John Malanchuk

Review of Jenkins Acura

I had a relatively poor experience with Jenkins Ac...

I had a relatively poor experience with Jenkins Acura. I had worked out a verbal price on a used car, received the offer in writing, and thought that I had a deal in place. I was working with a young salesman named Willy, who has apparently just started. After I thought we had a deal in place, he advised me that I would have to use Jenkins' financing or my price would go up by $1,000. This felt like a bait and switch and unethical conduct. After I protested that he hadn't mentioned/required this as part of his offer, nor put this in writing to me (in the price sheet offer), he told me that it was my fault for not reading the fine print on the website. I had not viewed Jenkins' website, nor been directed to do so at any point during the negotiation. Willy had been fairly responsive and helpful to that point, so this maneuver at the end was either a major mistake from lack of training or a grossly unethical move. I spoke with Shawn Nichols, one of the managers, who apologized for this behavior, but claimed his salesman had our deal structured using Jenkins' financing. I found this perplexing because I had mentioned several times that I already had financing secured at Campus USA. Further, Mr. Nichols continued to state that the deal that was offered was "still great" despite this issue. Thus, I felt that the poor/mistaken conduct wasn't really being addressed and that my time had been wasted. Please be careful when you negotiate with Jenkins Acura as they want you to use their financing because they get a commission back from whichever bank that you use through them. "Willy" may not have meant to be dishonest, but his handling of this situation was poor. Further, his shifting of blame to me, when he needed to communicate any requirements and failed to do so, was really unprofessional.

Finally, if you present an offer in writing, make no additional requirements (like the type of financing that I must choose), and then you pull this offer after you realize that you may not make as much money as you assumed, you are not living up to your part of the bargain. Shawn, the manager, was unwilling to back up their original offer, which I had in writing, unless I accepted their financing. He should have stood by the original offer, accepted a small amount of financial pain (due to Willy's mistake), and apologized.

And, as a follow up, although Jenkins Acura replied to this review that they'd call me to discuss this situation, they have never called. Please be careful when doing business with them.