Adam Simon

Review of Kuni Lexus

After making the drive up to this dealership from ...

After making the drive up to this dealership from Colorado Springs to purchase a new car and trade in my old vehicle, all I can say is that this dealership has no care for customer service, and is only interested in making the most money possible, just like the stereotypical car dealerships of the past.

After test driving the car I was interested in (which admittedly did go well, and our sales representative was helpful and pleasant), it came down to discuss the numbers of trading in my old car. We went straight to the trade-in due to Kuni Lexus' "no negotiation" pricing strategy, because that's the easiest way to prevent anyone from infringing on their profit margin. Just train your salespeople to say there's no negotiation.

Prior to visiting the dealership, I knew how much my car was worth upon trade-in as I called into the dealership and was told to check my vehicle's evaluation on NADA trade-in. After answering some questions about my car, I received a KBB-based trade-in offer which was $8,000 lower than the NADA value. Upon mentioning that "I was told your trade-in estimates were based upon NADA, so why are we using KBB for my vehicle?" My sales associate informed me that "we run estimates with both KBB and NADA for trade-ins, and review each offer to determine which evaluation we would like to follow." In other words, it would have been easier for them to tell me "We run estimates with two companies to see whichever is lower, and then that's what we'll offer you."

After requesting to see the NADA estimate our sales associate ran, the paper showed an acceptable, but low, initial value, but then had 4 or 5 price reductions after that, lowering the value by $6,000. The first reduction was to have the FRONT BUMPER REPAINTED. Confused, I asked why it would need to be repainted. (Side note: the vehicle I was trying to trade was in pristine condition. I'm not trying to over-exaggerate it for this review; it is in pristine condition. I am the first owner of the vehicle, and it has lived a pampered life of only 18k miles. It needs nothing). I was told by the sales manager that the front bumper had been repainted in the past, and was showing signs of surface cracks throughout most of the paint. After telling the sales manager that I was the first owner of the car and assured him that the vehicle has never had the front bumper repainted, I also mentioned that the front bumper has a clear bra on it to protect the paint, and that might be developing some surface cracks in it, but the paint does not have any defects. I was then responded to by the sales manager saying, "Let me go run out and check to see if there is actually a clear bra so I know you're telling the truth."

1.) If you were inspecting a front bumper closely enough on a vehicle where you noticed supposed surface cracks, do you think that perhaps you might notice a clear bra on it? Considering the edges of the clear bra are clearly visible from several angles?
2.) If you did happen to miss the clear bra upon inspection, rather than apologizing for the error you made, under what circumstance would it be acceptable for a sales manager to tell a customer, "Let me go double check so I know you're telling the truth".

After this, I was offended to the point that I didn't even care to hear justification for the several other ridiculous "value reductions" that I was presented with. I let him finish, shook the sales manager's hand, and told him to have a good day.

The unfortunate thing is that I really was interested in making a cash deal, as I truly wanted the vehicle Kuni Lexus had for sale. I truly believed that dealerships had progressed quite a ways from the old-fashioned, rude, and nickel-and-diming ways of the past.

Oh well, because once I purchase the vehicle I want at another dealership which is actually interested in doing business, whenever one of my friends or clients asks about my new car, I will gladly tell them where I got it from and have a story prepared of where I most-certainly would NOT purchase a vehicle.