McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago

Buyer Beware! It's unfortunate that I've come to write this review, but my experience was so surprisingly negative that I hope to warn others that this dealership i It's unfortunate that I've come to write this review, but my experience was so surprisingly negative that I hope to warn others that this dealership is nothing special and uses all the same tricks as any other dealership. Do not be deceived by the smiles, fancy clothes and smooth paperwork process. Not only did they do everything to maximize their profit at literally every single turn, but their actions lead to entirely unacceptable results, and in my case, a potentially unsafe situation. While there were a number things they did that I found entirely unacceptable, and which I will describe below, the four most outrageous were: 1) not returning the $1280 ($1500 deposit less trade-in deficit) they owed me for two weeks after I took delivery of the car and only after I aggressively complained, 2) failing to complete the work promised prior to attempting to deliver the car to me, and ultimately poorly Jerry-Rigging the work rather than buying the $19 parts necessary to do it properly, 3) attempting to deceive me on several occasions as described below, and 4) failing to adequately repair the car prior to sale; I took the car to another dealership very soon after taking delivery and they found $2600 worth of necessary repairs, including a leaking rear differential, leaking radiator and water pump, and a leaking transfer case. To provide additional detail on the above and a few more examples 1) Self explanatory, but see 3 below. 2a) The spare tire on the used car I bought was not mounted properly and part of our agreement was that the tire would be mounted as a condition of sale. When I came to pick up the car this simply wasn't done (see also 3). Similarly, they said they would fix the front passenger speaker since almost no sound comes out when only that speaker is selected through the balance/fade controls - this was not done, and when I pushed back they said I just needed to sit in the passenger seat to hear it - I took delivery of the car anyway in disgust to avoid the ongoing pain of dealing with them. 2b) When they finally did mount the spare tire, rather than purchasing the $19 wing-nut and cap to hold the spare tire against the car, they used the emergency spare tire socket wrench and a regular nut to hold the spare tire in. This didn't work and the spare tire was violently shaking during the ride home. Not surprisingly the regular nut was the wrong size and forced onto the screw and I therefore couldn't remove the violently shaking tire - if I had gotten a flat I would've been in a terrible and unsafe situation - entirely unacceptable. I have since bought the necessary parts on my own so that I can drive my car safely. 3) Deception is par for the course for any dealership, but in this case it was obvious enough that I noticed it - really poor form from a business perspective and even worse for customer relations. The examples are as follows: 3a) As described above, the dealership owed me $1280 as a result of the deposit I made on the car less the difference between the price of the car and fees and the trade-in allowance. I would expect a dealership to have this check ready to give to me upon delivery - it can't be too difficult to write a check, but they promised it would be mailed to me at work the next week with delivery the next Friday at the latest - I apprehensively left with my car. The next Saturday I contacted Holly to tell her I hadn't gotten the check as promised, and she said it would be sent Monday. The next Thursday I didn't have it yet and contacted her again with no response. That Friday, now two weeks from delivery, I called her. Noble called me back and told me that they tried delivering it to my work the previous week but that it was returned with a note saying I didn't work there. That's clearly untrue as I've received lots of mail at work (it's part of my job), and the mail-room accepts mail even without a listed recipient (again part of my job). They also had my business card, so there's no excuse for improper address. He had a car porter drive the check over and lo and behold the check was dated only the day before. 3b) As described above, the spare tire was not mounted when they first attempted to give me the car. They claimed that the reason for this was because the part necessary could only be gotten at a Jeep dealership and the mechanic they sent got caught in traffic and couldn't come in before his shift ended. This is clearly untrue as they didn't use any Jeep parts to fix the problem and instead poorly Jerry-Rigged a solution that proved to be unsafe. 3c) When the spare tire wasn't mounted as described above and other work not completed I told them I would not take delivery of the car until this was completed. Holly told me that I would have to take delivery that day because the wholesaler that had agreed to purchase the trade-in had arranged to pick it up that day. This is clearly untrue because a) my ability to pick up the car in the first place was uncertain as I had told Holly by email, b) Noble ultimately said it wouldn't be a problem to not take delivery and c) upon actually taking delivery the trade-in was sold (or at least advertised) directly by the dealership. 3d) When negotiating the price of the trade-in Holly said that the Edmunds TMV was only $4000, suggesting that she couldn't go any higher. This was clearly untrue as I had done my research and the Edmunds trade-in value was ~$7200. When I offered $7000, she went to the back room and the counter-offer was $6000. I asked for $6500 and she said that shouldn't be a problem at all. It's quite clear that the $4000 low-ball price was an attempt to take advantage of someone that had done little previous research, and merely proving that I knew what something about what I was talking about saved me over $2000. 4) I was told that the car had passed McGrath's inspection and was in good working condition. I took a look under the car and everything seemed to be fine, there was what appeared to be a wet spot on the rear differential, but I didn't think much of it (I'm not a mechanic and had to trust them). A few days after the car had been sitting in the garage I noticed an oil spot on the ground under the rear differential. I took the car to a different dealership and they identified $2600 in needed repairs, including two leaks to the rear differential, a transfer case leak, and a leaking radiator and water pump. These repairs would be clearly noticeable to any competent mechanic, and it's very disappointing that they weren't resolved by the dealership before attempting to sell the car. I could forgive not changing old fluids, but selling a car that leaks fluid on the ground is what I'd expect from a shady used car lot, not what purports to be a premium dealership. 5) When completing the paperwork for the car, the odometer disclosure Power of Attorney form stated something like "Warning: this form is only to be used if the title is lost, or there is a previous incorrect odometer reading on record." Neither of these situations were true and I brought this up to Erik. He said something like "I know the verbiage in the form, please sign it". I kindly clarified that the form has a clear warning stating that it is only to be used in certain situations, none of which were the case here. He ignored me and then ultimately further pressured me into signing the document. It was really shockingly poor treatment. It was clear that he was just trying to get me in and out of the office as quickly as possible and could care less about my concerns and his improper use of the form. More

Expected more, got less I received an email from Sam re: my 2010 Acura RDX, how "in demand" it was, I could have lower interest rates, payments, etc. I'm familiar with the em I received an email from Sam re: my 2010 Acura RDX, how "in demand" it was, I could have lower interest rates, payments, etc. I'm familiar with the email blast, or in this case, the "bait-and-switch" email. I dropped my car off in the morning to meet with Sam. I was told they would assess the car's value by the time I returned. I was introduced to Holly, who dropped me off at work, which was great. At the end of the day, I was picked up by a porter, which was also great, but it was very close to closing (my fault). It was also a long, stressful day for me, and Holly knew that. I never saw Sam again. McGrath had my car the entire day; I expected to have options presented to me, but nothing was prepared or presented. I told Holly I didn't really care about keeping the Acura, but was still hoping for a decent offer, especially how "in demand" my car was. No dice. Instead, I was shown a Honda CR-V as a compatible trade-in. The deceptive "generous offer" was to pay off my existing loan, leaving me with A) no downpayment on the Honda and B) the same interest rate. Suddenly, my "popular model" needed new tires, which may have been part of the reason for no cash beyond payout. I asked for $1K over payout to serve as down payment on the Honda. From then on, everything was straight out of "Fargo" - 15 mins to get an answer, 20 mins to get Sam to approve the new number (was he even in the dealership?), 15 min to get credit approved, 25 mins to sign paperwork, upselling attempts at every turn. Could ANY of this been done beforehand? The Honda's GPS and Bluetooth weren't reset. Satellite radio wasn't activated. Oh, and I'm now paying $20 more for monthly payments at the same interest rate. I take partial responsibility, as I wasn't fully prepared to buy and sell in that evening. Your industry tends to frown on it, but you should be more genuine about your intentions and email content. I'm underwhelmed at best, and will remember this experience. More

Great experience John helped us with purchasing a new rdx and I must say he made our purchasing and financing easy and smooth as possible. John even stayed 2 hours pa John helped us with purchasing a new rdx and I must say he made our purchasing and financing easy and smooth as possible. John even stayed 2 hours past his scheduled time to ensure we got what we wanted. He answered all my questions and provided all the info I needed to assured me that I made a right purchase at the price I wanted. He was reasonable and never pushy. The finance manager(Sam?) was also helpful and was willing to work with me to make the purchase happen. I would recommend John to my family and friends and if I'm buying accura again I'm buying it from McGrath downtown. More

I just had a great experience buying a Certified Pre-Owned Acura TL at McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. During my car search, I stopped in a number of different dealerships, both multiple Acura o Pre-Owned Acura TL at McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. During my car search, I stopped in a number of different dealerships, both multiple Acura ones and others, and the people and amenities at this downtown dealership most impressed me. I worked specifically with Sam Youngs and Tim Winkler in Sales and they were both very respectful, professional and helped me get a great deal on my car. Erik Nielsen then in Financing answered all of my questions and made the actual car buying and financing process easy and straightforward. Before leaving, Alex Kinnally, the Delivery Manager, showed me every feature in my new Acura and also patiently answered all of my questions, and I had quite a few. If you are in the market for an Acura, or at least are considering one, I strongly recommend you check out McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago and ask to work with any one of these fine people. Thank you sincerely. Mike More

I just purchased a new RLX and had a great expereience at McGrath Acura. Chase was incredibly helpful in helping me work through some options as I wasn't sure which model I wanted to select. Thomas was ex McGrath Acura. Chase was incredibly helpful in helping me work through some options as I wasn't sure which model I wanted to select. Thomas was extremely helpful in my test drives, demonstrating the different aspects of each car with patience and enthusiasm. Finally, Alex was awesome, illustrating the many technological features of the RLX, which was extremely helpful. All three were increible friendly and professional, making the overall experience much more pleasant than any other time I've had to work with a dealership. I will devinitely recommend McGrath to friends and family and have them ask for Chase, Thomas and Alex. More