AutoNation Dodge Ram Arapahoe

My 17 year old son saved enough money to purchase his first car, and I wanted very much that this responsible action would be rewarded by a positive result. Alas, that is not what happened. Obviously, at 17 years old, his budget was limited, and I encouraged him to consider a used vehicle. Regretfully, I also encouraged him to look at a dealership, because I felt there was much more risk buying from a private seller, because I believed a good dealer would stand behind their product and not send him out the door with a lemon. After checking out a few cars of interest in his price range, he decided he liked a Mitsubishi Lancer with 87K miles that he test drove at AutoNation Dodge Ram Arapahoe the best. So that is what he bought. 1 day shy of 2 months later (and after about 500 additional miles), it started billowing white smoke and leaking oil out the tailpipe. Being responsible, he immediately pulled off the road and had it towed to a service station, so as not to create a bigger problem. Unfortunately the problem was the engine itself, and there was no avoiding that it would need a new engine – very, very soon. Well, this was indeed a tough situation all around, but an opportunity for the dealership’s to stand behind their product. Unfortunately, they did not stand behind their product. Perhaps it is naïve to expect a dealership to display commitment to customers once they have made a sale and have their money. However, be advised that my experience suggests once AutoNation Dodge Ram Arapahoe has made its money, its concern for customers will not go far beyond words. To be fair, there are people at the dealership who seem to genuinely want to help, but without their leadership recognizing this situation as an opportunity to model “commitment to customers” then there is not much to it. True commitment to customers does take action and has a cost. I must note that after signing all of the paperwork, we noticed the only key we had in hand was a plain one, without the ability to activate the electronic doors, etc., and the sales team did go out of their way to deliver an electronic key fob that they had no obligation to provide at that point. That was action, and I want to note it for completeness. To me this suggests where in the ranks the commitment to customers exists. When I contacted the dealership about the engine problem, I received a typical response of, “I will talk to [so-and-so] and get back to you”, but that didn’t really happen. I contacted the dealership about 10 times, and only once did I get a call back. I did get an email to a link where I could get a “certified offer” to buy back the car, which I filled out. The “certified offer” I received was for less than half of what I bought the car for, but at least it was something, considering it would cost more to fix the engine than what my son bought the car for. However, after asking for a commitment to this “certified offer” before bringing the car in I did not receive it. I was given a much lower number – just above a ¼ of what I paid for the car 2 months earlier. So in summary, AutoNation Dodge Ram Arapahoe sold my 17 year old son a car with a defective engine, and I’m very disappointed that they are OK with that. Buyer beware.