SO, my experience with J&S was a bit of a rollercoaster. There were some good things, there were some not so good things. Bear with me as we go on the ride.
In the market for a new car, I found a vehicle at J&S that I wanted to check out. I contacted them and scheduled a test drive for a saturday at their Ewing location, because that's where the car currently was (about 45 minutes from my house.) When I arrive, the car isn't there, and I was told that it was "in the shop for a problem with the console button." They wanted me to stick around for a few HOURS to wait. Nah. But, the manager offered to have the car shipped down to the Burlington location (5 MINUTES from my house) and I acquiesced.
I arrived Monday at the dealership, at the agreed upon time, to find no car waiting for me. Apparently, it was STILL in the shop for the "button." (The problem by the way, was the touchpad in the center was inoperable.) Khader (more on him later...) said that he would have the car shipped down the following day so that I could test drive it. With cautious optimism, I agree to a third and final chance, and come back Tuesday to find the car finally there! Khader throws me the keys and tells me to take it for a spin. I asked if I could take it on the highway, and he said "I'm fine with whatever you do, as long as you bring it back." I thought that was cool, as I had a test drive earlier at CarMax, and they ride with you and kind of rush you through the whole matter. (Khader was even fine with a second test drive when I brought the Misses with me to get her opinion.)
It's important to note here that I had already done ALL my homework on the car and what I was looking for and that the test drive was to make sure the alignment wasn't shot, or that the suspension needed to be replaced. I wasn't here kicking tires.
Test drive completed, I return and inform Khader that I'd like to go forward, but that I was going to secure my own financing through my bank. At this point, they tried the old, "I might not be able to hold the car trick," but I held my ground. I pointed that out to say this; these people aren't your friends. They are a business, and are there to sell cars. As long as you go into there with that mentality, you should be fine. Anyway, I returned the next day to finalize the deal.
After dealing with Khader for final numbers and what not (interestingly enough, I went with financing that they were able to secure) I was passed off to the owner/manager. At this point, the rollercoaster took a huge dip. The interaction with the manager was "unpleasant" if we're being nice, "douchey" if we're not. He acted simultaneously like I was wasting his time, and that I was doing HIM a favor by buying a car from him. VERY gruff, very curt and the most unpleasant part of the whole process. Questions seemed to annoy him, and he seemed to not like that I preferred to read every piece of paper he slid in front of me. I wasn't a fan.
One of the bright spots for J&S is the aforementioned Khader. He was my sales rep through the whole ordeal, and really, maybe they should just let him run the whole show. He was pleasant without being fake, honest about the questions I asked him, and helpful for the things I was concerned about. He called the Mercedes dealership to verify that my car was still under warranty and that the things I had concerns about were covered. He even gave me a written guarantee that J&S would fix anything that the dealership didn't cover.
Despite Khader, there are reasons J&S didn't get a 5 star or even 4 star rating. Besides the stuff I already mentioned, it also took over a month to procure my tags. I had to call the day the temporary tag expired to let THEM know, then had to remind them twice to send me an extension letter. (Miraculously, after I pointed out the tags weren't there, they showed up a few days later. hmmm)
TL;DNR version:
You can do a LOT worse than J&S. Understand, this is a used car lot. This isn't a certified pre owned dealership where everything goes through a 100 point inspection. Do your homework. But, they didn't seem to be out to screw me over or try to squeeze every possible dollar out of my wallet. They took my trade in, handled financing and were very easy going about the process. Khader is the star of the show, if only because he seemed to just want to give you what YOU wanted, to the best of his ability. He is easy to talk to, and will take the time to explain things to you, if you ask the questions.
I wish the things that happened, didn't happen so that I could rank them higher, but it is what it is. I would still definitely recommend them if you're in the market for a new ride.
Oh, and after taking the car to the Mercedes dealership for the warranty repair to the touchpad and an open recall for the battery, they found a front differential leak (also under warranty) and suggested an alignment (not). Like I said, do your homework on the vehicles, and you should be fine. read more