Outrageous Auto & Truck

Problem description: On November 5, 2017 I purchased a 2016 Chevy Malibu from Prestige Auto. When I arrived at the business, with my father, a salesman named [redacted] pointed out a couple cars that were not all that appealing to me. Then he showed me the white Chevy Malibu that I ended up purchasing. I really liked the look, style and size of this car and that it was newer (2016). I thought the price was very good for a 2016. This is the only car that I asked the salesman specific questions about. Since I would be upgrading from a 2007, I wondered to myself whether this car had any fancy features in it. I asked [redacted], in a joking manner, “So, is it like naked inside or what? Is that why the price is so good?” [redacted] politely laughed and shook his head no. “No, not at all.” he said. He then proceeded to list a number of nice-sounding features that this car had including a rear-facing camera, heated seats, On Star capability, wi-fi and remote start. He then went into a fairly detailed explanation of how they price their cars and why they can price them so low.   During the test drive, I stated to my dad, who was riding along, “Hey Dad, it even has remote start!” [redacted] the salesperson was in the back seat and confirmed this. The remote start was a major selling point for me. I didn't need to use the remote start until a few weeks after purchasing the car. Then I was unable to figure out how to activate it. After looking in the manual, I noticed the problem must be that I had the wrong key fob. It did not occur to me that the car itself wasn't even equipped with remote start. At this point, I thought there must be an additional key that the dealership neglected to give me and all I would have to do is stop by the dealership to straighten it out. When I srrived, I spoke to the salesperson, [redacted], himself. I first asked him if he knew anything about how to activate On Star. He didn't seem to know for sure. No problem, so I asked him about the remote start. I reminded him that when he showed me the car, he said it had remote start among other things. He was just nodding and so I asked him if he remembered telling me it had remote start. He stated that, yes, it was possible that he told me that. I was then directed to speak with a manager. This supervisor was very friendly and took an understanding tone during our conversation. However, he could not do anything specifically to help me. His supervisor was not in, but he would leave a message for him to call me the following Monday. I never heard from anyone the following Monday or at any time. I ended up having to return to the dealership a total of 4 times. In the meantime, I discovered my new car did not have the heated seats I was also told it had. One supervisor ultimately offered to have the remote start installed in my car at the 'dealership' cost. He couldn't, however, tell me what that cost would be. I said I could not agree to that because I shouldn't have pay to install what they told me my car already had and was one of the reasons I bought the car. He said I would have to talk to his supervisor, but I would have to call or come back another day because that person wasn't in. A few days later, I returned to the dealership and asked to speak with the top manager. After a few moments, it was determined that the person I wanted to speak to would be the General Manager Matt Berube. He was on vacation, so they gave me his card and suggested I call in a few days. A few days later, I called the number on the card and got Matt's voicemail. Instead of leaving a message, I decided to just return to the dealership. I then met with Mr. Berube and the previous manager. Matt first showed me two phone numbers and asked if one of them was mine. I said yes. I began to explain the reason I didn't leave a message when I called earlier, but Matt interrupted me, laughing. He looks at his coworker and says in a condescending tone, “Well, yeah if you don't leave a message how do you expect anybody to call you back.” They seemed to be having some fun with this so I wait for him to turn his attention back to me. I then explained that since I didn't know when he would call me back and I wanted to address this today, I decided to just come in. Then, in a more professional tone, he agreed that it's better to deal with problems face-to-face anyway. I agreed then started to mention that I had gone to the Revdex.com's website when Mr. Berube interrupted me again and said flatly, "We don't pay the Revdex.com”. I told him I had no idea what that meant. He replied that "if you pay the Revdex.com they give you better ratings". He said he had two offers for me. One was he would allow me to trade in the car I already purchased for a another car that has the features in it I was told my car had. However, this other car was going to cost more money because it had those other features, remote start and heated seats. I told him I did not want another car. I like the car itself and just want what I was told it already had. After making my case, Mr. Berube said he questioned the intelligence of somebody who didn't verify the items in a used car. I told him he seemed to be saying that when you buy a car from Kia dealership one should expect that the sales people may lie to you or may be incompetent . I said, “so you're questioning my intelligence because I believed what your salesperson told me”. He responded that I was questioning his integrity and I confirmed that, yes, I probably was questioning his integrity. He responded, “Well, then I take my offers off the table.” He told me he believed I was lying and that I just had 'buyer's remorse'. At that moment, he grabbed his notebook, and abruptly stood up. While walking away from me, he said without looking back, “You can leave the property now”. I was somewhat taken aback by Mr. Berube's abrupt and immature ending of our conversation. I left the business. I have noticed from other complaints that this business seems to have a pattern of using 'buyer's remorse' to disregard some customer complaints. I think that 'buyer's remorse' is applicable when a person wants to return the item due to no longer wanting the item. That is not the case here. I never wanted to return the car or get a different car. I only wanted the features they told me it had before I bought it. My complaint is about the missing features.Desired Outcome What I asked for from the company was for them to install, or pay to have installed, the remote start and heated seats into the car I bought. Then it would match the description they gave me in order to sell me the car.

All used vehicles, come with a minimum of one key. Sincerely,[redacted]General ManagerPrestige Auto CorporationDirect Line: 715-839-5457

I would like to offer my apologies to this customer for their frustration in a purchase of a used vehicle.  This is my first opportunity to make an apology, as I can’t find any correspondence from the customer, prior to this letter from the Revdex.com. We present every used vehicle at the best...

possible value to our customers.  They go through the State of Wisconsin (required) safety inspection and come with our Lifetime Power Train Warranty.  Since, used vehicles are presented to market with the same equipment as they are traded or purchased from rental or auction, items like keys, remotes, owner’s manuals, floor mats, etc. could be missing.  This presentation in our used product is reflected in the value pricing. We do not re produce the for mentioned items on the thousands of used vehicles we acquire and re market throughout the year.  This would not only be logistically impossible, but it would push the cost of these vehicles and in turn the retail price out of value within our market.  Our number one concern in our business is customer satisfaction through maintaining and continuing to hire more employees and giving back to the community more than our competitors.  We pride ourselves as having the top rating in our market and with our franchises for customer satisfaction and hope the customer will join us for our customer appreciation event on August 16th. [redacted]Negative postings or opinions of any items for this transaction by the Revdex.com of Wisconsin in any public forum will be considered slanderous to our business and treated as such. Sincerely,[redacted]General ManagerPrestige Auto Corporation

The vehicle was purchased for a sale price of $4,366 after our Service department had done a visual safety inspection.  These vehicles are presented to the purchaser 100% As-Is.  Like all other used cars sold As- Is, the customer signed the As- Is window disclosure,  As- Is...

Dealer Warranty Disclaimer, initialed “AS IS NO WARRANTY” on the purchase contract, signed “I decline all protection” on the vehicle service contract option menu and signed the attached 2 Part As- Is warranty. We make no claims that our As- Is vehicles are anything but cheap transportation.  Doing suggested maintenance is a great way to protect your vehicle investment and we are glad another dealer could up sell you on doing such. The person who purchased this vehicle does not match the party that wrote this complaint.  And we are un sure of complainants presence or involvement at time of this vehicle purchase. Sincerely,Matt BerubeGeneral ManagerPrestige Auto CorporationDirect Line: 715-839-5457            Fax: [email protected]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I do not believe the company apologizing for my "misunderstanding" is enough.  I was unfamiliar with leases as I never even thought about leasing before.  I relied on what the salesman and finance person said about the lease and they made it seem like it was my best option as I would not lose money as I did before when I bought a KIA.  I won't be dealing with this dealership again.  It's not like we're talking a small amount of money.  I had to pay over $5,000 that I had no idea would even be a possibility.  They can say "sorry" all day, it doesn't change the fact that I was misled.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]