I visited Strohmeier's Auto Center in Ukiah recently while looking for a vehicle. I was hesitant to…read morego because I can't stand the hard sell that you often get at used car dealers. I was greeted by a young man, Phoenix (I hope I'm spelling his name right) in a very pleasant and non aggressive way. He was very helpful and informative without making me feel pressured at all. I test drove a beautiful car and when we got back to the shop he told me that I could take it to my mechanic while he pulled up the Carfax on it. I was still unsure about the car when I left the dealership, but I was sure about one thing: this is my kind of used car dealer. Helpful, honest, accommodating, and absolutely no pressure. Phoenix even told me a story about Guy (the owner) that made it clear to me that people are more important to him than money. I didn't make the purchase that day, but Phoenix did not pester me with phone calls or emails like a lot of dealers would. He called me one time a couple of weeks later and was again very polite and respectful. I located a car privately, but I have a high regard for the way they do business. Next time I'm in the market for a pre-owned vehicle, I will definitely go here first. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking an honest, no pressure dealership with integrity. Thank you Phoenix!

From the owner: Buy, Sell, Consign and Trade-ins welcomed.read more

We purchased a new-to-us Subaru a few weeks ago from KFS and almost all of the experience was…read moreexcellent. We showed up on a Saturday afternoon and test drove half a dozen different cars before settling on the one we wanted to buy. The whole time, the salesperson was patient, professional, and knowledgeable, and never pushy or disingenuous. We ran out of enthusiasm for test driving more cars way before he did. When we decided that we wanted to go home and sleep on it before making a decision, the salesperson was surprisingly understanding and not pushy. We came in the next morning and, after some negotiating, bought the car. The negotiations were similarly friendly and non-confrontational and we felt like we received a fair-to-better-than-fair deal. Our only criticism had to do with the person who handled the paperwork for the purchase. They did come across as pushy and aggressive with their attempts at up-selling. We also determined later that some of the information they gave us was misleading or incorrect. One additional note is that the dealership played exclusively Christian praise music the whole time we were there. This is apparently the owner's decision.

This is a very long overdue review, but for those who are in the market for a new vehicle, I'd…read moresuggest a different dealership. Unfortunately, I regret ever coming to Ken Fowler. My husband and I just had a baby, so we were in the market for a bigger vehicle. Online I found a Chevy Tahoe we were interested in so we went to check it out. Upon arrival, we met Alberto, one of the sales representatives at the dealership. I told him I wanted to check out the Chevy Tahoe they just got in and he told me he can't sell that to me because it smelled like cigarette smoke but that we could take a look at the other vehicles on the lot that were similar. Now that I look back - I appreciate the thought, but it is weird he didn't even bring out the car for us to make our own judgment. After looking at the other cars they had - we decided on a 2017 Chevy Tahoe Z71. We purchased the vehicle on 7/1/24. Within one week, I noticed that the transmission was slipping! Transmission issues on a vehicle you just bought is the LAST thing you want to find out after you just made a big purchase of over 30k. I reached out Alberto on 7/10/24 to discuss bringing the Tahoe back, in hopes that they would make this right. On 7/12/24 The Chevy Tahoe was brought into the service department. We explained our concerns and they ran their diagnostics. They concluded that the Tahoe was in Auto 4WD and that's the reason it was driving weird. We never set the car on Auto 4WD, but even if it was accidentally switched over, that shouldn't cause the transmission to slip? We picked up the car and later that night we still had the same unresolved issue. Nothing was fixed! On 7/16/2024 We came back to Ken Fowler. This time the service representative asked if I wanted to take a drive with the mechanic since the car wasn't throwing any "codes". On this drive, the mechanic confirmed that the transmission seemed to be slipping around third and fourth gear. Ken Fowler was going to keep the Tahoe and reach out to the manufacture to see if this was something that was covered under warranty. They didn't have any rental cars available for us. I explained that I needed to commute to work in the morning - so the service representative suggested I take the Tahoe back until GM Motors replied?! I found this extremely unprofessional and unsafe. Did I mention my husband and I just had a baby? 7/18/2024 The service department called to tell me that they weren't going to replace the transmission, but were going to replace the valve body and that it would be ready in a week. 7/19/2024 Received a call the next day that the car was ready for pickup and that they didn't end up replacing the valve body. They replaced bolts within the valve body that were missing. Uhh...where did they go and how long were they missing? Basically, they slapped a small band-aid on a much bigger problem. We picked up our Tahoe and surprise surprise...STILL SLIPPING. I called Ken Fowler and asked if I could speak to the owner, but was redirected to the sales manager Vern. I explained how upset I was about the entire situation and that I felt they should either replace the transmission or take the car back. Vern told me to come in the next day and he would "see what he could do". When I requested to speak to the owner, he told me it was unnecessary because if they decided to take the car back - that would be his call. The next day I came to meet Vern, but he wasn't there and had left early for the day. Are you kidding me? This time I spoke with Vic, who I could tell genuinely felt bad about the entire situation. We agreed that I would bring the car in the next morning for another drive with a mechanic, and so I could speak to Vern. The next day was the fourth time we had brought the car back to Ken Fowler. I had another ride with the mechanic, and during the ride the transmission slipped. When we got back from this awkward excursion, the mechanic asked if he could take ANOTHER ride with his manager. Seriously? We sit down to have a conversation with Vern who tells me that the mechanic said THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. I couldn't believe it! I asked to speak to the owner again but was told he wasn't available and there was nothing they could do because the car was perfectly fine. I was completely flabbergasted and upset that I left the conversation in tears. My husband sent videos to Vern of the transmission slipping, to which he never replied to us. So there we were stuck with a car that had a faulty transmission. Also never received plates or registration from the DMV. When I called Ken Fowler about that they said the DMV lost the paperwork. Interestingly, the DMV said Ken Fowler never even initiated a transfer of title. Fast-forward to December 2024: TRANSMISSION FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. We didn't even have the car for six months. In hindsight, I would've rather had the Tahoe that smelt like cigarettes. RUN! DON'T WALK FROM KEN FOWLER!

Have purchased 2 cars over the years from Thurston Honda and both have been terrific as well as the…read moreservice/repair department. Only downer is that folks in the express service department where you drop off the car are sometimes loaded with perfume so it's really hard to stay at in that space for long --way too stinky.

To be honest buying cars have always taken a couple days even paying cash. Luis helped me out today…read moreand within 5 hrs, hour and a half drive each way to lakeport had the car in my driveway. I have never had a more pleasant car buying experience. EVER. Even buying with straight cash cars have taken me 2-3 days to purchase and receive. With Luis he expedited everything. Hands down best car buying I have ever have. I will be coming to Thurston from here on out for my next few cars. Outstanding service. Above and beyond to get the deal dine.

They told me my repair would be done by noon and it's 4:15 and it's still not done. Been waiting…read morefor over 4 hours. Not acceptable after having my car for 3 full days to fix it!! Worst repair place! They also put a bandaid on a blown engine that my other shop said it was blown when they tried the bandaid it. Been nothing but problems with this dealer for the past 1.5 years of issues with my jeep.

I brought my 23 Wrangler here for an oil change. I've always taken it to to Sport Dodge in Fort…read moreBragg for service but since they closed I thought I'd give Thurston in Ukiah a shot. It was fine although they didn't leave a reminder decal in my windshield of my next oil change. It's the little things!!! As a female I count on that! If the little old dealership in Fort Bragg could do this for their costumers, than Thurston certainly could have. Disappointing first experience. I let them know, but I didn't have time to wait as I had to get back to the coast.

Five years ago, we were looking to buy a Chevy Bolt, and since we were moving form the Bay Area to…read moreMendocino, we thought it would be best if we bought from a local dealer. Thurston was the closest one. At that time, Thurston had no Bolts on the lot, and no EV-trained technician, so we bought one in Novato instead. We love our Bolt, despite the recalls, but the service in Novato was poor, in particular the service manager was rude to staff and customers alike. Flash forward, and yet another recall was needed (two, actually, we got a little cavalier about keeping up with them). I called Thurston and found that now they have a tech trained on these cars. My husband took the car in, and the tech (wish I'd gotten his name) not only performed the two recalls (one was mechanical, the other a software thing), but caught an error -- the Novato dealership had failed to perform a software update that required GM to send them a code. We'd noticed it because our range was restricted to 80% when charging at home. Not great when getting ready for a trip, and costing us a little bit when having to charge at commercial chargers. We're very happy with Thurston's Chevy EV service and that tech. Thank you, Thurston!

I brought my truck there for servicing, although because of past very bad experiences, I swore I…read morenever would again. We were planning to drive down to New Orleans for the winter and I wanted a thorough check of the entire car with any needed service. I explained to the Service Manager that the truck seemed rough sometimes when shifting gears in drive. After a very large bill, (over $2000) we were given a clean bill of health and we left for New Orleans. When we crossed the Texas border into Louisiana at Shreveport, the transmission failed. A dealership there took our truck and determined that the transmission was shot and needed to be replaced- $7500. The service writer ( who was awesome) informed us that the mechanics working on our truck stated that there was no way a proper check of the transmission could have been done without the problem being discovered. When we took it to Thurston, the milage was just under 100k miles and we would have been covered. We were 1200 miles past Warrenty by the time it failed. I had 2 other terrible experiences here before, so I have no one to blame but myself. Don't make the same mistake. I wouldn't trust them with anything.

They only did testing on my car , I had two open recalls that literally says what to do to replace…read morethe pieces , they do not replace the items . Testing for 1 hour , my car was sitting there for 40 mins so it would only be 20 mins of testing . Appointment at 9am but didn't take my car in until 9:10am . I got there at 8:50am . ALL THEY HAD TO DO Was CHANGE DOT 3 brake fluid to dot 4 but they didn't even have brake fluid .

Joanna Reed is thee most amazing person to work with!! Always the best experience! I've been…read moreworking with her for years & we're always completely satisfied & very happy!! Thank you Jojo!!