Our recent purchase experience with Volkswagen of Clovis - Monica.anhaiser
Our recent purchase experience with Volkswagen of Clovis was frustrating and concerning in several ways. I’m sharing this in hopes that dealership management will review the situation and address some of the issues that occurred.
Before visiting the dealership, we negotiated the majority of the deal via email. We specifically asked whether they could match the $5,250 manufacturer bonus being offered on the 2025 model year vehicles (the previous model year). After reportedly speaking with the general manager, we were told the best they could offer was $3,900.
Based on that information, we agreed to move forward and drove 50 miles to the dealership with our two toddler boys, expecting to sign paperwork and be in and out quickly. Instead, we spent about four hours at the dealership after being told their network was down and they were unable to generate the paperwork.
What made this more frustrating was discovering that the very next day the dealership began advertising $5,000 discounts in addition to the manufacturer bonus on the same model year vehicle we had just purchased. That raised questions about the information we were given during negotiations.
The financing portion of the process was also concerning. We have excellent credit, yet we were placed into a 7.79% loan. We were told the lender only provided the dealership with a $200 incentive, but the same financial institution was publicly advertising rates around 4.19% at the time. Because the rate didn’t align with our expectations for our credit profile, we refinanced the loan ourselves within a week.
Another issue during financing was that we were told our interest rate could potentially be lowered if we agreed to purchase the extended warranty and GAP coverage. We declined these products, but tying loan terms to the purchase of optional add-ons felt inappropriate and concerning.
There were also several operational issues. We were told the detailer was not available that day, which was surprising given that it was a Saturday and the last day of the month, typically one of the busiest sales days for dealerships. As a result, we drove away in a vehicle that had not been properly cleaned, including sticky cup rings left in the cup holders.
Finally, we were supposed to receive two keys, but were initially given only one. After going back inside to ask for the second key, we were given another one. However, after we drove the hour back home, the dealership called to inform us they had actually given us the wrong key entirely, belonging to a different vehicle. We have now gone almost a full week with only one working key and will have to spend additional time driving back to the dealership to correct the mistake.
Overall, the experience involved miscommunication, delays, questionable financing transparency, and several preventable oversights. Purchasing a vehicle should be a professional and straightforward process, and unfortunately this experience was anything but.
I hope dealership management will review these issues and reach out to address the situation. A good-faith effort to resolve the inconveniences and concerns would certainly go a long way.
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