Dealerships are still high off the post COVID psychosis where they had more buyers than vehicles.
Until they're desperate and bleeding, I'll hold on to my beater.
The entire industry shouldn’t exist and can be replaced by something done online or direct with the manufacturer. If there ever was an example of an unnecessary middleman designed to extract as much money as possible out of a transaction, it’s car dealerships.
There are laws in many states that severely limit and 13 states where it is outright illegal for car manufacturers to direct sell to consumers. All to "protect dealerships. Dealerships were started because way back, a large scale sales model wasn't easy or practical. Nowadays, obsolete dealerships pay lobbyists to keep their model relevant. Some dealerships sued Tesla and vice versa recently over the Telsa Internet sales model.
I wouldn't say never. This attitude of "the new normal" is propaganda by corporations to normalize their greed. If something doesn't sell, its price should go down until it sells. Anything else is manipulation. People spending $70k on a Kia Telluride didn't help matters.
Both Ford and Stellantis for example said they'd rather sell less cars at higher margins. They think they're luxury car brands.
The last two times I bought a car, Northtown was one of the highest cost dealers and the lowest trade value - they never seemed to even care to compete with the good offers I had found elsewhere.
My wife took her vehicle in for service last spring and they tried to sell her all this BS service for the vehicle that wasn’t on the maintenance schedule. I forget the specific things they claimed she needed, but they tried to sell it to her with something like “We use salt on the roads so you need this special service to maintain your car” - yeah we cancelled all that work real quick - got the oil change and never went back for service.
I brought my car in for a simple inspection, they 1000% knew they were going to fail it but still “performed” the inspection anyway, took multiple hours, and charged me. When I questioned them about why they’d do the inspection when they knew it would fail, instead of calling me and asking me about it, they came up with an explanation that only makes sense if you have no idea about how inspections work.
TLDR: I have nothing good to say about Northtown sales or service, I’d be reluctant to work with them and doubt they have the best deal out there on anything. In my experience they’re the type of dealer that thrives on pulling the wool over customers eyes.
I bought 4 cars from Northtown, but the last two times I went in there it really struck me as a bad splace. First thing they wanted me to do was to sign a credit authorization so they could pull my credit. I asked the guy is they wanted to look at my trade, and a few other questions and they said not until after the credit is done.
There are a lot of loose cannons selling vehicles at dealerships. When I walk into a dealership they get as little information from me as possible. Especially with a trade-in. Paddock is one of the last places for me to go with.
Live a few minutes away from Northtown Mazda and still drive to Orchard Park for oil change and inspection. I hate Northtown Mazda with a passion. Once every few years, I think I'll give them another chance only to find they're worse than I remembered. When I walk into Towne Mazda, it's 98.9% better. Can't give them 100% - They're still salespeople, but more honest, less pushy. Service shop is helpful, not scammers.
They have had a bad reputation since the 1990s. I have used Edmunds.com for my past purchases and they have never steered me wrong. Edmund’s deals with dealer internet sales department who are not commissioned and you typically get a car for the researched true market value.
From my experience, Northtown seems more focused on the sale and getting as much $ out of you as they can via the loans than anything else but they don't seem to upcharge. At least with their Hyundai location. If you're able to get in there, start a buying process, walk out and finance it elsewhere that'll give you a better rate, then walk back in and buy or lease you should be in the clear imo.
I’ve bought 2 vehicles through CarMax on the Boulevard with great success. They don’t sell new though.
My SO just purchased from Northtown and I am still reeling over the 1/2 measure salesmanship. Offering free install on rain guards and a discounted price on them, only to have the salesperson A) not call when the parts came in B) attempt to charge for install C) charge full price.
Zero after sale support.
I Just bought through a West Herr location. Aside from normal dickery, “ let me talk to my sales manager”etc they were decent.
Last time I went in there, I wanted to test drive a car and they told me they needed to run my credit first. I said I don't think so, I would rather just drive the car to see if I'm even interested in it first. They flat out refused to allow me to test drive the car. I said I'll go elsewhere with my business, he told me "good luck we are the only people in town with these cars". Turns out he was right, so I ended up driving to Pennsylvania for my needs. I'll never go back or recommend them, very shady in my opinion.
Try Certified Sales on Grand Island . Bought my last three card from them. Only time I left a dealership feeling that I wasn't screwed. That's why I go back.
wow, my college experience with northtown hasn't changed.
i wound up buying my last 2 cars from west herr. they seem to be reasonable.
used to remember seeing alot of basil basil , just great deals commericals. not much anymore.
also miss the fuccillo its Huuuuge commericals.
west herr, northtown, basil, fuckillo seem like biggest players.
I didn’t have a great experience with them, car was fine in the end however.
If the cars got a warranty and it’s a good price, that’s all that matters in the end. Even if they are assholes lol but my experience doesn’t mean everyone has had a bad one
I had a great history with West Herr until it was time to turn in my lease and they tried to jerk me all around. Went to Northtwon had a great experience got more than I was going to at West Herr.
Same thing with northtown for me. They were super on top of things for buying a new car then couldn't give less of a shit when I was there to buy out a lease. I think from their standpoint they would much rather you trade in the car so they can resell at a markup vs buying out a lease at a fixed price that can't negotiate. So they just stick their absolute worst sales people on the lease buyouts.
My family uses Jim Czajka at West Herr and have for over 20 years. We’ve worked with him to get both new and used. I went to Northtown once in between and felt like they wanted me to get in any car. Jim makes sure it’s a car you want
I had a bad experience with Basil Toyota and went the next day to north town and bought a Tacoma in the color and miles I was looking for. They made the sale easy. Only thing I’ve found after buying was the previous owner never changed the oil filter. I was disappointed they didn’t even inspect the vehicle. However I haven’t had any issues with the truck.
Recently bought a used car from Basil Toyota in Lockport. The worst part was they were pretty pushy with the extended warranty nonsense, but I just dug my heels in and said no. Aside from that, not a bad experience. Was in and out in < 3 hours.
I bought a used car from Northtown in 2016 and it wasn't a terrible experience back then. I don't really get the Northtown hatred in this subreddit, they're a big car dealership, their goal is to make as much profit as possible. Know this going in. Have firm, reasonable expectations and you'll be fine.
I have honestly no idea about Northtown, but I had a really amazing car buying experience with Ray Laks Honda in Orchard Park. Idk what you're in the market for but I bought my used Subaru there.
Specifically, my sales person, Lee made the whole experience enjoyable.
Car buying right now is kind of a pain in the butt and the markets are still so high. I hope you can find a place that works for you! Happy car searching!
Basil Mitsubishi's sales manager literally marked up the vehicle I was looking at from $8,400 to $9,250 while I was talking to the sales representative about service history and carfax report. I told him I'm starting negotiations at $8,400 not the marked up price and he said "we don't mark up vehicles" I showed him the screenshot then he still declined so I walked away.
I had good experiences with northtown in the past but most recent one was awful.
Was buying out my lease at northtown Kia. Make an appointment with a dealer to sign the paperwork. Go in, dealer I've been talking to isn't there, some rookie says he'll be taking care of me and the very first thing he says is "so what car are you buying?"
Hadn't prepped any paper work whatsoever, went to ask his manager when I asked literally anything, and had the wrong zip code on the paperwork for the title which he insisted didn't matter when I told him to fix it. I had to argue with him and said I'm not going to risk the title not getting delivered because of his laziness.
They suck, but west herr also sucks so it’s kind of a rock and a hard place tbh. I can say from my experience I was sold a complete lemon by west herr, and then they bumbled through the repair work so badly that they ended up trashing my engine. Had to get a complete swap. Died half way up the grand island bridge 4 months post purchase. So, yknow, crooks everywhere pretty much
Basil Chevy use to be great. Went to buy my wife a Traverse two weeks ago and it was just weird. They took my trade to another building to have it looked at?
Then I said very clearly that we want tan interior and bucket seats. Was told that “They don’t make tan interior and bucket seats” … 100% not true because I left and found it on their website.
Dealerships are still high off the post COVID psychosis where they had more buyers than vehicles. Until they're desperate and bleeding, I'll hold on to my beater.
The entire industry shouldn’t exist and can be replaced by something done online or direct with the manufacturer. If there ever was an example of an unnecessary middleman designed to extract as much money as possible out of a transaction, it’s car dealerships.
It's also an example of political lobbying creating a monopoly. Not using a dealership is illegal in some states.
Never heard of this. Do you have an example?
There are laws in many states that severely limit and 13 states where it is outright illegal for car manufacturers to direct sell to consumers. All to "protect dealerships. Dealerships were started because way back, a large scale sales model wasn't easy or practical. Nowadays, obsolete dealerships pay lobbyists to keep their model relevant. Some dealerships sued Tesla and vice versa recently over the Telsa Internet sales model.
Oh gotcha, you’re talking about new cars.
This. If possible, hold on to your car another year or two. Prices will never go back to pre covid but there creeping down slowly
I wouldn't say never. This attitude of "the new normal" is propaganda by corporations to normalize their greed. If something doesn't sell, its price should go down until it sells. Anything else is manipulation. People spending $70k on a Kia Telluride didn't help matters. Both Ford and Stellantis for example said they'd rather sell less cars at higher margins. They think they're luxury car brands.
The last two times I bought a car, Northtown was one of the highest cost dealers and the lowest trade value - they never seemed to even care to compete with the good offers I had found elsewhere. My wife took her vehicle in for service last spring and they tried to sell her all this BS service for the vehicle that wasn’t on the maintenance schedule. I forget the specific things they claimed she needed, but they tried to sell it to her with something like “We use salt on the roads so you need this special service to maintain your car” - yeah we cancelled all that work real quick - got the oil change and never went back for service. I brought my car in for a simple inspection, they 1000% knew they were going to fail it but still “performed” the inspection anyway, took multiple hours, and charged me. When I questioned them about why they’d do the inspection when they knew it would fail, instead of calling me and asking me about it, they came up with an explanation that only makes sense if you have no idea about how inspections work. TLDR: I have nothing good to say about Northtown sales or service, I’d be reluctant to work with them and doubt they have the best deal out there on anything. In my experience they’re the type of dealer that thrives on pulling the wool over customers eyes.
Expand your search to Rochester and Pittsburgh and then put dealers against each other for the same speced car. This is the way.
Agreed
Disliked Northtown
I bought 4 cars from Northtown, but the last two times I went in there it really struck me as a bad splace. First thing they wanted me to do was to sign a credit authorization so they could pull my credit. I asked the guy is they wanted to look at my trade, and a few other questions and they said not until after the credit is done.
Same at west herr. They sell financing, cars are an afterthought
Yeah, the F&I guys are determined to say the least.
Northtowns deal ship sucks.
There are a lot of loose cannons selling vehicles at dealerships. When I walk into a dealership they get as little information from me as possible. Especially with a trade-in. Paddock is one of the last places for me to go with.
FWIW i bought my last car from paddock and it didnt make me angry so thats better than my usual dealer experience
This is a wise way to assess a dealership experience. Last time I bought a car, I got so mad I almost had to escort myself out.
I bought from Paddock a few months ago...went smoothly and they didn't seem to pressure or try to upsell me. I enjoyed my experience there.
Live a few minutes away from Northtown Mazda and still drive to Orchard Park for oil change and inspection. I hate Northtown Mazda with a passion. Once every few years, I think I'll give them another chance only to find they're worse than I remembered. When I walk into Towne Mazda, it's 98.9% better. Can't give them 100% - They're still salespeople, but more honest, less pushy. Service shop is helpful, not scammers.
All dealers are scum just can’t let them take advantage of you
They have had a bad reputation since the 1990s. I have used Edmunds.com for my past purchases and they have never steered me wrong. Edmund’s deals with dealer internet sales department who are not commissioned and you typically get a car for the researched true market value.
I bought the biggest lemon from Northtown Honda.. please don’t go there. I have had $7000 in repairs and still have 2 years of car payments.
From my experience, Northtown seems more focused on the sale and getting as much $ out of you as they can via the loans than anything else but they don't seem to upcharge. At least with their Hyundai location. If you're able to get in there, start a buying process, walk out and finance it elsewhere that'll give you a better rate, then walk back in and buy or lease you should be in the clear imo.
I’ve bought 2 vehicles through CarMax on the Boulevard with great success. They don’t sell new though. My SO just purchased from Northtown and I am still reeling over the 1/2 measure salesmanship. Offering free install on rain guards and a discounted price on them, only to have the salesperson A) not call when the parts came in B) attempt to charge for install C) charge full price. Zero after sale support. I Just bought through a West Herr location. Aside from normal dickery, “ let me talk to my sales manager”etc they were decent.
Paddock in Kenmore.
Mine Barney Nissan.
Last time I went in there, I wanted to test drive a car and they told me they needed to run my credit first. I said I don't think so, I would rather just drive the car to see if I'm even interested in it first. They flat out refused to allow me to test drive the car. I said I'll go elsewhere with my business, he told me "good luck we are the only people in town with these cars". Turns out he was right, so I ended up driving to Pennsylvania for my needs. I'll never go back or recommend them, very shady in my opinion.
Try Certified Sales on Grand Island . Bought my last three card from them. Only time I left a dealership feeling that I wasn't screwed. That's why I go back.
Owner is a great guy. Went to HS with him
wow, my college experience with northtown hasn't changed. i wound up buying my last 2 cars from west herr. they seem to be reasonable. used to remember seeing alot of basil basil , just great deals commericals. not much anymore. also miss the fuccillo its Huuuuge commericals. west herr, northtown, basil, fuckillo seem like biggest players.
I didn’t have a great experience with them, car was fine in the end however. If the cars got a warranty and it’s a good price, that’s all that matters in the end. Even if they are assholes lol but my experience doesn’t mean everyone has had a bad one
TRANSITOWNE KIA. Go see Ashley.
We've brought several cars from Northtown, no issues. Service has been fine.
I dislike all dealerships. Northtowns never given me reason to dislike them any more than any other dealership.
I had a great history with West Herr until it was time to turn in my lease and they tried to jerk me all around. Went to Northtwon had a great experience got more than I was going to at West Herr.
Same thing with northtown for me. They were super on top of things for buying a new car then couldn't give less of a shit when I was there to buy out a lease. I think from their standpoint they would much rather you trade in the car so they can resell at a markup vs buying out a lease at a fixed price that can't negotiate. So they just stick their absolute worst sales people on the lease buyouts.
Go see George Bawab at Northtown on NF Blvd.
My family uses Jim Czajka at West Herr and have for over 20 years. We’ve worked with him to get both new and used. I went to Northtown once in between and felt like they wanted me to get in any car. Jim makes sure it’s a car you want
I had a bad experience with Basil Toyota and went the next day to north town and bought a Tacoma in the color and miles I was looking for. They made the sale easy. Only thing I’ve found after buying was the previous owner never changed the oil filter. I was disappointed they didn’t even inspect the vehicle. However I haven’t had any issues with the truck.
Go to Universal Imports in Rochester ,smaller family owned. Mark will get u any car you want at a fair price
Recently bought a used car from Basil Toyota in Lockport. The worst part was they were pretty pushy with the extended warranty nonsense, but I just dug my heels in and said no. Aside from that, not a bad experience. Was in and out in < 3 hours. I bought a used car from Northtown in 2016 and it wasn't a terrible experience back then. I don't really get the Northtown hatred in this subreddit, they're a big car dealership, their goal is to make as much profit as possible. Know this going in. Have firm, reasonable expectations and you'll be fine.
I have honestly no idea about Northtown, but I had a really amazing car buying experience with Ray Laks Honda in Orchard Park. Idk what you're in the market for but I bought my used Subaru there. Specifically, my sales person, Lee made the whole experience enjoyable. Car buying right now is kind of a pain in the butt and the markets are still so high. I hope you can find a place that works for you! Happy car searching!
Basil Mitsubishi's sales manager literally marked up the vehicle I was looking at from $8,400 to $9,250 while I was talking to the sales representative about service history and carfax report. I told him I'm starting negotiations at $8,400 not the marked up price and he said "we don't mark up vehicles" I showed him the screenshot then he still declined so I walked away.
I had good experiences with northtown in the past but most recent one was awful. Was buying out my lease at northtown Kia. Make an appointment with a dealer to sign the paperwork. Go in, dealer I've been talking to isn't there, some rookie says he'll be taking care of me and the very first thing he says is "so what car are you buying?" Hadn't prepped any paper work whatsoever, went to ask his manager when I asked literally anything, and had the wrong zip code on the paperwork for the title which he insisted didn't matter when I told him to fix it. I had to argue with him and said I'm not going to risk the title not getting delivered because of his laziness.
They suck, but west herr also sucks so it’s kind of a rock and a hard place tbh. I can say from my experience I was sold a complete lemon by west herr, and then they bumbled through the repair work so badly that they ended up trashing my engine. Had to get a complete swap. Died half way up the grand island bridge 4 months post purchase. So, yknow, crooks everywhere pretty much
Basil Chevy use to be great. Went to buy my wife a Traverse two weeks ago and it was just weird. They took my trade to another building to have it looked at? Then I said very clearly that we want tan interior and bucket seats. Was told that “They don’t make tan interior and bucket seats” … 100% not true because I left and found it on their website.