Capitol City Buick GMC

Honestly, the worst car buying experience in my life!! I contacted Capital City Buick GMC last Saturday regarding a "new" 2015 Yukon they had listed on their website. I spoke with a sales associate, Jay T. about the vehicle to ensure it was still available. He confirmed it was. My family and I had been seriously car shopping for about a month and were very ready to buy, however before making the 170 miles trip to Berlin, Vermont from outside of Boston, Massachusetts, I felt I needed to make sure I was not wasting a Saturday for myself, my family, or the dealership staff. I asked Jay if the price on the Yukon was firm, or if there was room to negotiate further, and he assured me there was still room to negotiate. I also told Jay what the specifics of what my trade would be and its condition as assessed by four other dealerships. I wanted to make sure my trade was most likely going to be in the same range as the others. He assured me I was visiting on a special day because they just so happened to have some corporate appraisers on hand to ensure they paid top dollar for the trade. Let me also mention he assured me of two other things; their dealership had NEVER lost a deal based on a trade AND his offer on my vehicle would be just as strong as other dealerships in my area assuming the condition of my vehicle was as described. Based upon these facts, my family and I decided to make the trip to test drive the vehicle. Jay told me he would get the vehicle prepared for our arrival and told me to see the Sales Manager, Travis P. when I arrived. We set an APPOINTMENT to meet with Travis for 3:00 p.m. My family and I drove the 170 or so miles and arrived promptly at 3:00 p.m. My children were very excited about the prospect of a big SUV and looked for it as we pulled n the parking lot. Though told it would be prepared and “out front” when we arrived, it sadly wasn’t. I was met at the door by Jay, who was pleasant and welcoming. He showed us our name on their “VIP Board” and then he went over to Travis as we had discussed. After a few minutes, Jay returned and informed us Travis was unable to see us so we ended up speaking to another Sales Consultant; I believe his name was Scott C.. Scott was also initially pleasant and had a good demeanor about him. He went across the street to a secondary lot and retrieved the vehicle. It was evident no “preparation” of the vehicle took place; it was quite dirty. That didn’t bother me, it was frustrating only because I was again told something that was untrue; that the vehicle was to be prepared and out in front of the dealership upon our arrival. My family and I took the vehicle for a test drive while their “expert appraisers” assessed our vehicle’s value. During the test drive we all heard a loud rotor-like noise come from the vehicle; all windows and the sunroof were fully closed so we were perplexed on what the noise could be. We drove back to the dealership and told Scott about the noise. He stated it was a known issue with that truck and there was a repair available to fix it, they just hadn’t done it yet. Keep in mind this is a relatively expensive, NEW vehicle. In all fairness, Scott did state the vehicle would be fixed if I decided to purchase it. I was just surprised it sat on the dealership lot for many months without being fixed. Scott and I then sat down to discuss all the financial aspects of the deal. While this took quite some time, it was not unreasonably long. Unfortunately however, it quickly became evident I had fallen victim to the exact sales tactic that has given the car buying experience such a bad reputation for the 24 years I’ve been driving; dishonesty and empty promises. Despite Jay’s confirmation they would offer a very competitive trade offer (assuming my vehicle’s condition was as I described it and they did not contest it was not), they failed to even come close to any recent appraisals I had received (including one just the day before). Remember, Jay also told me over the phone the dealership never lost a deal due to a trade. Jay was also dishonest in his statement to me over the phone that the new vehicle’s price was further negotiable; it was not and was told the vehicle was already discounted below MSRP. It became clear we would be unable to agree on terms, nor did I want to at that point after feeling deceived and that my family’s time was not valued. Before leaving, I asked to speak to Travis to politely express my dissatisfaction and frustration over all that occurred. He looked at me coldly and stated it was not their business practice to inform customers of potential trade values or negotiate prices over the phone; this left me feeling he was implying I was not being truthful about my experience with his staff. He also was unapologetic about not keeping his appointment with my family and I. His attitude and cold demeanor said it all that day; this dealership is far more interested making a one time sale, than it is about long-term customer service and satisfaction, and they will do anything, to include lying and manipulating potential buyers, to make a sale. It really is too bad, it was a very nice vehicle and the experience left my family very disappointed, making for a long, quiet ride back to Massachusetts. I strongly urge anyone looking to shop at Capital City Buick GMC to strongly reconsider. I can only base this on my experience, but I simply cannot overstate just how unbelievably unprofessional this dealership appears to be based on my personal experience. I am fairly certain someone from the dealership or their corporate staffers will post a contradictory statement, and perhaps even attempt to discredit this review. Dishonesty is apparently and unfortunately an accepted practice and they wear that distinction like a badge of honor.