Hawthorne Chevrolet

!!!!!! BUYER BEWARE of Hawthorne Chevrolet !!!!!! A !!!!!! BUYER BEWARE of Hawthorne Chevrolet !!!!!! A few weeks ago on Saturday 7/16/11 I went with my 89 year old father and long time resident of !!!!!! BUYER BEWARE of Hawthorne Chevrolet !!!!!! A few weeks ago on Saturday 7/16/11 I went with my 89 year old father and long time resident of Hawthorne (50+years) to HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET to lease him a new Chevy Cruze. I myself had purchased two vehicles from them, last one in the early 90’s, at that time I was happy with the outcome so we went down to give them another try. When first investigating the car for my parents my father did all the ground work himself and was firm on buying an AMERICAN car as he always has done for the past 60+ years. During our dealings for a new Cruze with the salesman Arnold (Arni) Ziem my father mentioned as part of the conversation how he had been friends with Gene Meyers for many many years who had been the owner and ran Hawthorne Chevy for 30+ years until he passed away, several years back one of his stepsons Steve Barna took over. Mr. Barna saw my father there at the dealership and told Arni that he(my father) was a “V.I.P.” in his dealership and was to be treated that way. As we progressed along with the process of trying to lease the Cruze it became quite clear to me that they were not treating my father fairly on the lease price for the car, continued to make the pricing high and difficult to understand. During our negotiations I asked Arni about one of the fee’s, lease termination, and was advised the fee would be $250.00. After 2 hours of going back and forth with Arni and the Sales Manager Jeff Mays we finally agreed on a good price for my father who is on a very limited income. Then during the final stages of the deal we were advised that the lease termination fee was actually $400.00, even though I was told earlier it was $250.00. I could not believe Arni and Jeff were doing this after all the time we had spent and asked them to remove the extra $150.00 they just added in. Jeff Mays the sales manager refused, so I asked to see Mr. Barna (remember the man who said my father was a VIP), after 45 minutes of waiting still no Mr. Barna, finally the General Manager (Tom Pasquazi) came down and agreed to only take $100.00 off. By that time 3 hrs my father and I were so tired of the whole process we accepted his compromise. The contract was written up and signed by all parties with one stipulation, that I co-sign for my father which I did but could not understand as he has no debt and has nothing negative in his past. A $500.00 deposit was asked for and given by my father (by check) to the dealership and they said they would have the car in a couple of days as it was not on the lot. We left at about 2:30pm - tired - but my father was happy with the car and the contracted price of the lease payments. About 4:30pm (same day) I received a call from my father telling me HAWTHORNE CHEVY had just called and told him they could not sell him the car at the agreed upon down payment and lease payment of 199.50 but would have to raise the monthly payment to $220.00 per month or the deal would be cancelled. I could hear on the phone how upset he was, since we had spent so much time there and he had finally thought everything was done. He called HAWTHORNE Chevy back and told them he could not pay the inflated price due to financial limitations and advised them that he would be down shortly to pick up his deposit check. When he arrived at the dealership at 5:15pm (it was closing at 6:00pm) Arni the salesman told my father that he could not give him his check back, it was locked in the vault and no-one could get it out before Monday. My father (not the type to get angry or distrust people) told me he advised Arni he would be back first thing Monday to get his check. On Monday morning my father returned to the dealership 15 minutes before it opened, again speaking to Arni , this time he was told that the finance group of the dealership had already taken his check an hour ago and it had been cashed, he would have to wait several days 7 to 10 until the dealership could cut him a replacement check. When my father told me that night what they had done to him I could not believe it. They HAWTHORNE CHEVY were the one who cancelled his contracted deal and then they had the ruthlessness to hold his check, not return it to him when he came to pick it up on two occasions and then even worse they cashed it on a deal that no longer existed. How do you treat an 89 year old man, a WWII veteran, who is a long time resident of the town your business is in who wanted to buy an AMERICAN car from your dealership, spent 3+ hours to get a signed contract, then try to raise the price and finally treat him like a piece of meat keeping his deposit money after your dealership cancelled his deal. HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET and STEVE BARNA you should be ASHAMED of yourself, what kind of people are you. In my opinion I believe what they did was probably illegal, at the very least it was UNETHICAL BUISNESS PRACTICES. The following day I called Chevrolet corporate offices with GM and logged in a complaint against HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET relating to their business practices. I also contacted the dealership and asked for Mr. Barna to try to get my father’s money back quickly, I was advised he was in a meeting and would get back to me, he never did even after several calls and messages. Finally after two days of repeated attempts I was able to speak with the General Manager Tom Pasquazi who after a supposed meeting with his staff advised he would cut my father a refund check of his deposit only after my father produced a document from his bank saying his check had cleared. Again forcing my 89 year old father to make another special trip to try and get his money back. It appears by HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET standards it was ok to use unethical business practices to cash a check on a cancelled deal and quickly take the money into their accounts but made an 89 year old man jump thru hoops to try and get it back, which we were finally able to do only with the cleared check document from his bank. No apology was made by anyone at the dealership to my father. Now the happy ending, because of the way my father felt after he had been treated so poorly at Hawthorne Chevrolet he did something totally amazing to me, he finally agreed to go look at foreign cars after over 60 years of buying American. It was HONDA (DCH Honda in Paramus) that got his business (only after he read that the Accord he was buying was actually built in an American plant by US labor). He could not believe that he was able to lease a new Accord a more upscale car, better equipped, that list priced out for $3000.00 dollars more than the Cruze’s list price for an overall total contracted leasing agreement price that saved him $150.00 less than the original contract deal pricing from Hawthorne Chevy before they cancelled his deal. In addition DCH Honda did not require that I co-sign the lease contract and did not have a lease termination fee. On top of that we were in and out of the negotiations in about 1.5 hrs and he picked the car up the next day. Based on what happened to my father, the grief and aggravation he was forced to endure and the total UNPROFESSIONAL nature of the way HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET treated us and conducted their business practices. I would definitely NOT recommend them as a dealer to do business with. More

JR was awesome, and the whole experience was excellent. The price was fair, JR was knowledgeable. When we picked up the car, it was impeccable, and JR demonstrated the features of the car to us in full. The price was fair, JR was knowledgeable. When we picked up the car, it was impeccable, and JR demonstrated the features of the car to us in full. We would definitely recommend this dealer to anyone looking for a new car. More

My wife and I bought a gently used '09 Chevy TrailBlazer (fully loaded) that we found on AutoTrader.com. Ray worked with us on the test drives and the paperwork process while Darric was the sales manager w (fully loaded) that we found on AutoTrader.com. Ray worked with us on the test drives and the paperwork process while Darric was the sales manager who pulled no punches and was brutally honest with the pricing (we made a deal pretty quickly). Cheri, as the Internet sales manager, was excellent establishing the first lines of communication and actually brought us into the dealership after facilitating an appointment to see this vehicle and one other. Keith quickly processed the financing paperwork and got us out the door. These guys are all about solutions. The vehicle was missing a navidation CD - solved. The manual was missing - also solved. Car was detailed on the spot and were driving to lunch less than three hours after stepping through the door. A fantastic experience and we will probably return for our next Chevy even though they're over an hour's drive from where we live! More

You were very helpful not only finding the car I wanted but also finding the car that fir my budget! That just goes to show that you do care about the customer. Everyone was so friendly from the first time but also finding the car that fir my budget! That just goes to show that you do care about the customer. Everyone was so friendly from the first time I contacted the dealership on the internet all the way to the end when I took the car home. Thank you for making this the easiest car buying experience I have ever experienced. More

I was never given the chance to tell the dealership I didn't want the extended warranty I got stuck paying for,which I did't and still don't.It was the first dealship I ever bought a car for where they d didn't want the extended warranty I got stuck paying for,which I did't and still don't.It was the first dealship I ever bought a car for where they didn't ask if I wanted anything like that before going ahead and doing a loan approval.When I called about it they said that that's how the loan was structured.No shit because I was never even given the option to say no.Now I'm stuck with it for 6yrs instead of 5years like I would of rather had also. More

This dealership is well above my expectations. All of the employees made you feel like you were home. Cheri L and Emilio S worked day and night with me to make sure we were getting the right car for the righ employees made you feel like you were home. Cheri L and Emilio S worked day and night with me to make sure we were getting the right car for the right price. I will recommend this dealership to all of my friends and family. The process could not be easier. This is not one of those highway dealerships this is right in your backyard which made it convenient for me. More

Very friendly and knowledgeable salesperson. He always took the time to find exactly what we were was looking for and for an affordable price. Great customer service. Always took car of me and my extended took the time to find exactly what we were was looking for and for an affordable price. Great customer service. Always took car of me and my extended family before during and after delivery. We go back year after year for almost 10 years now. More

I've always been a bit apprehensive about new car shopping. Salespeople seem to come after you like bees to honey. This was not the case at Hawthorne Chevrolet. My salesman, Robert DeSimone, gave me shopping. Salespeople seem to come after you like bees to honey. This was not the case at Hawthorne Chevrolet. My salesman, Robert DeSimone, gave me all the room I needed while I examined the cars. He was not pushy, nor did he try and sell me something I didn't want. He listened to all of my concerns, including my budget and needs. This was the first time I can say that my whole experience at a new car dealership was pleasant and pain free, from shopping to financing, etc. When my car required service, Robert saw that my appointment with the service dept. was made at my convenience. My car was finished when promised, and returned to me clean (and without the radio station changed!) The showroom is clean and modern, and the employees friendly. I have since referred my daughter to this dealer. She was extremely happy with her purchase and the professionalism that Robert displayed. When I am ready for my next new car, Hawthorne Chevrolet and Robert DeSimone will be my first stop. More

Over the years, I have leased many vehicles from Over the years, I have leased many vehicles from Hawthorne Chevrolet and have always found the customer service to be impeccable, as well as the the Over the years, I have leased many vehicles from Hawthorne Chevrolet and have always found the customer service to be impeccable, as well as the the sales representative I deal with, Robert DeSimone. My overall experience with this dealership and its employees whether sales related or mechanical have been wonderful. More

This is a fantastic dealership. All of the different departments staff always go the extra mile to make sure you are happy. I have bought 6 different cars from them over the last 8 years both new and us departments staff always go the extra mile to make sure you are happy. I have bought 6 different cars from them over the last 8 years both new and used and had the same outstanding service each time. This treatment is not exclusive because all of the people I have refered to them also have had the same type of experiance. More