EchoPark Automotive Thornton

The dark side of the next generation of used car dealerships I don't expect one review to sway their rating or dent their image in the least I just hope to warn a few people about how much drama dealing with the I don't expect one review to sway their rating or dent their image in the least I just hope to warn a few people about how much drama dealing with them is so they wont go in unprepared and I really wanted to tell everyone over at EchoPark that... YOU ARE THE MOST HIGH PRESSURE DEALERSHIP EVER YOU LIIIIIAAARRRSSSS -__- Facilities 10/10 (A beautiful building... but I'm not going to live there...) Price 5/10 (Average to on the high side and non-negotiable) Customer service 0/10 (Started good and ended terrible) Haggle free environment 0/10 Car quality 10/10 Coffee machine 15/10 (I want one...) I've never had a more polarized buying experience, Echopark is definitely the next generation of dealerships and I admit I had high hopes for them being something different in no small part because of their excellent rating with everyone here. But while I've bought from every type of dealership over the years I've never come across a dealership which is so bright and promising on the surface and manipulative and difficult to deal with when you get down to business. Their primary sales pitch as Margret put it they are a "Pressure free sales model" and she pushed that very hard. It turns out they don't argue over the price but EVERYTHING else. It turned into a bad joke as she spent the next hour selling an extremely overpriced extended warranty that we repeatedly tried to explain we weren't interested in. It only got worse and Margret more condescending as the night wore on, after the hard sell on the extended warranty there was options and coatings and then all xxxx broke loose when we mentioned that we already had our own lender, something we had setup long before we ever started shopping and had nothing to do with them, they just couldn't accept it and Margret brought in Blake who spent an impassioned and unbelievably hostile 30 min smearing our lender, you would think they killed his dog or something it blew my mind... He claimed he worked for them in the past, implying their BBB rating was terrible, it's actually stellar and so on without any actual proof. The next day he would slip and mention that he "I have no idea how their lending process works I've never dealt with them before" I thought you worked for them Blake why don't you know how their basic process works? We did our best to stay calm and polite but it was crazy intense and high pressure, they brought over 6 people by the end to try and convince us that we had to get our lending through them and they implied but never straight out said no less than 30 times, I kid you not, that the deal would fall apart if we didn't go with them. If you listen to them it seems outside lending doesn't even exist and is impossible. The only reason we didn't we didn't walk out is because the vehicle was exactly what we wanted but... we have regrets... and knowing what we know now would definitely buy from just about anywhere else. We made the mistake of handing them a card for the down payment that they said they wouldn't run since we didn't sign... which they lied about and charged... so we threw our hat over the fence. This evening we had to go back and argue with them for an hour to get an extension to the dealer plate that an extremely angry Blake only setup for 3 days when the standard funding period is up to 7 as they themselves told us. He also lied and said that we agreed to bring him a check the next day when we absolutely never agreed to anything of the sort nor heard anything like that from him. To be honest this only scratches the surface of what an ordeal it was and how many different tactics they used and ways they dragged their feet it's been pretty unbelievable I don't know where they get the energy to do this. It's really messed up to be made to feel like you've committed some horrible wrong simply because you choose not to say yes to a dealerships extra's and OPTIONAL lending. EchoPark is the next generation of used car dealership and in my experience.... they are far worse than the last. More

Questionable Dealings i visited on a Monday and returned on Thursday, the price went up on the car I viewed by $1,200. The guide tells me they re-evaluate prices every 45-6 i visited on a Monday and returned on Thursday, the price went up on the car I viewed by $1,200. The guide tells me they re-evaluate prices every 45-60 days and make the necessary market adjustments. I'm not sure their prices are fair. They stroke you with dialogue about regional efficiency and transparency but felt murky ..... under-the-table dealings. More

Overpriced Facade When you visit you'll be greeted by a "guide" who'll present you with a formulated script about free car washes and no dealer fees. Sounds nice, then When you visit you'll be greeted by a "guide" who'll present you with a formulated script about free car washes and no dealer fees. Sounds nice, then you do some research and find that their inventory is overpriced by 1-3k across the board. I don't care how clean the car is, your're hiking up price to disguise fees, a dishonest practice. You won't be able to miss their ostentatious boastful 'imagine bar' as you enter the showroom, praised as a game changer by their guide troop, but it amounts to nothing more than an Apple Store branded as a car dealer. Sonic's investors hope to "disrupt the industry" by throwing capital at today's "consumer empowerment" market, but I left with the impression of being pandered or stroked by a capitalist front. Consumer expectations continue to increase, and a brand like EchoPark makes sense from an investor's standpoint, but this brand settles in as a brigade of slick iPads distracting amused consumers from overpriced cars. Don't purchase from this window dressed facade, you will pay too much. As Steve Jobs allegedly said, "Good artists copy, great artists steal." ... welcome to EchoPark. Cons: Misleading environment, Overpriced inventory, Dronelike sales people "guides" Pros: Exceptional appraisal process More