Charles Gabus Ford, the worst customer service ever !

[Arkansas Cyclone]

I don't mind shopping for a lot of things but I agree with one of the other replies that I absolutely HATE shopping for vehicles.

I bought a jeep from Landers McClarty in Bentonville. They totally screwed things up after signing and basically shrugged it off. I kept the jeep around two months but was so furious about what had happened that I took it to Hendren just across the state line and bought a mustang and then blasted Landers by email stating exactly what I thought of their dealership letting them know that if you get a good experience you might tell one or two people but if you get a bad experience you'll tell 10 or 12 (and I have).

I don't know why but the dealerships in Arkansas are impossible to deal with. I've bought in Oklahoma and Missouri with no problems. I even bought a truck from a dealership in Ames when I was back there hunting pheasants once and had a decent experience.

 

[CyGal]

My coworker bought a car for her father last weekend at Stivers in Waukee. They found a car they liked, but it didn't have cruise control. They mention this to the salesman and he promises first thing that they can install one for them. So they buy the car, take it home and call on Monday to set up an appointment to get the CC installed. The guy on the phone says they don't even make CCs for that model, so they can't do anything for them. So my coworker asks for the manager and tries to explain what happened. Halfway through her explaination he suddenly yells at her "Well if you're going to keep going on and on I'm not going to do anything for you." They eventually got it all worked out, yesterday, but she's never going back to this dealer again.

As for Toyota of DM, my husband and I bought a Matrix there a couple years ago and had a good experience. Last year we were looking for a truck and found one there we liked. The manager of the sales department took over since our salesman from our first deal was busy. We sat down in his office and without even asking him to he knocked a couple thousand off the price for us. Everyone there was very nice, and other than being quite busy that day, we had a very good experience.

 

[dosry5]

I will add to the do not buy list

Car City... Got screwed bad.

It's owned by one of the Moyers, I think it's Karl Moyer's (Karl Chevrolet) nephew. Either way I will never buy from a Moyer again.

Car City
Karl Chevrolet
Hawkeye Motors


I believe all of these are owned by them. I heard Karl a decent guy, but the rest is organized crime if you ask me.

This purchase was done when I was 20, I was young and have learned I will always buy from the bigger dealers. I don't think they usually prey on people as much.

I don't care who owns it....you shouldn't buy at Hawkeye Motors simply because of the name.

 

[dosry5]

And seriously, the Hawkeye Motors thing, gets me on another rant----why do businesses or owners use a name like that? If it was IC, okay--but in dsm? I seriously wouldn't buy the perfect car from them. Other businesses are like that too---you get owners who are vocal and opinionated and up alienating lots of their potential customer base---perfect example for me would be that fool Tom Coates from Consumer Credit of Des Moines. I don't have credit issues, but if I did he is the last person I would go to. He is a regular guest host on Mac's World (another idiot) on 98.3 and he is just a jerk know-it-all and does absolutely nothing but trash people who don't agree with him. You're a business owner on the radio, idiot, tone it down. Sorry about the rant, I needed it.

 

[isufbcurt]

Hawkeye motors used to be called Platinum motors.

 

[acrozier22]

Never shopped at Gabus and never will. I don't know a single person that has bought a car there, had it serviced and subsequently had anything good to say about them.

However, we've bought 3 vehicles from Hummel's Nissan and have yet to have anything remotely close to a negative experience.

I'm buying my next car from Hummel's and I live in SE Iowa. That place is great!

 

[cybsball20]

Bob L at Hummel's is another great one... and my uncle :wink:

 

[iowast8fan]

My uncle lives in Vegas. The car salesmen there are rediculous. He brought his car in for a trade. While negotiating with the salesman, they took his keys to test drive the trade-in so they could give my uncle a trade-in value. When my uncle decided he didn't want to buy from them, they flat out refused to return his keys while they tried to convince him to buy. He didn't get his keys back until he threatened to call the police to claim theft.

 

[tube1]

somewhere I saw a piece on the three buckets dealers try to make money.

1. price of car
2. price of trade-in
3. finance rate

the volume of all three are always the same... take some out of bucket 1 and they add (to their favor) into another bucket. so the 'sum' of all three buckets is the same no matter the deal.

Anyone else see that show/article?

-keep

I had heard they will come out of deals with low profit margins and hope to make up the money in their service department. Especially for those that like to have routine service done at the dealership.

 

[clonzst]

Agree 100%, we bought a vehicle there about 10 years ago and had horrible service!

We've had good luck at Mid States and Granger Motors though!

 

[ekim121]

Clearly there are stories out there of egregious treatment by any sort of sales staff.

I would submit, however, that by and large some salespeople may have an edge about them or be jaded if you will in response to the sort of methods people talk about using in this thread. If you don't want them to play games, why play games yourself? Why go in with the idea that you're going to walkout, hang up on them when they call back, etc. Why not do your research to figure out what you want, then decide what kind of value it holds. Tell the person selling it what its worth to you, if they agree great, if not, the search continues.

Just for reference, I used the above method in all of my car purchases, 2 private party deals, and 3 different dealerships, including Gabus. In all instances the experience was perfectly fine because it was based on honesty and not some sort of ridiculous game so I could leave feeling like I 'got a deal.'

 

[Landshark]

Saturn of Des Moines also has great service. I saw my salesman for about a total of 40 minutes and he remembers my name and my wifes. He asks us how our daughter is doing and asks about the upcoming Cyclone season. I know as a salesman you are supposed to build rapport, but I had a similar poor experience at Nissan.

I second that, my wife and I enjoyed our time spent there last year. They were great and patient as we test drove several cars. We didn't end up buying from them, but they called us a couple days later and told us about some new cars that arrived we might like. We'll definately go back there when the Explorer dies.

 

[Landshark]

I
Car shopping absolutely sucks.

I love car shopping, you hold all the power!!!!

Just make sure you come prepared, I've learned the hard way!!

 

[dmclone]

My uncle lives in Vegas. The car salesmen there are rediculous. He brought his car in for a trade. While negotiating with the salesman, they took his keys to test drive the trade-in so they could give my uncle a trade-in value. When my uncle decided he didn't want to buy from them, they flat out refused to return his keys while they tried to convince him to buy. He didn't get his keys back until he threatened to call the police to claim theft.

Speaking of Vegas. Does anyone remember the show King of Cars? I thought it was pretty entertaining. I wonder why it's no longer on the air?

 

[dmclone]

Well we closed tonight on a Pontiac Vibe from Toyota of DSM. Maybe it helped that he was my neighbor, but my encounter with Toyota of DSM was excellent. I did find out however that Charles Gabus always owns Toyota of DSM. How can two companies owned by the same person be so different?

Where are the pictures?

 

[dosry5]

Speaking of Vegas. Does anyone remember the show King of Cars? I thought it was pretty entertaining. I wonder why it's no longer on the air?

I love how they used to make one employee dress up in costumes and act all goofy.....cruel, but hilarious...

 

[iowa_wildcat]

I sell cars for a living and have for the last 15 years. It does not have to be a traumatic experience for the buyer. Please do your research before ever reaching for the phone or visiting a dealership. Edmunds.com is the best online source of information by far. Use Edmunds and you will not be taken advantage of financially. Make friends with the latest addition of Consumer Reports annual car edition. Reading their reviews will reduce your odds of purchasing a problem. Remember, you can do all the research you want but it is difficult to be an expert at something that you will only do every five years. You have a right to expect common courtesy and straight forward answers to your questions. Do business with a sales person that you trust. Courtesy and respect are a two way street. If you lie about cars or a deal to an experienced salesperson, you will lose all credibility with them. After fifteen years in the business, I guarantee you that I have heard it all. Being human, I tend to treat my clients the same way that I am treated. Actually, try developing an ongoing business relationship with a sales person. You do it with your doctor, your lawyer, your accountant, and your mechanic. Try it with a car professional and you will find that it is mutually beneficial.

 

[brianhos]

Dealers will take a loss on a car if they need to meet their quota. They make money by volume. They can always haggle.

Many new cars can be had at or below invoice.

Wait what? They lose $$ on the transasction but make up for it in volume? Were you an internet CEO in the late 90's or something?

Yes dealers can sell for less than invoice and still make money, they have a dealer holdback which is basically the manufacturer giving the dealer some $$ to pay the interest on the loan it takes to bring that vehicle onto the lot. It is usually $400-$800 per vehicle. You can get this info on carpoint.com.

 

[dmclone]

I sell cars for a living and have for the last 15 years. It does not have to be a traumatic experience for the buyer. Please do your research before ever reaching for the phone or visiting a dealership. Edmunds.com is the best online source of information by far. Use Edmunds and you will not be taken advantage of financially. Make friends with the latest addition of Consumer Reports annual car edition. Reading their reviews will reduce your odds of purchasing a problem. Remember, you can do all the research you want but it is difficult to be an expert at something that you will only do every five years. You have a right to expect common courtesy and straight forward answers to your questions. Do business with a sales person that you trust. Courtesy and respect are a two way street. If you lie about cars or a deal to an experienced salesperson, you will lose all credibility with them. After fifteen years in the business, I guarantee you that I have heard it all. Being human, I tend to treat my clients the same way that I am treated. Actually, try developing an ongoing business relationship with a sales person. You do it with your doctor, your lawyer, your accountant, and your mechanic. Try it with a car professional and you will find that it is mutually beneficial.

You guys have a tough job and most are pretty decent if you treat them fair. My experience is that most of the time if you go in with a good attitude and know what your doing the experience is not bad at all.

 

[brianhos]

I'm buying my next car from Hummel's and I live in SE Iowa. That place is great!

I have purchased 3 cars from Hummles also. The last one I went in at lunch, grabbed a sales guy, told him I wanted that car, pointed to it, told him I would give him $27,500 (sticker was $31,000), I said invoice is $27,000 even, you keep the holdback, and I will sign it right now. He just stood there amazed, smiled and shook my hand. I was out of there in 45 min. Easiest car buying experience ever.