Auto Smart

Well, I hate to write a negative review, but this business so deserves it. We bought a car based on their online ad and had SO MANY problems with it. They said it was «inspected», um, no. We have had non-​stop issues that added over 20% of our purchase price — think 10,000 turns into $ 11,000 then more.
We bought a car and a real minor detail is it came with 2 keys (isn’t that the norm?). Well we only had ONE that worked. Emailed the sales manager and he said, and I quote «Well, I didn’t promise both keys would work» Wait, what? Autosmart (aka Jim) said maybe they didn’t get the 2^nd key in the auction and that he didn’t promise the 2^nd key they gave us would work. The local dealer quoted over $ 400 to duplicate a second key. The Autosmart guy said we could get an «unprogrammed one» online from a non-​licensed company and watch a youtube video to see how to program it ourselves — about a 2 hour process if you’re experienced at doing this. No thanks.
The sunroof was a perk we were happy about — until it rained the first time and the entire rerouting of water system had been undone — hello gallons of water to clean out. We had a repair guy spend over 5 hours to reconnect the «unplugged and stopped up» drains that should have kept water from pouring INSIDE the car. A family member saw all of this and agreed — the drains had for some reason been unplugged so the water just ran into the car and leather seats.

Oh, and there was no «key» to unlock a tire in case of a flat. Had to go to the dealer to buy a new one. We didn’t know that locking tires were a standard feature and so didn’t know to check for that, but our mechanic said it should have been included and that any dealer would know that. If our mechanic had not mentioned it, we would not have known and could have been in a big bind if we had a flat and no way to remove the tire without the key.
All I can say is DO NOT BUY from these people. We spent more than 20 percent over what we paid JUST TO MAKE THE CAR WORK. They claimed it was inspected, but did not have the tire «unlock» key so they could have no way of checking many vital functions, like the brakes. Oh, yea, the brake pads were shot also (hello, another $ 1,000 to fix that).
So, if you buy a 10,000 used car, expect another 2,000 just to get the car in acceptable and safe working order. Just saying. And they were totally uninterested in our problems. Again, I don’t generally leave a bad review (check out my other reviews to confirm this) but this dealer is awful. Do NOT do business with them. We are really, really disappointed in the condition of the car and the lack of customer service.

It is disappointing to be writing a negative review for this company. First impressions were good, Dave presented himself as an honest person, and I agreed to a deal on the phone. We identified a need for transportation of the vehicle, which he was to arrange and contact me in return. We communicated for three days about different issues related to our agreed upon deal. At one point I offered money to secure the vehicle which he stated we would handle the next day when he arranged the delivery. The entire day went by without contact from him, so I called and left a message with his secretary. No return call. I called again and left a message, twice; texted and emailed, this is all documented. No response. Finally two days later, after three messages and texts, the night before I was going to collect the vehicle, Dave TEXTS me that they sold the car, blaming it on his partner. However, it is a small dealership, very hard to believe they do not know between them what is going on. Further, the two day avoidance is clear that Dave was choosing to act unethically and without integrity to honor a deal made with a buyer and was pushing to sell the car elsewhere. He did not offer any solution, just excuses and avoidance. His secretary made excuses for him each time I called (at lunch, when it was 3PM in the afternoon). Clearly, he had advised her to not transfer the call, he was making a second deal and putting me off. This is not a company to believe or work with. Their representation of being Christian’s to indicate honesty is a marketing gimmick. Be cautious.

Auto Smart staff was extremely helpful in finding me a vehicle. Since they knew what I wanted I received a phone call whenever they got something on the lot they thought I would like. Finally got exactly what I wanted — a Triumph motorcycle. Great staff. Great pricing. And very honest folks to work with. I will be back.