would give us the price we were asking for earlier that day. We told Olivia to be certain that Tom said that was the out the door price and she guaranteed to us that Tom said it was. The deal was only good for that night though… (We knew it wasn’t, but wanted the vehicle) so we changed our plans and drove 45 minutes to buy the Jetta. When we arrived, Tom brought out a bunch of numbers that were 10% higher (multiple thousands of dollars) than the promised price on the phone. We told him no, we want what we were promised. He went “back and forth” with the finance team “arguing in our favor” but every time he came back the APR was higher or the lease term was longer resulting in a price that always cost more over the course of the loan. We spent 2 hours Friday night having Tom and the finance team attempt to swindle us into a purchase with numbers that were not reasonable. They blatantly lied to us about the price so we would come back in. On Saturday we reached out to a few different Volkswagen dealers. Within 4 emails we received an offer that was better than any offer South Town gave us, without the hassle. I texted Tom a picture of the offer and he said he would beat it. Monday morning I called Tom to verify that he would still beat the offer. He guaranteed me they would beat the offer by $500 and he even verified it with the General Manager. We set up a time to come in and pick up the Jetta and Tom clearly mentioned that it would be a quick in and out. When we arrived, the paperwork was not ready. We sat in the room for over an hour while they tried to figure it out. The finance guys were telling Tom they couldn’t do the deal because they would lose money. We then were offered a deal that was multiple thousands above what we went in to receive. At that point, after wasting many hours and having to go back to the dealership two additional times, we completely knew South Town Volkswagen was not going to honor their word. Upon leaving Tom texted us to apologize because he realized that we had been treated like objects and not people. Though Tom most likely was not the cause for all the lies (the finance department might not have let it go through after the price deduction) he wasn’t straight forward with us about pricing and attempted multiple times to sell us the vehicle at a price well above a reasonable amount. We also finding it strange/fascinating that the GM would not honor his word either. If looking to have a rocky rollercoaster ride that ends up with vomit – South Town Volkswagen is a sure bet. It seems like the South Town Volkswagen branch took a page out of the executive’s company culture, which cost them roughly $15,000,000,000 (15 billion) because they had “clean diesel” just like we had a “$500 discount guaranteed.“ Again to reiterate Tom’s own words from his apology text to me “If Ken G is going to do that deal with no funny business then I would go that route.” It just shows that even Tom knows we were played like a fiddle and lied to frequently at South Town. Probably not the first time he has experienced that. More

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE COMPANY! SHADY LIARS. THEY WILL DO AND SAY ANYTHING TO CLOSE A DEAL AND SCREW YOU OVER. WATCH OUT FOR THEIR HIDDEN FEES AND LIES. THEY SAY ONE THING AND DO AN SHADY LIARS. THEY WILL DO AND SAY ANYTHING TO CLOSE A DEAL AND SCREW YOU OVER. WATCH OUT FOR THEIR HIDDEN FEES AND LIES. THEY SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER…. HORRIBLE COMPANY. DO NOT EVER PURCHASE A CAR FROM THEM!!! GO ANYWHERE BUT TO THEM. Five years ago I purchased a 2011 Passat from VW Southtowne. One year after I purchased the car I was driving my daughter to school and the car stopped working. It gave out, no power. I called a tow truck to take it to Strong VW. They looked at the car and informed me the engine had blown and that I was a few hundred miles of a warranty that would cover it, however, it may be a manufacturing defect and needed to be looked into more. I called VW Southtowne because I purchased the car from them. They told me they would take care of me and had the car towed to their dealership. After 8 hours in the dealership, they informed me the car could have had a manufacturing defect but they were not sure and would need to look into it further. In the meantime, I needed a car to drive for work. They put me into a ‘lease’ when I informed them I was not a good candidate for a lease as I drive 20,000+ a year. They informed me it was the only way to make things work at this point. They put me at a 10,000 mile a year lease informing me I didn’t need to worry because I would be flush with the car in about 1.5 - 2 years and I could then sell the car instead of turning it back in. They told me if the 2011 Passat turns out to not be a manufacturing defect then it won’t be so bad because they were going to cover most of the negative equity in the car now that it needs a new engine. They said to fix the 2011 Passat it would cost me around 5,000-6,000. (money I didn’t have to spend at that time). They said if I got into a lease with a new Passat they had incentives and dealership money they could use to offset the negative equity I now had, so essentially they told me I would only be rolling 4,500 negative equity into the new lease as to how I would be flush with it in 1.5 -2 years and could then sell the car. They also told me I was going to save money on gas because the new Passat gets better gas mileage. So they ended up putting me into a 4-year lease on a Passat with a 10,000 mile a year allowance totally a monthly payment of $600.00, but not to worry, because I was saving money and they were helping with the negative equity and I could sell the car in 1.5 - 2 years. So even though the payment was not more than doubled what it was before. I was going to have to make sacrificed in my life to make this payment, but “they were helping me out” So now 4 years later after I have paid 600.00 a month I am unable to sell the car without losing $6,000.00. There is no way out of it. The car has depreciated so much it’s not worth nearly what I still owe on it if I were to purchase the car. If I had it into the dealership I will get penalized over $6,000 alone for going over the miles because of the agreement they put me into, but “NOT TO WORRY” In addition to that.. Watch out for their hidden fees of $4,000 to just take out a loan with them.. something they hide from you. In addition. I never found out what happened to the 2011 Passat. They never told me if it was a manufacturing defect or not. I just ended up paying for it and the other Passat and I still get to pay another $6,000.00 just to get rid of the car. These people are horrible!!!! DO NOT EVER BUY A CAR FROM THEM.. GO ANYWHERE ELSE BUT TO THEM! I went to VW the other day to see if they could do anything to make this situation right. The man told me that in fact, it was not $4,500 negative equity they rolled into the new Passat lease, but intact it was $9,000.00 (news to me). In addition, to purchase the car I will have paid 100% FULL MSRP for the car, something no one ever does, plus an additional $9,000.00 they lied to me about. They are crooks, liars, and horrible horrible heartless people! They tell you one thing to your face and another thing in the contract without informing you of the truth. Watch out for these people. DO NOT EVER GO THERE OR LET ANYONE YOU KNOW GO TO VW SOUTHTOWNE. THEY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN FOR THEIR SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES. More

Service dept that blows your concerns off. Had my wife's car in for multiple concerns. They never called with an update me during the day so I would know if I had a ride home. Of the 4 concerns Had my wife's car in for multiple concerns. They never called with an update me during the day so I would know if I had a ride home. Of the 4 concerns I told them about, I got one story of we are going to order parts for one concern. Then upon dropping my car off I was told after I had to call again, that they were just going to tighten a bolt and the problem would be solved. Well, problem still there, plus my other concerns were blown off. A manual that will not go into first or reverse whenever it's cold I think is a big concern, a moonroof that will not close, front Windows that squeak when rolling down, a clutch pedal that would lose pressure and an entertain screen that would go black for no apparent reason. Her car only had 5500 miles at the time. So all that and they could only find one problem. I'm going to Strong in Salt Lake at least they gave me a loaner so i didn't have to waist my day at the dealershipwith my little daughter. Thank you STRONG VW! More