On 6/8/01 I bought a 95 Ford Windstar mini van from Gurnee Dodge in Gurnee, Illinois for the price of $5961. The odometer showed that the vehicle had 71,273 miles on it. 179 miles later I received a repair estimate for $871.00, just for starters direct quote from Frank', the service man.
After comparison-shopping I ended up at Gurnee Dodge, where salesman Dino' served me. I made it very clear that I was buying this vehicle as a second car. It's sole purpose would be to transport my foster and biological daughters, and their local middle school and All-Star cheerleading squads to and from activities. I clearly stated, several times, that I cared nothing about any facet of the vehicle except it's reliability, for this reason. I personally drive a 2000 Lexus RX300. He waxed long and hard on how well Gurnee Dodge inspected their vehicles, and their wonderful' 3 month, 3,000 mile used car warranty.
I noticed problems almost immediately after taking possession. The engine surged, the transmission appeared to slip' and, on the fourth trip, the air conditioner began working only intermittently. I brought the vehicle back to the dealership and, many calls later, was told it had to be sent to a Ford dealership to be checked. Many more calls and almost two weeks later, I was told the van needed $871 in repairs to two seals that weren't, of course, covered under the warranty, and that these repairs would need to be made before we can even look at the transmission problem. The transmission problem, of course, would probably be covered under warranty.
I made many calls to the salesman Dino', trying to come to some kind of mutually satisfactory resolution. On two occasions I was told he had to talk to the GM and get back to me. Naturally, I had to make the return calls and finally had to drive to the dealership to get a response. I offered to consider a trade on that vehicle, leasing, cost of repairs, etc. I was told that he would talk to the GM (again) and also find out about getting a van for me to use for an impending trip to Cheerleading Camp, where I was supposed to drive 5 children to a university about 200 miles away. He said he would be in before 9 the next day and would call me right away. He never called, and when I called (again!) the following day I was told it was his day off. I was supposed to leave with 5 kids for camp the next morning.
I asked to speak to the General Manager and was directed to 'Herb' who said he knew nothing about the situation (hmmm, see above) but trading the van sounded like a reasonable option. He said he would look into it and call me back. I gave him both my home and mobile numbers. 1 and hours later I called back again, he said he was talking with his boss and would call me right back. 1 hour later I walked in to the dealership. What they did next was beyond belief.
I test drove a 96 Plymouth Voyager with 61,000 miles /-. The list price on this vehicle was $11,000. Dino had told me the list price on the Windstar was $9400. I went with the salesman to his tiny cubby and he (with a straight face) wrote this information on his paper: Purchase price $11,000, trade in $5500. I almost fell off my chair. Did he think that anyone would be that dumb, maybe because I am a single female? I told him he had to be kidding and he said I'll talk to Herb and see what we can do yada yada.
His final offer: I could pay an additional $4,150 to exchange a 95 mini van with 71,000 miles for a 96 with 61,000 miles. I walked. There seemed to be no point in staying or, for that matter, ever going back to do business with them now, or in the future.By the way, I pulled my files and I have purchased 11 cars in 7 years, for myself and one or more for each of my kids. I just moved to Gurnee and this was my first local auto transaction. Gurnee Dodge should have considered the true cost of bad customer care.
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