Sean Wardrope | Page 63

We were in search of a used car for our daughter, we had We were in search of a used car for our daughter, we had spent most of Friday evening visiting various dealerships up and down Broadway. We planne We were in search of a used car for our daughter, we had spent most of Friday evening visiting various dealerships up and down Broadway. We planned on getting a head start on looking before we brought our daughter to look and help make the final decision on her new car. We came back early Saturday morning with our daughter and test drove and visited 3 dealerships, one of which was Courtesy Acura we spoke with Sean and we test drove a Jeep Liberty. We informed Sean that we had found another Jeep Liberty at a dealership up the way and we wanted to go show our daughter and test drive that car. Sean was very understanding and did not pressure us in anyway to make us feel uncomfortable, he then stated the his chances of selling us a car went down if we left and he indicated that he wanted us to be satisfied with are final decision. We did go to the other dealership and had to wait for 20 minutes till they found the salesmen we had spoke to on Friday. Test drove the Jeep Liberty and realized it was not nearly as clean as the one at Courtesy Acura. We went back to Courtesy Acura and met with Sean and we test drove the Jeep again to make are final decision. Sean was very friendly and informative on the car. He has a great sense of humor and we did not feel any pressure to hurry up and buy a car. We also had the great pleasure of working with Rick Armijo and Zsaree Dunbar. Rick helped out with the USAA discount info that I needed and Zsaree was very helpful in explaining the financing opitions and got us a lower interest rate which was a great surprise! Needless to say we would recommend this dealership, and when we chose to buy another car Courtesy Acura will be are #1 choice. What a great team of people they have there. More

Helpful 0

Report | Print

I came across Courtesy Acura by accident. Frantically searching the past few months for a pre-owned Honda Accord to replace my dying 1995 Volkswagon Jetta, I was checking websites daily looking for a car searching the past few months for a pre-owned Honda Accord to replace my dying 1995 Volkswagon Jetta, I was checking websites daily looking for a car that met all of my criteria. I had looked at least ten cars, and a local body shop had taught me what to look for. I wanted a neutral color. (Hey, I'm a woman and can't help that aesthetics are the first thing on my list.) It needed to be a 2004 or newer with no more than 70,000 miles. There couldn't be any accidents in its history. I don't just mean a clear Carfax, but rather no visible signs of anything being hammered back into place; all the spaces on the hood needed to be symmetrical; and the VIN numbers needed to match on all doors, which meant a door hadn't been replaced. I was surprised at how many "clean" cars didn't pass this simple inspection. Finally, I prefered an EX model for the great sound system and driver seat lumbar support, though I wasn't crazy about the heated leather seats that came with most EX models, which drove me crazy on my parents' car growing up. I will never understand why people want their butts to be warm. I believe I found the car on Cars.com. It was 2007 dark gray Honda Accord EX with 52,000 miles and cloth seats, advertised well below KBB value. It seemed too good to be true, which is always particularly scary when it comes to used cars. I called the dealership that day and had an appointment to see it that night with Sean Wardrope. Let me take a moment to say, perhaps stereotypically, that, as a rule, I hate car salesmen. Sorry, Sean, it's nothing personal. But the layman just cannot afford to like the people who sell them used cars, since the buyers are almost always guaranteed to be taken advantage of in some way. Especially as a woman, you can almost smell the condescension when you walk onto a dealership lot. Besides, I work in retail, too, and know that when it comes to closing the deal, you will almost always say what you need to say, even if it's not entirely true. It's self preservation and human nature. That said, this is a positive review, I promise! I went in that night with my boyfriend, Hank, and we did the routine test-drive of the Accord. I loved that Sean didn't ask to come with us. I am wary of dealerships that feel the need to drive with you on the test-drive, mostly, I suspect, to distract you from really looking/listening/feeling out the car. When we got back, he asked us to sit down with him to exchange ideas and ask questions. I told him I loved the car, but that it had a small buzz in the passenger door that was very quiet but a little annoying nonetheless, especially to a musician. He said he hadn't noticed it before but would check it out. I also told him that after taxes and dealership fees, the car was still about $1000 over my budget, even if I was able to trade in my piece-of-crap vehicle. (He ended up giving me $500 for it, which was the same as all of the other dealerships offered.) Sean went to talk with the manager and said that, unfortunately, they had just knocked $1000 off of the price two days before and couldn't come down any more. They would barely make money on it at the current price. I put up a bit of a fight (what dealership can't come down?), and in the end Sean came down $150 against his manager's wishes. He admitted it wasn't much, but it was all he could do. He knew (like I did) that the price was already more than reasonable. I need to mention here that I am a commitment phobe, because I think it is relevant to what happened next. I was about to walk away, a little angry that Sean wasn't working with my budget, but he wouldn't have it. He mentioned how great the car was and reasonable the price. He really wanted to make this work. I told him I would think about it overnight and would maybe stop by after work the next day. It was 8pm, and Hank and I were burnt out and hungry. I told him I wanted to have it checked out by my own mechanic anyway. He still wouldn't have it. He knew the car would sell quickly and maybe even the next day. He suggested I sign paperwork that agreed that I would buy it contingent upon inspection by whatever mechanic I wanted to take it to. He assured me that all I had to say after the inspection was, "My mechanic doesn't think I should buy it." And the deal would be off without further explanation or interrogation. I still didn't want to sign anything, even though Hank thought I should. So I left, saying I would be in touch. I went home that night and suddenly got a feeling of panic that I would lose this car if I waited until the following night. I thought about calling Sean immediately and telling him to get the paperwork ready for me to sign in the morning. Instead I called my dad, who told me what I already knew (and my boyfriend had already told me)--that the car was a good deal, and I should take it contingent upon the mechanic not finding anything major wrong with it. And the buzz wasn't a deal breaker, even if they couldn't fix it. Even new cars could have quirky buzzes and squeaks. The next morning I signed the paperwork and took my potential new car for the day, slowly falling in love with the thing. Thankfully, the mechanic's inspection the next morning went perfectly. All it needed was some routine cleaning and a slight alignment adjustment. When I showed Sean the copy of the inspection, he offered immediately to fix the alignment and look at the door buzz that day. He also told me to call him when I needed my first oil change, and he would take care of it and see what he could do about the flushes suggested by the mechanic, a gracious and unexpected offer. They spent a few hours taking the car door apart and insulating it. In the end, the buzz seemed to have disappeared, and Sean asked me to pay half of the labor time ($75), which seemed fair. I signed over my lease, and drove my new car home! The following day, the buzz came back. I literally broke down and cried. The past few days (and months) of car shopping had been so intense, and I had tried to have everything work out perfectly, even though I knew that any car was a used mechanical instrument that could never be perfect. I called Sean the next day, trying not to feel panicked or crazy. He just said calmly to bring it in whenever I could, and they would try again, and to play the stereo a little louder in the meantime. They would figure it out. I laughed and immediately felt better. Three days later, the buzz seems to have disappeared again. I spoke with Sean this morning, and he told me just to bring it in whenever it starts again, even if that's months down the line. Very soft, intermittent buzz aside, I am incredibly happy with my Honda, and I have to remind myself daily that it's mine! It's such an amazing car, and I feel so positive about my buying experience and the price I paid for it. And I feel very secure having bought from Courtesy Acura. I feel like they are taking care of my car's needs and have my best interests in mind, and I know I have an advocate in Sean. Coming from a skeptical person like I am, that's saying something. Thanks, Sean and everyone at Courtesy Acura! More

Helpful 0

Report | Print

I recently purchased a vehicle from this dealership and was pleasantly surprised at the level of service my wife and I received. From the minute we arrived it was not your typical "shark smelling blood in was pleasantly surprised at the level of service my wife and I received. From the minute we arrived it was not your typical "shark smelling blood in the water" experience I have had over the years. I was greeted extremely courteously by Sean Wardrope, who rather than push into my personal space informed me that when I was ready for help, or had any questions he would be available. With that, he faded into the background. I actually had the chance to browse without feeling like the vultures were circling. Knowing exactly what I wanted, and spotting it shortly thereafter, Mr. Wardrope proceeded to work me through the purchase process with a very casual, yet extremely professional,confident and knowledgeable demeanor that is not often found in this day and age of deteriorating customer service. I can honestly say that while it is possible I could have haggled more, and even possibly searched further for a cheaper priced vehicle, the service I received, from start to finish removed any such thoughts from my mind. I felt it important to send this note because it has been a very long time since I have felt that someone on the selling end of a product has displayed such a sense of pride in his trade. Mr. Wardrope has absolutely earned my respect, and along with that, my recommendations to associates and friends with regards to their next vehicle purchase. Thank you for you time. More

Helpful 0

Report | Print