I recently went looking for a car for the first time in over 7 years. I owned a 2005 Jeep Wrangler (rag top with a plow) with only 21,000 miles. I had the pleasure and displeasure of visiting a number of dealers in the Westchester area. Disclosure: I don’t like cars. Don’t know a lot about cars. My dad and brother were car guys. My wife knows cars. Did I mention I don’t like cars? Also, I don’t like shopping for cars.
Observations & The Experience of Buying a New Car
White Plains Honda. Waste of time. Poor (translate rip-off) value on trade-in and higher price quote on a cheaper model. The used car manager was Jersey, the salesperson was Chris. WORST: Avoid this Dealer.
Westchester Mazda. If I did not buy the Fiat, I would definitely have bought the Mazda2 from Everol McKenzie. The dealership is awesome and they are straight shooters. I have a lot of respect for a business that hires people that deal fair and square. Most of the employees have been with the owner (Vincent ViSimone) for over 20 years! Victor Bellavia gave a fair price quote for my trade-in and Everol followed through on locating a car that fit what I was looking for. No pressure and honest. Really Really Good: Highly recommended.
Fiat of Larchmont. Alfredo Gulla has been selling Fiat for over 50 years! He is a real gentleman and a terrific salesman. He is also the owner. He earned my business and successfully sold me. Good price on the new car and fair price on trade-in. His daughter Silvana works at the dealership too. Followed through on all that was promised and delivered the car at the price. Best: Highly recommended.
Scarsdale Ford. Carlos Gonzlez was a straight shooter and very competent. The Ford Fiesta was a good value for the money, and they did offer fair trade-in value. I liked them and they are someone I would have bought a car from. Unfortunately, they did not have the model in stock for me to test drive. Good: Recommended.
Yonkers Honda. Javier Cano was knowledgeable and a professional. I liked the Fit, but the extra couple grand just did not make it worthwhile. Honorable Mention/Good: Recommended.
Tarrytown Honda. This dealership is great on service (my daughter owns a Honda Fit), but they did not follow-through on the initial sales call. Chad Sanders picked up the ball and was persistent and professional. I would have been happy to do a deal with him. Good: Recommended.
Curry Chevrolet. What can I say? GM has failed to put forth a vehicle that competes in the $15-20,000 range. The salesperson never followed up. They had little inventory. Sad statement about the current state of the US auto industry. You may have survived the crisis – but I do not think long term you are producing what car buyers want, and definitely not training sales staff correctly. Poor: Not recommended.
Westchester Toyota. You got me to the dealership, but your follow-through on post visit questions was bad. I found the cars to be ok, but you failed to have a sales team to sell correctly. Satisfactory: Not recommended.
Bottom line – sales is a tough business. Car sales people have not had a great reputation, but some of the dealers I visited were really well run, with trained sales associates. Most sales people today have a good amount of product knowledge. I found the ones that played games on trade-in value and jerking me around to be offensive, sleazy, and fit the way most people look at car salespeople.
I am happy with the car I purchased, and offer serious endorsements to both Fiat of Larchmont and Westchester Mazda.
Keywords:
Fiat of Larchmont, Westchester Mazda, Westchester Toyota, Curry Chevrolet, Tarrytown Honda, Yonkers Honda, Scarsdale Ford, White Plains Honda, Honda, chevy, ford, jeep, fiat, Toyota, Chevrolet, car dealers, car sales, buying a new car, Westchester car sellers, wrangler, yaris, mazda2, Honda fit, ford fiesta
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