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Let me start by saying no, I have no incentive to write a negative or positive review. I had a very positive experience at a car dealer (yeah, I know a car dealer) and want to share it. This is extremely long winded, however I could have greatly expanded on things.
My wife and I drove a 2004 Honda Pilot with high mileage. I say this fact as car dealerships seem to form a quick opinion of you based on current vehicle. We also don’t dress to impress, which seems to further judgement in stores and car dealerships.
The search: We knew that we wanted a premium level SUV. When it comes to dealerships, we have been to a large majority of the Mercedes and BMW dealerships within 100 miles of our zip code (excluding the NY area). Virtually every one of them had one thing in common regardless of brand, they all seemed to feel we were tire kickers that couldn’t purchase what we wanted. In many cases, sales people would be out on the lot when we were there and not acknowledge us – even when they’d walk right past us. Luckily we found that dealerships close early on Saturday and are closed on Sundays, thus we could look at cars without the brush-off. During these weekend trips we narrowed our list to the Mercedes GLS550 and GLE550e.
And then… We timed it incorrectly on a Saturday and ended-up arriving at Mercedes of Lancaster while they were open. We walked through the showroom using a back door to avoid what we expected to be typical sales reps. We were not approached until on our way to the front exit. I was lagging behind but my wife was approached by a rep asking if he could help us. That’s when we met Curt Brown.
In our conversation with Curt, he walked with us while we talked cars and his background. It felt like a ‘real’ conversation and that he actually took us seriously. We left the dealership in our old Pilot after talking to Curt and him providing a GLS brochure.
Jump ahead to the next Friday and I emailed Curt to tell him we actually wanted to get together and talk specifics of our desired build.
Since this was my first brand new vehicle, it was going to be exactly as I wanted. We got together that evening at the dealership where Curt arranged for a GLS550 to be ready for a test drive and then discussion. We walked through what I wanted, we discussed whether some of the numerous options I had in mind were truly needed given Mercedes engineering. Curt asked good questions and provided good feedback. Then came the final price conversation. Like most people, I had researched various pricing sites, forums and read dealership reviews. I had an idea of what I was expecting to pay for this heavily optioned car.
In my email to Curt earlier in the day, I had stated I don’t like the whole dickering and negotiating process. After we had discussed the general vehicle and options pricing, I of course asked, “OK, that’s great, what’s my price?” Curt got out his calculator, worked all the numbers and turned it around to show me the price. It was lower than I had expected based on my prior research. This obviously won me on price, but there’s more to it than the car price, all was clearly identified on the sale form and no ridiculous dealer fees to be found.
With the build we wanted, it necessitated ordering vs. buying off the lot. Curt gave me a realistic date to expect delivery, and actually beat it by a couple weeks. He has consistently responded to any and all emails immediately. I had some pretty specific requests regarding how the car was prepped and processed for delivery, which Curt followed to the letter.
Now, the day of delivery arrived and we were late for our appointment. Curt was engaged with a customer at his desk, however he recognized us immediately and offered us the keys to our new vehicle since we had requested it remain locked while on the showroom floor. We hadn’t been to the dealership in two months since ordering so I was impressed he remembered our faces. While Curt was finishing with his other customer, we walked past the dealership VP’s office. The door was open so we stopped to introduce ourselves and tell him how impressed we were with Curt’s interactions and service, as well as the dealership’s cleanliness in all areas – including the shop. This guy wore jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt (my kind of guy as I was dressed similarly). From top down at Mercedes of Lancaster, everyone we have encountered has been down to earth – normal people – that are there to simply take care of customers and their vehicles. There’s not the typical pressure I expected nor the snootiness that we have experienced at every other Mercedes and BMW dealership. I told both Curt and Frank, the VP, that I’m waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop as the whole experience was beyond expectation.
Bottom line, I felt that I was treated as a person, as was my wife, and that we got an extremely fair price. Curt is always there for any questions that we may have, including after the delivery.
I’m not one to be easily impressed, but this is one of those extremely rare occasions.
James