Progressive Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

TWELVE Credit Pulls in One Visit, & Lots of Gimmick Nonsense My fiancee and I were shopping for a new vehicle. High on her list of favorites is a Jeep Wrangler. Progressive Jeep had a near-acceptable Wrangler li My fiancee and I were shopping for a new vehicle. High on her list of favorites is a Jeep Wrangler. Progressive Jeep had a near-acceptable Wrangler listed on their website, so we decided to give them a try. As a much more seasoned car buyer than she, I called the dealer to verify that said Wrangler was available, to which I was told "yes" by the first person that I spoke with on the phone. I was immediately pushed to schedule an appointment for that day. I indicated that I would visit the dealership "sometime (that day)". Apparently, that isn't a good enough answer, as I was bulldozed into picking an actual time frame... so I agreed to a time that was about an hour past the phone call in question. As I prepared to leave the house (hadn't even made it out the door yet), a second individual called to verify that I was going to keep the appointment. The second person who called, advised me to ask for Frank (Longo Sr.) when I arrived. I traveled to the dealer, and prior to going into the showroom, I wanted to find the specific Wrangler, look at it, and make sure that it was something that we'd be interested in. As an aside to this review, the entire dealer lot is the epitome of disorganization. We did locate the Jeep... it was placed on the neighboring Chevrolet lot, amongst new Chevrolet vehicles, and a smattering of other Dodges, Jeeps, and what appeared to be either service department customer vehicles and recent trade in vehicles. I did not get the impression that inventory management is paramount at this location. We proceeded inside, where we found Progressive's atmosphere to be immediately palpable. If Progressive prides themselves as different than other dealers, they have succeeded. However, that is not a compliment from this shopper. It was reminiscent of a circus... We spoke to a third person, and requested "Frank" as instructed. Frank arrived in the show room, and after approximately 30 seconds of discussion, we were passed off to the now fourth individual, a woman named Maria. To make a long story short, the staff seemed taken aback by my refusal to take part in the gimmicky nonsense (I flat out refused to be entered into a drawing to win a gift card). We were there to (possibly) purchase a vehicle, and needed no additional fanfare. The environment here, to me, is an absolute joke, and frankly, unprofessional. However, that is not to say that this type of atmosphere isn't appreciated by some folks... to us, it was annoying and not conducive to the business at hand, which is making a large life and financial decision that is to be taken seriously... that is making a 5-digit purchase of a depreciating asset. My fiancee is, which is considered to be "credit challenged", or whatever fancy buzzwords that dealers like this like to make up (like "solutions provider" aka sales person). Our initial goal was to attempt to trade our vehicle for the Wrangler, knowing full well that her credit history would garner a higher than normal interest rate. We were OK with this, as our second goal was to build credit. Our backup plan included a substantial down payment, as well as my co-signature, as my credit is more than adequate to carry the loan... these are facts that the dealer did not learn, as they did not bother to inquire. Instead, we were shuffled out the door with a ramshackle piece of paper with "suggestions" circled in green ink, as to what my fiancee could do to increase her chances of obtaining financing. The two "suggestions" circled amounted to "Get a large down payment" and "Get a cosigner", both of which, could have occurred in that moment, had this joke of a dealership not left a horribly disgusting taste in my mouth. The following facts should also be known: 1) We were never offered a walk around/inside/outside once-over of the Wrangler in question, nor was said Wrangler "pulled up front and warmed up" for us, as the (first) woman on the phone indicated it would be. 2) After pulling my fiancee's credit and shotgunning it off to TWELVE different lenders that day (people who have used their credit before will know what twelve pulls will do to one's credit score), we were offered something less than the Wrangler to help "make a deal" happen with her poor credit (my credit, ability to contribute a down payment, STILL not taken into account). Here's some takeaways for folks considering visiting this dealership: 1) Prepare for gimmicks. If you are a seasoned buyer, don't bother. It's an insult to your intelligence 2) Value your trade on your own or elsewhere. You WILL get more for your trade elsewhere (our trade was a one model year old vehicle with 7,000 miles on it... we traveled to another CJDR dealer that day and ended up getting nearly $2,000 MORE on trade) 3) Prepare to deal with nearly the entire staff of the dealership 4) Prepare to receive non-answers to important questions such as "How does your $4355 more for your trade gimmick actually apply to the deal?" You'll be told "I don't know, I don't handle that part." by an individual who is supposedly part of the actual sale process. If you don't know the answer, and aren't a part of that process, kindly leave yourself away from the sale person's desk, and refrain from engaging buyers with nonsense, sensational small talk. We are not the "got-denied-credit-angry-buyer-reviewers". We are the disgusted, insulted, should-have-known-better buyers who simply went elsewhere and purchased a much better vehicle from a much classier, more professional CDJR dealer in Cuyahoga Falls, OH on the same day, taking delivery two days later. SIDE NOTE: An e-mail was sent to the "solutions provider" prior to taking delivery at the other dealer, offering up my credit and my cash to appease my fiancee, as a "hail mary" effort to make a deal on the Wrangler. Said e-mail was never returned by the "solutions provider". Be warned. I will not infer that this dealer hasn't helped many, many buyers. I'm sure they have. I KNOW they have... my review is reflective of my personal experience, and that experience is less than substandard. I shudder at the thought of some of the customers that fell for all of the hoopla and Romper Room tactics employed by this business. I have read responses by the owner of this dealer (Mr. Sanders) on other sites... responses written at different time frames, over the course of months or years. These responses are your standard canned "Thanks for the input, we're constantly improving" common sales man replies. Buy into it if you'd like, but know go into your shopping that there are other CDJR dealers around that are leaps and bounds better than this establishment. More