Saturday, May 13, 2017

Young Mazda / Young Automotive Group Kaysville, UT

We found a truck Young Mazda had listed online. I called the salesman and asked if the vehicle was still available. He said that it was and said to come right over. As we are looking at the truck the salesman mentions that someone else was interested in the truck and was coming back to look at the truck later. I scolded him for telling us that the truck was available. I told him if he had someone else then we could let them have it. He said he was sure it would be fine. Later he went inside for something and came out and said that he had talked to his sales manager and he said to go ahead with a deal with us. I could see I was being played and yet I continued on with them.

Later we went in to talk about price. I told him the price we wanted to pay and he printed something out and brought it back. The paper had the original asking price at the top of the page in big type and on the bottom the taxes and fee in smaller type. He then asked about how much we would be putting down on the vehicle. I told him nothing and he draws a big zero under the original price and circles it several times. Then he rights the total after the fees. Keeping my eyes away from the fees. I ignored the fees, since I assumed they were just taxes and stuff that we couldn't do anything about.

At different times we sat around either waiting for him to do the "talk to the sale manager" trick or waiting for someone in his dealership to run numbers or check on the truck. He kept us there for over two hours. I have no idea why it took that long, other than to wear us down.

At one point we went out to the truck to get some numbers off of it. He described to me some insurance they had on the tires and rims. He described it as something they purchased to protect them when doing test drives. He made it sound like they would transfer that to me for free as a benefit of buying with them. He never mentioned a cost. He also mentioned another insurance thing that would pay me if the truck was ever stolen. I didn't need that or the insurance of the tires and rims, but I figured this must be a benefit of going through a dealer.

While sitting with the finance guy I discover that they are charging me $400 just to sit with the finance guy to go over paperwork and have him forward it electronically to the my credit union. They charged me hundreds to sit with me for a few minutes, so I could pay them. That was dirty.

Later while reviewing the documents again, after I had rested from the hours we spent at the dealership, I noticed that they had charge me $700 for the tire and rim insurance, and the theft insurance. Again, things I did not need or want to pay for and something the salesman sounded like were included just by buying the truck from them.

I spoke with the salesman a couple of days later. I told him I felt like I had been hustled and that I was not happy about the fees. He told me it was above his pay grade, so there was nothing he could do, but he would have someone call me back. No one ever called me back.

The salesman had told me they would include a second key and remote and they would call me in a few days to set up a time for us to come pick them up after they had a chance to make them. No one ever called. Weeks later when the license plates came in, which they had mailed to the dealership instead of to my home, they contacted me to come in, so they could put them on for me. Not a service I need. Not a service worth driving back to the dealership for. I called and asked the salesman about the key. He said that he did not know, but would talk to his sales manager and call me back. Again with the sales manager game. After two days I called back, since no one called me. He said that the sales manager had tried to call me several times, which he had not. Then the salesman goes to do some checking. He said he would call me back when he found out. That was in the morning. Hours go by and I hear nothing. I called back and the salesman gives me the name of a guy that is supposed to be contacting me to come out to my home to do the key and remote. He said he should be calling at any moment. I asked how he knew he should be calling. I asked when they talked to him. He said they just talked to him an hour ago. So basically I called days ago and they did nothing, then when I call today they call to set it up and I called back before the key guy had a chance to call me. Young Mazda apparently was not going to call me back to let me know they had contacted him.

Bottom line: Stay away from the Young Mazda, which is part of the Young Automotive Group. They are an example of everything that give car dealers a bad name. Unnecessary and high fees and a bunch of playing games to hustle you into paying too much.
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Additional information after first oil change:
They scheduled my first free oil change for a specific time.  They got me in on time and an hour and forty-five minutes later they got me out the door.  There is no way an oil change should take that long when they scheduled a time for me to come in.  Even with rotating tires and checking fluids 1:45 is unacceptable.