I bought a car from Napleton on Monday, April 30. It was a long, arduous process - but when buying a car, that is to be expected to an extent.
The vehicle I bought (2017 Fit) is great. I have no concerns there. My issue comes from the customer service and money grabbing ploys.
When sitting down with our salesman, I mentioned that in addition to Honda, I was looking into Chevy because they offer a teacher discount. "Oh! We also offer a teacher discount!" However, when it came time to negotiate price, I noticed the teacher discount was not included. I inquired, and was told, "Well, this price is already very low - so technically the teacher discount is included." But...that's the price shown on the price tag...which is available to anyone/everyone...so not at all a teacher discount. "Well, I guess if you want to look at it that way, yeah. We just can't possibly go any lower."
Okay. So you don't have a teacher discount. That's fine. But don't lie any pretend like you do :|
Then. During the test drive, our salesman was absolutely INSISTENT that the "Napleton Experience" add-on was totally optional. It's some money grab ($1400) that gets you an oil change, a car wash and tire rotations or something. Who knows. I live 40+ minutes away, so I'm not really interested in trekking back to Oak Lawn for basic maintenance. He assured me, "Oh I hear you, that's 100% optional and not at all necessary."
Fast forward to negotiations, and suddenly "No we can't budge on that $1400...that's mandatory. We can't take that off. My manager said that since the price tag on this car is so low, we have to include that package to make some money back on the sale." WTF. Okay.
Whatever. I was able to negotiate things down satisfactorily enough and decided to go with it. I really needed a new car and at this point my patience was done. My price point was close enough so I went for it.
5.5 hours later, they hand me my new keys and say, "We didn't have time to detail your vehicle. Can you come back one day this week so we can finish?" Super inconvenient because like I said, I live 40+ minutes away, but whatever.
So Saturday, May 5th. I drive out to Oak Lawn to bring my car in for detailing. Same salesman tells me, "Awesome! It'll be 30 minutes, tops! Are you going to stay and wait, or leave and come back?" Figuring 30 minutes TOPS - I decide to stay. I had a ride lined up to take me to my family party nearby, but I figured "Hey, what's 30 minutes?" and decided to wait it out.
An hour passes and there is no sign of life. I go back to ask what the hold up is at the service desk. Dude checks and tells me it's going to be another 30-45 minutes. Naturally, I'm like "WOAH WTF, they told me 30 minutes when I got here an hour ago!" He lets me know that detailing usually takes at least 90 minutes. Sure enough, took them just over 2 hours from start to finish. So I got to spend my Saturday sitting in some uncomfortable leather chair - missing the majority of my family party - so they could finish the job that they SHOULD have finished on Monday.
So let's see. Lied about the time it takes to detail. Lied about the teacher discount. Lied about the Napleton Experience. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the salespeople here fit in perfectly with the car salesman trope.
They gave me $10 in gas as an apology. Cute. read more