Russ Darrow Mazda of Milwaukee

by rbart on 10/31/2022

I've bought many cars in my life, and this was the worst dealership by far that I've dealt with. The bait and switch tactics they use are scary. In all I spent about seven hours making the deal and getting accurate paperwork. I'd say it was 20% incompetence and 80% malicious. Besides the salesperson, they shuffled me around to the sales manager, two different finance people and the general manager and each person I dealt with was horribly dishonest and did his best to confuse the situation and gloss over the details of the rip-off deal I ended up with. I would have backed out of the deal at every turn, but they had my $1,000 deposit on a car that they promised but couldn't deliver. Once you give them a deposit, the games and dishonesty begin. I could get three free oil changes there and no deductible extended warranty service, but I will eat those just to keep from ever having to set foot in a Russ Darrow dealership again. You have been warned!

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by JC on 08/29/2021

Their used car manager refused to negotiate, tried to convince me that a used Mazda 3 they had that was sitting for two months was worth $3k more than what they were selling it for. Than told me that the longer that car sat on the lot the higher the price would go. I wouldn’t get a used car from Russ Darrow if they were handing them out.

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by Dont Bother on 03/06/2021

We drove over two hours to look at some vehicles in the area for my daughter, after emailing to inquire. An hour before we arrived, I emailed again to let them know what time we will be there and was scheduled. When we got there an hour later, we walked in, and were told the car had sold that morning. Not a big deal, would have totally looked around. But, upon arrival, no one got up or stopped eating and when one of the sales people asked why we were there, the frat party in the corner shouted “yeah, that’s sold. Some guy called this morning.” Then the 2 of them sat/stood there looking at us like...... ok. No thanks. If you’re not gonna do your job, we’ll just go somewhere else, and we did.

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by Kdog on 07/14/2020

!!! Russ Darrow Mazda conducts criminal activity. Avoid this dealership and Buyer Beware !!! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– On Wednesday, July 1st I went to Russ Darrow Mazda on West Metro Auto Mall Drive to look at a Mazda Certified 2019 Mazda CX3 for $19,194. I inspected the car and test drove it and started to negotiate pricing on it. The sales representative that I dealt with, Jose, claimed that the Certified warranty that was clearly shown in Russ Darrow's online advertising (I have a screen capture of the actual online ad) really meant that the ad should've read that it was "Pre-Certified". He showed me on a sales sheet that the actual Certified Warranty would cost $5980. I was appalled to the say the least and told Jose that Russ Darrow is price gouging and doing false advertising. He was argumentative for about 10 minutes and would not admit that Russ Darrow was wrong. I told him I'm no longer interested in the vehicle if they would be adding an additional $5980 on top of the $19,194 sales price and I walked out. Within 3 minutes, as I was driving away, Don the sales manager called me and claimed that the $5980 was a huge misunderstanding and that they would honor the advertised price that includes the Certified warranty. I was dismayed to say the least that they would think I'm naive and gullible to even consider paying for a Certified warranty. There was clear intent that Russ Darrow was going to price gouge me for Certified warranty that is included within the price of the car. I got home and called Mazda of North America to discuss what Russ Darrow was doing to me and I explained the situation that one of their dealerships was charging nearly $6000 for a Certified warranty on top of the a. Mazda called Russ Darrow's action "ludicrous" and they opened a case file and gave me a reference number. Russ Darrow finally honored the $19,194 advertised sales price and I bought the vehicle. I picked up the vehicle on Thursday, July 2nd. However, it was until later that day when I stopped to fill up with gas 200 miles away, that I noticed Russ Darrow had removed the splash guards from my vehicle prior to delivery and never told me. They committed theft by removing accessories off of the vehicle without my knowledge. Luckily I downloaded all images of the car off of their website and emailed Russ Darrow on Friday, July 3rd. They advised me to bring the car back so they could put back on the splash guards. I'm also experiencing a constant "Low Engine Coolant" warning light coming on consistently every day. It's clear that they removed crucial engine fluids at the same time they removed the splash guards without my knowledge. I will be following up with Mazda North America to further my complaint. I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle as I don't know what other criminal actions Russ Darrow committed against me in retaliation for filing a price gouging complaint with Mazda of North America. Don Thurber, sales manager and Jose Santiago are the typical sleazy used car guys — they're total cliches of what you think of a deceptive creepy used car guy. Avoid Russ Darrow dealerships altogether unless you want a lot of stress and want to be defrauded and deceived. Check out Boucher Mazda in Racine or Hall Mazda in Brookfield. You won't regret it.

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by Dale on 10/14/2018

My fiance and her mom went looking for a nice car, they thought it was a good deal-not. I got it on the freeway , once past 55, started shaking terribly. Had it checked out, needed alignment and the tires(garbage) had uneven treadwear causing chopping. Also, had to bring car back after two days after we got it to have a repair done.

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by Gabby97 on 10/04/2018

My sales rep alejandro Soto went to so much trouble putting multiple quotes together for me and my fickle husband. Regardless of our back and forth on which Mazda 3 we wanted he was patient and kind to us and helped us find the perfect fit! His customer service was outstanding and I went away a happy customer with a price i was comfortable with and a car I now love. I would definitely recommend Russ Darrow Milwaukee for any person looking for their next vehicle and if you happen to drop in, ask for Alejandro Soto, because I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

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by TrishaG on 06/19/2018

Warren (Sales) and Josh (Finance) were WONDERFUL!!! TOTALLY PROFESSIONAL!!! They treated us with respect, addressed my needs, and I ultimately purchased the perfect car for me from them. They were honest and so considerate. Warren was knowledgeable and took such good care of us. Josh was extremely professional in the financing and treated us with the utmost respect. Thank you both for being the consummate professionals.

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by Jason on 04/17/2018

Bought a used Ford, was in pretty nice shape, happy with the car. Watch out for Jason through, he tried to push the sale through no matter what. Didn't tell us there was only one key until the car was pulled up to the door. We have to go to a Ford dealer and spend over $200 to get a copy. Tires were quite low. We also signed up for a coverage package, but were told we had 60 days to cancel. We were able to cancel, but not before several phone calls, emails and begging to cancel.

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by AParker on 03/27/2018

My husband and I were looking to buy a used SUV and we saw one online a Dodge Durango. My husband was very sick and off work for a year. Our credit wasn't in the best shape so we knew we needed a larger down payment. We had a $5000.00 down payment. We we're treated horrible, they didn't try to work with us at all. Our salesperson didn't show up the day we came and scheduled a appointment. The finance manager was rude never introduced himself. The other salesman was rude, we were sitting at his desk ,he rudely said they need to move to another desk. The overall experience was absolutely horrible. I wouldn't recommend this dealership to my dog! We went across the street to Heiser Toyota and got a great deal and excellent customer service.

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by Michellep61586 on 02/08/2018

Jacob was super helpful in selecting the right car for me. They were able to make it work for a price that worked for me. Everyone was very personable and it was a smooth and easy process. I would recommend this dealership to my friends.

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by Unhappycustomer on 01/24/2018

I’ve had nothing but issues with the car I purchased. Absolutely disgusted. I’ve been asking since thanksgiving to see my safety checklist. I was told when I bought the car about new tires. My car started shaking at high speeds. Called the salesman I bought the car from said it’s probably the treds needing to be warn down. I took the car in and was told there were humps in my tire. That my back tires were no long circle. Took it to the dealership and told them my issues. They said they would take my car as an trade in. After further discussion and my check engine light coming on and going to reduced engine power. They said that they would only give full trade in value towards a new car. I had previously confirmed that it could be on a used car. They then told me that they could give me a deal on Mazda car since they sell Mazda’s. That they are “being pushed to sell new cars.” They said I could trade my car in for a $26,000. I told them as I previously stated couldn’t spend more than what I bought the car for. My car after calling the service department they said I could leave my car here for days but didn’t have any loaner cars. My car is currently being looked at. It’s being wondered if that was the reason the owner sold the car. I was never told about any damages done to the car. I’m extremely disappointed in my service.

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by larryec on 02/02/2017

I live 300 miles away from Milwaukee in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I set up this car deal over the phone so I was a little nervous about making the trip. Everything worked out very well the dealership had all the paper work ready and were very pleasant to deal with. The end result was a nice deal on a Mazda CX-5.

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by Mazda_3_Owner on 06/30/2016

I purchased a 2016 Mazda 3 iSport, which should have never been allowed to leave the lot that night. The battery cables were badly corroded - it's a 2016 model, that should never happen. I also noted that the vehicle had 101 miles on it (knew it had to have come from another dealer) and was frozen inside and outside - how does a brand new vehicle freeze completely on the inside? The sales person was taken away by the technician for a private conversation - turns out it was because the technician caught the corroded cables (that was very astute of the technician). However, the sales person told me, upon asking what's wrong with the vehicle, that "oh, the user manual was missing". The entire state of Illinois does not have the same Lemon Laws as Wisconsin. Prior to finalizing the purchase of my vehicle, I was speaking with the sales person and stated the Lemon Law differences. His question for me was "even Chicago?". So, I knew that the 101 miles was, indeed, due to driving the vehicle from the only other Mazda dealer just north of Chicago. This was not my first vehicle, so I am somewhat "seasoned" when it comes to dealerships & sales people. However, I was treated as if I were born yesterday, and that they could just pull a fast one on me (and I wouldn't know the difference). If I didn't have a service package through them, I would not return. I gave them 2 stars because the service department was on top of things - they replaced the battery and cables at no charge. Also, service personnel and parts department personnel have all been courteous and respectful.

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