Stokes Mazda

by DisappointedBuyer on 01/17/2019

My wife and I recently bought a 2019 Mazda CX-9 Touring SUV with an upgraded package from Stokes Mazda, Ashley Phosphate Road In Charleston. I give the sales people Chuck and Adrian 5 stars, but I have to give the price I was offered by the sales desk for this car 1 star. I have always bought Toyotas but decided to give Mazda and this dealership a try as I read some good reviews about the Mazda brand. I buy new cars on a regular basis and give many referrals to friends and colleagues as I am a national speaker on great customer service and many people seek advice from me on where to get the best deals and service. I like to develop long-term relationships where I do business and keep the money with local businesses if possible. I wanted to see if this dealership would negotiate to find a place we could both feel good about the deal but I had almost no progress after several attempts. In the end, I bought the car ONLY because I wanted to give it to my wife as a graduation gift that particular day. I received a written offer for the same exact car from Midlands Mazda in Columbia the same day for over $1,000 dollars less (out the door). Stokes Mazda had some very nice sales people but if you want a GREAT PRICE, go to Midlands Mazda in Columbia. They gave me the fair price I needed without playing games and they did it over the phone and followed up with a formal offer with an exact out the door price. My wife is disappointed with the fact that our local Mazda dealership did not take care of its own and did not honor the people who tried to buy local and I feel the same way. This experience took the joy of buying a new car away from both of us and will cost Stokes Mazda many, many purchases and referrals from my wife and I over the coming years. This is why people don't stay loyal to dealerships and, sadly, it hurts the brand and the salespeople who work for them. I overpaid for the car, but I wanted to see how I would be treated if I showed trust in getting the best deal from a local dealer so I would know if I could trust them with my future business and referrals. This experience will provide a great case study for my future talks to fortune 500 companies on customer service and how to reach a "Win-Win" deal. All of my future deals and referrals will be to Midlands Honda in Columbia for giving me the respect of dealing fairly on the price without playing silly games. Trust and integrity are everything for long-term business relationships. Making a few extra dollars today on a customer is not worth sacrificing your long term relationship with that customer and their network of referrals. My advice....give Midlands Mazda a chance before you buy at Stokes Mazda because I wish I would have spent my dollars at a dealership who wanted a long-term business relationship and gave me a great price without the hassle.

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by stellano99 on 09/13/2013

Monieke was so helpful and made the car buying experience a real pleasure! She was very helpful and informative and is truly a skilled professional. I would recommend Monieke to anyone interested in buying a new car. She's the best and I love my new Mazda! Sincerely, Peter

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by Anttology on 03/04/2013

Just purchased a new CX-9 from stokes Mazda today. Everyone at the dealership was great! The salesman Brad was very knowledgeable and walked me through my new vehicle fro top to bottom. I would recommend Stokes Mazda to anybody.

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by cwilkerson32 on 07/06/2012

Yesterday my husband and I went to this dealership to get a Mazda3. I told the man exactly what I wanted and he told me the trim I should get would be the Grand Touring. First off I loved the car. He was right it had everything I wanted. So after we drove the car we told them what we wanted to pay and he came back and told us that what we wanted to pay would be fine and everything was going to work out. We had to go to our bank to get the loan but the bank was closed. So they gave us the keys and said just to get it down tomorrow and bring the car back to get it detailed and the tank filled up once we got the loan. So I was driving the car all that night and today. When we went to get the loan they pointed out the VIN number on the sheet didn't match the car. They didn't make a big deal about it. Just used to VIN on the car to secure the loan. So we got the loan and the check and went driving back to the Mazda dealership to pay them and get my new car cleaned up. Before I handed them the check I casually said something about about the VIN's not being the same, thinking it was just some silly mistake. The financier looks at me confused and says that the VINS wouldn't match because that wasn't my car. Of course I'm confused and told him so. Apparently without telling us they decided if we wanted to pay a certain amount per month that we had to get a lesser model. NO one told us this. We both were under the impression that we were getting the car we drove off the lot with! When we said as much all they had to say was we're sorry for the misunderstanding. Do you want the lesser model? Of course we said no. At this point just on Principal of the matter. My husband even tried talking to the manager who took a phone call from his PERSONAL phone in the middle of my husband talking! The salesman also told us that he informed us of the change, which he certainly didn't. Why would I take home one model but be getting another? That just doesn't make any sense! What makes it all worse to us is how much they thanked my husband for serving in the military and how they respected him so much and how gratefully they were to him and they they tried to rip us off!

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