Russ Darrow Group review: cheated me on price 12

Yes I agree with him/her they have dis-honest sales man that what they do! I bought a truck from russ-darrow and I was told I have warrant latter to find out as it is after they toke my 15000! I have one year left the payment and I will never recommend to anyone..

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

It's funny to hear that ladies story. A very similar situation just happen to me. I found a car I liked on their Russ Darrow site that was listed at 10998.00 I went to test drive the car and liked it so we went in to talk about financing. The guy took our info. Walked away and all of a sudden some other guy comes over Josh I think and says the car I'd 16999 I said no you have the wrong car and showed him the one I was talking about. He brought in the sticker from the car which said 16999. I asked why it was posted as 10998 and he lied and said he just sold a very similar car the before and that's what I saw. I said that was ironic they had two cars with the same color year and mileage. So we went to leave when he followed us out and said if saw something we might like he would call and I said no if you can't explain this don't bother. I pulled my phone out with the picture of the vehicle I saved and held it up, he seemed irritated and said just hold on ill he right back. He returned a couple minutes later and said he spoke with RD3 which I guess is what he calls Russ Darrow the third. He said Rd3 will sell it for the price I found on the Internet. Against my better judgement we went back inside before signing the loan papers we decided we should look at the vehicle one more time and he said ok stay here I'll pull it up when he did so there was mass amounts of exhaust coming from the back which he ignored. I questioned it and first he tried Changing the subject and then he said its an SUV they have a lot of exhaust and I said ok I'm not stupid but that was really a lot when he knew I wasn't going to drop it he told me if it would make me feel better he would drive back by the service department to have them look at it. Literally 2 minutes later he drive up with the stereo blasting. I assume trying to change the topic so I asked again and he said he spoke with the mechanic (which I later found was one of many lies and learned that on Saturdays the service dept. Is only open till 12 and that all happen around 5) and everything was fine. So after purchasing the car we drive a block away and hear a horrible noise start when I turned the air on I tried calling the dealership and they were closed now so I figured I would call Monday well I go home run into the house to grab something and back to the car. When I started the car in the underground garage there was so much smoke I couldn't see the car next to me. I had to prop open the door to try and get some of the fumes out. I called and spoke with the salesmen on Monday which happens to be the manager at the Waukesha location too and basically too bad it was sold as is when I asked why the info sticker had all of the boxes checked off that everything was inspected and working when it clearly isn't he said if it turns on its working maybe not correctly but if it works they check yes it passed. Then a friend if mine looks under the hood and checks the oil and said there was none at all and to immediately drive to valvoline to get oil I paid 20 to have oil added that day. Then I took the car to their service department and exolai.ed everything I waited there over 3 hours. While I was there oddly a finance guy comes up and starts telling me how he has the same vehicle just a different year and how it had a sludge engine I'm thi.king why is he telling me this? He recommends an extended warranty that would cost more per month than my car payment so I figured he was just trying to sell me something. Well after all that time and being late for work the service guy comes up with my keys and says they can't find anything wrong with the car. I was shocked to say the least but what was I going to do? I figured maybe someone had forgotten to replace the oil when they took the car in and maybe everything would be ok? Nope! The smoke had gotten worse and after 3 days I checked the oil and again completely empty. So I took it to a mechanic in town and paid almost 400 for a diagnosis and tune up he tells me he's sorry to say it has a sludge engine and that the engine would eventually seize and stop working. He said furthermore whoever I had bought the vehicle from knew because when he took the engine cap off it looks like someone literally took there finger and cleaned the sludge around that area so you couldn't see it without an experience eye. So now it makes sense why that fiance guy was talking about sludge engines. Boy what a coincidence... Unfortunately now I'm in the process if trying to find an attorney.

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Please contact me at josh@russdarrow.com so I can help you resolve any problems you may have had.

I AM DISSAPPOINTED AT HOW RUSS DARROW DOES BUSINESS. I DECIDED THAT I DID NOT WANT TO BUY A CAR AND ASKED FOR MY 100.00 REFUND. I HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY GEETING THE RUN AROUND. I CAME INTO THE OFFICE AND GAVE THEM A 100.00 CHECK TO HOLD A CAR. IT WAS CASHED A DAY LATER. I HAVE BEEN WATING OVER A WEEK TO GET MY REFUND...I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH RUSS DARROW AND WILL TELL ALL THAT I KNOW NOT TO AS WELL!

PEOPLE SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THE PRACTICES AT THE RUSS DARROW CORPORATION NOT ONLY IN THE WAY THEY SELL OR REPAIR CARS BUT ALSO HOW THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE TREATED AND THE OSHA AND STATE LAWS THEY BREAK.

They are very dishonest even for car sales man. Only care about making money. Never, I mean Never go on line at Russ Darrow. I went online 3 weeks ago. I know get a call every day about a vehicle that was sold two weeks ago. I asked the on line sales person if the car was still available a week after it was sold to see what she would say. She told me it was there, she could give me a deal on it, and that I should come in. I told her I lived over 3 hours from the dealership could she please check and make sure the vehicle was there, I told her I would be paying cash for the vehicle. She said she was sure the vehicle was there. At this point I thought I knew the vehicle was sold because I spoke to a sales person the week prior who said that he was sorry that he had sold it himself..Anyway I went down to the store Russ Darrow CDJ Milwaukee to see the vehicle and after sitting there for almost 30 min. was told the vehicle was sold! I explained to the internet manager what happened all she said, I think her name was Kelly, That sort of thing happens and then said why dont you look at a different vehicle. I was still mad because I really think the car was sold a week prior to me going in but I decide I would look as long as I was there. I aks if she could help me look for a vehicle that may be close to what I was looking for. She said Me...no...I am the INTERNET MANAGER... you will have to wait for the sales person. I asked her if she could look on line for me because I had seen a 2010 Jeep Wrangler that I wanted to check on she said that she was to busy and walked away! I left the store and will never go to that Russ Darrow on 7676 north 76th street again very glad I did not buy a vehicle there, if something would have went wrong I know what I would have been told.. "THAT IS TO BAD I AM JUST TO BUSY DEAL WITH IT' ANY WAY BAD MANAGER, BAD STAFF!

Russ Darrow Nissan also treats their employees like crap too. I was in there for service and witnessed the managers Dean or Nick virtually bullying an employee which was totally uneccesary. The managers of this location need to take classes on how to treat their employees fairly and NICELY. When you have someone who is a hard worker they should be complemented not bullied.

I recently bought a vehicle and was extremely disappointed. I drove the car off the lot and the vehicle was making a noise. I contacted the dealership and they said to have their shop look at it. Well they found a $200.00 problem which they said they would not cover. I contacted the GM George Matthews of the Browndeer Rd. Location and he said I should have bought the warranty that was approximately $50.00 a month. I just paid $15000 for a 2012 and they didn't care about my satisfaction. The finance agent lowered my interest rate so he could sell me oil changed/free car washes etc. but wouldn't lower my rate for buying the car! I will never buy a car from this company again.

Russ Darrow strives to create an exciting and rewarding atmosphere for every employee which will then reflect in superior service to you. Total customer satisfaction is our ultimate goal whenever we open our doors.

[This is an email I just sent to jre@RussDarrow.com the address provided by Russ Darrow above, regarding my complaint experience and their shady practices that are still apparently going on after 4 years from what is being told on this website]

My name is Anjanette Norton. I am a single mother of 2 children, and a nurse with both a bachelor degree in business as well as associates degree in nursing.

On Saturday 10-3-15 I went to your Russ Darrow Nissan location to look at a 2013 Ford Explorer for sale that was listed on CarFax.com. A salesperson named Fernando assisted myself, my aunt (who came along to help review the vehicle, she has a degree in engineering) and my 2 young children. Fernando accompanied us on the test drive of the vehicle. All boxes on the sticker detail relating to the car were checked in passing condition, with no problems reported. I noticed that the Engine Light was on and questioned Fernando about it... Fernando had a service technician take the vehicle back for inspection. The service technician came out and indicated that all systems, including the engine, were functioning appropriately. He said the light was on because when a Ford vehicle sits for nearly a month the engine light goes on for it to be reviewed by the dealership and manually turned off by the service dept at a Ford dealership, to encourage consumers not to let their vehicles sit for extended periods of time (as in extended vacations or 2nd vehicles). Fernando then claimed that the price of the car was higher than what was reported on CarFax - I indicated this was false advertising if so, and would walk out.

Fernando went to the manager, came back and said that they would honor the CarFax price that I had brought along as confirmation. I had indicated the monthly amount I could afford, a printout from an online bank source with the finance rate I should qualify for, as well as printout of Kelly Bluebook value on my trade-in. Because we were in the offices for over 3 hours, with multiple stories over prices and attempts to haggle - which I indicated I did not want to do - I walked out of the building and into my own vehicle. Fernando chased me down in the parking lot to stop my vehicle, saying they would come down slightly less in price - I said no, based upon the research I had done. When I arrived home 45 minutes later, there was a message on my machine from Fernando saying they would come down a little lower on the financing and monthly payment. I called Fernando back, told him what I was comfortable with - he spoke to his manager, they came to terms and said they would meet the finance percentage I was looking for, with a monthly rate $20 higher than I had looked for. I said if that was firm, I would make the 45 minute trip back out on Monday since it was very late in the day. They assured me that would be okay after 9am.

On Monday 10-5-15 I arrived to speak with Fernando, and was upset to say the least that again they were trying to haggle over price. They indicating that although telling me on the phone the price/finance terms were firm, they didn't actually have the authority to agree to that and needed to run a credit check (I have very good credit, and just qualified for a premium mortgage refinance through my mortgage lender that is much less than what I was paying - given I receive $80, 000 per year in support that does not account for taxes and responsibilities). They tried to tell me that the credit check would only allow them to go with a finance rate 1% higher than what they originally told me over the phone... and that now they were also changing the monthly payment $17 higher than what they had agreed to earlier. I again went home to pickup my children from school. Fernando called me saying that they would come in at $7/month higher than what they originally agreed and I shouldn't have a problem since such a small amount - I said since so small, they should honor the consumer and take that amount themselves since they didn't honor the verbal agreement over the phone initially. I told him not to call me back unless he spoke with his manager and all was firmly agreed to be met - that I would not make a 3rd 45-minute trip out there unless they agreed. He called me back 2 minutes later saying his manager agreed and to come back. I drove with both of my children out to the dealership, only to be very disgusted that again they tried haggling over the price and finance terms. At this point, I did not want to continue to make back-and-forth trips to the dealership. They came down $2 (not the $7, which was petty enough it seemed). The Ford vehicle I was purchasing was being driven fast and erratically by a dealership person (my kids and I were concerned as we were signing paperwork) all over the parking lot and into the service dept. The finance person went through papers with me, and I questioned amounts that were different than what I had been told - he indicated he hadn't had a chance to change to the correct amount. I refused to sign, so he reprinted correct paperwork for me to sign. I had called my auto insurance company, which faxed all paperwork to the dealership & told the finance person I would be getting GAP coverage through my insurance company at a lower rate.

After the paperwork was signed, the vehicle was brought out to me so I could drive home for an appointment that was in 15 minutes. I almost risked making that drive, but instead stayed in the lot and went back inside to speak to Fernando. I told him I was mad that the Engine light had not been resolved as they had made it seem it would be from the service person we all spoke to (Fernando, my aunt, and I all with the technician). Fernando went inside to speak to someone, came back out and said Nissan only has equipment to manually turn off Nissan's - not Fords. I said to him that I would not pay $1 more to have this taken care of when they assured me beforehand it would be - Fernando gave me the information for a Ford Dealership near me, and that there would be no charge to have the light turned off.

This morning I called the Ford Dealership - they said they do not have any arrangement with Russ Darrow Nissan on Brown Deer Road, and that it is definitely not a free service - that it would cost $100 for the diagnostics and light turned off. They said to have Russ Darrow Nissan contact them and they would arrange for payment so I could have this performed and completed as originally promised by Russ Darrow (who - from all sales and complaint ads - says they stand by their word, honor, and customer interest in 100% satisfaction). I left a message at 8:30am with the secretary for Fernando giving all applicable details, the dealership information to contact and arrange, and how to reach me at work to assure me that he had looked into it for it to be taken care of. It is now after 4pm the same day - Fernando HAS NEVER had the courtesy to return my call. I called 30 minutes ago, again speaking to the secretary stating it was urgent, that I did not want Fernando's voicemail, and that I expected a call back from him today so this could be taken care of - she said they didn't know where Fernando was in the dealership even after being paged.

I don't have to tell you how this is poor customer service, the pit in my stomach that if the Dealership lied extensively about the Engine light and costs associated with it - what else might actually be found if diagnostics are run on the vehicle, and liability of such since the sticker paperwork was not accurate no matter what Fernando, the service technician, or Dealership manager all stated to me.

I do not plan to sit back idly or quietly. I have already posted this whole ordeal publicly on Facebook for my 200+ friends to share with their thousands of friends so that word of mouth spreads about my experience (under Wisconsin tort so long as the story is limited to my own experience, it is not illegal and very consumer-driven). I am also pulling up the Better Business Bureau page so that I can file a formal complaint about this - especially given that in trying to find complaint contact information for Russ Darrow online I discovered a dedicated webpage going back more than 4 years with pages of terrible consumer stories about this particular dealership I wasn't aware of - and how this is still an ongoing matter that obviously hasn't received appropriate attention from Russ Darrow for correction. I plan to take that website information, along with all of my paperwork and experience, to my local Senator to also issue a complaint for them to look into.

On top of this, if there is not satisfactory rectification made to the matter I will contact television WISN consumer news for them to report on local businesses that fleece consumers - and contact an attorney to handle the matter.

I would instead expect that Russ Darrow will take the necessary measures to ensure that something like this is addressed immediately by the Russ Darrow Nissan dealership on Brown Deer Road, without further cost to me, so that I have peace of mind in my recently purchased vehicle through the dealership.

Anjanette

On Thursday November 19th, I noticed a 'beater car' on Carfax.com through Russ Darrow for my son to just drive in winter. He has a really nice car and does not want to drive it in the snow. I called there to see if the car was available and of course the gal said yes it was. We made an appointment for a test drive that evening at 7:00. We arrive promptly, they had our names, and gave us to a sales person. The car was a 1999 Honda Civic, green, with 142, 000 miles for only 999.00. Perfect. They bragged it up quite nicely, 14 pics, inspection sheet all checked off etc. Well, the guy, after about 20 minutes, brings out a Pearl White one. My son stated that wasn't the right vehicle, and of course he played dumb. Was talking about playing call of duty and other things, laughing, said this car was a much nicer one than the one we initially came in for. Too bad, that on was $2, 900.00, so not happening. Ok, he will go get the other one. Another 20 minutes goes by, he says it's outside warming up. We take a look, and it's green, so we thinkg that's the one. My son hops in, even though I said I don't think that's the one - it looks a little different. Well, while they are out for a test drive, another guys hands me the safety report, supposedly on this car...'major' oil leak, extensive under body corrosion, rear end damage...wonderful, I thought. They get back, I show this to my son, then the same guy goes "we can't sell you this car anyway." Of course i said "why not?". He said "we don't have the title for it". I asked him how he could even have the car if he has no title. He gave a sideways glance to the salesman with my son and then says "well, that's the million dollar question I guess". Yes it is, i stated, and I would like it answered. Never got the answer, but I have a feeling if I said I didn't car about the title, it was just a beater that would be junked after winter and that I was paying cash, they would have sold it to me. The car had the radio ripped out of the dash, harness, wiring - everything. Then we find out that this ISN'T the car we came to see either. The salesman tried for another 10 minutes to locate the keys to the car we actually came to see - went to the car and came back - no car- and said the keys were stuck in the ignition and that radio had also been 'taken'. Turned out the safety report was for the one we wanted to drive, not the one he did drive - with no title. We were now there 1.5 hours and nothing. Guys eating pizza, doing fantasy football on their computers. Seemed like only one guy was really working, everyone else was just hanging around trying to sell very sketchy used cars, with no titles. Stay clear, Russ Darrow, 91st and Brown deer.