Had that Specialty Car I've been looking for , easiest transaction I've had at a Dealership in a Long Time. Go see Chaise , He was epic in his communication to what and what wasn't covered , I picked up an extended warranty to CMA Can't wait for my Next Purchase , I'm know WARE I'm going. read more

Wares Auto Sales - Used Car Dealers Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

Bri and Chase were so helpfull. It was so easy thanks to them. They answered all my questions I had. I would recommend wares auto sales to everyone. read more

I took a friend there twice to have a car repaired just after 2 weeks of purchase. He got talked in buying their warranty when he purchased it. Twice he was turned away then saying they only had one mechanic n it would be a few weeks before they could service it, but then the warranty was over n wouldn't honor the warranty. These people are truly crooks n dishonest with their customers, glad I never considered buying anything from them, they should be prosecuted n put out of business. People r paying more then the cars r worth, then get screwed by the dealership when repairs need fixed. Don't buy here. read more

I was an employee and service manager at this location for a number of years. It is definitely one of the worst places I have ever worked. The sales team is great and so is the service team. The real problem is the toxicity of the owner, Craig. I'll share one example (of the many) on why I decided I had to move on. A couple years ago, we had a customer who bought a vehicle and during their first service, we recommended their tires to be replaced due to the tread life being below the legal limit. The customer was rightfully upset as he just purchased the car thinking that the car had a full inspection. We owed that customer tires. The customer talked to Craig, stating that the tires needed to be replaced and we didn't replace them prior to sale. This is where things start to get off the rails. The correct response would be to take care of the customer and buy them a set of tires in an attempt to maintain customer satisfaction. The actual result was Craig walking into the service drive and threatening all of our jobs. He told us if we ever told a customer that recently bought a car that they needed tires, we would get fired. He was upset that he would lose several hundred dollars on the sale to buy tires for the customer. Ignoring the obvious legal implications of this, I have a moral obligation to do what's best for the customer. These kinds of scenarios happened on a regular basis with Craig and it wore me down to the point where I had to get out of the industry. Near the end of my career with Wares, I made a deal with Craig that I would continue to work part time through college to help his business. At that point, there was only a couple service employees working because the rest quit and I didn't want to leave him hanging with nothing. The shop was full of customer vehicles and lot vehicles to service with no one to service them. As soon as we hired a few people and after I trained them, Craig got a salesperson to fire me (I guess he was too scared to do it himself) out of the blue. No warnings, nothing. Upon filing for unemployment, Craig lied to the State about me not fulfilling my work duties, saying he gave me several warnings, ect, in an attempt to not pay out my unemployment. I gave ample evidence to the State and it was a quick victory for me. The agent I talked with seemed amused with my documentation about this facility. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner replied to this review and made up additional stories to try and make me look bad and him good because that's the kind of thing he does. He pretends to care about his employees but he doesn't. He cares about money. This business is one of those companies that has a good exterior look to them, (reviews, ect) but is pure toxic inside. We try to do a good job of not letting customers see those parts. I do miss my co-workers, the sales team, the service writer, and new service manager, but I will never give my money or business to someone like Craig and I would urge you to do the same. read more

I purchased a vehicle from Ware's at the beginning of March, 2022. I couldn't have received better service from them, some minor mechanical issues with the car were quickly addressed at no charge to me, and it was handed over washed, primped and with a full tank of gas after less than an hour of paperwork. Fantastic people. read more

Bought a car there in January and the shopping experience was very positive. The car was reliable for 6 months, until I drove over a minor pothole, which broke the frame. The entire frame was so rusted that the car was declared a total loss. This was a car with under 90,000 miles on it. So I got to spend $8000 to drive a car for 6 months, then pay the rest of the loan off. I really thought this was a reputable dealership. Lesson learned, I guess. read more

Skylar was helpful. Quick paperwork. Overall a good experience for purchasing a work truck.

Wares Auto has real nice cars, at very unreasonable prices. They have a very nice 09' Honda Element that they have had on there lot for almost a year. They are asking $14,500 for it. NADA and KBB say it is worth $11,000 maximum. In the condition it is in I offered $12,500 for it. Let me just say that I was treated very poorly for my offer. The vehicle does have some mechanical issues that they can fix for a few hundred dollars, but cost me over $1000.00 to fix. I ended up offering $13,900 for it if they put a new oil pan gasket on it and didn't charge me a $210.00 doc fee. A fee that reimburses them for taking care of documents. A cost of doing business in any other business. Again I was treated VERY poorly for offering $3000 than the industry standards say is the real value of the car. Just stay away if you value your money and your self worth. You can do much better in Cedar Springs, MI. for similar quality cars. read more

I thought I could trust a small, home town car lot. Turns out the Honda they sold me was over priced AND had been in a major rear end collision. It didn't show up on CarFax bc insurance didn't pay for repairs! Who knew? This car started falling apart just a few months after I bought this defective car. The salesman mysteriously left soon thereafter. Never going back to this dishonest dealer. Horrible, expensive experience. read more

These guys are wonderful. When I went in for the first time I was looking to buy my first car. The great things about this place is that though they only sell used cars, they tune and service all of them themselves. Even after you buy from them they insist that any problems you have are brought back to them to repair for a much better price than anywhere else. They made buying a car a relatively stress free event, and I couldn't thank them more. read more

I had a great experience working with chaise. He was super chill - p loved the no hard sell approach. It was a relief after dealing with some dishonest and rude managers down the road at a different dealership. They won my business that day! read more

It has been 2 years and they are refusing and ignoring me. I purchased a vehicle from them with the promise of getting the spare key and they are not following through with it!! read more

Wares is my go to car dealer. I have bought three cars from them and have always used there service center. Just went in for an oil change and it was free!!! as it was my first one with this car. LOVE Them! read more

Wares Auto made our car buying chore a smooth and easy experience. They guys were very knowledgeable and accommodating. Quick and efficient on paper signing day. We will definitely come back in the future. read more

Wares Auto is the most dishonest dealership I have ever been to! In September my teenager totaled my car, so I was in the market for a new one, sadly. I wanted to not have a payment if I could because I had my totaled car paid off. Wares had a car in my price range, so we figured that we'd go check it out. Get to the lot, and decide that the car is not going to meet the needs of my growing family. I had just found out that I was pregnant with my 4th baby. The sales lady showed us a 2010 Subaru Tribeca that has third row seating. I figured that Subaru was supposed to be a good vehicle and the third row would come in handy with the kids. So we decided to go for it. This car was out of my price range a little bit so I'd have a small payment. I met with Chaise to go over paperwork. He suckered me into buying the extended warranty (for $1,700) saying that it was a 4 year or 100,000 mile warranty and it would cover my car like it was a brand new car. This warranty would cover anything that could go wrong with the vehicle, aside from wipers, breaks, lights and tires. So I figured I had nothing to lose and purchased the warranty. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER! I buy the car. Get it home, and find out that the battery is 6 years old, the center console is ripped right off and just sitting there, no recent oil change has been done. I had the car for 2 weeks and had to get an oil change on it! A few days later, I have warning lights flashing. Traction control and check engine lights are solid while the cruise control light flashes. I call the service department and they tell me that it's just a loose gas cap. I tighten the gas cap and it stops. But the lights keep coming on so eventually I replace the gas cap. The lights continue to come on and are now on 99.9% of the time. Seldom are they off. As a result, my traction control is not working so in crap winter conditions my all wheel drive drives like a rear wheel vehicle. It SUCKS! I call Wares, they say that they can get it in and look at it. I ask them if the warranty will cover it.. NOPE! It's likely a leak somewhere in the exhaust system and takes a lot of work for them to find and the warranty that is supposed to cover EVERYTHING won't cover this. Fast forward a month out from buying the car. I am in the car driving up north with my family. All of a sudden the dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree and the car starts to smell! We pull over quickly and shut it down. My idler pulley has gone..... great. My 1 year old was in the car and it was cold outside. We get a ride and end up grabbing our truck and a friend's car trailer. Trailer the car to Wares where they have a loaner waiting for me. I get apologies and promise of fixing. "It's an unusual thing to happen" is what Chaise told me. I end up having to call the service department the following Monday as it's been most of the day and I haven't heard anything. They tell me that not only does the idler pulley need to be replaced, but the bracket holding the pulley on was broken and needed replacing. There was also another pulley that was ready to go so that needed to be fixed as well. So I ask the question, "Is this covered by the warranty?" The answer again was NOPE! "I've never seen a warranty cover something like this. It's normal wear and tear." Great... something that the sales guy said was a "rare part to go" is considered "normal wear and tear" by the service guys. They told me that it would cost $800 to fix because they would have to take half the engine apart to access everything and it would take them a half a day to do it. Luckily my boyfriend can fix things. I decided since it wasn't covered by that great warranty Chaise sold me that we would fix it ourselves. We trailer the car back home. I drop off the rental. Come to find out the bracket that was supposed to be broken, WASN'T! AND you don't need to take half the engine apart to fix it. It cost us $43 and took my boyfriend 2 hours to fix! Both pulleys were dry rotted. So clearly their service department does NOT look over vehicles before they sell them! I will NEVER buy another vehicle from them and I tell everyone I can about my experience! I don't want anyone to be suckered like I was! NEVER buy a warranty! They never cover anything! I got screwed by Chaise big time! I can't believe this place is still in business! read more

I had always heard good thinks about Ware's so I was very disappointed by our experience. We purchased a used car there in October. It is a brand they don't usually sell so we decided to have a specialty mechanic check it out while it was still under the 30 day warranty. There were 2 very concerning leaks as well as a bent rim. I called our "contact me anytime" salesman who suddenly became very defensive. They wanted their repair department to look over my claims. Their service department said with one leak, "we didn't fix it because it can be done next oil change and you know, to fix it we would have had to drain the oil." As for the bent rim on the phone they told me they didn't notice a problem but they moved the tire to the rear so I shouldn't notice as much. On the email detailing their "repairs", that I had to ask for a copy of, they claim to have noticed an issue with the tire. Someone is not being honest. They claim to have slapped some sealant on something they thought was leaking that wasn't on the other mechanic's report. As for the most concerning leak, they told me it's not leaking but can't really explain why I need to refill the steering fluid at least once a week. So their repair department repaired 0% of the issues with the car. The sales department must have known their were issues with the car when they put it on the lot. Buyer beware. read more

Horrible experience!! Came by to purchase a car lift and realized it was in worse shape than expected so we didn't buy it. After looking around the lot at vehicles the OWNER approached us to tell us upset he was and how much we inconvenienced him by not purchasing it. I can't believe this is how the owner of a dealership treats potential customers! 10/10 would NOT recommend. However, salesperson Matt was very helpful and courteous read more

The term "Buyer Beware" definitely applies to this outfit! I bought my car 2 months ago and a week later the "check engine", "anti-skid" and "cruise control" lights all came on. I've been taking it in atleast once a week to have them "fix" it, and I use that term loosely, to no avail. One of the mechanics actually took it home to make sure it was fixed! The next day the lights all came on again! I went into my mechanic today to make an appointment for them to actually fix it and they were telling me that another woman was having the same problem with Wares. Both cars have a catalytic convertor problem, which is common for Suburus. The fact that they have loaner cars really doesn't make buying a car from this place worth it!!!!!! read more

I called ahead of time to see if a vehicle I looked at on internet was available to test drive. Asked if there was any COVID rules in place, the response was yes had to have a mask to test drive. Showed up 2 hours later and looked for the car, not in the parking lot. I put on my mask went into office, 4 employees inside no mask on. The sales guy I called ahead of this meeting said he would have to find the car for me to test drive. He can't find the car, said they must have loaned it out to someone for the weekend. He had same car different year, color and 4K more than the car I'm wanting to test drive. Ok I will drive it while he locates the missing vehicle. I ask him if he is sure the car isn't sold and he assured me they still own the car. Test drive the similar car. Get back to dealership. Sales guy is missing just like the car. New sales guy, no mask, wants to know what's happening. I explain the situation. He tells me the car is not a loaner and it was sold a week ago by the sales guy that is also missing. The car fax indeed showed car being sold and Wares has not removed it from the internet. I ask this sales guy if he is negotiable on the car that is 4k more. No way price is firm. Waste of time and exposure to a bunch of no mask sales guys. Very unprofessional. read more

I could not have had a better experience purchasing a high-quality used car. Both Skylar and Chaise were both friendly, casual, helpful, straightforward - more assistants in a smooth, simple process than salesman: I never felt pressured or like I was getting a "pitch." They were patient while I checked out and test-drove half a dozen cars. They had several excellent choices in my (limited and fairly modest) price range. When I found a car that felt like it might be right for me they didn't hesitate to suggest I keep it overnight to see if I truly liked it. I did, and the financing and paperwork happened quickly and efficiently. As I was getting ready to drive away Skylar noticed a loose panel around the tailgate locking mechanism - something I had not noticed and probably wouldn't - and said "please bring this back at a convenient time so we can fix this for you." I am very happy with my 2016 Subaru Forester and would recommend Wares without hesitation. read more

I bought a car from Wares about two years ago, and apparently it had a leaking head gasket as I drove it off the lot. I didn't use the car for a few weeks (left town) and it was another couple weeks before the temperature gauge spiked because all the coolant had leaked out. I called without too much worry, remembering that there was a "bumper-to-bumper" warrantee, and the salesperson reminded me that it was a "bumper-to-bumper, except seals and gaskets" warrantee. While it's likely that the warrantee was accurately described during the sale and I simply didn't remember it correctly, I'll let you draw your own conclusion about that warrantee for this particular vehicle. Wares sent a coolant system additive that was released by Subaru a while ago since this wasn't a exactly a rare problem for this model. They also offered to fix the gasket themselves, at cost, but I live a few hours from Traverse City and if they are willing to sell a vehicle with such a mechanical flaw, why should I trust their service department? And why should I pay to repair a flaw that existed when I bought it? Since we've bought it, my wife or I have had to add coolant on a weekly basis (sometimes multiple times per week). The leak has gotten worse since we've owned it. Now, at a red light or stop sign you can readily smell the coolant evaporating off the engine. Whenever I drive the car I have to recall how many days it's been since we've added coolant, and I still find myself checking the temperature gauge every few minutes. The car has been a major hassle, and I recommend that you don't buy a vehicle from Wares. If I buy another used car, I'll now expect the worst of a dealership. read more

Expected at least honesty from this 'TC icon' but received shady dealings. Flippant, grouchy, and arrogant owner was going to give next to nothing (Less than a third of Kelly Blue Book value) for trade for a very well taken care of, low-mileage vehicle. Said he'd have to bring to auction which is ridiculous for a 2012 Highlander with only 24,000 miles in excellent condition. Car I test drove (Toyota) and brought to my own mechanic had loud exhaust which was a problem with the entire muffler system. Brought test drive car back to Wares and my concerns were simply brushed off as 'they all sound that way.' Second car I drove had some issues with the paint finish that in the sun had several areas that appeared dull as If they'd been buffed or something, but I was told you can barely see that, so again, no offer to fix or correct--I was just in the wrong. Do your homework with this business. A lot of those small round sunset stickers on cars around town, of which I approached at gas stations, etc., to ask of their experience with Wares, and very few were happy nor could recommend. That says something. read more

BUYERS BEWARE!! Recently, Wares Auto advertised a 1991 Toyota MR2 with only 50,000 original miles, clean, no defects and "incredibly rare". I spoke to the owner (Craig) and asked a few questions including the validity of the miles. He advised me they been in business since 1937 and have built the business on reputation. He assured me the car had no defects and he was NOT going to come down on the price of the car. Rather insultingly he told me that if I know anything about these cars I would know how difficult it is to find a 1991 Toyota MR2 with such low miles in this condition. Well, I do know about these cars since this is my dream car and I have been looking for one for years I called Wares Auto the next day about the car and spoke to Sale Rep (Morgan). She confirmed the car was "clean" and the owner would not budge on the price. The CarFax Report came back clean. There were no gaps in the miles or reported damage to the car. Morgan and I spoke about the logistics of purchasing the car since I am 6-7 hours away. She suggested that I "Wire Transfer "the money since she cannot hold the car for me and she has 4 people interested in the car. Still feeling a little skeptical, I requested that she send me additional pictures. I wanted pictures under the car and I wanted to know about any rust or leaks. She called me and openly disclosed the radio had been pulled from the car in an attempt to fix it however, they could put it back in and the owner would take $100 off the price of car. She sent me pictures as requested and openly pointed out even the smallest of blemishes on the body and interior and confirmed there was no rust under the car. I told her I was making hotel and trailer reservations and would be up on Friday August 23rd. Since they would only take a money transfer for the full purchase price (which I was NOT willing to do!) and they wouldn't take a down payment to hold the car, I wanted assurance the car would be there after I drive 6 hrs. She advised me she told the other potential buyer that it was "SOLD". We spoke again the day before I was to drive up to confirm the amount of the cahiers check I needed to bring and provide a copy of my insurance. When I as about 45 min away I called Morgan. When we arrived, the owner (Craig), who I originally spoke too about the car and who had to know I was the customer that he spoke to about the "rare" MR2 and that I also drove a long distance, never came out to greet us or even make eye contact with us! When Morgan came out she immediately mentioned the air conditioner wasn't working and she was having them charge it (something she never mentioned when I called when I was in route). She recommended we go to lunch but I told her I would like to see the car after driving 6 hours. The blemishes she took pictures of were minor in person. As I looked at the engine valve gasket appeared to be leaking. The mechanic assured me it was easily fixable and might just need to be "snugged up". Even though they just charged the air conditioner, it still wasn't working. When I pulled out of the dealers lot to test drive the car, I immediately heard a noise coming from the tires. I drove down the road for a second opinion. The uneven wear on the back left tire was obvious. As we stood back from the car we could see the back left tire wasn't straight. Knowing we drove such a long distance the Service Manager at Traverse Motor Toyota allowed us to put the car on a lift to look under the car. It was obvious the car had major issues and was not what Wares Auto advertised when they said there was "no mechanical or electrical issues with the car". The frame in the back of the car (where the engine is) was miss-matched and not the original frame. The left back side, with the bad tire, showed signs of repairs to the axle and components. Even more shocking was the amount of fluid that was leaking under the car that was not identified by Morgan in conversation or in any of the pictures sent to me. It was unclear if the fluid was coming from the valve gasket the Mechanic said "needed to snugged up", the transmission case or the rear axle where there was obvious previous damage. When we got back to Wares Auto lot I pointed out the issues with the car. Morgan TRIED to appear shocked and apologetic and said she had no idea of the issues with the car. The fact that this business that says they have been in business since 1937 and was "built on reputation" allowed a customer to drive 750 miles rt and spend $600 to travel to Traverse City Michigan for a car they fraudulently advertised is appalling! In my opinion Wares Auto Sales in Travers City Michigan was built on lies and I would never recommend them to anyone! read more

I bought two cars here and thought they were a reputable place. I bought a certified 2011 Subaru there in Dec. 2013, I since found out that the tires on my car are from 2007. I went back to see if they would help me with a new purchase of tires, thinking that for sure they would be appalled that they had been swindled and that they had passed the error on to me. Instead of being helpful, the owner got very defensive and asked if I expected he should check all the tires on his lot for the year they were made? He even told me there is no way to tell the year, which I happen to know is a lie, and if he owns a dealership, so did he. Well I didn't expect that and I told him so, I only expected that when a customer comes in after finding out they were sold a car with really old tires, that THEN he should do something to help them. He said old tires does not make them bad. I don't care if they are bad or not, that is not the point. They should NOT be older than the car by 4 years. He said no dealer would listen to me, and actually told me to leave and to never come back. He was literally yelling at me. In between yelling, at two points in the conversation he did offer that the best he could do would be to get me new tires at cost, but his manner was so rude I did not want to deal with him ever again. So I got in my car and drove away, while he was still yelling at me. Unbelievable. Buyer beware. I have never been treated so poorly by a business person in my entire life. read more