Crown Chrysler Dodge in Greensboro (Wendover Avenue) seems like a great place to shop for a car...until you buy oneUpon first showing up, the salesmen are very nice and peppy and helpfulThey seem interested in you, your business, and in helping you find the right car for your budgetYou're smart, you're intelligent, you're funnyBut once that salesman makes his sale and passes you on to the office people for paperwork, they're done with youI recently bought a car here and once I was passed off from Khaled my salesman to Brian the office manager, it was like pulling teeth to get Khaled to take a moment to discuss how I could arrange getting a temporary license plate on my new car and how I could get my old car back to my houseBrian was friendly while I was signing my paperwork and assured me that I'd get copies of everything I'd signed when I went to pick up my tagsYes, they'll get your tags for you from the DMV, but expect to wait more than a month for them, with no word from the dealersBrian said to call him if I had any questions or concerns or anythingSo I didAnd he never answeredI left voicemailsNo return callsI asked the receptionist to pass me along to someone else who might answer and be able to answer my callsStraight to voicemail, with no return callsMy salesman would never return my calls and would not assist me in arranging a way to get my old car home, as he promised he wouldThe only decent person I met at this joint was salesman GusVery friendly, very interesting and funnyHe took the time to help me out when I needed itAnd he wasn't trying to make a saleIf you must visit this place for a car, please deal with Gus
After I bought my car, I noticed that the coolant was a bit low about halfway goneI was promised upon purchase of the car that if anything needed to be done (body work, mechanical work, fluid exchanges or additions), to go to the shop thereSo after I'd had the car for about months, and had gotten my tags (with no paperwork, mind you), I finally found time to call to ask about their policy on topping off fluidsThey said sure, they did that, to bring it on inIt'd take less than minutes, they saidSo I took it inNow mind you, my former car was a and had been in and out of the shop quite frequentlyI know my way around a mechanics garage: verbiage, pricing, what to look for, etcThree fuel pumps, a radiator and water pump (which had to be put in twice because the first time it wasn't done correctly), two starters, various batteries, tires, brakes, wheel bearings, fluid exchanges, serpentine belts, wiring, hoses, air filters, etcI know how to change my oil, how to change tires, how to hook up and unhook a battery, how to tap my starter to get the car working if it won't start, how to tighten hoses that may be leaking, say, coolantI keep tools in my carExtra fluidsA battery chargerI'm not fooled by shady mechanics trying to confuse supposedly unsuspecting womenThese men in the shop at this dealership are indeed shadyThey saw me coming in and figured they could feign ignorance to get me to unknowingly agree to something I didn't wantI went in and explained to them that I'd gotten my car there recently and that my coolant was a bit low and that I'd like them to top it off"Top it off? I don't know what you mean," one guy saidHe claimed to have never heard of this beforeI tried to use different terminology: to top off a fluid means to add more because it's currently lowAdd more until it comes up to the "fill line." I asked him, since he'd already have the hood up, to check my oil level and to add more if it needed itThey had the oil thereSince I'd just gotten it and it was already low, couldn't they just go ahead and do that since apparently these things weren't full when I bought the car? Again, he had no idea what I was talking about, he claimed"You want an oil change," he askedNo, just for you to top off the oil if it looks a little lowNo comprehensionHe finally went to go get someone else (his manager? Name was Roy.), who seemed just as confused"So, ma'am, you want an oil change?" No, just for you to look at my coolant and oil levels and if they're low, to fill them with the respective fluids until they reach the "fill line" for both"I don't understand what you're asking us to doI've never heard of anyone topping off fluids." Are you kidding me?! I kept explaining it, using different language every time until I think they finally, vaguely, understoodWhen they were through, I popped the hood right there to make sure they'd done what I asked them to doThey hadSo I guess they did understandUpon further thought, however, I realized what they were trying to do: get me to pay for a coolant exchange and an oil change that I didn't needThey knew what I wantedBut they tried to play meBetter luck next time, suckers!
Crown Chrysler Dodge in Greensboro (Wendover Avenue) seems like a great place to shop for a car...until you buy oneUpon first showing up, the salesmen are very nice and peppy and helpfulThey seem interested in you, your business, and in helping you find the right car for your budgetYou're smart, you're intelligent, you're funnyBut once that salesman makes his sale and passes you on to the office people for paperwork, they're done with youI recently bought a car here and once I was passed off from Khaled my salesman to Brian the office manager, it was like pulling teeth to get Khaled to take a moment to discuss how I could arrange getting a temporary license plate on my new car and how I could get my old car back to my houseBrian was friendly while I was signing my paperwork and assured me that I'd get copies of everything I'd signed when I went to pick up my tagsYes, they'll get your tags for you from the DMV, but expect to wait more than a month for them, with no word from the dealersBrian said to call him if I had any questions or concerns or anythingSo I didAnd he never answeredI left voicemailsNo return callsI asked the receptionist to pass me along to someone else who might answer and be able to answer my callsStraight to voicemail, with no return callsMy salesman would never return my calls and would not assist me in arranging a way to get my old car home, as he promised he wouldThe only decent person I met at this joint was salesman GusVery friendly, very interesting and funnyHe took the time to help me out when I needed itAnd he wasn't trying to make a saleIf you must visit this place for a car, please deal with Gus
After I bought my car, I noticed that the coolant was a bit low about halfway goneI was promised upon purchase of the car that if anything needed to be done (body work, mechanical work, fluid exchanges or additions), to go to the shop thereSo after I'd had the car for about months, and had gotten my tags (with no paperwork, mind you), I finally found time to call to ask about their policy on topping off fluidsThey said sure, they did that, to bring it on inIt'd take less than minutes, they saidSo I took it inNow mind you, my former car was a and had been in and out of the shop quite frequentlyI know my way around a mechanics garage: verbiage, pricing, what to look for, etcThree fuel pumps, a radiator and water pump (which had to be put in twice because the first time it wasn't done correctly), two starters, various batteries, tires, brakes, wheel bearings, fluid exchanges, serpentine belts, wiring, hoses, air filters, etcI know how to change my oil, how to change tires, how to hook up and unhook a battery, how to tap my starter to get the car working if it won't start, how to tighten hoses that may be leaking, say, coolantI keep tools in my carExtra fluidsA battery chargerI'm not fooled by shady mechanics trying to confuse supposedly unsuspecting womenThese men in the shop at this dealership are indeed shadyThey saw me coming in and figured they could feign ignorance to get me to unknowingly agree to something I didn't wantI went in and explained to them that I'd gotten my car there recently and that my coolant was a bit low and that I'd like them to top it off"Top it off? I don't know what you mean," one guy saidHe claimed to have never heard of this beforeI tried to use different terminology: to top off a fluid means to add more because it's currently lowAdd more until it comes up to the "fill line." I asked him, since he'd already have the hood up, to check my oil level and to add more if it needed itThey had the oil thereSince I'd just gotten it and it was already low, couldn't they just go ahead and do that since apparently these things weren't full when I bought the car? Again, he had no idea what I was talking about, he claimed"You want an oil change," he askedNo, just for you to top off the oil if it looks a little lowNo comprehensionHe finally went to go get someone else (his manager? Name was Roy.), who seemed just as confused"So, ma'am, you want an oil change?" No, just for you to look at my coolant and oil levels and if they're low, to fill them with the respective fluids until they reach the "fill line" for both"I don't understand what you're asking us to doI've never heard of anyone topping off fluids." Are you kidding me?! I kept explaining it, using different language every time until I think they finally, vaguely, understoodWhen they were through, I popped the hood right there to make sure they'd done what I asked them to doThey hadSo I guess they did understandUpon further thought, however, I realized what they were trying to do: get me to pay for a coolant exchange and an oil change that I didn't needThey knew what I wantedBut they tried to play meBetter luck next time, suckers!