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Criswell's No Fault Service Plan The folks at Criswell Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Maserati-Nissan-Honda-Fiat-RAM-Alfa Romeo will do almost anything to get you to buy a car from the The folks at Criswell Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Maserati-Nissan-Honda-Fiat-RAM-Alfa Romeo will do almost anything to get you to buy a car from them, and they have a mouthful to choose from. But before you drink the Kool-Aid, be sure to ask them about their No Fault Service Plan. Because once the car leaves the showroom, their No Fault Plan kicks in. And what that means is, "hasta luego, sucker. You bought the car. Now, you're on your own." In April of last year (2015), I bought a brand new Fiat 500 (VIN #FT509135S34) from Criswell. I love the car. It's perfect for city driving---when it works. But I've had to take it in for servicing every week for the past three weeks. And what happened today was the final straw. The first time was for regular servicing: oil change, rotating the tires, that sort of thing. I called for an appointment and was told I would have to wait three weeks to get one. Three weeks? Last week, I took the car back to Criswell because the engine service light went on and the manual said, take it to your dealer for servicing, immediately! I did, without an appointment. An hour out there, two hours back on Metro. Ok, stuff happens. It was ready the next afternoon. But the engine light was on again within 24 hours. Then, I received a recall notice from Fiat Chrysler in the mail. Something about the clutch cover going bad and needing to be replaced. Otherwise "loss of motive power could cause a crash without warning," the recall notice said. And then yesterday, July 4th, some friends noticed that my front tire had a blister in it, which they said was so bad the tire could blow out at any second. And when we went to look for the spare, we discovered there wasn't one. Bingo! While everyone else in Washington was watching the fireworks, I was driving home in a car unsafe-at-any-speed: engine, clutch and tire---all ready to make me and my Fiat one of those sad holiday stories. You know: war correspondent who'd cheated death a hundred times, dies in a car crash. Police say it seems his car's engine blew up...or was it the tire that blew out? Or the clutch that failed? Autopsy of car and driver underway. You can imagine how I felt when I woke up this morning, alive. So I called Criswell, asking to speak with my service adviser. Then, when I got his voice mail, I asked the operator to speak to the head of the service department. I wanted to ask if I should drive the car out to Gaithersburg, or have it towed? But after 15 minutes, she said she was sorry; nobody was there. She took my number and assured me someone would call back "as soon as possible." One hour. Two hours. How soon is "as soon as possible?" Then, I remembered Criswell's No Fault Service Plan. No one would ever call me back (and no one ever did). I was on my own. When I got out to the service department this afternoon, still alive, sure enough they quickly invoked No Fault clauses 1, 2 and 3 and 7: CLAUSE 1 (TIRES): There was only a 1 per cent chance the tire was defective so they weren't responsible and their failure to rotate the tires two weeks ago, which they were supposed to do, had nothing to do with the tire, which they agreed needed to be replaced; CLAUSE 2 (ENGINE): They couldn't understand why the light had come back on but the fact that it did, after they had supposedly fixed whatever was wrong, wasn't their fault, either; Clause 2 stated quite clearly, they said, that neither my inconvenience nor my life was important enough for Criswell to give me a loaner until my Fiat was fixed; CLAUSE 3 (SAFETY RECALL): They couldn't do anything about that, either, because Chrysler hadn't sent them the parts needed to fix it; not their fault nor their responsibility. Their No Fault Service policy, they repeated, gives Criswell the right to ignore Safety Recall notices that explicitly say a car they sold could "crash without warning." That's the "hasta luego, sucker" clause in the fine print down at the bottom. CLAUSE 7 (NO SPARE TIRE): Even though they acknowledged that not having a spare meant having to be towed in if you have a dangerous blister in your tire or a flat, the No Fault Policy absolves the service department of responsibility for that, too. "Your salesman should have told you," they said, as if the Criswell salesman (who's long gone, by the way) hadn't been working for the same auto dealership they do. We'll call this the Blame It On Someone Else Clause, though I'm not sure even they believe it would stand up in a court of law. Wanna make America great again? How about boycotting companies like Criswell that don't stand behind the products they sell and cheat their customers--- giving other car dealers and capitalism, too---a bad name? More

Painless I brought in my Fiat Abarth for routine maintenance, dashboard lights out and a front end check. Service went well. I'll be coming back even though I brought in my Fiat Abarth for routine maintenance, dashboard lights out and a front end check. Service went well. I'll be coming back even though I live in Upper Marlboro. More

Excellent experience I live 377 miles from this dealership and chose them over all the local ones because of Leon Travis and getting the specific vehicle I wanted. He pick I live 377 miles from this dealership and chose them over all the local ones because of Leon Travis and getting the specific vehicle I wanted. He picked me up at the airport and took me to pick up the vehicle that we negotiated the week before. The finance person, of course, tried his best to get "more", but the price was set and honored. I was also impressed by Leon's follow up...even after the deal was done and everyone was paid. I appreciate him standing out. More

2016 Wrangler / Alex & Dan This was not my first time buying a new vehicle, but this was my first time doing it solo. As a woman, it can definitely be a bit concerning walking This was not my first time buying a new vehicle, but this was my first time doing it solo. As a woman, it can definitely be a bit concerning walking into a dealership alone since a lot of places will try to take advantage. I've had salesmen try to use a loud alarm set sound as a selling point because I'm short and could use it to find my car while out shopping (argh). When I submitted for TrueCar pricing, I did it in two regions and was contacted by 6 dealerships. Alex's email immediately stood out to me as he didn't try to pawn off lot vehicles and made it clear that I could factory order, while most of the others were persistent with vehicles that didn't meet my key needs. Alex was very fast in responding to my emails/questions, and we quickly arranged an appointment. He was very accommodating to my contact needs as I work in a field that doesn't allow for phone call breaks. When I went in, we went through what I wanted/did not want, and he helped to guide me with the 'maybe' items. He was very knowledgable with the vehicle and he's a down to earth guy that makes you feel at home. No pressure to sell me on things that I did not want and lots of patience. The price ended up being under what I was financed for (yay!) and no haggling was needed, dealership was very transparent with costs. The arrival from the factory was at the low end for quoted time, pretty much 4 weeks to the day out of a possible 6 weeks, and Alex was sweet enough to pick me up from the closest metro station since I wasn't doing a trade-in and was coming from DC. He also collected a lot of needed info prior to my visit to keep my wait time low and get me into my new jeep as fast as possible. The Wrangler was everything I wanted and was spot on with the order. The check-out process was amazingly smooth and Dan in Finance was also friendly, straight up and not pushy at all. All of my questions were fully explained and I never felt rushed or concerned. After the ink was dry, Alex went through the vehicle and setup the Bluetooth and reviewed the features that have changed since I had my last Jeep. He even scraped off the sticky spots that were left from necessary stickers. The dealership was nicely setup and the entire staff was very friendly with a clear 'teamwork' attitude going on. Overall, the process was the best that I've had at a dealership and they will have a repeat customer. I would 100% recommend the team that I worked with at this dealership to friends. More

Great experience Customer service is outstanding. Foster Gambrill was sincere, knowledgeable, thorough and honest. He wasn't pushy and seemed to enjoy his job and want Customer service is outstanding. Foster Gambrill was sincere, knowledgeable, thorough and honest. He wasn't pushy and seemed to enjoy his job and wanted to help us purchase a car. He didn't act like he was doing us a favor. Even when it came down to when my tags would arrive and where to go pick them up he was spot on. Can't wait to refer my friends. Truely a great transaction. More

Bought a jeep grand cherokee They were ver pleasant and patient. Gave me a great deal on a new car. The sales person, Leon Travis was very kind and was the reason for getting me t They were ver pleasant and patient. Gave me a great deal on a new car. The sales person, Leon Travis was very kind and was the reason for getting me the great price. More

Superb Purchasing Experience Mr. Foster Gambrell demonstrated patience and understanding with determining a ideal vehicle that satisfied my family needs and personal desires. Fost Mr. Foster Gambrell demonstrated patience and understanding with determining a ideal vehicle that satisfied my family needs and personal desires. Foster was non-overbearing and sensitive to pre and post purchase communications, and made himself available to assist and answer post purchase. Criswell provided an excellent overall purchasing experience. I sensed a friendly and relaxed culture at Criswell Jeep. More

I bought a Red R/T I had a great car-buying experience, thanks to Kevin Jones. I have a gorgeous, fantastic car. And Criswell is a great place to go car shopping. I had a great car-buying experience, thanks to Kevin Jones. I have a gorgeous, fantastic car. And Criswell is a great place to go car shopping. More

Bought a great Rubicon! Foster was fantastic during the process! Kept in touch with us and was laid back and easy to ask questions to. Would definitely refer someone to him! Foster was fantastic during the process! Kept in touch with us and was laid back and easy to ask questions to. Would definitely refer someone to him! More

Smooth, well-organized buying experience Very knowledgeable staff. Purchasing process was well organized and clearly explained. Paperwork wasn't excessive. Flexible on deposit arrangements. T Very knowledgeable staff. Purchasing process was well organized and clearly explained. Paperwork wasn't excessive. Flexible on deposit arrangements. Trade-in values on two existing vehicles were somewhat low, and required negotiation. Operation of new vehicle was explained thoroughly. More