Russ Darrow Group, Inc.

Review: I purchased a 2007 Jeep compass in 2012. I really didn't care for the car but it was the only vehicle that any one would finance. We were told that we should take the car and after a year we could bring it back in and trade for something else. I did took it in to trade it off I was told that I was not able to trade it in. I was not happy. The thing that really irritates me is we have had many issues with the are. I don't believe the anti-lock brakes worked as the car didn't act any different with or with them on. then the check engine light went on. I took it to a jeep dealer and they checked it out and got the light to go out but they couldn't do anything about the anti lock breaks. I had taken it in to the place I got the car to get an oil change. They checked over the car and said the motor mounts were going and the arm by the driverside tire. A day or so after the oil change I look and seen something leaking so I took it back in and they said there was nothing leaking, Well I have been keeping an eye on it. I told them I should not be having issues like this. We just got the car a year ago. Well now the cars gears kicked out of 2nd and 3rd gear and the transmission is just about shot. It costs about 4000.00 to fix it all. In my opinion as well as others this car should not be in this bad of shape. I believe things were wrong with that car and they just don't want to get me a different car like they said they would. I don't have money to fix car. So now I have a broken down car and they get off free. Oh yea about 6 mnths after we had it they told us we needed tireDesired Settlement: Either they fix all repairs and not at my expense or better yet I want a different car.

Business

Response:

I am sorry that you are experiencing problems with your vehicle. However, you purchased a used 2007 Jeep Compass with no implied or stated warranty. There may have been warranties available to purchase aside from the manufacture warranty that has since expired. I am unsure if you looked into this option to help out with any repairs that you experienced after delivery. As for the re-financing or trade-in, we routinely tell customers that they can try and refinance or repurchase a newer vehicle at a later date. It is however dependent on your credit, balance owed on current vehicle and income. Not all loans are able to be refinanced for various reasons. I am unsure what the reason was why you were not able to re-finance or trade out of this vehicle. If the value of the vehicle was much lower than your loan balance, it can be difficult for a bank to accept a large amount of negative equity on the new vehicle purchase.

We do continue to offer the refinance program and I would ask that you try again and see if circumstances would be different at this time. If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact me directly at ###-###-####/direct. [redacted].

Just purchased a new car Russ Darrow. Traded in my Prius. It was truly one of the best purchases I have ever made! I want to thank everyone that helped us at Russ Darrow.

Review: ABOUT A MONTH AGO WE PURCHASED A USED VEHICLE FROM DARROW NISSAN :

1 THE VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE A SECOND KEY FOB

1a OUR SALESMAN SAID HE WOULD TALK TO THEIR SERVICE DEPT ABOUT WHERE WE COULD PURCHASE ONE AT A REDUCED PRICE HE NEVER RETURNED ANY OF MY CALLS OR EMAILS. WE PURCHASED ONE FRO $150

2 THE VEHICLE HAD 2 RECALLS THAT NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED WE TOOK THE VEHILE TO A MANUFACTURES DEALER

2a THIS DEALER DID THE RECALL WORK AND ALSO FOUND THAT THE FRONT FOG LIGHT WAS OUT ALONG WITH THE LICENSE PLATE LAMP ANOTHER $60 WE CHECKED THE VEHICLE INSPECTION SLIP AND ALL ITEMS WERE CHECK OFF AS GOOD NOT TO MENTION THE THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE ALSO BAD AND A FRONT ATABLISER LINK BUSHING WAS BAD

3 WE WERE TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE ONLY HAD 3 MONTHS OF FACTORY WARRANTY LEFT SO WE PURCHASE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY

3a WHILE DRIVING HOME ON 3-9-16 ONE OF THE AUTOS TAIL LIGHTS FLEW OFF THE CAR WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER THEY SAID THEY COULD REPLACE IT FOR THERE COST WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE WARRANTY THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT THE FACTORY WARRANT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT THE DEALER THEN I ASKED ABOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY I WAS TOLD AGAIN THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO BY THE WAY THIS WARRANTY WAS NOT CHEAP.Desired Settlement: I AM REALLY NOT LOOKING FOR A MONITORY GAIN BUT IF THEY WILL NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY THEY SHOULD REIMBURSE US FOR THE COST OR UP GRADE US FOR ONE THAT WILL COVER SOMETHING.

THIS DEALER HAS THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

Business

Response:

I'm sorry that you have experienced issues with the vehicle that you just purchased. As you know with any vehicle, anything can happen at any time. When the safety inspection was complete, the items you say were faulty after purchase were seemingly o.k., however, after sitting on the lot for an undetermined amount of time and after test drives things can change. It is the customers responsibility to look the vehicle over or take it for a third party inspection to make sure they are purchasing a vehicle that they will be happy with. If there was anything mechanically wrong with the vehicle while it was under a factory warranty, the vehicle would have to be taken to a Hyundai dealer. If you take it to a non-Hyundai dealership they would charge you for any and all repairs needed. The aftermarket warranty depending on the one you purchased may or may not cover your issues. You should have received a brochure indicating what is a covered part and what is not. If you feel that you don't want the warranty that you purchased, there is a free 30 day look period, wherein 100% of the purchase price will be refunded.Please let me know how you would like to proceed.[redacted], Corporate Paralegal

Consumer

Response:

One when you buy an auto you pay a service fee and before you drive ths auto off the lot the sales person says they take the auto to check it over so everything works(so they say ) and yes if the auto sits on the lot thing may happens that is why it should be looked over before delivery.This dealership just wants to take your money and send you down the road!! NO CUSTOMER SERVICEThis is how this experience left an impressionI am an older adult that has purchased many vehicles in my years and this was the worst experience I have ever encountered.

Business

Response:

I am sorry that you encountered issues shortly after purchasing the vehicle from the Russ Darrow Nissan location. Used vehicles normally come with one key unless the previous owner trades the vehicle in with two. We do not incur the cost to provide an additional key on a used vehicle. However, I apologize that nobody from the dealership called you to give you advice on where to purchase a second key. As for the recalls open on the vehicle, at the time of the safety inspection, we notate if there are any open recalls that we have not fixed or taken to the manufacturer of the vehicle, however, those services would be taken care of with no charge to you upon presentment. A safety inspection was performed on the vehicle and there were no issues present at the time of inspection with the front fog light, license plate lamp, windshield wipers or link bushing. If there was a factory warranty left on the vehicle, the local Hyundai dealership should have been able to cover the link bushing. As for the lights, lamps and wipers, if this was cause for concern prior to delivery the customer would have had to bring this to the managers attention before taking delivery. We do not perform a walk around of the vehicle to make sure the vehicle is in working order for delivery. The customer has the right to a third party inspection that potentially would have caught these issues. With the questions pertaining to the service contract that you purchased, no upgraded service contract would cover any of these issues, except maybe the bushing link. If you wish to cancel the warranty at any time, I can assist you with that. However, we will be unable to provide you with any type of upgrade for no additional cost.[redacted], Corporate Paralegal

Review: Recently I had bought a used car from Russ Darrow. And that day I was please with their service, but then the very same day when I had to get gas I got it and the car wouldn't start. And I continued to have this problem so I called them to let them know and they told me to bring the car in and the would check it out. Then my engine light came on, after charging me for the diagnostics test to see what was wrong they had charged me to fix what was wrong when getting gas, the same problem the engine light was on, also they sold me the car that way, they should have told me the car had problems. So I go in to get it fixed and while the guys are working on my car they were also adding me on social media websites, very unprofessional and they would have had to snoop in my glove compartment to find my name. Two days after getting it fixed my engine light came back on, I went elsewhere in town, Russ Darrow is 60 miles away from me, they said it was a loose sensor from when they fixed my car two day prior. So I called to let them know and they told me to bring it back in, only to charge me again for THEIR mistake. The car was sold to me with this problem and I've been paying for it ever since and paying for their mistakes whereas the car was sold this way and should have been fixed before selling or for free after. They also were very pushy for me to purchase the warranty for the car, which I would have anyways, but the warranty doesn't cover anything that was wrong with the car.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund for all repairs since this was a problem from the day I bought it and they won't work with me to fix their mistakes and they shouldn't have sold a car that had a problem with the gas line valves. Especially not telling me there was a problem

Business

Response:

I have reviewed your complaint and all requisite service history with the service manger and have come to the conclusion that the issues that you are experiencing with the vehicle are normal maintenance issues that can arise at any time with no indication of a pre-existing problem. Prior to you purchasing the vehicle, it went through a safety inspection and we fixed, repaired or did the following: oil change, serpentine belt was put back on, replace air filter element and filter, electronic wheel balance, reattach rear window weather stripping and installed wiper blades. You then purchased the vehicle on or about January 30, 2015. Your first issue did not present until March 20, 2015, almost 2 full months and approximately 1500 miles after purchase. If this would have been an issue prior to sale, you would have recognized it immediately upon driving the vehicle and or filling the vehicles gas tank.I am sorry that you experienced an issue within a small window of time of purchasing the vehicle, however, all vehicles are sold without an implied or stated warranty. I understand that you purchased a warranty, however, depending on the warranty purchased, it may or may not be a covered part.Nicole P[redacted]

Review: I had purchase a car, or was pressured into a car that I was not comfortable with. When trying to leave the sales person brandon would not let me leave and continued the pressure with help from the sales manager. It made for a very uncomfotable experience. After they pushed enough I was in a car that really I couldn't afford and did not truely enjoy. Purchased on a saturday afternoon, I came back the next business day. When telling my salesman I did not like the car and was uncomfortable with every aspect of the situation, he told me "sorry you already signed the papers there is nothing we can do." Even when asking if I could be put into a car that was more affordable they turned their backs to me. I would never reccomend anyone to go there, and continue to tell many people of the horrible experience at Russ Darrow.Desired Settlement: Not sure what the law is but if a person comes back within 24 hrs\or a business day they should have options not told nothing can be done. I would have taken my car back or even purchased a car at a cheaper price from them given they tried to help me. Instead I am a very upset and finacially strapped customer!

Business

Response:

After reviewing your complaint, you purchased the vehicle over one year ago. I am sorry that you feel you can no longer afford the vehicle. At the time of the purchase, you as a customer have the ability to walk away at any time. If you felt you were being pressured, you should have walked away instead of signing a contract on a vehicle that was outside of your ability. You can at any time trade the vehicle in at any dealership, not just a Russ Darrow Group dealership. If you would like Russ Darrow's assistance in getting you into a more affordable vehicle, please let me know and I will set up an appointment for you.

If you have any questions, please contact me directly at ###-###-####/[redacted]

I first stopped by Russ Darrow Honda on a Friday evening to take a look at a 2002 Civic I had seen listed on cars.com. The salesman retrieved it from the lot and we took it out for a drive. It seemed to be a decent car, it had a manual transmission, and it had under 100K miles. Those were my base criteria. After the test drive, I met with the General Manager. I still wasn’t convinced I wanted to go with the car. It was an okay price ($4995), but not great. He was inflexible here. He went online and showed me a bunch of other comparable Civics that were all the same price or slightly less. The difference was, he said, that those were corner lot cars. You couldn’t trust them. He said that used cars at Russ Darrow were inspected and could be trusted…you knew what you were getting. A huge sign loomed off to his side which listed 150 points of inspection. I asked if it had gone through that and was told yes, all of their used cars went through that. Based on this assurance, I decided to buy the car. I told him that I had not intended to buy a car that evening and did not have a checkbook with me. I confirmed that the money was in my account and that I did have a debit card, but that I did not think I could run an amount that high at once. At the same time, I had never tried. He said it wouldn’t be a problem.
I was then introduced to the Business Manager. He had prepared all of the documents and we went through them quickly. He offered some sort of extended warrantee, but it added something like $2000 to the price of the car, the car was purportedly in good running shape, and I had my own mechanic to work with if anything came up in the future. I turned it down. Everything signed, they then took me to the cashier. I tried to run my card, but it was, as I should have expected, declined. It was too late to call the credit union. They did not seem fazed, but would not let me leave with the new car and asked that I come back the next day with a check. In order to save them the hassle of sending out a lot attendant to pick me up on one of their busier sales days, I got up the following morning and rode my bike the 15 miles out to the dealership. It started pouring 12 miles in. I made it though, paid in full, and was sent out the door with the keys.
As I pulled away from the lot, I heard some noise coming from the front of the car that I had not previously noticed. Honestly, I was still a little exasperated from getting soaked while riding in the storm and thought maybe it was in my head. I mean, it was a “new” used car and I had been assured it had been thoroughly gone over. I spent the following two days going back and forth as to whether I was really hearing something. The noise was intermittent. I checked the heat shields and a number of other potential sources of rattling. Nothing obvious. Finally I decided to take it in to my mechanic. He called back and said that the transaxle was bad. Most likely the synchros, but he couldn’t say for sure without taking it apart. It would cost $1400 at minimum to replace it, and that would be with a used one. He advised me to take it back to the dealership and have them take a look at it. He also added that someone had put heavy grease in the transaxle to dampen the noise. If it had had genuine Honda fluid it would have been much louder.
After picking the car up from the mechanic, I drove straight to the dealership to report the issue and hopefully come to some sort of resolution. I met with the General Manager and, almost as if on cue, the Business Manager appeared. The General Manager loudly asked if I had purchased the extended warrantee and the Business Manager gleefully replied that it had been offered to me twice and that I had turned it down both times. He said that this sort of situation happens "all the time," where someone buys a car from them, does not get the warrantee, something goes wrong right after they leave the lot, and then the person wants it fixed. I refrained from asking why on Earth this sort of situation would happen "all the time" at a reputable dealership, and instead tried to explain that nothing "went wrong" with the car. Rather, the issue was that something major "was already wrong" with the car when it was sold to me. This mechanical issue was not disclosed. And someone, whether it was at the dealership or not, had tried to cover up the issue with heavy grease. The Business Manager then made a comment about how the used cars are sold "as-is," and that without the extended warrantee any existing issues with the car are, under Wisconsin law, not the responsibility of the dealership once the car leaves the lot. I asked the General Manager how a major issue like this wasn't identified when the car went through the dealer's 150-point inspection. He said that this car didn't go through that particular inspection as it was "only" a $5000 car. I asked what kind of inspection it did go through, and he could not tell me. I challenged him and said that if it had gone through ANY kind of inspection this mechanical issue would have been identified. He said something about how I couldn't expect to receive the same treatment as someone who had purchased the extended warrantee. I told him that the car was misrepresented at the time of sale. Either it was inspected and they withheld reporting a major mechanical problem (and possibly tried to cover it up), or it was not inspected but they told me it was regardless. He had no response and sat there staring blankly at me while sucking on a Now n' Later. The conversation devolved from there. Russ Darrow Honda was simply not willing to do anything to remedy or even ease a problem that was the direct result of the dealership’s negligence.
I'll be the first to admit: I was a sucker. I believed the General Manager when he looked me in the eye and told me that by buying from a "reputable" dealer like Russ Darrow I knew I could be confident that I was getting a quality car. I take responsibility for my naivety. In doing so, though, it's also fair to point out the other side of the coin in no unclear terms: The General Manager and Business Manager at Russ Darrow Honda are complete and utter [redacted]. They are the reason people view used car sales staff as dishonorable, insulting [redacted]. They didn't technically do anything illegal. In fact, they were very careful to make sure their toes didn't cross the line. The Business Manager seemed to take great pleasure in that. What they did is done on shady corner lots and Craigslist exchanges all the time. I thought that Russ Darrow Honda was a better operation than that...that they were a reputable dealer that stood behind all of their cars. That is clearly not the case, and I am out an unexpected $1400 (at minimum) less than a week after buying the car as a result. AVOID THIS DISHONEST, DISREPUTABLE DEALERSHIP.

Review: Located a vehicle on the Russ Darrow website that we were interested in buying on Tuesday morning (8/27). As we both work over 50 hours week, we don't have a lot of time to waste, so I called the phone # on the website (###-###-####) to confirm the vehicle was still available for sale and at the dealership. After advising the rep, a gentleman named [redacted], of the stock #[redacted] of the vehicle and description noted on the website (2011 Nissan Altima, 29000 miles, white $14, 777) he stated he would check and call me back. He then stopped and said "oh wait, the manager is walking by right now, let me ask him". I then heard him ask "[redacted]" about the vehicle, who advised him it was on the lot and still for sale. At that point, [redacted] asked me if I wanted to set up an appointment to see it. I stated yes, but that we would only have about 1/2 hour to spend, so to be sure the car was ready for us to look at. He set up an appointment for us at noon (I called about 11 am) and asked if there were any other cars that we would be interested in. I told him NO, only this one. He advised me that [redacted], the manager would be there at noon to meet us and the car would be there. We showed up at noon, no manager in sight. Gentleman asked us if we needed help, and we advised that we were supposed to meet [redacted] regarding the Nissan we had called on and that we had an appointment. They jazzed around and finally had a salesman come out, who had no idea what we were talking about, so we had to re-explain everything. He looked up the car on the website, and then said, I'll have that brought up for you. He came back 15 minutes later saying, "Well, that car was sold on the 20th, I don't know why they told you it was available....what else can I show you?" I immediately asked for a manager, and after some time, the salesman pointed to the reception desk and advised us we could go talk to him. [redacted] asked us what the problem was, we told him the story above and were told that "the reps on the phone really don't know what's available and should not have told us that...." He sort of apologized nonchalantly and immediately asked what other cars we would like to see. Really?? I advised that I was providing the feedback so that this did not happen to other customers in the future and advised that our time and gas had just been wasted as we had to drive 20 miles one way just to get there. He just said that there was nothing he could do.Desired Settlement: I sent an email to the Russ Darrow group with this same information upon returning home from the dealership and requested a callback from an executive. Received a form letter email stating "received your feedback, internet manager will get back to you shortly". This came from [redacted] of Honda store. As I didn't receive a call/email, I emailed Mr. [redacted] back the next day (the 28th) advising of this. As I received no response, I called him again today and left him a message stating that I was sending complaint to the Revdex.com as I feel this is a bait and switch marketing technique.

I feel we should, at the very least, receive a written apology letter from Russ Darrow executives, along with an explanation as to why this information was conveyed to us with obvious intent to get us into the dealership to look at other, less desirable vehicles, in the hopes of making a sale along with being reimbursed financially for the money wasted in gas.

Business

Response:

I’m sorry that you feel that you were targeted or mislead to believe that a vehicle was in stock when in fact it had been sold a week prior to your initial phone call. Russ Darrow does not target unsuspecting customers nor do they lead a customer to believe that we have stock that we truly don’t have. In your case, you were caught up in an unfortunate accounting delay. The way Russ Darrow’s website receives information from our direct inventory to our website is through our accounting system. All deals are processed at the store level and then sent to the corporate office to finalize and review all deals for accuracy. We have on a normal basis three deal processers for all the Russ Darrow dealerships. On a normal basis all deals are processed within 2 business days. In this case, there is a processor that is out on maternity leave leaving us behind on processing deals within the normal two days. At the time you called in our processors were running approximately 2 weeks behind. This in turn causes the Business Development Center (BDC) to give out, unknowingly, inaccurate information. The BDC assumes that the vehicle is in inventory if it is on our website. They do not have access to our accounting system that would show a pending deal that has not been finalized as of yet. Once the vehicle is finalized in the system that information is then electronically transferred and the vehicle would be deleted through an automated process. (Attached please find the website screen for this particular vehicle).

I would also like to apologize for the non-response from the [redacted] of the Honda store. I have contacted him and discussed this matter with him and he also apologizes for not getting back to you in a timely manner.

Again I am sorry that you wasted your time driving to our dealership to find out that the vehicle you were interested in was sold prior to you calling. I am going to be sending you a customer goodwill gesture for your time and aggravation for this matter.

Review: russ darrow showed me a clean car fax on this vehicle, I purchased this vehicle 4/11/11 with 39,000 miles on it, vehicle was mint! on 6/11/13, I took the vehicle to [redacted] for an estimate to sell it with now just 47,000 miles on it still mint, hardly driven. [redacted] notifys me this vehicle was in a major accident before you purchased it 12/23/08 and the frame is no good it was welded and modified and the car really isnt safe to drive. I have paid $22,989.41 to russ darrow for a vehicle that is now and always was worthless. definitely a fraudulant,bad business!Desired Settlement: refund and what ive paid and take your vehicle back! or share the loss with me

Business

Response:

I wanted to confirm receipt of the complaint that you have filed in relation to a disclosure issue concerning your 2006 Mercedes purchased from the Brown Deer location in Milwaukee, WI on or about April 11, 2011. I requested your file from storage and will review the contents upon receipt and respond accordingly.

Do you have a copy of the Carfax that we gave to you at the time of the transaction in 2011? If so, please forward to my attention: [redacted], ###-###-####/direct.

Review: Drove 2 hours to look at a 07 montypics showed nice car and when I asked if there was any thing wrong with the car was told NO!When I got there I found out the car was smashed and had a BAD MOTOR!Desired Settlement: GET THEM TO BE FAIR AND HONESTPAY FOR MY WASTED GAS COSTS AND MY TIME

Business

Response:

I apologize for the unintentional misrepresentation of this vehicle. The vehicle had full disclosures listed on the Wisconsin Buyer's Guide, however, whomever you spoke with regarding this vehicle did not look into the service history of this vehicle prior to telling you that it was available for sale. As such, I will be sending you a Goodwill gesture that I hope makes up for a little bit of you wasted time in traveling to Milwaukee.[redacted]

We purchased a vehicle here, unfortunately. When financing they jacked up the price of the vehicle by $5,000. When confronting the GENERAL MANAGER, he made up a terrible excuse and when we proved him wrong, he proceeded to call me a "rd" in front of a NINE YEAR OLD AUTISTIC CHILD. The loan officer at the bank the loan is through says the paperwork is incorrect on their end, yet they WILL NOT fix it. The staff here is the worst of the worst and the general manager displays that perfectly. I warn ANYONE not to shop here.

Went in to find more info about 2015 Optima at their madison locaiton. Their website advertizes $139/month for 2 year 24000 miles. I walked asking for this promotion and salesman looks at me as if I am crazy. I show him their website on my smartphone, he looks at it and says, oh we do that to bring customers in. Really, you are admitting to false advertising! He quoted me $268/month for the very basic Kia, the same that was advertised for $139/month and was totally unabashed about it.
I asked him about Sorento that their website advertises for $199 and he came back with a rough quote of $375, stating that his manager is not willing to do the numbers if I am not going to buy the car. A totally bizzare experience today. Not sure if somebody higher up reads review there but I suppose if they did there wouldn't be an overwhelming number of negative reviews out there for this place.

Review: I took my vehicle to Russ Darrow on 3-18-14 in regards to a issue that their technician stated that my car had last year around July 2013 dealing with the front struts. Prior to taking my vehicle back to them I had it inspected by a reputable dealer to see if they saw the same damage. The reputable dealer actually saw what they saw but also diagnosed the noise as the bushings. So on that day I told them that dealer diagnosis and showed them the paperwork from that dealer. So the tech guy told me they would have to do their own inspection but he did see from the last visit that the car needed struts but he would have his techs check for the bushings as well. I recieved a call from B getting the ok to repair the car because their diagnosis only showed front tension struts damage. I said ok asked him about what the other dealer saw and he said they didnt see all that, he called the warranty company all went well paid my deductible. I picked up my vehicle and at first on a smooth ground level you heard no noise but I went over a bump and noticed the noise again and this was the same day I picked it up. I called B the same day as well told him what I heard he told me to come back in. The next day he had his tech guy ride with me and a friend and they said the bushings was bad as well. They agreed to fix the car no charge to the warranty company their mistake. Took the car in the next week work done but my car now has a split bumper in the front and no one knows how it got their I asked questions about it and yes this was very noticeable they also said their was underbody damage to the shields understandable. They had nasty attitudes and wonder why I was upset the service manager hung up in my face because he said I was asking him the same questions after yelling at me I felt I was mistreated because I am a Woman. B said it came from wear and tear the Manager guy said I must have hit a pot hole. No under body damage or fascia damage was reported to me and they looked at this car more than twiceDesired Settlement: Its gonna cost me a over a thousand dollars to replace the bumper and if all that damage was their why would you not alert the customer the first time after you inspected the vehicle. Unacceptable. I do have estimates and can fax them in if neccessary. Thank you

Business

Response:

I am sorry for the delay in responding to your complaint. In order to properly assist you, I will need to know which Russ Darrow dealership you had your vehicle serviced at. Also, please provide me with the estimates as well as pictures of the damage you say was caused by Russ Darrow. As soon as I receive this information, I will review it with the Service Manager and respond accordingly.

Thank you,

Review: I am completely unsatisfied with Russ Darrow Jeep. Things started out fine, with a very competent sales associate. We test drove a jeep that we considered buying. The [redacted], come over to speak with us. [redacted] said he could get us in a brand NEW Jeep that was exactly the same for less than the used Jeep we test drove.

We repeated, "exactly the same"? [redacted] assured us, that yes, the new Jeep is the same as the used one. After being at the dealership for over three hours, well past closing time, we went to leave in our new Jeep. Needless to say, it was NOT the same. It had crank windows, and did not have auto locks. We mentioned this to our salesman and all we got was a "right". Many of you have purchased automobiles and you know that by the time it is over you feel like a wet noodle. On the way home we began discussing how this is NOT exactly like the Jeep we test drove. The next day was Sunday and we discussed what to do all that day. First thing Monday morning (9:00 am)we contacted the dealership. This is when the runaround began. We tried explaining the situation and told three different employees that we wanted to return the Jeep. We explained that we felt that [redacted] misrepresented the Jeep to us. We were told that they would put all paperwork on HOLD, including our check payment. Finally at 7:00 pm, 10 hours after our first contact) we just went directly to the dealership to try to get some answers. Again, many employees had to confer with each other privately. After two hours it was determined was that all they would do was put us into the used Jeep. In addition, we had to pay more money for the used Jeep. The used Jeep has two small "dings" and a scratch on the drivers door that I get to look at every time I get in the truck. We mentioned the damage and [redacted] stated "as is". Upon arriving home we also realized that the Jeep is overdue for an oil change. In addition our paperwork was never put on hold as stated, the check cleared our bank Monday. So basically the people at this dealership jerked us around for an entire day and NEVER planned to help us out in any way.

I could not be more disappointed with this experience and when people comment on my new Jeep I will be more than happy to share the experience with them.Desired Settlement: As it is clear that this dealership will not deal with us in an honest fashion, the least we would like is for them to repair the "dings" on the car at their expense.

Business

Response:

After speaking directly with [redacted], we have come to a mutually agreeable outcome. I expect to hear from Mr. [redacted] when he returns to town to set up an appointment to take a look at the scratches.

If you have any questions, please contact me directly at ###-###-####/direct. [redacted]

Review: I was looking to purchase a new 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR. The "Evolution MR" is a enhanced version of the regular base model "Lancer" and has a much larger purchase price and subsequent insurance premiums based on this particular vehicle's features. When buying a new car, it is typical for a dealership to have a "whatever it takes" attitude to complete a sale. However, it is my belief that a portion of what occurred regarding the sale of this particular vehicle could be considered purposely dishonest and an unfair sales practice potentially resulting in much bigger problems and more involved litigation for the consumer. Before I signed a final purchase contract for the vehicle, I was asked if I wanted a vehicle insurance quote through Russ Darrow Group. I agreed, noting that I knew it would be large amount of money to insure this particular vehicle. The sales representative, [redacted] filled out the insurance forms and faxed them to [redacted], the Russ Darrow group insurance agent. After a bit of time and discussion, [redacted] reported back to me that a six month premium totaled $389. I was surprised but having never purchased a new vehicle, I did not hesitate and paid the 6 month policy premium over the phone with [redacted] via credit card. Today, I received my insurance ID cards in the mail and noticed that my policy was for a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer, not the Lancer Evolution MR. I looked more closely at the VIN number and noticed that the first character was incorrect. It reads "5" as opposed to "J". This first digit designates whether a vehicle is a normal "Lancer" or "Lancer Evolution MR". It is my belief that these two characters are very difficult to confuse. Also, please note that every other digit in the VIN was correct. I have a number of concerns with this "error". First, in a worst case scenario, if I were to have injured myself or others under this insurance policy, what would be the outcome for me and who would be negligible? Second, making a large purchase (40K+) Russ Darrow would have potentially been unable to complete this sale had I been made aware of their dishonesty. Third, having thankfully caught this "error" myself, I am now responsible for paying a new policy and insuring my vehicle which amounts to an additional $400+ per year. It is my belief that this was not a clerical error, it instead was purposely dishonest and an unfair sales practice which allowed them to more easily complete a large sales transaction.Desired Settlement: I would like to be compensated for the discrepancy between the quoted insurance price and actual price for one 6 month policy period (~$200). I'd also like fault admitted whether they chose to admit that they were purposely dishonest or not. For me, intentional dishonesty is a character flaw and extremely upsetting. It also could lead to arguably major problems for consumers. I think this goes above and beyond what could be considered a fair solution.

Business

Response:

I am sorry that you feel Russ Darrow’s insurance agent was dishonest and or deceptive, but that is simply not the case. In speaking with you I assured you that the information was faxed to us and the way the first character of the VIN number was handwritten was incorrectly imputed into the Progressive Insurance system. The system provided a coverage quote for a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer and not the EVO. This was an honest clerical error and nothing more. You have different scenario’s in your complaint, and I cannot provide an answer for any of those given scenario’s, because they did not happen. Insurance companies will provide coverage to the individual regardless of the type of vehicle covered. The insurance does not follow the vehicle, it follows the individual listed on the policy. In your case, if there would have been an issue, the additional premium would have become due and the entire situation would have been covered. This is how insurance is designed to work.

I also cannot state with any certainty that you would have walked away from the purchase had the insurance quote came back $200 more. In your complaint you were “surprised” to see the small premium for such an expensive car. Based on this statement I can reasonably assume that you would have paid the premium and been in the same position as you are currently. It is my understanding that you have renewed the Progressive policy under the same premium.

Russ Darrow will not be paying a portion of your insurance premiums as this was a simple clerical error. I can and will extend an apology on behalf of Russ Darrow Group.

If you have any questions, please contact me directly at ###-###-####/direct. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I bought a used Kia Spectra there last year. At first the salesman was very friendly and helpful, and the purchase process went great...at first. Two days after I had the car I had my monthly payment come out of my checking account, but I had negotiated 45 days before payments started. I had to make payments eventually so I wasnt too upset. So about a month goes by and I get a call from the dealership saying that I need to come in and "finish up some paperwork". I told him I dont live nearby so it would be a couple of weeks. He called back a few days later in a panic saying that they are going to send a salesperson to my home with the paperwork. The salesman shows up with all of the purchase docs, and credit applications. Apparently my financing didnt go through, even though I have realy good credit(740-720), so they dropped the ball. So this is something that must have known for awhile since I drove the car off the lot over a month before this. At this point I had made 4 biweekly payments which werent routed to a bank since no bank had picked up the financing. Needless to say I was [redacted] off. I sat down with the paperwork, in my home to read it over and with the salesperson over my shoulder pressuring me to just sign the papers. Several "service packages" and changes to my extended warranty were added which increased the sales price. I called the office to complain and was told that if I didnt sign that the salesperson would "take my keys and drive the car away" because "I wouldnt be able to get financed" even though I was preapproved by several banks before I started even looking at cars. What a joke. Hostile, bait and switch, but what could I do at that point. They pretty much bait and switched me and strong armed me into buying all this extra crap I didnt need. These guys are a bunch of underhanded, lying, jerks to put it nicely. They are not to be trusted!
So with the warranty I was told that at any point before the warranty expired I could redeem the warrant for what I paid for it. I went in this summer and they said it would only be a prorated amount for what was remaining the coverage, so I was out to $2,000 on the warranty that I didnt want. When I went to the dealership in person to talk to the salesperson who sold me the car I found out that he was just brought in from another dealership, out of state, and they had no recourse and "couldnt verify" the lies he told me about the warranty.
So I just got a flyer saying that I won $25,000 cash from Russ Darrow Kia in Madison. I went in the claim my prize, knowing full well this is too good to be true. The first thing they do is run your credit to see if they can try to sell you something, and your prize is most likely based on their prospect of selling your a car. This is exactly the type of underhanded, sneaky ways I would expect from these guys. My advice is pay the extra $500 from a different dealership, because it would save you money and headaches in the long run. Sneaky, lying, and underhanded. Avoid at all costs. Looking for a Kia go to Metro Kia of Madison. Much better warranty deals and no sending people to your home to "take your keys and drive the car away".
Salesman=[redacted] aka [redacted] One finance guy=[redacted] aka Mr. "take your keys"
Manager=** aka [redacted]

This was one of the most pleasant experiences we had buying a car. I was very impressed by their ability to show me what I needed. This was a fast and one of the best new car buying experience ever. Thanks again to everyone for going the extra mile on a job well done.

Review: I purchased a certified used vehicle with about 36,000 miles in June 2015. The vehicle had tire noise which I questioned and was told the noise would stop on the freeway. It did not and I had the tires checked and was told by another shop the tires needed to be replaced due to too much wear. I called Russ Darrow Nissan and told them I was going to rescind the sale which I would be allowed to do within 3 days. They had me bring it it to be checked and refused to replace at no charge. They charged my $542 which I feel is unfair since the vehicle was certified. Also, the transmission cooler was leaking fluid and I brought it in to another Nissan dealer to replace in September. Had this vehicle truly been certified this should have been caught prior to sale.Desired Settlement: I would like to have some money refunded for the tires as I feel they should have been replaced prior to sale.

Business

Response:

After reviewing your complaint and talking with the applicable parties, we will agree to reimburse you for half of the expense. Although there was apparent noise coming from the tires, they were within the specifications that Nissan issues for certified vehicles. The tires must have 50% or greater tread on the tires, which yours did. As for the transmission cooler, the leak may not have been evident at the time of the safety inspection or the leak may have been obscured by the oil change. In any event, this should have been covered under the certified warranty.If you would like to accept our concession towards the tires, please let me know.Thank you for bringing this to our attention.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: The Finance Manager sold me a 'Maintenance Contract' for $500 saying it covered everything. He told me that this was a "Gas and Go" package. I would only have to pay for gas. Everything else would be covered. All scheduled maintenance including oil changes, transmission services, any other maintenance that was needed. Today, I received 10 vouchers for Oil Change, Lube and Filter and an occasional tire rotation (4 of these). This basically means I prepaid $50 per oil change for 10 oil changes when I can get the same service for $25 from the local dealership and not have to travel 30 miles for service. I was deceived. I was told this was a "Gas and Go" deal when it's only a limited number of vouchers and coupons for $10 off other services.Desired Settlement: Refund of $500. I have not used any of the vouchers. They have just arrived in the mail. I want a full refund.

Business

Response:

I have read the complaint and spoken with the dealership staff. Russ Darrow does not offer any type of warranty that is a Gas and Go scenario. I spoke with [redacted] and he stated that he has never represented any product in this fashion. I was not present at the closing, so I am unable to say what was said. As such, I would be more than happy to cancel this product if Mr. [redacted] would like. The cancellation proceeds would go to the lender that holds the loan to offset the principal balance.Please let me know how you would like me to proceed.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Will you notify [redacted] from Russ Darrow to cancel the product and have the refund placed?

Regards,

Business

Response:

This will confirm our conversation, wherein I will start the cancellation process immediately. You should see a principal payment on our account within 10 buisness days.

[redacted]

Review: My son and I test drove and then purchased a 2008 Chrysler Sebring on Saturday, February 15th, 2014. The car had a clean inspection report. When my son drove the car from the dealership to my home, I noticed stains on the driveway. Thinking it was a slight oil leak, I told my son to watch the oil level. On Monday, two days after the purchase, my son drove the car to Chicago to work. The brakes failed at that time. The brake fluid had completely leaked out. He took the car to a repair shop in Chicago where the mechanic told him the problem was with the ABS system. My son called Russ Darrow in Wauwatosa. The service manager told him to tow the car to the dealership. He drove the car there, and they repaired the car. My issue is that I believe this was a pre-existing condition on the car. The inspection report stated the brakes were good. Russ Darrow charged us $350 for the repair. Since I believe this was a pre-existing condition, we should not have been charged. The dealership refused to give any compensation for this matter.Desired Settlement: Since I feel the dealership sold us the car with an undisclosed problem, they should refund the 350.00.

Business

Response:

Please provide the paid in full receipt showing that the service was completed on your vehicle, and I will issue a reimbursement check immediately. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

[redacted]l ###-###-####

Business

Response:

The reimbursement check was mailed on August 13th. If you do not receive it, please do not hesitate to email me directly.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: On 4/13/2015 I spoke with a gentleman by the name of Tim at Russ Darrow Nissan of Milwaukee. I had inquired about a vehicle online. I asked if the vehicle was still in stock and he said it was. I told him I would be down on Saturday to try it and work a deal. I had asked him if Russ Darrow was a one price dealer and he said "No. You can come in and work your own deal."

That Saturday my wife and I drove over 200 miles to test drive and purchase this vehicle. When I entered the dealership I spoke to a salesman by the name of Leaf. I updated him on the conversation I had with Tim and he brought up the vehicle to test drive. After the test drive I told him if we could get to terms on price I would take the vehicle today. He made me sign a paper stating that if we could get to a certain amount that I would take ownership. Low balling I put 14,000. I also told him that I had financing all set up and I just needed to work on the price. After this point the whole thing took a turn for the worse.

I waited about ten minutes and he came back to me and said that "My Manager will not work on the deal because he doesn't have a commitment from you. You must have three to four thousand dollars down!" I told him I didn't have this much and he said "Because there is $500 cap cash on this vehicle we need to finance you through Nissan. Lets get your information and we will only run your credit when we work out a price on the vehicle." Verifying that he will only run my credit after an agreed upon price for the vehicle I agreed and he went back up to get numbers. As I was sitting there I received email alerts from both Credit Karma and Capital One stating that a hard query was ran against my credit and it was from Russ Darrow. I left it alone so I could work on numbers.

Leaf came back and said that the price of the vehicle is 16,333 with the cap cash taken off already. I talked to him about lowering the price so I could obtain my total amount financed and thats when he became aggressive. He said that didn't have to do anything because this was the best selling vehicle on the market and was very vulgar in his conversation with me. At this point I started speaking aggressive. I told him that someone doesn't travel 3 1/2 hours not to be committed to getting a deal done. I told him there was nothing on the website that said anything about "Cap Cash" on a used vehicle and it was false advertising. I also told him specifically that he did not have my permission to run my credit until after price was agreed upon. He said, and I quote, "The moment you signed that application we can do whatever we want regardless what was said. You are from the business so you know!" He was referring to my discussion when I mentioned I had ten years in the car business. At that point I left.

Still trying to get the vehicle we came for. We called and said that we would do it at the 16,333 and he said it was $500 more because of the "Cap Cash". I asked him to meet me and take the $500 off and he said he couldn't because it was through Nissan.

At that point, any deal was off and I hung up the phone very upset.Desired Settlement: I want to know that Russ Darrow will take action on this kind of behavior. I want to know that the Sales Manager(Leaf said it was his brother-in-law) and Leaf are both disciplined for this type of action. I was in the business for 10 years as a salesman, business manager, and sales manager and I have never witnessed anything like this before. This was just an act of rudeness for no reason. It cost Russ Darrow Nissan a chance to sell a car that day and it wasted my time and money with gas, mileage wear and tear and the 7 hours of driving that day. I had financing all set up and a down payment to obtain my goal and that was still not good enough. All I was looking for was a little cooperation and honesty from the get go which I did not receive. This is the true meaning of a dealership leaving money on the table. I want to know that this type of sales practice will not be accepted and I want to know that Russ Darrow will implement sales practices of this kind to protect future customers as well.

I have a copy of the ad on the website which shows that there is no mention of cap cash or any other incentive at the $16,333 price.

Business

Response:

I am sorry you had a negative experience at a Russ Darrow location. This matter was brought to the attention of the [redacted] who oversees all dealerships management staff.Thank you for your insight.[redacted]