AutoNation has a 5day 250 mile return policy. Here is my negative experience with that. Also, I should have known never to do a trade in with a dealership, but this is also to say, don’t do that either, sell the trade in yourself! This past weekend, my fiancée Mike and I purchased a Truck from this location. I had been happy with my previous AutoNation Toyota purchase, and we thought it would be a good fit. Life happens and sometimes what makes financial sense one day can change in an instant. Unfortunately, it was no longer a viable option for us to keep the truck, and we needed to return it and get our trade in back. I will also mention that the truck had hardly any coolant, it needed to be refilled in 2 days, and all other fluids were low. This was not my previous experience when buying a car from AutoNation. The truck also had the hardcover of the driver’s seat come loose in the few days as well. Mike went to the dealership and asked to trade back vehicles. He was first told that his trade in was having work done, a new windshield, and more. It would be very hard for them to get his old vehicle, because it was in the middle of getting work done and that he should just leave and think on it and come back tomorrow almost insuring that he would go over 250 miles with work commute etc. A manager said they would be happy to write an addendum for this, but then it never actually happened. Mike was not sure what to do, and sat in the parking lot wondering if he should just leave the truck in the lot as to not go over the mileage. Mike decides he will wait for the vehicle to be ready so he can trade, because he knows it is no longer something he can do. When AutoNation says, No Questions Asked, they do not mean no questions asked. He was asked constantly, and by multiple people, and asked personal questions besides. He didn’t want to tell them, and said a few things he hoped would get them “off his back”. I understand that it is their job to sell cars, but don’t have a policy if you do not want to honor it. Mike waited over 3- 4hrs, with many sales, management, etc. making negative remarks, and being super and visually upset. That is not surprising, but some of the things said just made him feel better about returning the vehicle, and made him believe that there might be something wrong with the Truck after all. Mike finally demanded to see the traded vehicle, and was told that if this was what he really wanted, there would be an encumbrance fee that was in the fine print if he wanted his trade in returned. We initially assumed that this would be for the work they said they were doing to the vehicle. This fee is determined by the auto dealer, and there is no dollar amount in the disclosure. The fee that Mike paid was $800. When Mike saw the vehicle, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAD BEEN DONE TO THE CAR, no cleaning, no windshield, truly nothing. So the " it's getting work done" was a lie. We didn't even get the bolts back to return the plates. We basically paid $800 to learn a hard lesson, and to probably ease someone’s ego or something. I am leaving a fair rating because our initial experience buying was good, and a solitary salesman was nice to Mike during the return. Also, technically they have the right to charge you anything to get back a trade in, it just seems crazy that it would be $800.00 because it was parked in their lot for a couple days, and they were upset. Again, don't have a policy if you would not like to honor it.
Hattie Augusta
Apr 10, 2018
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