Complaint Review: Family Motors - Virginia Beach Virginia

On 7/21/09, I was looking for a car and had done all my kbb research but was driving by Family Motors on the corner of Indian River Road, and decided to check out a 2000 Ford Focus. It looked like the brakes needed replacing from a visual inspection before I even got into the car. The salesman, Steve, was a young and not so professional or honest young man as it turned out, just like the manager and some random looking guy that was dressed, and behaved more like a janitor than a car salesman.

When I told him I wanted to test drive the car, he said he would go get the key and when he gave it to me, I waited for him to ask for my driver's license. He didn't. I thought that was strange. He gave it to me and I asked my friend if he was ready to go and with that the car salesman answered yes & jumped right in uninvited & unwanted! Definitely made me feel uncomfortable! Never had a car salesman ride along without ME asking. Not the way an above board dealer would work. I tried to overlook this as I performed the test drive and took it to a local Pep Boys where I had been the week prior to have a different car checked out from a different company.

On the way there, I noticed the A/C wasn't cooling as well as it should, I had to blast it on the 2nd to highest level to keep from breaking a sweat but I assumed it was minor and could just need a recharge.

When there, the salesman wasn't really chatting with me but 90% of the time, wouldn't let me out of his sight...I knew what the game would be as soon as he got out of the car at PepBoys and I was apprehensive about having him along but didn't want to make a scene. (I was honest with him from the start, I told him I wanted to do a test drive and get the car checked out at Pep Boys, 5 or 6 miles away.) The game was that this guy was going to get "the scoop" on the car from the mechanic before I did if at all possible and come up with rebuttals immediately. The rude salesman physically stood between me and the mechanic at the counter every time I approached, even ticking off my buddy at the counter by leaning over the counter and staring at every single letter he typed into the computer for several minutes straight. Steve the obnoxious salesman, only moved his body completely out of my way when it was time for me to pay the $22 fee for the pre-purchase inspection. Way to go jacka*s!

My buddy at PepBoys also did not feel at ease with this rude & obnoxious "sales type" leering over him at the computer as he worked. I just wanted to get away from the jerk at that point. Steve, the obnoxious sales guy who was totally oblivious to the fact that he would have stood a much greater chance of me giving him the sale if he at least gave me some personal space, told me that he would talk to me about the issues with the car "outside". Outside, of course, away from my mechanic buddy so he could lie. I saw right through his crap the entire time but never wanted to be confrontational. I'm prefer dealing with people who have standards and respect people's "personal space", privacy, etc. But this guy didn't care, nor did his manager, and that's why Family Motors didn't get the sale.

Anyway, the mechanic at the counter told me that the car needed an a/c check and probably just needed a recharge, needed a tie rod installed, and new rotors because the front brakes were metal to metal. Steve the jerk of a salesman, later told me that, that "even though the brakes were metal to metal, it's not a bad thing because it wears down evenly". He thought I was dumb as s**t, probably for being a lady, probably because I wasn't rude or antagonizing. Being confrontational to get what you deserve, a fair deal on a car, is not what I was going to do. After seeing that the car needed $600 in fairly basic repairs, I figured on using that as a bargaining chip as well as the fact that the car was a 2000 with 168,000 miles on it. I believed I could pay cash for maybe $3000 - $3500 which would be my max on this car that I just happened to drive by on the way to another dealer (whose cars I'd already researched with KBB).

While at back at the lot, Steve, the obnoxious sales guy, tells me that there was a mistake on the sticker price, which said KBB sticker price $4399. I knew when I first looked at the car, I wasn't paying that garbage let alone with 30,000+ miles over the norm and $600 in repairs that they could have done but chose not to. Steve said that the sticker price was a "mistake" (again he must have thought that I had idiot written on my forehead because I try to be civil and don't want to start arguing over his lies and rude behavior, at this point, I understand why people think used car salesmen are scum) and the KBB price was about $5900. I looked at him as if he'd lost his mind at that point. He did that song and dance where he has to get up and ask his manager all sorts of stupid questions one at a time even though the manager is not more than 15 feet away listening in all the while. I tell Steve I'm not paying any of their prices they came up with and the manager says with attitude loud enough for me to hear that the sticker price is the sticker price. In a quick manner, I head for the door. I liked the car but was going to walk away.

When I get to the door of course they want to show me another car at a lot miles away, wasting more of my time because I didn't want a Hyundai Elantra. This time, my friend kept telling me just to take a look because we were already at the dealership. Listening to my friend, we went. Again, a waste. But, before we went, Steve the jerk really wanted us to ride with him. The vehicle was messy, smelled of smoke, citing my allergies, I told him I'd drive (to get away from him and talk about whatever I chose without him in the vehicle). He had to go back in and confer with his master...er, um, manager, and then he came over to the car I was driving and said "we can take another car, we really want you to ride with me." I told him flat out I was driving or not going and he said, my manager believes that you'll ditch me. I told him I wouldn't but they knew they were trying to screw me over and had reason to believe that I would, he DESERVED it! (Do unto others...)

After that, I say I want the Focus believing that cash is king, I go to the bank and call before going back and tell him I can bring in $3000 in cash today, again citing the mileage and basic repairs that they chose not to perform. But also, I was able to check KBB.com and see that the excellent condition price was only $4070 and tried negotiating. He asked when I could bring "the rest" of the money he offered 30 days to come up with $1300 for the overpriced vehicle. I told him no, $3000 was it, today, no deal so I pleasantly got off the phone & mentally moved on to the next dealer while en route. Out of the blue, obnoxious sales guy Steve calls & said that he looked at the KBB value online and the value was $4900 or so.

My question to the a*hole at that point, was how many lies do I have to catch you in? At the lot, he told me the correct KBB value was $5900, that the $4300 was a "mistake", and they were "giving" it to me for that price. How did it change when I my KBB.com value at him? I entered every single item he did because I told him to read off all the items he entered, and lo and behold, it was the EXACT same.

He was too greedy and "hungry" (ie: desperate) for a sale that he was using lies and shadowy tactics with a cash customer who wasn't being unreasonable. While at PepBoys for a minimum of an hour, he was arguing with someone on his cell phone using terms like "dicking you around" apparently because he was behind in his rent. If he's so successful, why did he tell me that he was selling his truck and I overheard him saying he was trying to get out of a lease, with a roomate no less, that was very cheap, something like $400 or $500 a month. I didn't show it, but I heard every word of it when he was 20 feet away thinking he was masking his desperation.

Obnoxious car salesman Steve let it go in one ear and out the other when I told him I worked for Ford in the past, he didn't have the common sense to know to take it outside if you're on a cell phone getting loud in an argument, and in general when it's quiet all around you.

While he was arguing, he could have been trying to build something of a rapport instead of sitting beside me eating potato chips. He didn't take any time to build a rapport but told me some rote memorized garbage about wanting to make the customer happy. How about making the customer happy by giving them some space, we don't want you along for the ride unless we ask. Make the customer happy by not treating us as if we know absolutely nothing about cars. Make the customer happy by having some honesty and professionalism. In three words Family Motors sucks. Don't set foot on their property, and by the way, I guess they are owned by RK Chevrolet. RK Chevrolet would be better off selling that division.

Gr8sk8rgold

Virignia Beach, Virginia

U.S.A.