I was truly honored when Brian McCullough from the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pa contacted me about the closing of Coley Pontiac Buick GMC. You can catch the story here http://tinyurl.com/br42l3

We have been experiencing a great number of consumer inquiries to car dealers on MyDealerReport.com over the past few months, however they have been unanswered by dealers.  If you are a car dealer, this is the wrong time to drop the ball, especially with the present condition of the economy.  Listed below are just a few of the miss communication sent for dealers through our site:

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  DealerID: 34022       

  Contact Name: Steven ******       

  Contact Email:  ***********       

Message: Dear Mr. ******, My name is Steven ***** and I would not contact you unless I felt it was important you know my interactions with your dealerships. Specifically, Dodge of ******** where I purchased a pre-owned 207 Dodge Caliber less than 2 mos ago. (Oct. 2008). Since my purchase I have unforunately not enjoyed the vehicle for one minute. And to this date, NONE of the problems I reported at the time of purchase and others which have developed have been resolved by the ******* location and even by the ******** Service Dept. I need to start w/ the purchase which at the time I informed the Salesperson (Dennis) that there was something wrong w/ one of the tires and there was a rattle in the driver door. However, during my time w/ Dennis he received a personal phone call which greatly upset him and he was bascially unable to continue assisting me. So, Trish (Mgr.) took over and assisted consummating my purchase. My credit is weak and I am paying a high interest rate – which I understand. I pd. $1000 down and have already made my first payment. Within the wk. I brought the car into ******** for repair (losing some work time in *******) including the tires. However, the car was returned to me without any of the rapairs (incl. problems w/ the ac/heater) properly completed. In addition, the tire issue remained (thumping). I brought the car into ******** again shortly thereafter on a Sat. for the same repairs. Again, nothing was fixed though the Service Mgr. acknowledged all of the tires were worn on the inside and were bad, but I needed to speak w/ Trish. I travel frequently for business and do not have alot of time to spend dealing w/ a situation like this. Realizing the ******* dealership was incapable of dealing w/ my problems, I brought it to ******* last wk. (and more time off from work). Again, nothing was fixed. However, the dealership was kind enough to give me a free oil change. I asked about the tires and the ******** Mgr. (Dave) said I would need to speak w/ Trish. I called Trish and she said I was out of luck and they do not warranty tires. When I infomred her I had told Dennis the day about the tires on the day of my purchase, she responded I had not told her and she wouldn’t have sold me the vehicle if she knew. She offered no other assistance. I have been trying to alter my schedule again to return the car to Paramus to fix the old problems and new incl. the rattle, heater and an electrical problem which ****** could not find, etc. However, this morning a hose broke on the **** Turnpike which engulfed the car in smoke. After 1 1/2 hrs. getting it on a flatbed and up to ****** (where it now sits) I am paying for a rental car. In addition, the tow truck co. lost my keys and so I am going to have to pay the dealership an addl. $200 to replace the keys. The lost keys is not the dealership’s fault, but at this point the work time lost and out-of-pocket costs have become alarming and very upsetting. What is most upsetting is the dealership’s inability to address the problems w/ the vehicle and the lack of responsibility taken by the ********* location regarding the bad tires on the car sold to me. I know this is a very lengthy email and I appreciate you reading it. My goal was to hold the car into ‘09 and upgrade, plus I will be receiving a co. car (VP of Sales) next yr., and I would have happily returned to your dealerships to purchase new/more vehicles. I bought 4 vehicles from one dealership in the past. I do not want to pursue other avenues incl. Lemon Law, etc. rergarding these unresolved issues and would hope the dealership would take responsbility for the tires and go the extra mile to see the problems with the vehicle are taken care of at the time the vehicle is brought in for servicing. thank you again for your time and I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Steven ***** 508-***-****        

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Dealer Name:	***** ******* DODGE
DealerID:	7033
Contact Name:	Wesley ********
Contact Email:	****************
Message:	James/Justin, I have dealt with *****  ******* Dodge on five occassions, and every time it was terrible service. I am under the impression that I can reach David ****** himself to fill him in on all my different experiences, and will. The most recent experience was dealing with a trade in on my Kia, which I took negative equity on, which I didn’t have an issue. We set up the deal to finance the 2005 Dodge Ram at 12.9 percent through ***** ****** Finance group as a temporary means until I got approval from my bank, which I finally did. The next day I brought in the preapproved. At that point your finance department cashed the check for 10458 dollars from my bank, but failed to pay the 3689 dollars off on my Kia, so my bank added that value to the 10458. And now I am being slammed with a loan of over 14000 dollars, very incorrect and unsatisfactory. I am an upstanding member of the community; I volunteer for many Oklahoma City Community events, I teach for ************* College in ******* City, which has close ties with the Dept of Commerce, and I also teach with ******* College, which has close ties with numerous business’ in the ******** City area. My wife is a government worker on ****** with close ties to some of the main executives at ******. I am also a Premium Support Manager at ****l with numerous connection at the 3000 plus employee facility. I expect my Kia to be paid in full. If interest has accrued to my 14000 dollar plus loan, I expect David ****** to pay that difference. I was also shipped out with a vehicle on complete E for fuel, now how is that for customer service. Again, like I said I have had several bad experience with ***** ******* Dodge. You need to take more pointers from ***** Nissan East, which I always recommend over any other dealership in ****** City, and will do when I contact David ******* himself. Get with your financing department and get this fixed. Customer Experience is the number one reason we stay in business. I deal with over 180 different customers a day, and if I fail at customer experience I am out of a job, as such anyone in a customer facing relationship would be. You can consider this a top level escalation. Wesley ********, displeased.         ___________________________________________________________________

Just released the video of my participation on the JD Power Automotive RoundTable http://tinyurl.com/6khtlx 3 wks ago in Vegas

Amber Watson Tardiff

We’ve all been there.  You just made the decision to purchase a new car.  You’ve finally come to terms with having car payment for the next four to six years.  You may even be feeling sick at this point as you get ready to sign the paperwork. 

And no sooner than you sit down, you’re hit with the infamous sales pitch that goes a little something like this: “Will you be purchasing an extended service plan —because if you don’t take advantage of our offer TODAY, the price will double or even triple when you go to buy it later….”

Then you panic.

As a former finance and insurance manager, I can spot that panic from a mile away.   But I also know what it’s like to be in your shoes as a consumer.

So is there any truth to the manager’s insistence that you have to buy a warranty at the time of sale?

Honestly, it depends.

In most cases, the warranty cost will not significantly jump within the first 12 months/12,000 miles that you own the car.  Therefore, if you are unable to buy a warranty at the time of sale, you can generally come back with a credit card down the road and still find a significant savings than if you wait until the expiration of your factory warranty.

However, there are a few situations where buying the warranty at the time of sale makes good financial sense for you, the consumer.

The number one reason to purchase your warranty at the time of sale is to include it in your monthly car payment.  Comprehensive warranties can cost anywhere between $800- $2500.  Therefore, it’s much easier to tack on an additional $25 a month to your payment than come up with one lump sum down the road.

You should also consider buying a warranty at the time of sale if you plan to keep the car for more than 3 years.  Your business manager isn’t lying when he/she tells you the price can double or triple right before your factory warranty expires.  If you have any doubts, ask the manager to quote the price for a car that already has 3 years/36,000 miles on it.  You’d be amazed at the increase.

Finally, I’d highly recommend buying a warranty at the time of sale if your car is pre-owned.  In most cases, dealerships sell “wrap” coverage that extends the remaining factory warranty or provides better coverage to match an existing powertrain warranty.  Either way, these plans are discounted and you usually can’t come close to the price of a “wrap” after you decline the initial offer.

So based on the information above, it’s clear that buying an extended warranty at the time of sale isn’t for everyone- but it’s certainly not a gimmick either. 

It’s up to you to evaluate your circumstances and plans for the vehicle.  If you’re the type of person that keeps their cars and doesn’t have spare change laying around for a $2500 car repair, than budgeting an additional $25 in a payment is the way to go.  Then again, if you buy cars like a woman buys shoes, forget it.  Educate yourself on GAP insurance instead (because that’s definitely something you’ll need!)

The bottom line is, don’t be put off by the sales pitch.   Yes, the dealer wants to make money, but some of the things they offer are for your good.   To come to a site like MyDealerReport.com means you’re on the right track, so take the time to learn what products they are offering and what kind of savings you will get for immediately signing on the dotted line.

You may visit Amber’s personal blog at www.caringlegalservices.com

Also vist us at MyDealerReport.com, http://twitter.com/MyDealerReport, http://mydealerreport.tumblr.com

Jessica Rosenberg, Guest Blogger

Is anything more derailing than getting into your car in the middle of an over scheduled hectic morning only to find that it just isn’t working? Whatever the problem seems to be, you sit there, behind the wheel, hands at 10 and 2, and you utter silent prayers to the car gods and you chant a little encouraging mantra to your stubborn vehicle, and then you close your eyes tight and hope that everything is going to be just fine when you try starting the car again.   It never is.

So, there you sit, wondering what to do. After calling your spouse/parent/friend/boss to vent about your terrible luck, you finally realize you have to deal with the car. (If you’re me you call the closest dealer because one time an independent repair shop tried to swindle you out of a couple thousand dollars and you no longer want to take the risk.) You don’t call your usual dealer because they are really far away, and in any case, it’s all the same, isn’t it? So you call and make an appointment. You find a way to have your car towed and you wait for The Call.

You know The Call, right? The one where you discover just how bad the damage to your wallet is going to be? You wait impatiently to learn if you’ve won the busted car lottery: a cheap easy repair that can be done while you wait, or if the dealer is the big winner: horrible damage, exorbitant fee, and multiple parts that need to be ordered from the other side of the world.

I got into my car one hectic morning a few weeks ago and the steering wheel wouldn’t move. A bit of an issue since between home and my desired destination there were quite a few twists and turns. After going through the usual rigmarole I discovered that the total repair cost was going to be $1500. Ouch. We hesitated for a bit and then asked the dealer to go ahead with the repairs. Over a week later, bright and early on a Monday morning, we called to double check that the car was indeed ready and we headed over to pick it up.

I dropped off my husband and sped away with a cheery wave. Not 15 minutes later I got a frantic call from him. “The car is dead.” Not exactly what I’d expected to hear. Turns out a staff member had left the glove compartment open all weekend and the battery was completely drained.

Now, at this point you’re probably thinking, “Well, mistakes happen. Whatever.” And had the story ended here I would have wholeheartedly agreed. But of course it didn’t end there. Upon discovering the dead battery, the repairman acted as though my husband was responsible, despite the fact that the car had been on their lot for well over a week by this point. And then, when my husband asked what they planned to do about the situation, the man answered “Well, we can give you an estimate for a new battery.”

I’ll spare you the sordid details, but suffice it to say that my husband left in a rental car, courtesy of the dealership, and our car now sports a brand new battery. All that to say that dealerships are not all created equal. A little research conducted before handing over your keys might spare you a massive headache. 

Jessica Rosenberg usually blogs at It’s my life… and The Lemonade Stand. Swing on by to read about more of her (mis)adventures and discover her what she thinks about pretty much everything. 

Also Visit:  www.MyDealerReport.com, MyDealerReport twitter, MyDealerReport tumblr page, CEO’s twitter

I came across an article a couple of days ago.  The article discussed the results of the JD Power 2008 Escaped Shopper Study, which discovered that 80% of new car buyers don’t buy the top car on their list because of a negative dealership experience.  I wrote numerous blogs and had numerous debates about this very subject.  The dealership is the first impression of the manufacturer’s brand.  However, if you listen to the auto industry insiders they will say the vehicle and price is what sells the consumer.  I say this is the old way of thinking.  This is the very reason why the old lead system is suffering.  

The article uses an example concerning Sony.  Sony would be concerned if consumers desired to buy a Sony product, but chose to purchase another brand due the bad experience with a retailer.  So why hasn’t the auto industry showed an aggressive concern regarding consumer experience?  Now to be fair their are some auto industry people who recognize this and have expressed a desire to resolve this issue.  However, we need the whole industry to start buying into this reality.  Click on the article link above and read the consumer comments at the bottom of the article.  These comments are extremely powerful.

It was totally shocking to hear that Bill Heard Chevrolet the largest Chevy retailer in the nation was going out of business.  I was extra shocked because Bill Heard is where I was introduced to the car industry as a sales person.  According to comments left on this article “Bill Heard Closes” consumers are happy with the closing of the Bill Heard stores.

Bill Heard has been plagued with consumer complaints for years.  The Bill Heard location I started at in Nashville, Tennessee shut down over a year ago due to continuous complaints filed with the BBB and Consumer Affairs office.  So those of you who don’t think dealer ratings and reviews are powerful or even necessary, think again.  The old school way of doing business is gone.  Consumers are tired of being victimize.  Some dealers get it, however there still remains those auto industry insiders who doubt.

Well our mission here at MyDealerReport.com is to help those dealers and consumers who want a healthy trusting business relationship.  As for the rest of those dealers who want to continue bad business practices “Good Luck”.  And I don’t even believe in luck. The question is how many more closings or complaints will it take to clean up the auto retail space?  Listed below are some of the comments left by users concerning the closing of Bill Heard from the above article:

View of company twitter also and keep up with the latest activities: MyDealerReport Twitter

pziasd wrote:

Bill Heard Chevy has ripped off his last customer with their high pressure sales tactics and predatory loans. Good bye and good riddance! I tried to buy a truck from them a few years ago. The sales guy wanted the keys to my car so he could get it appraised. They wouldn’t return the keys and kept trying to get me to sign off on a truck I didn’t want. I called the police who came out and told the sales guy to give my keys back. The sales manager lied to the cops telling them that I was the one that caused the disturbance. Unbelievable!

mtm747 wrote:

What a great move! This car dealership must be ranked #1 in the nation in complaints too! Terrible service after the sale and all they want is to get you into a vehicle no matter what it takes, then your on your own. Good Riddens!

MeteorMan wrote:

Whlie most dealerships suffer this, Bill Heard in Sugar Land was staffed with the worst bunch of leg-humping sales guys you ever saw. Couldn’t get out to there fast enough.

texiban wrote:

I would have never bought a car from these dealerships. I went to LandShark once and that was the most ridiculous dealership I have ever seen. I bet that I ahd at least 6 salesmen at my door before I got out of my car.

I received an article this morning about a dealership behaving badly.  Remember we don’t take sides, we just provide the space for the sides to speak.  However, articles like the one I received echoes why car dealer ratings and reviews are so important.  There is a great need for consumers to protect themselves from untrustworthy dealers.  And there is a great need for honest car dealers to separate themselves from the negative perceptions created by these other untrustworthy dealers.

Below is a link to the article:

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2008/08/27/bill_heard_lawsuit.html?cxntnid=amn082808e

Also visit us at MyDealerReport.com

Okay! Let me explain how a car dealer should use online reputation management. Online reputation management should be preventative maintenance, not a clean up process. A car dealer should create a program to prevent negative ratings and reviews. This is done by implementing communication channels with past, present and future buyers. The key here is transparency. A lot of car dealers we speak to on a daily basis get it, however there are many who are trying to game the system.

There are online reputation management companies popping up everywhere. Their mission is to bury any negative information that appears in search results. They do this by optimizing a large amount of self made positive ratings and reviews. The first problem with this strategy is the fact that it is fraudalent. The second problem is the reputation of the specific car dealer remains negative. Have you ever heard the saying “Perfuming a Pig”? No matter how much perfume you use on a pig it remains a pig. Therefore, no matter how hard you try to bury your problems, it will take root and eventually grow.

Car dealers need to take the challenge of online reputation management head on. They should talk in the open with consumers and resolve their issues. One can argue that consumers are not always right. Nevertheless, they are the consumer and a dealer’s job is provide excellent customer service. Car dealers should not be afraid of problem consumers, instead they should demonstrate how well they can handle the situation. Other consumers are not stupid, they understand when a situation might not be the dealer’s fault. However, trying to bury a situation will only causes suspicion. A dealer should look at the situation like an audition for future business. Other consumers want to see how well you handle consumer problems.

Tip: Having all positive ratings and reviews is a negative. Nobody is perfect and consumers get suspicious when a dealer appears to be too clean.

Visit MyDealerReport.com and see how you should truly implement your Online Reputation Management program.

I was in Chicago, IL this past week and I was flipping through the auto section of the newspaper, which is routine for me. I like to see how dealers are trying to separate themselves with print media. Anyway, I noticed something which I have overlooked many times before. About 90% of the dealer ad pages made claims of being #1, having the most inventory, lowest price leader, family owned, oldest etc. I am sure everyone has seen or heard these claims before, however what does it all mean? Who really cares? Remember, most consumers don’t believe anything car dealerships say, so why do so many dealerships make these claims.

Dealerships are constantly trying to separate themselves from the competition, so they boast about themselves like high school boys in the lockroom. Nevertheless, consumer perceive all this self promotion as arrogance and fluff. Do you remember the kid you grow up with that would always brag on the things he had or could do? Nobody liked this kid because nobody likes a bragger. Furthermore, nobody believed him.

When a dealership says their #1, what are they #1 at? And who told them that. Deeming yourself #1 doesn’t make you #1. Consumers make you #1 and if consumers haven’t said it then it is not so. If a consumer says you are the best then it is not bragging. However, you saying consumers voted you #1 does not count. These dealership claims need to be validated by a third-party. A dealership must have supporting evidence from non-basis third-party like MyDealerReport.com.

So next time you hear or see a dealership make a claim ask them for their supporting evidence. Ask them who validates them.