Heres the short story, looked at an o1 f250 cc at a local doge dealer. Was treated like crap. THEN the "internet sales consultant" replied to my inquiry.

I responded.
----- Original Message -----
From: Carrie Cermak
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 4:59 PM
Subject: FORD F250


Jake,
Thanks for your inquiry here at Viking Dodge. My name is Carrie Cermak and I am the Internet Manager. I would be happy to assist you with the purchase of your next vehicle.
The Ford F250 you inquired about is still available. We have just completed our state of the art facility and are having a huge grand opening sale. I am unable to negotiate pricing via email, however I would be entertain any offer when you come into the dealership. I will be in the office till 9 PM this evening so please contact me to let me know when you are available.
Thanks again for your inquiry here at Viking Dodge.

Sincerely,
Carrie Cermak
815-459-8000

__________________________________________________ __________


Carrie,

Thanks for the response. I actually came in on Tuesday evening and spoke to Sharon, and test drove the truck. I was very happy with the test drive, so Sharon and I filled out a credit application and began to discuss price. Mike (her manager) came over to help as Sharon kept insisting that she was new to selling cars. Mike and I agreed on a price, but I asked if I could think it over that night and discuss it with my parents. He said sure. The next day, I had secured a few loans from local banks, I had called Sharon and she told me to come in on my lunch hour. I showed up on my lunch hour, (I brought my mother and girlfriend) and to my dismay Sharon was gone, no one knew where she was, or when she would be back. Over the phone she did tell me that she would be there until 9 pm.

I sat down with another salesman and began to refill out all of the paperwork that I filled out the previous evening. Mike showed up and told me my price was no longer good, in fact he raised it almost 4500 dollars, While we didn't have a written agreement, I come from an area where a man is accountable for his word. I told mike I had returned to buy the truck immediately, with a blank check in hand. His best price was still 4500 dollars higher.

I've never been treated this poorly at a car dealer, I had always heard stories from friends about how Viking dodge was a "sub-par" car dealer, but I decided to give your dealer the benefit of the doubt. My experience has removed all doubt about the way Viking dodge treats its potential customers. I am not one of the many people who Have story to tell about your dealership.

After telling my story to several friends, relatives, and co-workers, may of whom told me stories in return, I've decided I may start a website where consumers can tell personal experiences about local dealers. My mission will be to help educate consumers, weed out the less than quality dealers, and give credit where credit is due. I may also write a letter to the editor of the Northwest Herald.

Finally I do not want anyone to have the same experience that I went through at Viking dodge.

Rest assured I have no problem with you, you just sent the wrong email on the wrong day.

Good luck selling that truck. (you may want to fix the rust spot on the roof, and the bowed out tailgate)

Thanks for the bandwidth,

Jake

 

FWIW, most people I have talked to have had good experiences with Victor Ford over on Rt. 12 in Wauconda.

 

Hi people, I just happened to have recently done some carpentry work for a sales manager at Viking Dodge.....my experience on that level was about on par with yours as a customer.........I guess garbage in, garbage out!!
I live in Wauconda, and just found this site today....nice!!

 

A friend in the car bus. says VD is worst of the worst. He said they have been known to make you a deal by telling you you will only have to pay "x" about of a monthly payment, but when the first payment comes due it is a couple hundred more that the deal was. Unreal.

 

I too was unfortunately mistreated at Viking Dodge in Crytal Lake. I was dealing with Nikki on a used 2003 Kia Sorento. I learned of the car on autotrader.com and called because no price was listed. In speaking with her, learned of the price and decided to keep looking elsewhere. She then called me everyday for a week and half. At this point I was interested in their car along with another from another dealership.

My boyfriend then got involved as he owns three cars and buys them every two years. He then started negotiating over the phone with Nikki to get the best price. I lived an hour away and didn't want to go into the showroom first and negotiate. We finally decided on a price and had them run my credit and planned on being in the following evening to purchase the car.

I called the next day to see how things were going and that's when everything turned for the worse. Finally after getting a hold of Nikki, I asked if they received my credit information. I got the run around all day saying they were having computer problems. Once again, she said she would get back to me and to no avail didn't receive a phone call. I called back and somehow got in touch with Rich Moore. He said he would look into it and call me back. By this time I am getting very frustrated.

Finally, Nikki called back and said I had to have a co-signer or I couldn't get the car. To my surprise I asked why I needed a co-signer. At that point is when I was treated like I was some kind of criminal. As she is telling me about my credit report, Rich is in the background telling her what to say to me. I finally said to Nikki "who is talking to you" and asked to speak to them directly since she couldn't speak for herself. Rich proceeded to get on the phone and verbatum told me that "I don't pay my bills and either I needed a co-signer or this conversation is over". Here I am in shock about my credit report to only get treated like I am some kind of thug.

Unfortunately, I found out I have been a victim of identity theft and learned of this by purchasing a car. But instead I was treated like a criminal. My boyfriend then called back and spoke to the finance manager to get more information. Why and where Rich decided to get involved in this whole process is a mystery to me. I felt this information should of been communicated to me through the finance manager who was dealing with my credit to begin with.

This has to be the worst experience in my life with purchasing a car. I guess not getting this car through Viking Dodge is a blessing in disguise as they are the most unethical group of people I have ever dealt with. I plan to take my story to the local newspaper because other consumers should know what they are getting themselves into when dealing with these people.

I would appreciate any feedback from other people who have encountered a horrible experience with them. I am not a vindictive person but don't want anyone else to be treated the way I was. Feel free to email me directly and share your unfortunate story with me. Maybe your story can also help someone else. I believe the word of mouth can be the most damaging to their business.

Thanks,
Dana

 

Sorry about your bad experience.....now, aren't we glad we own Fords?!!!!

 

i too have had a great experience at victor ford, i got mine from havard ford and they were great also. go to victor a lot (lot of rare and nice cars in the back.)

 

Stay as far away from that Viking as possible, if they gave a car I would not take it. In the past they have screwed several people that i know, one person actually bought a car and when they came back the next night to pick it up (they offered to detail it) they tried to dealiver a completly different car. Told her that this is the car she bought the night before. Well needless to say she left without the car and she ended up contacting the state and all sorts of bs later she got out of the deal. Now this was a real long time ago but I still stay far away from those people, I don't even like driving past.

I have not bought a truck from Victor Ford but it is the only dealership I have really wanted to buy from and couldn't becasue they did not have what I was looking for at the time. From what I can tell they are one of the best Ford dealers in the area.

 

[QUOTE=Mech 1990]Stay as far away from that Viking as possible, if they gave a car I would not take it. In the past they have screwed several people that i know, one person actually bought a car and when they came back the next night to pick it up (they offered to detail it) they tried to dealiver a completly different car./QUOTE]


NO WAY! That is crazy! A friend of mine says that a they stole a car back from a guy that they sold a car to. A couple people there were charged with grand theft auto since it was NOT there car anymore.

 

Just bringing this to the top Cause this dealer doesnt need any customers

 

Agreed!!!


...and Viking Dodge screwed me over as well!!! Long story though. I will try to find it online. There is a Dodge site I USED to belong to that had several complaints about Viking Dodge.

Stay away from them!

 

I think people just need to beware of dealerships in suburbia...they treat most customers like a dime a dozen. After I bought my first new car, I had the worst buyers remorse because the dealer (Crystal Lake Honda) would not give me my car keys back until they pressured me to sign and take delivery that night. I got home at 12:30 at night on a week night because they insisted I had to take delivery of the car that night instead of cleaning my truck out and coming back the next day to pick up the new car. Anyway, I ended up getting rid of that car 5 months later because I decided I can't drive a car; I needed a truck again.

I went to Conlon Collins Ford in March, and had a fantastic experience since I was more prepared for the games (I did not really get them at Conlon Collins to my surprise). I went one day and test drove a new F-150. They asked what they needed to do to get me to buy that day, and I said not a thing, its not happening. There was no way. They accepted that after the same rejection twice (to be expected for them to try and close...its sales). I then got a call back from the Sales rep a couple days later, and negotiated all of my pricing over the phone (ended up $9K under sticker). I then went a few days later to take delivery and finish the paperwork. I could not be happier about how smooth the sale went. I felt good about the purchase even though I bought this truck 5 months before I had planned to, and I took a 4K blower on the Honda I had. Anyway, the sales rep was fantastic (Red Hidding). He made sure everything was smooth, and even sent me a letter letting me know that he was moving to another dealership....Spring Hill Ford. Any sales rep that has enough integrity to know their customers will come back, I definitely trust.

 

Do anyone of you remember this is the same dealer that had to pay some redicously high fine to the State Revenue office. They were collecting the sales and road taxes from people buying cars, but not forwarding the money to the state.

They also paid several million in fines for 'false advertising' in their lending disclosures. They were issuing some really bad loans, and the two or three I saw mentioned specifically were in the 100 to 120% APR range.

They must have p-oed too many people off though, they run ads in the Rockford newspaper now.