I bought a Toyota Corolla from Norden Autohaus in March 2010. It was only after I paid for the car, when I was driving it home from the dealership, that I noticed when I turned the vehicle to the right the cruise control bar would bang against my knee and secondly when I would brake the car with my foot flat on the brake, my knee would jam right up against the back of the steering wheel. Unfortunately I did not notice these problems during the 15 minute or so test drive. Being new to car buying I did not realize I could have had the option of keeping the vehicle overnight for a test drive. Had I driven the vehicle for a longer period I would have noticed these problems.
The next day I phoned and told them of the problem I was having and was assured that because Norden Autohaus is part of an organization called Go Auto, I could exchange the vehicle for another at any Go Auto dealership in Edmonton. This unfortunately was not the case because they did not deem it to be a "mechanical problem" and Norden Autohaus does not have a 30 day hassle free exchange policy, like for example Westgate Chevrolet which is virtually across the street. The best they could offer me was to be in a car that was advertised for $1000 less than the car that I bought was advertised for but I would have to pay $2000 more. To me, this was unacceptable. When I explained to the person in charge that there is a safety factor involved here with driving the Corolla given the problems I was having he said "it's not a safety issue", just dismissing it out of hand without even bothering to take a look at what I was talking about. For me, the problems with the cruise control bar hitting my leg and the fact that I cannot put my foot flat on the brake without the steering wheel impeding me are big safety issues.
Still, "at the end of the day" (cough, cough) do you really expect a used car salesman to do the ethical thing...especially when he already has your money?
The bottom line is, this 30 day exchange offered by Go Auto is a farce. It does not protect the buyer if they are dissatisfied with the vehicle. If you are going to buy an automobile, make sure you purchase one from a place that offers an exchange, if for any reason you are not happy with your vehicle.
Do not buy a vehicle from any Go Auto dealership, specifically Norden Autohaus...if you do, you will be scheisse out of luck if you have a problem with it.
Addendum to the story. I emailed the CEO of Go Auto, Mike Priestner (mike@goauto.ca...I don't know if this is still his email, when you go into the [mis]management team's site mike's email is no longer available) to tell him of my situation and he did not even have the courtesy to respond. Thanks Go Auto and thank you Norden Autohaus.
(I find it somewhat amusing and quite fitting that an anagram of "Mike Priestner", the owner and CEO of Go Auto, is "Empire Stinker"...'aint that the truth.)
4 comments:
Think even in the 15 minute short test drive you would have noticed these issues... unless of course you only turned left on your test drive and didn't need to brake.
$2,000 more. I am so happy I read this as it is exactly what is being presented to me at this time. The only difference, is that even though I have lots of back up proof, in writing and through investigations, they are still trying to scam me in this same way,Thank you for posting this. WOW!!!! Is anyone out there honest anymore?
your a crybaby!
if you too slow to realize the car doesnt fit you properly then you got what you deserved
Yeah this doesn't seem to be the fault of GoAuto. 15 minutes is enough time in a car for me to drive from my home in the 156st West End, to my work on 99st and 52 ave, with a stop at tim hortons to park and go in to get a BLT.
In that time, I have at least 4 or 5 lights, tons of lane changes, left and right turns, merge lanes, corners, rail tracks and pot holes.
You have had your body your whole life, you know where it fits and doesn't fit. If you ACTUALLY couldn't notice those things in 15 minutes that is your problem.
I have not purchased a used vehicle from either of those dealerships, my last 3 have been new off the lot. HOWEVER... I am sure that there are little provisions in BOTH companies policies to protect them from stuff like this.
I am just doing some searching because I am looking at a Job with Go Auto and this is one of VEERY few bad stories in a long long list of good ones.
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