Commonwealth Pre-Owned Cars

We purchased a pre-​owned certified VW Tiguan from VW Commonwealth in Santa Ana. Since its purchase we have had so many things to fix and pay for to maintain it. The Dealer Service Dept. would charge for estimates about $ 100 – 110 and run long lists of things to fix at extranomical amounts. The car had several oil leak issues which we think the manufacturer should have paid to replace. Buyer’s beware! Do not take your service to this place. Their prices for labor and parts are OVERPRICED compared to other places. We now take our VW to the Dr. Auto in Rancho Santa Margarita. Sam the owner and Curt the head technicians are respectable and honest people. They won’t charge you a leg and an arm like at the Commonwealth!

I took my car in for after market warranty service for my AC unit on my 2007 Audi A6 to Commonwealth Audi. I had just had it charged 2 mos earlier, after owning the car about 5 years. My air always blew ice cold, now, not working. My friend, a master mechanic for a high end independent re-​seller had charged my system, simply for the price of the freon, $ 40. When I went back to my friend the mechanic, he advised me to «Just go back to Audi since you have a warranty, no point in me recharging it, you obviously have a leak». At Audi, I met Erick Aguayo, I specifically told him that the car had just been charged 2 mos ago and is now blowing hot. He told me «We will fix it». I told him in no uncertain terms that this car was just recharged 2 mos ago and is already blowing hot.
Erick calls me to tell me «We re-​charged it, it’s holding pressure and we put in a dye». I told him I was NOT happy with this, the car has a leak, where did my freon go from 2 mos ago, is it in the trunk?
Not happy with this, I took it back to my master mechanic friend and he found the leak by doing a «sniff test» within 5 minutes of my arrival! Mind you, my trip to Audi and Erick did NOT get covered by the warranty because they did not bother to do all the proper tests required to find a leak, even though Erick claimed «they worked on it for over 3 hrs»…AND HE CHARGED ME $ 206 to do what I could have had re-​done for $ 40! (500% more)
After learning that the leak was coming from my evaporator core (the vents in the car, I have been breathing in the freon every time I drove my car) I took the car back to Commonwealth Audi and immediately demanded to see the Director of Service, a Mr Scott White. I clearly explained to him my displeasure with the «service» at his dealership, that I was «unhappy» with Erick’s incompetence to correctly get my car fixed, especially since my warranty was to end the very next day! I must mention here also, that Erick had lied to my face and tried to get me to replace my serpentine belt for $ 448 (my guy will do it for $ 140, but I DO NOT NEED ONE) and he said I «needed a new fuel filter»… which was another lie as I had just had a $ 700 tune-​up at McKenna VW just a month earlier! Of course Scott meagerly defended Erick but then offered to credit me back my wasted $ 206 and «make things right!»
So I dropped my car off on October 8^th, told them I have a leak in my evaporator core and my warranty expires on the 9^th… DO NOT RETURN THIS CAR TO ME WITHOUT FIXING IT! I also had a problem with the «control unit» or so I was told. So guess what, Erick calls that same evening to tell me «good news, your air is blowing ice cold and it is holding pressure»…lol… This guy is a true idiot savant! I asked him «did you do a sniff test?». Silence for 30 seconds… I said do not bother to call me until you find the leak. He calls back 30 minutes later to tell me that they will «do what is necessary and that my control unit was not covered by the warranty». He then offered to re-​call the warranty people and «word it differently» see if we can’t get that covered because it will be $ 450 for the unit and $ 500 to install it. «I will call you back!»
TWENTY DAYS LATER, Erick finally calls to tell me my car is ready and the work is $ 1,276.56… Mind you, he never called me back about possible warranty coverage after he was to «re-​word» the work to them, so in essence, I never even approved for the work to be done! Then I told him «the price was incorrect, where is my $ 206 credit?» He stuttered and stammered and said «Oh yeah, I forgot to add that and there is a core charge credit for your control unit, too, I will call you back with the correct amount». Well that call never came, either.
Today, November 3^rd, I show up at Commonwealth Audi and there is Erick Aguayo, now telling me my car repair is $ 1207. I refused to pay, then asked him «Why did you not call me back for 20 days after you said you would?» He started to say he called when I said «NO YOU DID NOT, would you like to see my cell phone?» He declined that offer. I told him I had never officially even approved for the work. To his credit, he re-​worked the bill down to $ 956.00 and change… But the point is, this man lied in writing and to my face, tried to «pile onto my bill» for a fuel filter I did not need as well as a serpentine belt that I did not need, then «forgot» about my $ 206 credit and core charge credit!
In today’s business climate, where everybody is scrambling about to get your business and competition is stiff, the only true advantage is to offer spectacular service! What I received from Commonwealth Audi was nothing but lies and deception, not to mention my car sat outside for 21 days, without one single word of communication from ANYONE AT COMMONWEALTH AUDI. To top it all off, when they pulled my car around, it was filthy dirty. Yup, they had my car for 26 days and never even bothered to wash it!
Good luck to anyone thinking of going here!

Beware they are not a place where you want to spend your money.
Took in my pre approval check from capital one to purchase. I was referred to them by capital one and informed they were a preferred dealer and I would even get a cash back in the form of a visa just for using them.
They took my check told me capital one wanted me to fill out another application for financing. Then had me take another capital one financing program at three points of interest higher telling me that capital one made a mistake on the rate of my pre approval and unfortunately there was nothing I could do.
After 60 days I called capital one to see what the status was on the rebate Visa card that I was offered with my loan package for bringing in my check to a preferred dealer and purchasing a vehicle.
Apparently commonwealth did not use my check and reapplied taking another capital one loan program with the ability to make points on the loan. Not only did I lose the rebate visa, they got a totally different loan without telling me and played it as if it was my financing I brought into them.
I am sure to be honest when people ask about my experience at your store.

Such a nice, knowledgeable, professional team. They make you feel totally welcomed and at home. I wish I would have found my car here, unfortunately I did not, yet I had a great experience. Thank you Israel Gomez for all your help. You are awesome!

The staff here all deserve a 5 stars just because everyone goes beyond the extra-​mile to please «us people». Even behind the scenes. Nothing like a Truly Honest Dealership.

I recently purchased a pre-​owned vehicle from Commonwealth Audi and couldn’t be more pleased with the experience in part due to my salesman, Ben Kazanjian. I’ve purchased many vehicles from dealerships in the past, and this was by far the most stress-​free buying experience I’ve had. When I first stopped in to view the vehicle and test drive it I didn’t receive any high pressure sales tactics from Ben. He was very polite and wasn’t pushy, even when I said I wanted to go home and think it over. He also wasn’t pretentious like some car salesman can be sometimes. Ben was very tech savvy and even responded to my questions via text message, which I really found helpful. We ended up working out a deal over the phone and I returned later that day to finalize the purchase. What really impressed me in dealing with Ben was that I genuinely felt that he was being straight and honest with me during our negotiation on the vehicle. Once we agreed on the price, I mentioned that I didn’t want to see any unnecessary dealer fees snuck onto the sales contract. When I arrived at the dealership to finalize the paperwork, the vehicle was cleaned and gassed up. He didn’t try to put any strange or questionable fees on the contact. Overall, if you’re looking for a vehicle from commonwealth pre-​owned Audi, I highly recommend that you ask for Ben Kazanjian, as you’re likely to receive the same level of service that I did and you can’t put a price tag on an honest car salesman. While my vehicle was pre-​owned, I would even go so far as to say, that if you are looking for a «new» Audi, ask for Ben, as I’m sure he can sell you the new vehicles too. Thanks for making my car buying experience a pleasant one.

Shawn is the best he is very friendly and professional …know his cars he help tp pic the best choice we work over 3 month, i am so happy with my new car, Great experiences

My husband and I bought an EOS from Shawn and Paul. It was a great experience. We had a pre approved loan and Commonwealth beat the interest rate by a little bit… but every bit helps! The entire transaction was professional and we will definitely do business with them again!

Although the car buying process can be stressful, I truly enjoyed working with Claude and Israel!!! They were not only good salesmen but good people! I would HIGHLY recommend coming to them to get your next car!

Will the used car buying experience ever change? Oh the humanity!
We’re all busy and nobody wants to spend half a day going back and forth on price both for the new car as well as the trade in. I did my homework, knew the car I wanted, grabbed pricing from bluebook as well as other dealers, pulled my score, lined up financing options, tried to get everything locked down by email yet it still took me half a day to get even reasonably close to what most would consider a decent deal for both sides. When they hit you with half of what blue book says your car is worth, you know it’s going to be a long day.
The rep was nice, but didn’t know jack about the car, he lost my registration and insurance paperwork and the finance guy put the wrong last name on my paperwork. Keep up the good work fellas!
Overall was an average experience at what I would consider an average used car dealer.

I had a great experience with Claude. I have less than stellar credit due to lay offs in the past. I wanted to get pre approved as to not waste anyone’s time. He was able to do that and keep me in an affordable payment. I found a car online on their website, headed on over and it was perfect for what I needed. Got approved and was on my way. They even have me a great trade in value for my car. I highly recommend them!

I had a very pleasant experience working with Michael Hale. He was very professional and very patient. I am not the easiest person to work with. The price on the vehicle was very fair. I had been working with Mike for over 2 months and finally got the deal done. Thank you Mike!

After inquiring about a pre-​owned vehicle online I was bombarded with emails and calls from Claude Cantin the internet sales manager. I’ve bought cars before So i know how they are. At first he was funny but then he got really pushy and wanted me to come in so I did and to my suprise all the selling stopped. Its as if he was shopping me and didnt think I was a serious buyer. He only showed me one car but never offered to test drive it. Then he went off on some weird rant about hating laguna beach cops chasing him at night and how he hates law enforcement.
Anyway, I thought his sense of humor was just «Foreign» so I politely listened to him but he was just not trying to sell me a car. I felt like I was some homeless person on the street with no money which I am not, I drive a Passat now that I wanted to trade in.
Anyway, he wouldnt come down on the price at all, I mean at all, and in fact got angry and arrogant with me which was weird. He never offered to show me any other car more in my price range or call other dealerships he was just pretty much waiting to get rid of me and clock out.
Anyway, after the odd encounter I left. I wasnt about to let him tell me he couldnt discount a used car or make any other type of incentive or even talk me into buying a more expensive car so I left but it didnt end their he continued to email me and then he resorted to texting sarcastic messages about why he couldnt lower the price, my guess is he just didnt want too and thought I was an idiot so I looked online and saw the exact same car at VW Murrietta for $ 2000 less and I sent him the link. He never tried to price match or really had a good explanation for not wanting to sell the damn car on his lot so I went to Murrietta VW the next day and bought my new car their. What a Huge difference! They gave me a GREAT experience. The car was not only cheaper, they encouraged me to look around the lot, let me test drive the vehicle, gave me a fair trade, worked with me on financing, even set up my bluetooth/​ipod settings. Temecula is far but worth the drive. I am NEVER buying another car from Commenwealth VW. LIKE EVER GO to MURRIETTA VW, much more down to earth people their…

My experience with Claude Cantin was great. My daughter and I were shopping for a very specific vehicle. We found it at Commonwealth. I made an internet inquiry and was contacted within a few minutes by Claude. My spouse and I went in to see and drive the car letting Claude know we were not planning on buying until my daughter could drive it. He spent a good deal of time with us on a Saturday afternoon knowing we were not buying that day. We looked at a few other cars at different dealers. I took my daughter back to see and drive the car and again Claude was very accommodating and helpful with NO PRESSURE. We made an offer and were provided a counter offer that was a very good price. We ended up buying the car that afternoon and, except for signing the final docs with the finance person, we worked exclusively with Claude. No sales manager or others grinding us to buy.
Claude got us a fair price on the car and is a very nice person. He called us a couple days after the sale to make sure we were still happy and everything was OK with the car.
I highly recommend working with Claude Cantin for your next pre-​owned purchase.

My experience was a bad one. I got a lemon! As soon as i drove home I saw the leak. Had to dish out for a new radiator. And these people didn’t it fix it knowing that the warranty would not cover it. Great! Not even a month later… the jeep I bought has a «death wobble» ! Less than 4 months, I need a new battery. I understand not all experiences are the same, but a car dealership that is willing to put out and sell people defective vehicles has shady principles in my eyes. HAVE A MECHANIC CHECK THE VEHICLE BEFORE YOU BUY. INVEST THE $ 500 TO RETURN THE CAR FOR ANY REASON. It’s a gamble buying used… I get it. But it’s unfortunate having to come up with so much money for repairs when your still paying for the loan. By: A single mother (not on welfare) who now has to make a shload of LEMONaid.

I was really disappointed with my experience here. After a full day of car shopping over an hour away from my house, I hit Commonwealth as my last stop of the day to see a red hyundai tiburon they had in stock. I had seen several of the same car that day and was excited to see that the car they had was very well taken care of and for the most part clean. There was some oxidation on the paint that I was told would be fixed prior to purchase, but really a nice car. I was ready to buy that day and was pressured to do so after I mentioned that I wanted to run the car over to a local mechanic before buying it the next day. The car was listed at $ 9,000 but I was told I could take it for $ 7,500 if I agreed not to take it to a mechanic. Sketchy…
I returned the next day with my roommate who works on cars and we were able to use the lift at the main Audi location there to look underneath to avoid me taking it to my mechanic. Sadness. Nasty drip stains from what looked like a fresh coolant leak, but obviously one slow enough that it wasn’t making puddles. Car was also badly out of alignment which was shown by the uneven tire tread. Still, not deal-​breakers, I was willing to take the car at a lowered price.
First, this car blue books from $ 5,300– $ 6,800. It was listed for $ 9,000. Really Audi? Because a price of $ 7,500 had come up the day before I assumed that was our starting negotiation. Wrong. This guy starts talking about no less than $ 8,000… but yesterday it was okay for $ 7,500 before I knew about the coolant leak? Oh, and the paint we said we’d fix? Now it’s $ 200 extra. I explain that the price needs to be closer to blue book and the response I get is «BLUE BOOK DOESN’T KNOW THE MARKET.» What?! Book blue sets the market, are you out of your mind?
I stayed friendly as I explained that I would not pay more than the car was worth and was basically told to leave. The salesman, Chris, actually got up, no hand shake and walked out of the room. He called a couple of days later to ask if I had found another car and I explained that I was going in another direction. Honestly, if he called today and offered it for $ 6,000 I wouldn’t take it out of pride. I don’t want that jerk getting a dime of my money in comission.
Needless to say I am still car shopping. This will be my fifth used car. I’ve yet to buy a lemon because I stay away from places like this. Just saying, if they’re trying to sell one car knowing about a mechanical problem, it’s probably not the only one on the lot. These guys give a name to buyer beware.

Battery on my 2010 TDI decides to die. I need a new battery, however the model (type 48) is not widely available. Several attempt to call their service department between 7:30 and 8:20 in the morning. A registered message invites you to wait… and advise that the call will be recorded… nobody answers so nothing to record. I go there in person, with my car left running idle. I enter the service department, ask for the availability of the battery, very kind associates calls the part department, confirms the part is in stock and the price ($ 132). I ask for the final price installed: $ 267. I ask how comes it takes so much work to install a battery. They tell me it requires a lot of labor to re-​program all the things that will get lost. I figure I can install a battery on my own, and I just buy the battery.
In the office parking lot I change the battery in three minutes. My white polo is still immaculate. Car starts all happy. I set the clock which had reset, nothing more to «program». I saved $ 135 but they lost my business for any future service.

I found an amazing deal at Commonwealth Audi preowned and my salesman, Claude, was great. I hate phone conversations and everything was basically done by Internet. They have awesome cars and I think the prices are very fair, especially compared to L.A. And anything you could want is all in the same complex!

Hello All,
To be honest my experience with this particular dealership was amazing, considering the fact that I’m a 22 year old and i don’t have daddy to co-​sign for me. I had to do it on my own! and a rep was VERY helpful! (Shown N.) he is soooo good! he made it work for me! and I’m not even pain that much!
Santa Monica Volkswagen didn’t even try to work with my BADDD credit and Shown did!
Thank you Shown!

Came to the dealership to check out a car that we saw advertised online and we were greeted by Kostya. Kostya was very friendly and listened to what we wanted rather than wasting our time and trying to push us to buy something we weren’t interested in. We didn’t end up buying the car as the dealership could not come down to our asking price but am very appreciative of the fact that Kostya respected our decision and did not try to convince us and waste our time. We had an enjoyable time chatting with Kostya and learned that he used to be a pro cyclist! Awesome guy. Would definitely come see Kostya if I were to buy a car in the future!