Indy Auto Man

It started out great, and perhaps even impressive. The communication, by text ahead of our visit, was top-notch. The salesman, Kaleb D., even offered to put the vehicle on hold since we were driving from nearly four hours away, so it would not sell while traveling. My wife and I were impressed and pleased with this level of support. We arrived and test-drove the 2017 Cadillac Escalade as planned. It was a beautiful, used but in very good condition vehicle. During the test drive, we quickly realized that the air conditioning was not working. There were a couple of other smaller issues that we took note of, but the largest issue we took exception to was the air conditioning. We arrived back at the dealership and engaged in a discussion on the small list of issues we had noted, and they agreed these were items that they would put their agreement to fix in writing as part of the purchase agreement if we were interested in buying the vehicle. It’s important to note that in this discussion about the air conditioning, the salesman admitted that whether we buy the car or not, this is something they will have to fix because anyone who looks at the car with interest in buying it is going to want to have working air conditioning. So, fixing it would not be a problem. At this time, my wife and I wanted to go back out and look over the vehicle further to make sure that some of the additional (used car) flaws were things we could accept when purchasing a luxury, brand-name vehicle. We spent about 15 minutes looking over the vehicle with a keener eye and discussing what we could accept, or what we were willing to fix on our own after taking ownership. We understood it was a used vehicle, but as a luxury vehicle, we did, and do, have certain expectations of what condition is acceptable, even when it is used. We returned inside the building to the salesman, Kaleb D., to discuss the price. I made an offer that I felt certain they would not accept, but I expected it to facilitate some discussion and reach a price that we were willing to pay, as I never buy the sticker price. Who does?! When the salesman returned from talking with his sales manager (because it was obvious that the salesman had ZERO negotiating latitude, he was just a pawn to go back and forth between the buyer and a manager acting as a master puppeteer), he started explaining the dollar amount they would come off of the vehicle (which was honestly fine if he had stopped there) and included that part of the “reason” they wouldn’t come off the price any further was because of needing to fix the air conditioning. At this time, I reminded him that he had already admitted that they would need to fix the air conditioning regardless (because any level-headed buyer would want it to work), so the repair of the air conditioning was not a factor in our discussion on price. THIS IS WHERE IT WENT BAD, FAST! At this point, the salesman quickly lost his demeanor and calm and said, “Technically, we don’t even have to fix it!” >>> Remember, just 20 minutes earlier in the discussion, he admitted that they would have to fix it because anyone interested in the vehicle would want it fixed?! At this point, I said, “That’s all I need to hear, we’re done, have a nice day.” My wife and I got up from our seats and began walking away, and he mouthed off “we’ll get more money….”(and I couldn’t hear the rest). From across the room, I turned and asked him, “What did you say?” and at that time, he wouldn’t even make eye contact. I was ready to walk away with the vehicle. I was ready to make a sizeable down payment on the vehicle on the spot. I was even ready to pay the amount they countered with, but I was not ready to compromise on something as important as air conditioning, especially on a luxury vehicle!!! Credibility went out the window quickly when the conversation went from “we need to do it” to “we will put it in writing” to “we don’t even have to do it” in a matter of 20 minutes. THE WORST, most PATHETIC excuse for a car salesman I have experienced in over 30 years of car buying. I could have overlooked his inexperience with selling and talking to people. I cannot overlook his unprofessionalism and bad attitude. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND SHOP ELSEWHERE.