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I have received some feedback on
this site. I will post some of that here, if I think it is
worthwhile. Note: these are emails I received without interpretation or
editing from me. The writer is responsible for the content, not me.
I have sometimes edited out details that are deemed by me inappropriate.
Each comment on this page has been approved for publication by the person
that sent the comment to me.
Memo to those that are looking for a lawyer to sue Van Chevrolet: I don't practice that kind of law.
Yes Sir, you can post the story using my
initials. Feel free to put the city with my initials if you like. We
went to Van because it was close to our home. I did not use the
salesman's name, because guess what? He has only been working there for
a couple weeks. They had young (very young), guys watching a car
salesman video in the children's play area. New recruits!!!!
I worked for W.O. Bankston when I was a teenager, the industry is still the same. WOW!!! We did however go over to Allen Samuels Dodge/Hyundai and the fleets sales manager actually gave us the sheet he filled out. I was impressed. He was a contact through someone at our church. While he did not get down to what we wanted, he did get a hell of a lot closer. He also explained why he was bottomed out at his offer. The good folks at Van never showed up any financial work up sheet. Thank you and thanks for your website. DL -----Original Message----- From: Darrell W. Cook [ mailto:dwcook@attorneycook.com]Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 7:47 PM To: DL Subject: Re: Van Hyundai DL: this story is the same one your dad and your dad's dad have told. You are right, it won't ever change. But the website is the only way I know to combat it. Thanks for the email- and the reminder. Can I post this story- using just your initials? ________________________ Darrell W. Cook DARRELL W. COOK & ASSOCIATES A Professional Corporation One Meadows Building 5005 Greenville Avenue, Suite 200 Dallas, TX 75206 214-368-4686 Telephone 214-363-9979 Facsimile ..... Original Message ....... On Sat, 24 May 2008 17:15:55 -0500 wrote: Mr. Cook, Why can't these folks at Van just tell you what they can do, and be done with it? My wife and I wanted to buy a Santa Fe. We had not much down, and maybe, we were asking for the moon; however, the salesman lead me to believe we could get close to that deal over the phone and face to face. I had been over to see this salesman several times and driven several cars. He "knew" what we had and what we wanted. He had met my wife twice. We finally get over there and ready to negotiate. Guess what? My wife was right! We got "jacked". They were never going to work with us. The payment difference was 100.00 per month. I might have met them at the half way mark, but they said "no way, we can't do that". Why don't they just tell you up front they can't do it? It was a real waste of our time. I felt bad for the salesman, but my wife reminded me...he probably knew all along it wasn't going to happen. He was wasting his time too. Car dealerships and the auto sales industry never seem to change...the salesman can never make the deal!!!! Always ask a salesman, "Are you a salesman, or a gopher"? D.L. Farmers Branch, Texas
I actually came across your van Chevrolet website a
number of months ago and considered writing you then but for different
reasons didn’t. Here is my story I am a former sales person for Van Chevrolet in
texas (as a foot note to your site all van companies and a bunch of
others that are at the bottom of this email are part of the van tuyl
group) AS a former salesman I know what you talk about
happens…….I ended up getting fired as a result of one of there bait
and switch attempts. A customer had come all the way from WEST texas to
purchase a corvette that they had been promised by the then sales
director Sam (sorry cannot remember his last name) was in stock, we had
a total of three corvettes in stock at the time and not a single one was
anywhere near close to what this customer was looking for. When I ended up voicing my concerns (granted not in
the most diplomatic tone) I was given an ultimatum shut up and apologise
to the other staff involved or ‘you will be fired’ those are Floyd
Goatcher’s words. And I can certainly tell you that the customer is
not King at Van Chevrolet here are just a few of the terms used to refer
to there customers and these words have come from management. Scum Cockroaches No-hopers Pennyless idiots Most of these terms are preceded by a cuss word. And my reward for bringing to the attention of
everyone at Van Chevrolet my issues? I now believe I am black balled from working at any
Van Tuyl store well at least I wont accidently got a
job at such an unreputable company. And yes it is my belief from
speaking to other staff members and salesmen that this kind of behavior
is standard at Van Tuyl stores. Paul Perry
Mr Cook,
I found your website today about Van
Chevrolet. I realize the dealership you are referring to is in Texas,
but we have a Van Chevrolet in Kansas City, Missour which after reading
the stories on your website seem to utilize the same practices, which
makes me wonder if they are owned by the same person/people. [editorial
note: I think that all "Van Chevrolet's" in North America are
owned by the Automotive Investment Group out of Arizona. See
their previous letter to me.] My 22 year old son wanted a
Silverado. He heard an ad on the radio about a great deal Van was
having on new Silverados. He asked me to come with him to make
sure they didn't take advantage of his inexperience in buying a vehicle.
So yesterday, Saturday Dec 29, 2007 we headed to the dealership, I heard
the same ad he had mentioned earlier. The ad stated there were 5
way to save at their dealership, and while I don't recall all 5 of them,
the ones that caught our attention and lead us to Van were these: (1)
Zero interest for 60 months (2) $10,000 off new Silverados (3) more for
your trade than any other dealership. There was one more that
didn't apply to us which was "bring them any written deal from a
competitor "and if they couldn't beat it, they would give you
$10,000 (ok, how many dealerships do you know, will hand you your deal
in writing so you can go comparision shop?). We arrived at the
dealership and walked around the lot for about 20 minutes and not once
did a salesperson come out to greet us, we had to go inside to receive
any help. We were met by a very nice, friendly salesman named Anthony.
After talking to my son to get an idea of what kind of truck he was
looking for and what features it needed to have, we started talking
price and what kind of payments we were looking for. I need to
mention, at this point I did ask if they had any '07 models available
and was told No, there were no '07's on the lot. After running
back and forth to the "counter', the salesman sat down and showed
us some figures which were way off base from what we said we were
willing to pay. At this time, I mentioned the Ad we had heard on
the radio on our way over and that is what we wanted. The salesman
went over and brought back the Assistant Sales Manager, I told him about
the Ad we had heard and he basically told me I was wrong. First he
said, that what I heard was they would give $10,000 back if they
couldn't beat another dealers price, I told him that was not the part of
the Ad I was rferring to, then he told me that the Ad did not state
$10,000 off any Silverado, it said on diesel Silverados (work trucks),
that there was no way they could sell a Silverado for $10,000 off.
I told him I know what I heard and that it appeared to me
they lied in their advertisment just to get customers to come in.
I told him, this was called bait and switch. He
saw that he couldn't back me down and got up and left. The
salesman came back and talked some more to us and finally went out a
brought a truck up for my son to test drive. The truck was a
fairly basic model. It did have a few perks, but was listed at
22,000. During the test drive the salesman told my son, he could
take the price down to 18,000.00, which if they honored even part of
their Ad which stated Zero interest for 60 months, would have put the
payments at 300.00 a month, which my son was willing to pay. Once
again, we were inside and the salesperson brings a piece of paper over
showing different payments based on a down payment from my son, we told
him "No, we told you what we were willing to pay and we expect you
to honor the Ad". He went and brought the Asst. Sales Manager
over again, who showed us the same paper, AGAIN, we told him
"NO", $300.00 a month with zero interest) is what we
want" He says, "so, if I can get that for you, will you
take the truck tonight?" we said yes and he wrote that on the
paper and had my son sign it. A few minutes later, he comes back
and says, I can get you the truck for $389.00 a month. We were
like WHAT? Once again, I brought the Ad up, and once again, he
said I was wrong and this time he said the AD was referring to
"07" Silverados, so I said, fine, show us some
"07's". His reply? We don't have any on the lot.
I told him, "Of course you don't", so once again, you're lying
in your AD" I said, we want the deal advertised and he very
rudely told me that it was not going to happen, stood up and walked way.
I was so furious at this point. We got our coats on and was
heading to the door when our salesman stopped us and asked what
happened. We explained it to him and he went and got the director
of the place. We stood there for 10 minutes waiting for
the man to come over (even though I could see him just standing at the
counter laughing with other associates). He approached and said
they were looking for the Ad I had mentioned. I told him I didn't
care if they did produce a paper copy of the Ad, I know what I heard.
He then offered to show us an "07", which I respond "but
we were told there were no "07's" on your lot." He said
he had some, they probably meant they didn't have the body style or
features my son wanted. I said, "No, I was told you had NO
"07's" on your lot at ALL". He repeated himself
again, like I'm some stupid idiot who can't comprehend simple english.
My frustration level kept rising. He then tried to sell my son a
cheap, stripped down "07" model of the truck he had test
drove. He said he would get the truck for him for $297.00 a month
and zero interest. I told him we wanted that in writing and he
wouldn't do it. We told him no thanks. Shook the salesmans'
hand and told him to thank his Asst. Sales Manager for costing him a
sale.
Thanks for the time you spent with the
informative web site about your experience with Van. I just
heard an advertisement on the radio at Van with a deal that I've been
looking for. I decided to pull up their web site and
further investigate. Yours was the first I read as I saw
"sucks" in the heading. I bought new cars in the past
and helped friends also and never once have I not had an easy, pleasent
experience. North Texas Nissan is the absolute worst dealership I
have ever been to. Anyway, thanks again for the time spent.
I will look no further for Van's web site...
TW
I found your website while I was searching for the phone number to Van Chevrolet in Carrollton, TX. Unfortunately, I found the website too late and am now in much deeper than I know how to get out of. I received a letter one afternoon from Van Chevrolet telling me they were willing to pay top dollar for my 2002 Chevrolet Impala because they were needing to load up there used inventory with this popular vehicle. Out of curiosity, I got up on Saturday 10/15/07 and decided to check it out. I went down there and started looking at a couple of things that might be worth trading the car in on and still eat up the inequity in the Impala. As our discussions progressed, I decided that I wanted to trade in both of my cars on a Trailblazer for my wife and get myself a bicycle since I live so close to work. This would put us in a scenario to save some money on a monthly basis and pay off our debt quicker. He offered me some cash back out of the deal and even the amount if I was willing to pay extra into the deal. After doing the math, I decided it was a good idea and we were ready to close on the deal which included the VIN window etching on the car and a tire care package all rolled up in a 12000 mile lease. They went to financing and the price came back slightly higher and I said OK. We closed on the deal and had to wait over an hour because they had to wash it, take off the side steps and swap the wheels . By this time my daughter was screaming and I will readily admit that I was in a hurry to get out of the dealership since I had been there since 10 and it was already 4 PM. As the car was delivered to us, we noticed that the antenna was not attached and commented to the sales person on it. They said they would have to check on it. We transferred all of our items out of the cars to the Trailblazer and left. On Monday, I got to looking everything over. We noticed that the On-Star manual that was supposed to be delivered with the vehicle was missing, the owner's manual was never given to us, and the floor mats which were listed as part of the package the car came with were also missing. I also the finance documents and to my surprise, I had to pull out my Spanish language skill to make anything of the document considering they gave me the Spanish copy. As I reviewed the document, I noticed that the packages that were supposed to be included in the deal were specifically excluded and the lease was a 15000 mile lease instead of a 12000. mile lease. I called them up and explained to them what was wrong and was told that they would have the antenna, the floor mats (which they said had to be ordered?) and the owners manual for me the next day if I could stop by and pick them up and sign the new documents at the same time. We did. I also asked them about the cash back we were supposed to receive and was told that I would need to wait until the lease was funded. The next weekend we took the car to have it detailed. As we waited, we were waived over to the car, by the young man who was drying the car. He showed us that the car had water spots (which come from the car sitting in the sun for quite a while after rain or being in a sprinkler), overspray (which comes from someone doing work, usually painting, on a nearby vehicle and the wind catching it and spraying it onto the vehicle) as well as what looked like rust spots on two places on the vehicle. We told him we parked the car solely in our garage and that it hasn't rained since we bought out car last week. Upset, I called the dealership. They agreed to fix the issues and that they would bring me a loaner to drive while mine was being fixed. I was told I would receive a call on Monday to set up the time. Monday came and went, and surprise. . .no call. I called them on Tuesday and they said that they would send someone out that afternoon to deliver the loaner to me and pick up the damaged "new" vehicle. I showed the young man the damages we found and he took the car back. About a week and a half later, I received a call from the F&I district manager for all the sister dealerships to VAN. He told me there had been some type of problem with the paperwork (never said what) and that they sent it back. He discussed the financing packing that was originally put together for us and that he believed he could do a better job by just financing it our right. He told me he'd call me back with the details. At this point I informed him that the dealership had my vehicle and that I wanted to know when it would be ready. He call back and we agreed that it would be a better idea. He said that he would have someone bring me out all paperwork the following afternoon to sign it all and that my vehicle was ready and would be delivered at the same time. The young man, who was to bring us the paperwork and Trailblazer, called me shortly before coming out to tell me that he went to look at the car to make sure there were no issues and that he didn't think it was ready and he sent it back to the body shop to be finished. He brought out the paperwork and we signed it (3rd time). I received a call the next day stating that they had forgotten a paper and would be sending someone out so we could sign that as well. They said they would be there around 1:30. My wife met me at work at 1:25. At 1:35 I received a call stating that the gentleman was one his way and was running late because he got a last minute item to do before he left. He didn't show up until 2:00. My wife had her mother with her because it was supposed to be quick. Instead, we messed up her schedule because of the dealership. After a full two weeks of being with out our vehicle, I called up the F&I manager and informed him that I was concerned about a couple of things. First, my wife was getting upset that she didn't have her car and wanted to know when it would be done. Second, I went over everything that had happened up till this point and told him I had an attitude of, "OK, so what else is going to happen." Also, I told him that I had already missed two payments (one on each car that we traded in) and was concerned that this was going to go on my credit. I was informed at the time that I didn't have to worry about it because the dealership had already paid off the loans and was toting them until the loan funded. About an hour later, I received a call from one of the new sales managers telling me that my car wasn't done yet and that the hood needed to be repainted entirely and would be ready the next day at 12:00 and they would make arrangements to deliver the car. The car was delivered to us the following day. Considering everything that had happened at this point, I meticulously went over the vehicle to make sure all the damages were fixed. Everything seemed good until I got to the driver's side front fender and found an inch long scratch that wasn't there prior to giving the car back to them to be fixed. Upset with everything at this point, I accepted the car, noting the new damage to the young man, who said it could be touched up when we came to pick up our plates. Last Wednesday, October 17th, I decided to check on my loans. Yep, you guessed it, neither had been paid off. I immediately called the dealership demanding to speak with the GM. I was told that he would not be in until next week and that I would receive a call. Saturday morning at 8 I was woken up by a call from one of my lenders wanting to know how I was going to take car of the missed car payment. I explained the situation to them and they told me if they didn't receive the payment by the 25th, it would get reported to my credit. Extremely upset, I went to the dealership in person. I asked for the GM who still wasn't in and was passed off to one of the new car managers, who had originally helped with the initial sale, and in whom I was less than impressed. I started at the beginning and explained everything that had happened. He "sympathized", if you can call it that, with me and told me that he wanted me to get taken car of, regardless of whether I chose to ever come back to the dealership for business, which I promptly informed him I wouldn't. He told me to think about what I would like the dealership to do for me as reimbursement and he would see what he could do. During our discussion I mentioned your website to him. You probably wouldn't be very surprised to know that he told me, "Not that it's an excuse, because it isn't, the reason all this has happened is due to the fact that we had 3 finance managers and 2 sales managers not show up for work one day, and the ball got dropped." I immediately called him on what I thought was an excuse and said, "It's funny you should mention that because that's the exact same excuse that was handed to the folks on the website I mentioned to you when they asked why their car had never been ordered. I told him for starters, I would like to know why the original lease documentation was returned by the bank as well as have a copy of the odometer statement faxed to me at the number I gave him. He told me that finance was closed until Monday and that he would get it taken care of. Today is Wednesday and surprise, I have yet to get a phone call from the dealership informing me the reasons behind the returned paperwork and also have yet to get the fax I requested. Apparently, he wants to help, just not that badly. Oh, I still haven't received a call from the GM. I also just got off the phone with the bank who has the loan on one of my old cars and found out that they still have yet to pay anything to the banks, imagine that. Needless to say, I will never return to Van Chevrolet because apparently "VAN CAN'T" do much of anything.
Click here to read a letter sent to Van Chevrolet by one ticked off customer
I worked for Van Chevrolet for a short time till I found out what kind of people they were / are. After a hail storm they were LEASING cars and trucks to people and keeping the insurance money. Never telling the people that at the end of the lease they would be responsible for the damage on the car. They also nver informed GMAC that the cars they were leasing for list price was damaged goods. I asked the General Manager xxxxxxxx about this at the time and was told to keep my nose out of it. Name withheld upon request.
Okay,
my husband and I were working many hours at the time so Sunday was
I didn’t visit Van Chevrolet. This exact same thing happened to me at Bankston Nissan in Lewisville just right up the road on 35. They had a huge ad in the 7/28 and 7/29 Dallas Morning News listing many cars and trucks for under 10,000. I called the dealership regarding an 01’ Chevy Silverado for 6995.00 and they said they had it. I went to go see it and it was nowhere to be seen on the lot. They were happy to show me other vehicles but never produced the vehicle advertised. How can these dealerships get away with this?
I have a Van Chevrolet story for you. I took my wife's car in for a "noise" she said she had heard coming from under the car. I did not hear it but to satisfy my wife, I took it in. Van Chevrolet is right around the corner from my work so it was convenient. I got there at 7:00 (which is when they told me they opened). I had to wait until 7:15 minutes before the actually got there. I told the service writer that my wife said she heard a noise coming from under the car. He said he would have it checked out and call me. The "courtesy shuttle" was supposed to take me to work from there. I asked when he was scheduled to leave. They said he doesn't leave until 7:30 because he has a lot of cars to move. I waited until 7:45. During my wait I was walking around outside and saw the guy who drives the shuttle playing with a cat beside the service area. After they diagnosed my car, they called me and proceeded to rattle off several "code #'s" that they say were produced when it was hooked up to their computer. They also said the CV boot was ripped and had no grease in it. This totaled up to about $4000.00. So, I choose what I felt needed to be taken care of and dismissed the others. Because I have some knowledge of how a car works and the components that go into it, I figured the "noise" my wife heard. Was the CV boot. Because of that I stated "If it is ripped, it needs to be replaced". I also told them that I would like to have the old part back. When I picked up the car I was charged $600 and some odd dollars for the repairs. I got into the car and saw a box sitting on the passenger seat that contained my old CV boot. After inspecting it, I could clearly see that it was not ripped and had what looked to be fresh grease in it. After a long and heated discussion whit the service manager, we got the shop supervisor involved. After inspecting the part, he agreed with me and the service manager agreed to refund my money by signing the back of his business card with a not and amount. I was told I should receive a check in "a few days" After a week, I did not receive my check and decided to call. After over a month and several calls, the general manager called and offered me credit in his service department. When I refused his offer he became irate. I had to file a complaint with the BBB to finally get my money back. It took over 6 months and an overwhelming amount of aggravation. Van Chevrolet SUCK! M
Hello Mr. dwc:
It's funny, I was looking for a truck over
the internet, and I saw this ad at Van chevrolet, so I looked for this
dealer at google, and saw your web page, and after reading your story,
believe me, I'm not giving them my business!
Thanx,
I.L.
Darrell, To add insult to
injury, when I picked up my $5k down payment check they SS
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