synth19

Riddler2222

Not AoL, AAiP. These guys are very good to deal with. That quoted me a 2006 RL w/ a 2004 MDX trade in. I shopped the price hard and everyone was telling me it was a BS quote and that if you could really get it from them, do it. One sales rep. from another dealer said, "we will be here to greet you back, when they don't live up to the deal". I mean no one came close to what they offered. This is my third Acura and my family's fourth purchased from them.

Once I took posession of the car, they spent a good 50 minutes with me and my new car. They help me set up my XM radio, OnStar and basic setup. They then went over all the electronic features and made sure all my questions were answered.

They have taken my loyalty to a higher level. My family will be buying a 07 MDX or RDX next year and they will get every chance to win the sale. I have no doubt they will win it.

The only problem I have with the car is it is pulling to the left a tad, but not badly. Not a surprise as it's a new car and the wheels just have to be balanced. I'll bring it in next week. No worries.

GoHawks

Good to know. I had a bad experience from them in '93 when I bought my Vigor. Ended up going to AoL. I used to AAiP for service since it was close to work, and when I was shopping for my TL in '01 they were much better. They came close in price, but not enough. They were courteous, but just not aggressive enough in pricing. The only other dealer who had the color/como I wanted was Mullers Woodfield and they gave me what I was looking for both in trading my Vigor and my new TL. I just never used them for service since I live in the far north suburbs.

I still used AAiP for service, but the service managers changed and the new ones kinda pissed me off. Always trying to upsell service and maintenance.

I ended up going back to AoL. SM there is awesome and always took care of me, many times above and beyond what you would expect of them. They are the main reason why I went back to AoL for my RL. The sales experience was great except I did have a minor issue with the finance guy in dealing with an extended warranty purchase.

Aside from that, great place and my business is theirs to lose.

Good Luck.

Riddler2222

I usually stop by AoL to compare pricing but they were totally out of 06 RLs so I never had a chance to see what they were offering.

Never had an issue with AAiP service other then I had to take my 04 MDX in three times because the audio controls on the steering column kept messing up. (Common problem for what I have been told) They always gave me either a loaner Acura (Usually a TSX) or if they were out, would get me a premium car rental at Enterprise across the street. The were good at calling me to tell the status and always gave me my car in prestine condition as they really cleaned it well.

GoHawks

Good to see that they've improved. I haven't been there in over 3 or 4 years. AoL has a whole fleet of TSX, RDX and even a couple of RL loaners that they give to RL owners.

Riddler2222

That's good to know since I work close to them. Hopefully I won't have to get to many loaners

jftjr

The BBB might be able to help you, too. Start a consumer complaint with your local chapter, you can usually do it online.

The 3-day thing in most states is only for home sales and door-to-door sales.

This doesn't help you, but it might help someone else --- Never, ever, buy a car without inspecting it before you drive it off the lot. Ideally, you should test drive the SAME car you're buying before you buy it. If the dealer won't/can't/is too busy to let you, just walk away. You can always buy a different car somewhere else.

Good luck.

synth19

anyone been to Ed Napleton Acura? I was testing out an '06/tech package with around 6k miles..they were trying to sell it to me for 53k.

Riddler2222

Synth don't even think about it. I looked at that exact car last weekend. I created a stir when I pointed out that someone hit something with the right front bumper. There were scratches on the top portion of the bumper and on the paint. The sales man went to the sales manager and I could see him run out front saying there better not be any damage on that car. I looked out the window and there were four of them standing around looking at it talking to one another, examining the damage...

When started discussing price, they were asking for the same huge premium and offering low 20's for my 2004 MDX. I told them no way and started walking. They said what kind price are you think, told them the price I got quoted a Arlington and they said "They make no money on that deal". If there willing to do it go for it. So I did, now I have a brand new 2006 Rl w/o the Tech package.

Riddler2222

BTW, that car was a Carbon Grey (or whatever it was called for 06), taupe interior, tech package, rear spoiler and back up camera. Car had some other scratches on it and a chip on the front hood. The car had close to 6K of miles on it already.... LMAO

synth19

That's hilarious, that's the EXACT same one I test drove. The color pushed me to get the '05 in Carbon Grey.

Riddler2222

The color combo is very nice. Enjoy

skiunow

I scanned over this quickly so maybe it was already mentioned. The 3 day return on any vehicle is called a rider law and is valid in some states. What most people are thinking of is a law that you have 3 days to back out of a contract. A dealership here in town recently pulled the wool over my girlfriends eyes and sold her a horible example of an extremely overpriced certified VW Jetta. I spent approximately 10 minutes going over the car I knew it had to go back. I had her call the dealership and express her disatisfaction and they flat out told her that she was out of luck on returning the car because Idaho does not have a rider law. Well maybe so, but the dealership didn't have a choice on what they wanted to do when I reminded them that here in Idaho we have 3 days to cancel any contract. Since we called imediately after she took delivery, or even if it would have been anytime within the next 3 days, we could return the car. A lot of people don't know about this 3 day grace period, but it is something to find out if it is a law in your state.

synth19

Almost forgot about this thread, any updates?

Riddler2222

Yeah, I was kind of wondering that myself.

vtec1jk

Sorry i forgot to update. But the end resolution from Mcgrath was a phone call saying we fixed you car (without my approval) come and get it. And my response was "I told you i wanted a different car" and they said we cant help you then. I then decided to pick up the car and call back my regional rep who told me at this time my only option would be a legal case if i wanted to go that route. Honestly i am done wasting my time and i cant afford a legal battle and have decided to just keep the car and that i most likely will not be purchasing an acura again.

sleepinxlionhart

sorry to hear. but it shouldn't be the factor that decides whether or not you're done with acura. Acuras are really nice, perhaps just change dealers in the future because there are dealers out there that will go out of their way to make the customer happy.

GoHawks

Point the dealer to this thread and let them know that those of us who live in Chicago will make sure to spread the word on what kind of dealer they are. I'm on my third Acura and based on this thread I will never shop them and will let others know as well.

007TL-S

Yes ! and give them the Dealer store ID number also! and the store's general managers name also!

neuronbob

I wouldn't let a single dealership experience determine whether you purchase another Acura. Acura dealerships seem very hit-or-miss in quality. My dealer is great for the most part. I dealt with another dealer that treated me shabbily (Park Acura, Akron, OH ) and I moved on.

Riddler2222

I know the dealership very well. I live very close to them and I always tried to feed the local community first. With that said, I have tried on three seperate occasions to buy cars from them and was treated rudely, they played games and they out right lied.

I will never consider them again for an Acura. Arlington Acura in Palatine has earned my business. Heck I have bought three cars from them and my brother in law one.

Benush

First and foremost I AM NOT A LAWYER and am in NO WAY attempting to practice law or give you legal advise.

However, the following is some information that you might find useful even if you have given up, just in case you haven’t completely given up.

The part below is a small portion of the Uniform Commercial Code – sort of a legal guide that is accepted in all 50 states. Article 2 is not accepted in Louisiana but I don’t think that’s a problem in your case . Pay very close attention to Article 2 section 103 (b)

U.C.C. - ARTICLE 2 - SALES
..PART 1. SHORT TITLE, GENERAL CONSTRUCTION AND SUBJECT MATTER

§ 2-103. Definitions and Index of Definitions.
(1) In this Article unless the context otherwise requires
• (a) "Buyer" means a person who buys or contracts to buy goods.
• (b) "Good faith" in the case of a merchant means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade.
• (c) "Receipt" of goods means taking physical possession of them.
• (d) "Seller" means a person who sells or contracts to sell goods.
(2) Other definitions applying to this Article or to specified Parts thereof, and the sections in which they appear are:
"Acceptance". Section 2-606. – [this portion deleted]
It’s been quite a few years since I took business/commercial law, but this was the ONE rule that seemed to favor the consumer. Also, if I remember the professor correctly, the merchant has to prove that they did act in good faith instead of you needing to prove that they didn’t. So, as I read it, If they “did not” act in honesty in fact (telling you about the damage), they violated the law as defined by the Uniform Commercial Code. Have a good lawyer check this out to see if they agree.

The law CAN be a little vague in the award system, but most states see the compensatory amount as the amount you paid, but not more than that amount (in other words nothing for loss of pay from missing work, etc.) BUT the punitive amount is any amount – yes, any amount. The puitive amount is limited in cases of salary/wages compensation but again, I don’t see how that applies to you.

Step 1 – Take a copy of just the UCC information to the dealership and say – “unless you do something that proves you acted in ‘good faith’ I am taking this to a lawyer who will advise me on suing you for “failure to operate in good faith and fair dealing”. If they give you the brush off/heave ho then go to step 2

Step 2
Take this information to a lawyer (usually the ones that are willing to “fight for your right to get every dime you deserve )and tell him/her that you want the compensation portion and that they can take 50% of the punitive award if they win. If they don’t know what you are talking about, though I presume they will, they will soon do the research and tell you if you have a case they are willing to take –or not

It will probably cost you a fee to open the case in court (filing fees), but the lawyer should operate on a contingency based situation ONLY. However, if you win, the punitive damage award could/should/might cover the filing fees (and maybe more if your lawyer is really aggressive).

lland

Mine too. When I vbought my MDX a couple of years ago it came with an IOU - "Fix dent in hood." There was a slight ripple that you could see from the right angle in the right light at the right time of day. If they hadn't pointed it out, I'm sure I still wouldn't know it was there but they insisted on fixing it. They had one of those "paintless dent removel guys " (The Dent Guy) take it out. It took him almost two hours then he took two dings out of my Volvo without charge for my inconvenience.

When I picked up my RL, it was raining and the wipers were squeaking. They wouldn't let me take it until they changed the wipers.

LL

sotiri

As to the code, if he bought his car from McGrath as I did and they asked him to sign an arbitration agreement at the closing of the sale, he probably gave up his right to sue before going through the arbitration process.
When I bought my RL last year, they werent selling any cars at McGrath unless you signed an agreement to go to arbitration with the dealership in the event of any issues.
I didnt care about it because I know I can get around it in court, but for the lay person its usually a brick wall that they cant get around so easily.
So the question is... did he sign an arbitration agreement?

synth19

Well, if anything good comes from this thread, we are well aware of McGrath's customer service. I will never buy from them.

Benush

You are absolutely correct. Most people don't know that they can get around the "arbitration only" portion of the contract. The worst contracts have a codicil that allows the dealership/company to pick the arbitrator!

The humor/irony in my reply to vtech1jk- if there is any - is that I'm a mediator/ facilitator. I don't do the arbitration thing for personal reasons.

Its sad if not frustrating that people like vtec1jk get stuck by less than forthcoming car sales companies. I enjoy Acura and even though I've run into a couple stinkaroos for service, the fit and finsh of the cars makes up for it

If McGrath is half as bad as they seem to be portrayed on this site, my guess is they just don't care about customers and not much, including litigation, is going to change that.

GoHawks

Is someone e-mailing McGrath a link to this thread?

SuperStar

I live in Morton Grove, we got larger than golf ball sized hail. In fact I had two cars that I got a total of over 5k from the insurance company for repairs.

There is no way I would accept that car. Do not hestitate to stay calm, but remind them that fraud is a major offense in Illinois and that they sold you a new vehicle in unreasonable condition. Dont be scared to be stern, and if they dont take care of you dont hesitate to talk to an attorney.

Another FYI, my TL Aspec was driven into one of the walls at McGrath, by one of their porters. It's been there for the past 12 days. First they tried to give me the car back with a busted up bumper. After we agreed on a body shop they then tried to give it back to me with a jacked up front aspec spoiler. They will skim the corners hoping you dont notice. I have NO doubt that this is what they have done.

I should give you the contact info for the guy I deal with at Acura Client Services, but frankly I think he's a moron.

SuperStar

I ended up buying from Acura of Palatine, it's just too far for service.

McGrath sales sucked so bad they squandered a cash purchase because they all had egos that were way too large. I have friends that sell cars, but honestly, you're a car salesman, why do you have an ego that runs customers out the door?

SuperStar

That's when you look for an adhesion contract defense. But the problem is that legal solutions cost money. One day they'll get it. I can tell you that if they did not rectify my vehicle properly, (still a sight to be seen tomorrow), I would make an example out of them from the legal avenue.

Benush

Interesting strategy. I usually help them define lack of due process because they are forced into Arbitration (therefore creating the legal process portion because the outcome is a legal and binding contract and therefore due process can be used as an arguement) without benefit of "fariness in the processes". Not many judges want to get involved in what is presumed to be Constitutional and therefore presume that for the contract to be binding, the consumer must be afforded the opportunity for fariness in case of violation or dispute. Usually the results are dispute resolution of the consumer's choice or finding for the consumer.

You are so right that it cost bucks to do it, but most companies are willing to settle when they realize the customer is serious, informed, ready to stand up and also the cost to them when litigating versus ignoring a simple consumer complaint field with the BBB.

I also very much agree that making an example of a business that treats it's customers badly is a very good thing.

GoHawks

Actually dealers get a cut from the banks if you finance through them so a cash purchase isn't necessarily more attractive for them.

black label

Very true, they are actually more interested in a finance deal than a cash deal. They are even more interested if you owe more on your trade than it's worth.
If you have a low credit score, they are dancing in their seats.

They will typically take a very slim front end deal if they can make it up on the back end through financing.

SuperStar

Good point, still doesnt mean it should be made difficult.

SuperStar

Due Process is the way to go, and it's almost an instant in to federal court as opposed to state. However you are also right that a lot of judges dont want to deal with constitutional questions. (It looks bad to get them wrong)

The adhesion contract defense is just in theory. I dont know what courts have decided that an adhesion contract in a car sales agreement is invalid. I know that we have seen some cruise cases ruled as invalid, and others as valid.

It all goes back to cost, and I also agree with you that setttlement/agreement is very reasonable/likely without even stepping into court, if you can handle yourself properly in the first place.

ninjamyst

Just want to share with you guys that McGrath Acura of Morton Grove also treated me very very rudely when I went there to purchase a 2006 TSX. The manager (he had a russian accent I think) was VERY rude and I would not purchase a car from them at all. Good luck.

trance_mission

They made me come in after telling me they had a 2006 acura black with parchement interior in stock last month. Quoted price of 30300$(with navi). When i went in, there was no such car in stock... the salesman said he had never promised that price and then tried to sell me the only car they had in stock.. black with black with a delaer installed DVD player for 5 grand more... literally FORCING me to sign.... a**holes... Joe Rizza Acura sold me a similar car for the same price 30,300... it was awesome doing business with them.... McGrath dealerships in Illinois are a bunch of CROOKS and LOSERS

///M Roadster

This is an old thread that I just came across and I think it deserves a bump. That dealership should be ashamed, practicing 3rd rate used car sales tactic.