Joe Machens Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

I bought a new van for my wife a couple weeks ago and was very well taken care of. Today I took my dad in and he bought a new ram. He was very happy with the process. Every one took good care of us and very nice. We’ll definitely go back there.

I was a little leery about going to a Joe Machens dealership, as they are ubiquitous in the Columbia area and was worried they would be like the Wal-​Mart of car dealerships with impersonal and self-​serving service, without the discounted prices.
Well I was wrong about my fears, it was much worse than I could have ever imagined. I would like to recommend that you never, ever, EVER, buy a car from a Joe Machens dealership, but if someone has a gun to your family’s head, and they threaten to murder them all unless you shop at Joe Machens, I will give you 4 tips on what to be on the look out for. (BTW I wouldn’t put that sales tactic past them, plus I would still have to think about actually shopping there again in that scenario)
First:
If you are looking at vehicles on the Joe Machens Jeep dealership website, and you find a 1 year old used Jeep that you know is the car you want, and you schedule a test drive on that Jeep website, and you go to the Jeep dealership at the agreed time, it turns out, that vehicle may actually be at the Joe Machens Toyota dealership for some strange reason. Then, when you tell them you scheduled a test drive with Jamie, and give them the VIN number of the car you want to look at, they will lie to you, and tell you that car has already been sold, and start talking to you about new options and try to «get the payments to work.» This lie started the nightmare. (The Jeep was still available at the other Joe Machens dealership as I got an email later from Jamie asking why I didn’t show up for the test drive.)
Second:
If you do look at cars at Joe Machens, be sure to bring rations with you for sustenance, as you will wait for an ungodly amount of time to actually see a car. I went to take a look at cars twice, and both times it took between 1 and 2 hours to actually even see a car. They keep their vehicle on a different lot, which must be several miles away. The salesman must drive over to the other lot, search through all of the cars to try to find a match, and then drive back. But then sometimes the car is actually blocked in by another car, so they have to come back, get keys to the other car and move it, before bringing the car you really want to see. Literally, it took 2 hours for them to get my car the second time I visited. We were supposed to go to lunch after looking at cars, and we nearly died of starvation by the time we left.
Third:
Make sure to look at the actual sticker price on the car before the negotiations. My car did not have a sticker displayed in the window, which I later found hidden in the car after purchasing it. I have found out it is federal law that the sticker must be placed in the window or it is $ 1,000 fine for the dealership. Well after the purchase, I looked through the numbers on the sticker and I noticed I was charged over $ 1,500 more than the sticker price, even though it was a demo vehicle that already had 1,500 miles on it. I also noticed they also did not include the Off Road accessory kit that was supposed to be included with the vehicle. Very, very shady on their part. So know that sticker price and everything you are supposed to get before you start negotiating.
Fourth:
Bring your own auto loan calculator with you! There are a lot of numbers flying around, and when you get to the finance guy he will have written down a monthly payment that includes a ton of insurance and warranties you don’t really need. Now I am not going to either encourage or discourage buying an extended warranty, that is for you to decide if it makes sense for you, but run the numbers yourself, do not let them do it for you. The numbers they gave me were mis-​represented, and I was told that adding the warranty would only be 25 more dollars per month, so I decided to get it. When I got home, I went through the numbers myself, and it turns out the warranty was costing me an extra $ 50 dollars a month. I did not appreciate being lied to again. To their credit, I was able to stop by and cancel my warranty without a fee after I learned about their deception.
I know that you should come to accept shady sales tactics at dealerships, but Joe Machens Jeep went way above and beyond with their shadiness and lies. I will never shop with them again, and neither will my family or anyone else that I am able to convince.

I bought my first Jeep from Rob, and he was great to work with! Before we even started looking or test driving cars, he sat me down and asked what I wanted in a vehicle and what I wanted to spend. It cut out all the time of seeing different vehicles that I couldn’t afford and driving multiple different ones that would just be «maybe» cars. After telling him what I was looking for, he came back and told me he found the perfect one! Sure enough, I loved it and we didn’t waste all day wandering around a lot. He worked with me on my trade-​in and got payments to where I wanted them, and the whole process of buying the vehicle was pleasant and quick! Needless to say, I am extremely happy with the way he worked and I LOVE my new 2015 Grand Cherokee!

I have to give these individuals 5 stars without a doubt!
My employers daughter goes to college in Missouri and unfortunately she misplaced her vehicle’s key. I initially Google’d a different dealership in which they were very helpful however very far from her residence. After applying her address Joe Machens Chrysler came up as the nearest to her college & residence.
I spoke with a gentleman by the name of Justin in the parts department. Justin informed me that they actually had that particular key in stock. So, I just had to have my boss’s daughter make sure to get her vehicle there as soon as possible. Long story short she had triple AAA tow the vehicle the next day. I contacted Justin & he informed me that they were already working on the car it shouldn’t take too long until she could come & pick her new key & car.
I just want to state that I am in California and they are in Columbia, MO (3 hours ahead of me) they were kind, professional, courteous I highly recommend them in every fashion. This is exactly what you want in an organization professionalism at its finest. I appreciate their hard work and turn around on this matter considering she is a student whom relies on her vehicle.
Thank you!
–Ani

Place was HORRIBLE sorry for late review but I purchased a car from them about a month ago, I really needed a car so I looked for the best shaped one. The car I went looking for as a 2009 Chevy impala, when I arrived I saw the front windshield had a giant VERY noticeable crack on it. a look inside revealed under the seats was a lot of trash from Wendy’s and the car smelled like smoke. So I thought hey maybe they’ll honor it and replace the windshield and clean it I tried a test drive. Made a very loud noise so I pulled into a parking lot and checked the engine, oil was low and transmission fluid stick was DRY AS A BONE. So that was a no I looked at plenty of other cars with very visible damage there was an avenger that had a giant dent with paint chipped off on the center of the trunk.
So I ended up with a Toyota corolla, had a cracked tail light that looked super glued and quite a few scratches/​chips.
Fast forward a week later. I decide it’s time to clean the car now it all looked clean but I never checked under the seats when I bought it. So when I was about to vacuum underneath I look and of course i find some trash and peanut shells but what really pissed me off is I found a live ammunition round of what appeared to belong to the M4 carbine. I knew it wasn’t mine because the ones we get issued at ranges (US Army soldier) have green tips, this one was orange or amber. I have never been issued a tracer round or any round with anything but green when firing the M4.
In a concise review:
STAY THE HELL AWAY.
They emailed me asking if I’d recommend them to my friends too. What a joke.

My experience there was less than a whole star rating. I understand that it is a dealer’s job to make a sell on a vehicle, however, it is also important to listen to the customer and match a car that they want to see.
My fiancé and I went to Joe Machens to get price information about the new Ram 1500 eco-​diesel. Our goal was originally just to hop out and roam their lot to see if they had any (the truck is by online-​order only right now). We had already test drove one at another dealership, but we were just browsing prices at different locations.
We weren’t even out of the car fully when a sales guy came up to us asking if he could help us. We stated we are just looking around and gathering information at this point. He says, come on inside and I can see if we have what you are looking for.
We went into the lobby and he got us each a beverage (big whoop). He immediately asked us for our information (name, address, email, numbers) and then what we were looking for. We said Ram 1500 eco-​diesel. We weren’t super picky and just asked for one level up from a tradesman (those have crank windows and no power doors). He asked about credit and price range. we told him between 30 and 40,000. (Like we said we were just looking at prices, not trying to buy or test drive.) He also asked for a color preference– we said dark colors and spent about 5 minutes discussing what colors we had in mind (black, charcoal, dark blue, maybe dark red– but all were dark)
He said, «Give me a minute, I’ll see if I have any matches»
Twenty minutes rolls by and he found 3 matches. He then tells us that they are over at another lot and he will be back in five minutes with them.
Twenty minutes later, the first truck comes to the lot. It’s black. He shows us the truck and asks us if we would like to test drive it. We said no, we know what a truck feels like and asked if it was a eco-​diesel. He told us that all three matches are gas engines. We were mentally thanking him for wasting our time there, hoping that all the matches were diesels. He says, this one is on sale and I can get ya a heck of a deal. We said, no this isn’t what we want. He goes back inside to talk to his boss and see if they have any eco-​diesels. We were getting bored and irritated from waiting that we were about to leave when he said, «Actually, we have an eco-​diesel!» He explains that they let people test drive it for a sample truck, since they are online order only.
Mind you, we said we wanted a baseline model, between 30k-​40k, and dark.
This truck was parked in the shop area, like it needed work, so I said what is wrong with it? He said someone put it in the wrong spot. (Likely story) We open the doors and it is a Laramie LongHorn, which runs close to 50,000 and it is white. Again, we already know how it feels like so we don’t need a test drive. It is out of our imaginary price range and it isn’t a color we want. He says, «If we can get you a good deal on this today, would you be willing to take it home today?» No. We aren’t buying today. We wanted numbers, and figures, and potential monthly payment estimates. Why would we want to be pressured into buying a truck that isn’t the color we want?
We basically said, «We’ll keep looking, thanks.»
Not all dealerships run this way. I am a dodge fan but I wouldn’t buy anything from them. They don’t listen to know what the customer is looking for and wastes their time while they show vehicles that they want you to buy. I don’t even remember him introducing himself or asking what our names were. I rather feel a genuine relationship with a sales person. Someone that will bring you to their office to talk and look through their database, not just leave you alone in the lobby. Someone that will show you vehicles in your price range, and actually listen to what type of vehicle the customer wants (I’m surprised he managed to bring a truck, he acted like he was going to show us a sedan).
Bad experience. Super pushy to make a quick sale off of some young college students. Definitely go somewhere else to buy a vehicle, unless you work for them and get a super hot deal on a car that you picked out for you.