Jim Ralph

Easy trabsaction, no pushy games, Nick was great, thank you again. ...Mike D. And Cathy you again. ...Mike D. And Cathy More

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If I could rate this place zero stars, I would. People don’t like to buy cars because of the games dealerships play, and this place is no different. On a Friday, I inquired about a Pacifica through anothe don’t like to buy cars because of the games dealerships play, and this place is no different. On a Friday, I inquired about a Pacifica through another website. Salesman Mike Kirkwood responded and reached out to me about coming to see the vehicle. This is normal, and going to see the vehicle would be expected. However, and this is important, I live in St. Louis, roughly 250 miles away, so this is a special circumstance and would require consuming an entire day. Continuing... On Saturday, Mike and I speak on the phone and I made an offer, let’s call it price “C.” Mike proceeds to tell me that price “A” listed on the website was the firm price as they are a “no haggle” dealer. No problem. I thanked him for his time and hung up. Miraculously, a short time later, Mike phones me, leaves a message, and follows up with a text saying he spoke to his manager and they can actually offer price “B.” So much for, “no haggle,” right? I respond shortly after with, “hoping for price ‘C?’ I’ll put a deposit on it and get it Monday.” Mike’s response seven minutes later was, “Sounds good! I will have my manager call you to put a deposit on the vehicle.” Now to me, this means they’ve accepted my offer of price “C.” I then ask Mike to look into the documents I would need signed to trade in my current vehicle. I did this for a couple reasons; 1. As stated before, I live in Missouri about 250 miles away and wanted to have all documentation needed signed and notarized prior to getting the vehicle Monday because, 2. My wife is also listed on the title of the vehicle to trade in and would not be accompanying me on the journey, so we would need a power of attorney document notarized, granting me permission to trade in the vehicle without her present. So, when I call Mike later to place deposit, I first inquire about the answer to the needed documents. He first tells me I don’t need to make a deposit because they are now closed for the rest of the weekend, and the store GM has taken the vehicle home so I don’t need to worry about someone buying it. He then transfers me to a manager, I don’t remember who. Manager and I discuss the situation about the needed documents, and he tells me to bring the Missouri documents I’d already procured as they should be sufficient. We never ONCE discussed price. So on Sunday, I procure all the documents, find a notary public, get pre-approved for a loan in case the rate from Bettenhausen isn’t good, and transfer funds to my checking account to cover the down payment. I’m lining up all my ducks so Monday can go quickly and smoothly. I even had our trade in vehicle evaluated at a St. Louis CarMax on Saturday in anticipation of reaching a deal! If Bettenhausen’s offer on our trade wasn’t equal to CarMax, I was going to drive down the road to a Chicago area CarMax, sell it to CarMax, and Uber back to Bettenhausen. Monday morning, I get up at 0400 and am out the door by 0430. I get to Bettenhausen at around 0920. I’m greeted by Nick, who says he will be taking care of me. Not sure where Mike was, as I was never given an explanation. We look at the vehicle, I take it for a drive, I'm happy, and ready to move forward and get back home. Nick loads their website, shows me price “A,” and explains that’s the price, how they are a no haggle dealer, etc. I respond and tell him well actually, Mike and I agreed to price “C.” He seemed somewhat caught off guard, but pulls up our text conversation on his computer, and says, “Ok. I see that here. I’ll go get started evaluating your trade.” Perfect, right? Wrong. A couple minutes later, Nick comes back and informs me that the “managers never agreed to price “C,” so the price of the car is price “B.” I reread the text exchange to him again, emphasizing Mike’s “Sounds good” response to my price “C” offer. After several long minutes, Nick returns and asks me what CarMax offered for my trade, and says “we will meet or beat it.” I give him the document from CarMax and he leaves again. I am now really losing patience. He comes back again, is emphatic about price “B,” and also informs me that they will not, in fact, meet the CarMax offer. He then asks what rate I got for my loan and starts to type up the numbers for the sale. I said that doesn’t even matter if we can’t resolve this pricing issue. He says it’s definitely price “B.” At this point, I grab all my things and begin to leave, extremely angry. Nick offers to go speak to the manager again, does, and quickly returns and says “its price ‘B.’” With that, I leave. Fuming. I drive for about 5 minutes, turn around, and head back. I see Nick outside, and tell him I’d like to see the manager. He brings out the manager, Jim, who proceeds to inform me that they never agreed to it, and Mike’s response of “sounds good” was in reference to me accepting their offer of price “B” by saying I’ll place a deposit. I’m flabbergasted by this, as I never accepted anything, instead, I responded with the offer of price “C,” and that I would place deposit on their agreement of that offer. Jim then brings up the conversation I had with the manager about the needed documents, and says that manager, who conveniently wasn’t there, told me the price was “B.” More garbage. I told him we NEVER discussed price, only the documents. As you can imagine, the conversation went nowhere, with Jim stubbornly refusing to admit “Sounds good” was an acceptance of my offer of price “C.” even after I explained/pleaded that the whole reason I got up at 4am and drove 4.5hrs there was because Mike said “Sounds good.” The real kicker of the whole conversation was when I said, “I have the entire exchange on my phone, including where Mike said, “ sounds good” immediately after I offered price “C,” and Jim’s sarcastic response was, “good for you.” Shortly after that, I left for good. I know exactly why they did what they did. They knew I drove 4.5 hours to buy that vehicle, and figured I would give in to their games because I wouldn’t want to leave empty handed. But I did. I’m not going to play those stupid games. I think anyone in their right mind would think “sounds good” means “yes.” Well, anyone except a shady car sales manager who likes to twist words and the truth, all while hosing people day in and day out. For example, if someone texts you to go to dinner at Olive Garden, and you respond with, “hoping for Red Lobster? Pick me up at 7?” and their response is “Sounds good, I will call you on my way.” Where would YOU expect to eat? So much for “100% customer satisfaction.” More

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New Jeep Worked with Jim he was very kind, honest and patient. He showed me exactly what I wanted to see and answered my questions throughly. When it was time Worked with Jim he was very kind, honest and patient. He showed me exactly what I wanted to see and answered my questions throughly. When it was time to purchase I went straight to him. Love him! More

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Enjoyed doing business here I am not usually fond of car shopping, largely due to pushy sales people, and the price haggling involved. So doing business with Jim Ralph was a r I am not usually fond of car shopping, largely due to pushy sales people, and the price haggling involved. So doing business with Jim Ralph was a refreshing change in that he presented a laid-back style, and reasonable pricing. He was knowledgeable and was able to answer any questions we had about the car and the financing. We came just to LOOK at what they had in stock, but they had a JEEP Wrangler with the Sahara options package that fit what we were looking for, so we had ended up buying that day. We were handed-off to product demonstration specialist who demonstrated the many options on the vehicle while Jim was completing some paperwork. I am sorry to say that I’ve forgotten his name, but I hope that this message gets him some recognition for the fine job of explaining the different options and apps on our new vehicle. Kudos all around to Bettenhausen and their team. More

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New purchase of Chrysler Pacifica My husband and I had our first positive car buying experience. We were able to agree on numbers with Jessica via email before coming into the dealers My husband and I had our first positive car buying experience. We were able to agree on numbers with Jessica via email before coming into the dealership. The time that was saved doing that was invaluable to us with having 2 kids at home. We will only be doing our purchases that way going forward. It was also helpful to us that Jim and Tenita were willing to stay after hours to help us complete our purchase and trade in that night. More

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Jim the finance supervisor extremely condescending When I bought my 2018 Jeep here my credit was ran, which was expected. They checked around for the best interest rate. I ended up getting something on When I bought my 2018 Jeep here my credit was ran, which was expected. They checked around for the best interest rate. I ended up getting something on my own at a lower rate. I didn't notice until recently that I got 4 hard inquiries on my credit report!! It should only have been one. I was not told that I would have 4 hits against me. I spoke with Transunion who informed me that I had to call the banks that ran my credit to have the 3 removed. After finally getting ahold of someone from each bank , I was told that I needed to talk to Bettenhausen and get a letter of deletion from them. I then would have to send it to the banks. I spoke with Jim the finance supervisor at Bettenhausen. He was extremely condescending telling me that it wasn't a hard hit and it will fall off after 30 days. The credit was ran 10-12-18 and it is now 5-14-19. It's still on there as a hard hit that will be on for 2 years. After telling me basically that I didn't know what I was talking about, he said he could not do anything. All he had to do was give me a letter to send the banks but he had to be a condescending jerk instead. After dealing with Transunion and the banks for 3 days I am thoroughly disgusted. I bought a new Jeep from them and instead of being a decent human being Jim had to be a total xxx. More

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