Russ Darrow Kia of Madison

This dealer was GREAT. Jonathan made my experience absolutely amazing. He was completely honest, polite, and friendly. He answered all questions asked by me and my family. He went above and beyond to absolutely amazing. He was completely honest, polite, and friendly. He answered all questions asked by me and my family. He went above and beyond to make sure I was happy and getting what I wanted for the price I wanted. Alex (sales) and Zach in finance did an AMAZING job at laying out all the finances so I could see every little thing and get exact numbers so I could budget properly and gave me plenty of time to think. I never felt rushed nor pressured. It was my first ever car buying experience, and I never had any butterflies or bad feelings. I have no regrets whatsoever! I think my favorite part was that everyone was so nice and gave you their absolute honest opinions about what they were selling. They work as a team and you dont see that everywhere. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! More

Stay away! They will lie to get the deal done! My husband and I had the absolute worst experience at this dealer and with the entire Russ Darrow Corporation. Although we purchased this truck a few My husband and I had the absolute worst experience at this dealer and with the entire Russ Darrow Corporation. Although we purchased this truck a few months ago, I waited submitting this as the corporate office kept stringing us along to believe that there were going to assist us. Then, they just stopped responding. AND, I was just notified in my email that there are 2 open (old 10/1/2018 & 5/9/2019) safety recalls for this truck that were not taken care of before the truck was sold to us!! I know that parts are available for this recall as we just had them performed on our 2017 Ram. The following is the timeline in which this entire, unbelievable transaction took place. I am also attaching all of the email correspondence between myself and your staff that was involved in this transaction. Each conversation is referenced in this email for your convenience. 8/10/19 - I sent an inquiry for this truck to my local Russ Darrow location (Mazda of Greenfield). Because of the distance to the Madison location, we wanted to see if this vehicle could be brought to another location closer to home. I received a response from Donovan Milam from the Greenfield location. He informed us that it was possible to have this truck brought to his store, but in order to do so, we'd need to go into the store and sit- down with someone in order to be sure that we were serious about the purchase. We went into that location within the next hour or so. When we arrived, we asked for Donovan and were greeted by a salesman (AJ Becker) who said that he could help us. He sat us at his desk while he went to speak w/ someone else about our reason for being there. He came back to tell us that the truck would be added to the "pick up" list and that he'd call us the following Mon or Tues (12th or 13th) when the truck came in. 8/14/19 - I did not hear back from AJ Becker, so I called him. He stated that he'd look into it and call me right back. He never called. 8/15/19 - I called the dealership again and asked for the sales manager (did not get his name). He came to the phone and said he'd look into the situation and call me back. He never did. 8/16/19 - I called once again and asked for the sales manager. He came to the phone and said that the reason that they did not get this truck in yet was because the Madison dealership did not want to release it. 8/17/19 (4:30PM) - My husband & went into the dealership in Madison to view this truck ourselves. Knowing that we got there shortly before the dealership closed, we knew that even if we did like the truck, we probably would have to come back the following week to complete anything. We took the truck for a test drive. We walked around it and looked it over very carefully because I am extremely picky about the condition of any used vehicles that we buy. This took quite a bit of time and when I thought the salesman (Zackery Glynn) was going to tell us that the dealership was closing. Instead, he asked if we were interested. I stated, if the #'s work for us, then yes. So we started talking about a purchase price outside next to the truck. So, I asked him if we had time to take about it inside. He said yes. We went in and waited a few minutes and while doing so, I asked our salesman (Zack) how this works because we were approved from our credit union for a loan but didn't have anything with us to prove or show any amounts. He informed us that they would be able to do a "soft" credit pull and can see any approvals that are hanging out there, with who, and for what amount. Then, he introduced us to Ryan Wondra (New Car Manager). We went back and forth a few times and finally came to a price that was acceptable to both sides. At this point, I thought they would be bringing the deal jacket with the additional paperwork and disclosures that we are used to signing during a purchase. Instead, Ryan asked for our insurance card and said, "It's late and I want to get out of there". He had my husband sign the purchase agreement with the agreed upon price and said, "We're going to send you home with a rental agreement (See Pg 1&2) and put a dealer plate on it for the weekend and we'll finish this up next week. We were a little dumb-founded but thought that maybe this is now the way things are done. They told us that this was very common on Saturday. However, the cashier was closed so he could not give us our $14 change for the $600 down payment that we gave him as he was only using $586. I asked if we would at least get a copy of the signed purchase agreement that my husband signed, and he said, "No, because we technically don't own it yet". Zack went to put gas in the truck and put the dealer plate on while we waited in the showroom. He finished up and came in and said we are good to go. We walked out and they literally locked the doors behind us. We got out to the truck to find that the keys weren't in it. I walked back to the door and knocked. I then asked, if there was a 2nd fob as both my husband and I would be driving it. Zack and Taylor discussed it back and forth and I was told that there was and that we'd get it upon the final signing. We left. On the hour long-drive home, the message light came on. I looked to see what it was and it said, "Change Oil Soon". That raised the first red flag. 8/19/19 - I called the service department and asked if an oil change had been done on this truck after it was taken in on trade. I was assured that it was done on 7/30/19 and that the technician just forgot to reset the light. I called back and asked our salesman if you could please email me a copy of all of the work that was completed during the safety inspection when it was taken in on trade, including the oil change. He said he'd email it over to me. When I received his email at 2:34PM, it was not the copies of the service work, but he sent me a copy of the CarFax (See Pg 3&4). This SHOCKED ME!!! His email revealed that this truck had been in an accident!! I immediately emailed Zack back (See Pg 5). I told him that I wasn't sure if we wanted the truck anymore and that I'd have to talk to my husband when he got home from work. He never did send me the service records that I originally requested. I never heard back from him. 8/20/19 10:54AM - I sent Zack another email letting him know that I didn't hear back from him the day before and sent him a disclosure from the DMV regarding "material history". I also stated that we were very upset because of the way that the interaction went on Sat, we never saw a CarFax or even the window sticker. I said that we needed to address this ASAP. I also told him that my husband had been pulled over from the Mequon Police on his way home from work because he had the dealer plate and no window sticker displayed. I NEVER HEARD BACK FROM ZACK (See Pg 6). 1:50PM - I received an email from Ryan Wondra (New Car Manager) with a service record showing the oil change and a glass repair that was done. He stated that he'd call me soon. (See Pg 7) Ryan called me later in the day and I expressed my extreme concern and displeasure for how this has been handled. He offered to try to find out what the accident showing on the CarFax was by contacting the previous owner and his CarFax rep. 8/21/19 - I received an email from Ryan stating that he called and emailed the previous owner and his CarFax rep and that he will contact me as soon as he got details about the accident. (See Pg 8) 8/22/19 - I emailed Ryan to see if he was able to find anything out regarding the accident. At this point, I requested compensation if we were going to keep this truck in the form of a price reduction. We were still driving around with the dealer plate! (See Pg 9) I received a call from Ryan a short time later stating that he did not hear back from the previous owner or his CarFax rep. I then spoke with the general manager (Drake Lallas) and we were offered a $200 credit for the accident showing on the CarFax report because we were already getting a discounted price for the truck. I stated that this was not an acceptable amount because ANY accident that was enough to show up on a CarFax report would definitely cost more that $200. I explained that the argument that we were already getting the truck at a discounted price was irrelevant because the price that we originally negotiated was for a truck that was not in an accident. Had we been informed of this information before we drove the truck off the lot (during normal signing circumstances), we would not have gone any further. The ONLY reason that we were even still considering keeping the truck at this point was because my husband liked it. I wanted to return it right away. He asked me what would be an acceptable discount and I stated $500. He immediately told me NO. I said that I'd need to talk to my husband. 8/23/19 (8:42AM) - I emailed Ryan and told him that if Russ Darrow would split the difference and give us a $350 credit, we'd move forward. (See Pg 10) 10:11AM - I received an email from Ryan stating that he spoke with Drake (General Manager) and that they believe that the $200 discount was fair and that if we did not think it was good enough, he'd have a member of his staff come and pick up the truck. At that point, I was so upset at their lack of customer service and care for selling us a truck without disclosing that it had been in an accident after I told our salesman how picky I am with my vehicles. I responded back to Ryan that I would see when my husband was free from meetings and could turn the truck over to them. I wanted it gone! (See Pg 11&12) 4:11PM - I emailed Ryan back that against my better judgement, my husband still wanted the truck because he did not want to look for a different one. He just wanted to be done. So, we accepted the $200 credit. Ryan emailed be shortly after stating that he'd send a new purchase contract with the new sales price over to our credit union. Upon my request, he also sent me a new copy showing the new price. (See Pg 13&14) 8/27/19 3:21PM - I received an email from Ryan asking us to let him know when we received the check from our bank so that a date/time can be coordinated for final signing. I informed him that our bank is 3 hours away and that we signed all the paperwork with them, digitally, the night before. He stated that he'd have his business manager call our lender in the morning to get everything rolling. (See Pg 15-17) 8/29/19 - I received a call from Taylor Gmeiner in finance that he had just spoken with my husband. My husband asked him to give me a call to see if that evening would work for us to sign the final paperwork. I state that 6:30 that evening would work just fine. I reminded him that we are owed the $14 dollars from our initial deposit on the truck. He stated that he'd let me know when their rep was on their way. He never called, but I ended up calling his as we received the check stub from our bank and I wanted to be sure that the funds were received by Russ Darrow. He stated that he (Taylor) did receive the funds earlier in the day and that the sales rep was on her way. I asked if this person would have the $14 that was owed to us. He informed me that he had forgotten to send it and that they'd "get it to us". I told him that I thought maybe he should call whomever was being sent and have them turn around because I did not want to finalize paperwork without things being complete. He, in a very rude voice, stated, "If you really the money, I'll have her stop at an ATM and get if for you". I told him that "We don't NEED the money, but after everything that has gone on, we WANT the money as it is owed to us". He said, "Fine, I'll have her stop". 6:30PM - The salesperson (Tasha) arrived at our house. She was very pleasant to deal with. However, she did NOT have the $14 that was owed to us. We were sitting at the kitchen table signing the paperwork that should have been signed on 8/17/19 when I asked her if the 2nd key fob was in the deal jacket as we were told when we left the dealership on 8/17. She reached in and pulled out a single door key. Not a fob. What we were given cannot even start the truck. I immediately called to talk to Drake. I was told that he was already gone and that I could talk to Alex (Used Car Manager). I was put on hold for over 10 minutes. Then, the salesperson's (Tasha) phone rang. It was Alex telling her that he was going to be picking up my call. He then came to the line and said, "Look, I'm not going to argue with you over a key fob! If you don't want to sign the paperwork the way things are, I'll have my salesperson bring the truck back right now. I said fine! I hung up the phone with him and Tasha stepped outside to call Drake on his cell. Drake also said that they were not going to give us another key fob, even though our salesman, Zack, told us that there was one in the deal jacket when we asked. I feel like the mentality at the dealership is, lie, lie, and lie some more just to get the deal done. There was NO level of customer service through any of this transaction. I had my husband take our belongings out of the truck at that time because my feeling was "enough is enough", but again, my husband said he wanted the truck. So we signed the remaining paperwork. We are NOT trying to get one over on Russ Darrow. We just want what we thought we were buying. We wanted an accident free truck (which was impossible at this point, but were willing to take an acceptable discount) and we wanted 2 sets of key fobs that we told were included when we were standing inside the dealership. My family has purchased almost 20 Ram 1500, 2500, & 3500 Trucks (almost all new) over the last decade. Until the last 2 years, they were extremely happy with the service. My mom's experience after purchasing her last 2 (2500 HD Diesel and 3500 Big Horn Diesel) totaling over $110k, coupled with this experience that we've now had; it doesn't leave a good feeling. This was forwarded to the corporate office and we were told on several occasions that the file would be reviewed and someone would be getting back to us. No one ever offered ANY resolution other than ignoring us. More

We worked with David, Alex and Ryan today. Super helpful and friendly, went above and beyond to get us a good deal! Explained all of our options really clearly, and were not at all pushy while we were tryin and friendly, went above and beyond to get us a good deal! Explained all of our options really clearly, and were not at all pushy while we were trying to decide on which car we wanted More

Great Service I searched for a new vehicle online and found that Russ Darrow had a better price. Cliff always emailed and kept me informed of the vehicle. Once I ma I searched for a new vehicle online and found that Russ Darrow had a better price. Cliff always emailed and kept me informed of the vehicle. Once I made my appointment and consult they were very friendly and made sure I felt welcomed. Everyone who helped us out was very knowledgeable and made things easy to understand. I’m very happy with my purchase. More

Took Great Care of My Family Everyone from sales to finance took incredibly good care of my family throughout the entire car-buying experience. Our questions were answered, our re Everyone from sales to finance took incredibly good care of my family throughout the entire car-buying experience. Our questions were answered, our requests were met, and our budget was respected and matched. We couldn't be happier with Fred, Alex, Zach, Michael, and everyone else who made buying our new car possible. Thank you! More

Purchases a new Sportage S Cliff Roberts, Ryan Wondra and the whole team at Russ Darrow were amazing. I initially went in a week before to look for a car and saw this one. After Cliff Roberts, Ryan Wondra and the whole team at Russ Darrow were amazing. I initially went in a week before to look for a car and saw this one. After some negotiating, we were still a little apart on where I wanted to be financially. After a week or so, they followed up and I came back in and we made it work. The car is amazing to drive and has all the bells and whistles you could ever want. This is my 3rd car from this dealership and the staff at Russ Darrow has always been honest, upfront, and open to helping me get a car. I will continue to purchase vehicles here because of this. More

Fred was a Great Sales person!!! He is kind, knowledgeable and cared about my needs and wants for my trade in. We Appreciated Fred working with the Sales Manager, Ryan to help us stay with in o knowledgeable and cared about my needs and wants for my trade in. We Appreciated Fred working with the Sales Manager, Ryan to help us stay with in our budget and making it possible for me to afford a 2019 Optima in my favorite color RED with heated seats! More

Freddy R. was a well informed salesman and made my first big car purchase a very comfortable process for me. Highly recommend him and everyone at Russ Darrow Kia- Madison. Thank you! big car purchase a very comfortable process for me. Highly recommend him and everyone at Russ Darrow Kia- Madison. Thank you! More

Russ Darrow Kia of Madison took excellent care of our family. After being stranded on the roadside, the last thing I needed was to deal with our local dealer who said that we had to get the car back to C family. After being stranded on the roadside, the last thing I needed was to deal with our local dealer who said that we had to get the car back to Chicago. They stepped in and handled the issue with professionalism and left us worry free. More

Zackery Glenn assisted me with the purchase of my new 2020 Kia Soul. He was the consummate gentleman and salesman. Thank you so much, Zackery!!! 2020 Kia Soul. He was the consummate gentleman and salesman. Thank you so much, Zackery!!! More