AutoNation

Fast forward a couple of months with lingering suspicions in my mind. I went to the Lexus dealer across the street from Autonation, ran my VIN and they came back and unequivocally told me my vehicle was NOT an F Sport. I wonder why the staff at Autonation didn't verify this before advertising the vehicle incorrectly. I went back to Autonation and told them what transpired and asked for an exchange into another vehicle. The salesman was the only one who took my concerns seriously and realized the mistake the dealership made. Unfortunately, he was in no position to make things right. So, I wound up talking to the sales manager (the same one who claimed Lexus did not put "F Sport" badges on 2016 model vehicles) and asked to exchange the vehicle for one of two others I was willing to buy instead.

After much hemming and hawing, he comes out and tells me nothing in my contract states that the vehicle I purchased identifies it as an F Sport. This opened up a huge grey area in how Autonation promotes their inventory. The CarFax shows it as a "Base/F Sport" model. My final sales paperwork (after sitting around in the dealership for a few hours, of course), doesn't specify if it's a "Base" or "F Sport" model. It only identifies it as the vehicle model with no additional specifications. However, the Carfax report they asked me to initial so they could file it in the sales file, states the vehicle is a "Base/F Sport". This is easily construed to mean the vehicle is a base model, with F Sport upgrades.

Additionally, the fact that the sales manager made it a point to falsely claim that Lexus did not badge their F Sport models for that model year, strongly indicates he knew the actual vehicle trim level and tried to re-direct me toward buying the vehicle regardless of whether he was selling me the vehicle I WANTED, or not. The final outcome is that I'm a less-than-satisfied Autonation customer. I know the whole "buyer beware" and "car dealers are all the same" and I did my best - considering the circumstances - to ensure a fair transaction. With that said, clearly there are plenty of cracks in the transaction process some automotive enterprises are willing to exploit and there is little chance consumers can cover all of them to protect themselves.

When it came time for the staff at this Autonation dealership to correct the mistake THEY made, all they were willing to offer me is a whole new trade on another vehicle (costing me over $4K in lost expenses), and a whole lot of weaseling to try and disassociate themselves from a botched transaction. This amounts to them saying "Our mistake, but your loss anyway". They mis-represented the vehicle they offered for sale and refused to correct that mistake. Plain and simple.

I would NOT recommend this business to any car buyer. In fact this type of misrepresentation is illegal in my state. My only barrier to pursuing legal relief is that I didn't record the entire 5-hour experience as evidence. Nor should I, or anyone else, have to go to these lengths to protect themselves. Autonation promotes its business as a conscientious one, standing by to serve their clients' needs. I have found them to follow in the same footsteps as any other car dealer - all negative implications included.

I strongly recommend anyone who intends to purchase a vehicle from Autonation, conduct painstaking research on what this dealership is selling them and cross-reference their information with a manufacturer's dealership, before signing ANYTHING. There are still plenty of loopholes businesses like this will exploit in order to part you from your money. Otherwise, find a more reputable dealer where you can buy with confidence. Caveat: my salesperson was decent and made his efforts to assist in fixing the issue. I just wish he worked at a more reputable enterprise than Autonation.

Mind you this vehicle had been correctly maintained according to schedule since it was purchased according to all records and carfax. I’ve never even off roadbed it in the 2 years I’ve owned it. Still refusing to admit that the first time that I brought it in, they failed to diagnose the correct cylinder issue. They worked with Chrysler to try to come to a resolution, but ultimately said I was responsible for repairs. Repairs that should be covered under the initial warranty period since I did bring it in under the same code. They had cleared the code the first time and it only took a couple hundred miles to recur, telling me and any experienced mechanic that it’s the same issue I experienced and brought it in for. They are trying to hold me accountable for a repair they didn’t fix the first time.

On Wednesday, 9 Nov 22, we arrived at our appointment early and told the service rep that we'll be waiting on site. The rep performed his intake and moved my vehicle outside and placed it in line. I watched the technician pull my vehicle into the service bay at 2:33 pm. (48 minutes after my scheduled appointment time 1:45 pm). I watched the technicians change the oil, made the under-the-hood checks, and looked at the cabin filter. I did not observe them rotate the tires, but I was reassured by the Assistant Service manager that upon review of the bay video, the technician moved the tires from front to rear on each side. They do not perform a true tire rotation that includes balancing (Consumer Beware). My vehicle was removed from the bay about 45 minutes later at 3:20 pm.

This is my 2d Tundra and 6th vehicle we've purchased from this facility since 2005. We have always waited on-site and have enjoyed "in-progress" updates from the service representative during our service visits, these are no longer given. I looked for the service manager, Mr. ** several times, but kept missing him (he seemed to be in and out of meetings during the 3+ hours I was there). I will be searching for another dealership, probably in Colorado Springs, to perform my next full service and you can bet I'll be recording it for posterity.

A month or two pass and I get a registration from the DMV stating the lienholder was now the dealership. I then called back for more months of the same lies and run around. Saying they were fixing the paperwork and sending it to the DMV and it will be taken care of. Almost two months ago fed up I go down in person and I speak to Jesus in finance to gives me his boss who he claims is an acting finance manager Leo ** who has the title of customer financial service manager. Who claims he's handling things directly and it shouldn't take no more than two weeks and he will email me and call me. No word again, no return calls. I've also filed a complaint with the better business bureau which they promptly ignored as well. I'm at my wit's end trying to get the title of my truck that I paid cash for almost a year ago.