Carl Black Auto Superstore of Hiram
Reviews and Complaints

This car buying experience was the worst I've had in 40 years. They told me the car I bought was in excellent condition and everything worked. But then I discovered that the sunroof cover had been torn out to hide a problem, and I had to pay $850 for the repair. They also promised to program a spare key/fob if I bought one, but when I brought the car in, they refused and told me to go to a locksmith. The promises they made during the sale turned out to be lies. The service department manager is rude and unhelpful too. If I had known how bad this dealership was, I would never have made a purchase there. Learn from my bad experience and stay away. Beware of this dealership, they're just terrible. I can only give them one star, and that's being generous.

They are con artists. I was charged $200 for a delivery fee. The GM, Lance, advised I would be reimbursed as it's a "courtesy" and that never happened. The salesman that delivered the vehicle brought a ton of paperwork but I have yet to receive a copy & that was 3 months ago. The temporary tag expired 11/20 & I still don't have a tag as of 1/4. The county clerk's office advised the dealership is supposed to send the information to them so I can get a tag. I have asked for paperwork repeatedly from this dealership to no avail. Chris R. advised I just need to show my license. I have no proof that I even purchased the vehicle. I have nothing! I highly recommend that you stay away from this dealership. This is truly the worst experience I have ever had & I have bought several cars over 46 years. I have an email from both Chris & Lance advising I would be reimbursed & that I would get the paperwork. They no longer respond to my emails. In addition, Chris R. called me on the day that I purchased the vehicle regarding the trade-in of my 2017 Jeep Patriot & told me that I would need to return the car because it has the "worst paint job" & isn't worth selling. I happened to be driving at the time & had a full on panic attack! It's a 6 speed manual & I literally almost had an accident. Lance & Chris were both unprofessional & spoke to me in a very derogatory manner. In my opinion, they should be shut down!

This review is about the service department at Carl Black Auto Superstore of Hiram. In September , I took my vehicle to the shop to fix the front brakes. I needed new pads and rotors. They gave me back my vehicle after the repair, and the brakes were working fine. However, about a week later, the brakes started squeaking a little when I stopped. Over time, the squeaking got worse, so I checked the rotors. I didn't see any damage, but there was a lot of brake dust. I kept an eye on the rotors and still didn't find any damage. On Friday, July 9, while driving home from work, my brakes started grinding and dragging. I stopped and checked the rotors, and they were deeply grooved and badly damaged. I took my vehicle to the service department in Hiram because this shouldn't have happened in just 10 months. I spoke with Tim V about the issue, and he had his technician bring my vehicle into the shop for an "inspection". I saw the technician briefly look at the front wheels before disappearing from sight. A few minutes later, I saw Tim V talk to the technician, point at my wheels, and leave the shop. After about 5 to 10 minutes, the technician brought my vehicle out of the shop and parked it. I waited another 10 minutes and received an automated text message with a link to the work order. The work order said I needed calipers for $294 each. When Tim called me back to the desk, he told me that after their "thorough" inspection, they found that my calipers had locked up and caused the damage. He said the caliper repair would cost around $500, but they would replace the pads and rotors for free. I told him that my calipers weren't locked up because the brake pedal wasn't stiff or unresponsive. He said, "Well, with everything on, it's going to feel like everything works." He tried to explain that when one part of the brake system fails, it can feel like everything is normal due to hydraulics. I asked him to just replace the brake pads and rotors as promised, and if my calipers were actually locked up, I would replace them myself. He asked why I would do that when they already had it apart. I told him I could see it through the window, and it was sitting outside the shop. He said they would already have it apart. I repeated that I wanted them to replace the pads and rotors, but he said he couldn't do that. He insisted that the calipers were the cause of the failure and had nothing to do with the previous repair in September . He also said he couldn't replace the pads and rotors without replacing the calipers. I informed him that I'm a technician and I repair vehicles for a living. I understand how this works, and yes, calipers are part of the repair they did. You have to remove the caliper to replace the pads. There's no reason I should be back here in less than a year for the same issue. He replied, "Well, it's been 12,000 miles. You should get around 50,000 to 60,000 miles before replacing the pads." The main cause of caliper failure is worn brake pads. When the pads are completely worn out, the caliper extends fully and damages the rotors. When replacing the pads, you can compress the caliper and install new pads. I asked Tim to do this, put on new rotors and pads as part of the warranty, and I would fix the calipers myself. He said he couldn't do that and continued to explain how brakes work. I told him to just give me my key, and I would do it myself. He looked shocked and said it's not safe to drive. I replied, "Then don't watch, but give me my key now." He reluctantly handed me the key and told his co-worker that he had warned me it wasn't safe to drive. I took the key and drove my vehicle home. I then made the repairs myself. Upon inspecting the braking system, I found no issues with either of my calipers. They weren't locked up and extended and retracted smoothly without any problems. The failing part in my brakes was the pad they "replaced" in September. They didn't want to fix the poor quality component they used or work with me to resolve the issue. Instead, they tried to scam me by blaming the failure on a component they didn't replace, just to make money from a warranty job. This shop has terrible mechanics and an even worse office staff. They don't seem to care about doing quality repairs; they're only focused on quantity and money. I advise against using this shop. You can't trust them to do the job correctly.