#1923 36 month 36,000 mile lease. Zero Down plus first Payment, Tax, Title and License Due at Signing for a total of $564.20 To preferred qualified credit.
#9810 36 month 36,000 mile lease Zero Down plus first Payment, Tax, Title, License Due at Signing for a total of $471.63. To preferred qualified credit.
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Pressure from salesperson to "Buy Now"
Low
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How did you first contact the Dealership
Phone
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Did you purchase from the Dealership
Yes
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Would you Recommend this Dealership
No
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Name of Your Salesperson
Steve, Wayne
My Dorsch Ford Kia review*** This review is in regards to a purchase I made at Dorsch in 2012—however, because my experience was so negative and exhausting, I have not been motivated to finish writing my story until now, 5 years later. With the exception of the final transactions on 8/23/12 and following, everything was documented as it occurred because I was preparing a claim with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles Dealer and Agent Section, which advises consumers to try to work things out with the deal first.
Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia did try to work things out with me. However, the resistance to help in the first place, comments about losing money on my deal, and requests of me not to write negative reviews were controlling and manipulative, canceling out the goodwill and generous spirit that true customer service usually entails. ***
I purchased a gray 2005 Scion xB from Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia on 7/12/12. On 7/15/12 the VSC and TRAC CONT OFF lights came on. I contacted my salesman, Wayne Muchow of Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia on 7/17/12 to let him know that I was taking it in to Smart Toyota Service in Madison (where I live) on 7/19/12. The lights had been intermittent, which is why on the first visit to Smart Toyota on 7/19/12, they were unable to diagnose the problem. The warning lights produce “hard codes” which only leave information in the car’s computer if they are illuminated. Smart Toyota told me to return to the service department without shutting down my car if the warning lights came back on. I called Wayne and left a voicemail a few days later to say that the first trip to service was inconclusive. The next time that the VSC lights came on at a time when the Smart Toyota service department was also open to diagnose was 8/2/12. At that time, the car was diagnosed with a problem with the Variable Valve Timing Gear. This problem should have also triggered the SERVICE ENGINE light, which was discovered to be non-functioning, but Smart Toyota did not take apart the console at that time. I also noticed that day that the MAINT REQUIRED light also was not illuminating upon start-up.
My boyfriend spoke with Wayne Muchow on my behalf on 8/2/12. He referred the call to his manager, Steve Van Drisse at Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia. Steve told us in a voice message that the car was sold AS-IS and there wasn’t much he could do. I left a voice message with the dealership owner, Dan Dorsch on 8/3/12. Steve Van Drisse returned my call later that afternoon. He repeated his statement from the previous day. I offered to send him the service reports because I felt that minimally, the dealership should have caught the SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT problem upon inspection. Three pages of reports from Smart Toyota were faxed on 8/5/12.
I called Steve Van Drisse again on 8/7/12 and left a voice message to follow-up on the fax I sent over the weekend. When he returned my call, he offered to pay 20% of the repair bill. I asked him to email me this offer, which I received later that afternoon. He also suggested that I might take it to a different independent foreign repair shop to see if they could fix it for cheaper than Smart Toyota.
Per Steve Van Drisse’s suggestion, I called Foreign Car Specialists on 8/7/12. There, I talked with Doug Hill about the car’s problem and repair. He looked up the service codes from Smart Toyota’s service report and generally agreed with the diagnosis and quote. However, he grew concerned when I told him that both the SERVICE ENGINE light and the MAINT REQUIRED lights were out, because those are separate circuits and lights, not just one light bulb to be replaced.
Doug Hill advised that I have the cluster looked at before I proceeded with the original repairs at Smart Toyota. I brought the car to him, and when the cluster was removed, he discovered that the two lights in question had been tampered with and broken off. He showed me the damaged part. I took pictures of the part with my iPhone, which have time/date/location stamps on them. The first picture shows where the lights are in position. The second shows the circuit board, on the second row of LEDs, you can see the two broken nubs toward the left.
Then, I talked with Eric Brown at Smart Toyota to cancel the repair appointment I had scheduled for 8/8/12, until I could speak with Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia again. My boyfriend emailed the invoice from Foreign Car Specialists and the the two photos of the damaged part to Steve Van Drisse on 8/8/12 on my behalf.
On 8/15/12, my brother called and spoke with Steve Van Drisse about my displeasure with the repair offer Dorsch was offering. Steve agreed that Dorsch would pay for the cost of the repairs of the valve timing gear for $589 and the check engine light for $265, and sent me an email documenting the offer. He also asked that I choose the cheaper of the shops if possible. The cost of the diagnoses was not offered.
When I spoke to Doug Hill at Foreign Car Specialists about scheduling the repair, he explained that it would take a week for him to order the part for the odometer panel which would need to be replaced in order for the check engine light to be repaired, and that I would have to leave the car parked and unused at the shop in order for him to legally repair the issue.
Before proceeding, I attempted to speak to Pete, Mike or Dan Dorsch, because I felt that the solutions being offered by Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia were not satisfactory in terms of the amount of hassle and inconvenience I endured to diagnose and would endure to repair the car—without confidence that there would not be further issues that would come up. Pete Dorsch eventually did return my call on the morning of 8/23/12. We discussed my lack of confidence in the situation and the dealership and he offered me full purchase price toward a trade at his dealership. I found this to be the most satisfactory scenario, and decided to drive back to Green Bay as soon as possible to secure the agreement. It was a weekday and the male figures in my life were unavailable to accompany me during the day.
It was my intention only to buy a Certified Used Vehicle from Dorsch, as I was unsure that I could trust another used/as-if vehicle from their lot. I test drove several vehicles and decided on a 2010 Kia Soul (Certified Used). I called home and my boyfriend ran the model and mileage of the car I was looking at—it was priced at Dorsch at $800 above the MSRP listed for the vehicle. Steve Van Drisse would not agree to come down in price, repeatedly telling me that “Dorsch was losing money because of me” and that the price stood. However, they were willing to lower the cost of a brand new 2013 Kia Soul by $2000, essentially making the cost of the two vehicles similar. However, this is the standard rebate that Kia as a manufacturer offers, so it wasn’t really a deal.
I finally agreed to a brand new vehicle, to which Steve Van Drisse gave me a curt and rather insincere, “Thank you,” especially given the hellish resistance he gave me in working out a mutually agreeable resolution. Wayne made a point to ask me not to review Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia with a low rating online, because “it’s not like grades at school, where a C is still a passing grade—anything less than a 4- or 5-star rating would be like an F for them.”
After I was home with the car for a few days, Wayne followed up with me to check if I was happy. I did explain my distaste for the experience and he referred me to Pete Dorsch again. Pete did call me back and left a voicemail on 8/28/12. I was in the process of changing jobs and contract negotiation, so we were unsuccessful at finding a common time to talk on the phone because when he was available I was not, and vise versa. Pete left one more voicemail for me and then I never heard from him again. I tried calling back once a week for the next three weeks to no avail. The secretaries always transferred me to voicemail and I was never successful in reaching him.
Once a year near the “anniversary date” of my purchase, I receive a note in the mail from Wayne wishing me well, hoping that I still like my Kia, and asking for referrals or return business to him as my car salesman. For the first two years, he also called me at this time. In 2015, received a phone call from a Dorsch employee with similar intent, wondering if I was satisfied with my Kia. I told the girl that every year, I get contact from Dorsch, but that because my buying and negotiation experience was so terrible, that I would never buy again from them, nor would I advise anyone else to. She was surprised and asked if there was anything that she could do—I told her that I couldn’t imagine how they could make it better (short of firing Steve Van Drisse or offering me a new car for free), but if Pete, Mike or Dan Dorsch would like to contact me directly, I would be happy to talk.
Pete did attempt to call me and left a voicemail one more time. Again, I was unsuccessful in reaching him when I called back. I tried once a week for the next three weeks, but never did get to talk to him. Dorsch has not called me on my 4th or 5th anniversaries, but I have received their mailings.
(Note: this section is less objective, since I am speaking of my final feelings and interpretations—but I believe those are important too, when describing my experience with Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia)
I asked to speak with Pete Dorsch during the price negotiation, as he was the one who I spoke to about the trade, but he would not come out and I was left to deal with Wayne, who was generally friendly, and Steve Van Drisse, who was less interested in helping me. Apparently Pete (and Wayne to some degree) were the “good cop,” and Steve was the “bad cop.” I felt bullied and at Steve’s mercy during the experience, the whole time wishing that somehow I had brought a man with me who might have been able to stand up for me better. He was cold and short with me during the whole process. I thought that being a woman was irrelevant in the car-buying experience, but after how I was bullied, I see that it continues to be a reality.
I did not have a lot of options as far as walk-away power. I was over 2 hours from home without a vehicle that I could take with me, as it was at risk of further repair. I could have chosen to stay over night in a hotel to my own further expense. I had to choose a vehicle from their dealership per the offer from Pete Dorsch.
I found this subtle pressure not to give a negative review to be offensive, and is why I am still willing to review them this long after my negative experience there. If the sales employees or management of Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia were concerned about a negative review from me, then perhaps they should have tried harder to go above and beyond to ensure that I was fully satisfied. Instead they reminded me multiple times that “they were losing money on my deal” and asked me not to give them low ratings.
Additional concerns that I had noticed about the Scion xB, but were also not disclosed when I purchased the car:
* There is after-market paint all the way around the car, on all four doors, front panels and bumpers. The blending of the paint was poorly done and appears to look dirty in some lighting. There are also several spots where there are drips in the clear-coat. The title was clear of accidents and hail-damage and the body panels are still original with the VIN on them, but there was an extensive paint-job that was done outside of insurance.
* I am unable to attach the back license plate because one of the screws is rusted out and broken off. Smart Toyota told me this would cost about $60 to have them repair. Wayne Muchow had his dealer plate attached with one screw during the test drive and mentioned that we might hear it rattling, but did not explain that the one screw was due to the inability to attach both. The dealership attached the temporary plate for me with the one screw. I did not know of the problem until I received the permanent plates in the mail and was unable to attach the back one with two screws.
* The driver’s side seat belt stop nub that keeps the buckle from falling down to the crack between the door and the seat was missing when I purchased the car. In order for the seat belt to be readily accessible for wear, I needed to purchase a replacement seat belt stop from Advance Auto Parts on 7/16/12 for $6.32.