I see the title of “Worse Dealership in U.S. History” has already been taken (see http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3709826982) Several other complaints about their Bait & Switch tactics. Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY from this dealership! This is the type of dealership that has helped give GM a bad name and I’m sure on the next round of cuts this dealership will be selected. There’s just too many complaints against this dealership. Do yourself a favor and check the BBB against this place.

We purchased a not so cheap sports car back in March of 2009. The car we purchased was the base model with no upgrades other than an automatic transmission. We almost did not purchase the car since it was not upgraded and we were looking for more of a luxury car. We expressed to our salesman (quit or fired within 2 weeks of the sale, suspect the latter) that we wished the car had a few little “extras” like radio controls on the steering wheel and a Navigation system with Bluetooth. We don’t need all the luxury items, just some would be nice. While looking over the car and deciding if we really wanted a basic model, the salesman indicated that we could add a factory navigation system with Bluetooth on the car if that would help. We asked him to give us the price of what that would cost; he came back with a quote of it costing $2599. The salesman went on to explain that we would have to bring the car back another day to have it installed by their service technicians and that we would be given a loaner car while it was being installed. We understand that $2599 is quite a high price for a navigation system but we also know that dealership prices are always a bit higher for comparable products and services. We also know that to increase and maintain the value for a vehicle of this caliber, only original factory equipment should be installed. So we agreed to purchase the factory navigation system for the price of $2599. Unfortunately however what was written on the Retail Purchase Agreement was “MISC EQUIPMENT” $2599. AND THIS GAVE THEM THE LICENSE TO STEAL!!!

The salesman gave us a “we owe” statement with the words “Navigation / Bluetooth” written on it. We of course thought that was for the factory navigation system as we had discussed with him. We didn’t know that any other kind of system could be installed as it was never discussed or presented as an option to us. We understand that they’re not making much money on a car that’s been on the lot for a year (so they tell us) and we’re getting it at a great price, so they can make a little bit of money on this overpriced factory navigation system. This is where they pulled the bait & switch on us and used everything to their advantage BIG TIME!!!

I took the car into the dealership on two weeks later to have the navigation system installed. It took them all day to do it and I received my car back somewhere between 4:00 & 5:00 p.m. after having to call them to find out if it was ready yet. I did notice that it was a Pioneer system and thought to myself that was a little strange and wasn’t expecting a name brand like Pioneer. I thought to myself, when did dealerships start installing equipment that wasn’t from the manufacturer? Maybe things have changed since I last bought a car, after all I don’t normally purchase something from a dealership other than the car itself, it’s always overpriced and a rip-off. After having the car home for the weekend and discussing this Pioneer navigation system with my wife we realized that we didn’t get what we paid for. We did a little research about the 2008 vehicle and the factory navigation systems and found out that the only time a GM factory navigation system is compatible with the 2008 vehicle is if the car came with a Bose radio. This car did not come with a Bose radio, so a third party navigation system would have to be installed. With this fact we thought the dealership knew about this and this is why they installed a Pioneer navigation system. So we thought that they charged us for the GM factory navigation system but the salesman didn’t know there was a prerequisite for a GM factory navigation system to be installed, so we should contact them about this mistake and have them refund us the difference between the factory navigation system and the third party Pioneer navigation system. To our surprise we found out that it wasn’t an oversight, rather it was a bait & switch scam in which they wrote down as generic as possible on the contract what they owed us for $2599. They knew EXACTLY what they were doing!!!

My wife called the dealership on Monday and explained this situation to them and that we were overcharged. After a few missed calls and phone messages back and forth between both parties I went down to the dealership myself and talked to the sales manager SS. He told me that the salesman no longer worked there (whether he quit or was fired I don’t know) and that he doesn’t know what he told us, he said what was written on the contract was a navigation system with blue tooth and that’s what we got! I told him that there’s no way that a third party navigation system costs $2600. He had a piece of scrap paper in front of him with notes written on it trying to justify the cost of the system (he knew I was coming in to talk to him), telling me that people don’t realize what all goes into installing a navigation system, like a Bose Module, an OnStar module, docking station, etc… He doesn’t really know exactly, “that’s not his department, you’ll have to talk to aftermarket sales” he said. I asked him “If I were a customer coming in and wanting a third party navigation system installed what would it cost?” Again he threw his hands up in the air and said “that’s not my department, you’d have to talk to the aftermarket sales department, I have no idea what it costs”. But of course I couldn’t talk to the aftermarket sales guy because he was gone that day to a Diamond Back’s spring training game and that he was gone for the day and that they’re a big sponsor of the Diamond Backs. Realizing that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this guy and that he’s a typical underhanded car salesman I left.

The next day the aftermarket sales guy called me (he told me that he was forced to call me) and to try and explain the cost justification of the Pioneer navigation system. I explained the situation to him and that it was ridiculous that we were charged $2600 for a third party Pioneer navigation system and that I could get it on Amazon.com for $700. He said that he understood why I would be upset being charged $2600 for a navigation system that wasn’t Original Manufacturer Equipment, however he still attempted to try to justify the cost of the system, telling me that people don’t realize how much goes into installing it needing the Bose & OnStar module (which is one module not two) and then having to “calibrate” it, you can’t just plug it in and go. (YES YOU CAN!!!) And in the midst of that conversation when I told him I can get it on Amazon.com for $700 he tried telling me that people don’t realize that these systems for a few hundred dollars, 4, 5, 6 hundred dollars are refurbished, that most of them are and that he can get the system even cheaper. (So now he himself really justified that we were overcharged!!!) I told him about the existing radio system not being a Bose radio and understood that it couldn’t be the factory navigation system and wanted the difference refunded. He said that he thought all radio systems in those cars were Bose, I told him that it wasn’t and that it’s hard to believe that Bose would install a radio system without having their brand name on it somewhere. I told him that I wanted a part & price breakdown of the pieces for the navigation system. He told me would look up my vehicle by VIN number and that he’d be able to tell me if I had a Bose system and all kinds of information pertaining to my vehicle, he’d have that information to me the next day. We still have NOT gotten a price/part breakdown of installing a third party navigation system from that dealership!

We have discussed this problem with their public representative with no resolution. In fact, he told me “You got a great deal on that car! Look at it like this: You pay more for the navigation system and less for the car. We could’ve charged you less for the navigation system and more for the car, it all balances out.”

Numerous complaints have been filed with the BBB against this dealership and we now have filed an official complaint with GM and the Better Business Bureau. And now we’re getting the word out to the Public about this underhanded dealership.

Hopefully you’re reading this before you decide to purchase your next new vehicle. I wish I did!!!
There customer service & satisfaction is non existent. I am the Caveat Emptor for Brown & Brown Chevrolet. I hope this review has been helpful to you the consumer and detrimental to the business of Brown & Brown Chevrolet. They didn’t care, why should I?