First Choice Automotive Corporation

Reviews 4

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Ryan Engelhardt

Purchased a vehicle From First Choice Auto off of South Cobb 6 weeks ago, during the negotiation of the sale an alleged right rear wheel ABS sensor malfunction was taken to Wade Ford for repair. The vehicle was test driven and seemed fine, so we purchased it. A couple days later that same right rear wheel started making a hideous screeching sound, so I ended up taking it back to the dealership to see if they had a warranty on the repair. I was told to take the vehicle back to Wade Ford to a particular mechanic, and then was told by this mechanic that there was rust on the rotor, they had filed the rust down, and it should not be a problem. The vehicle still made that noise as they were pulling it around. I was told that, "whenever you deal with brakes, they are gonna make some noise for the first 40-50 miles after assembly/disassembly/reassembly." It took about 200 miles or so, but the sound seemed to go away, though never absent for more than a week. Now about 6 weeks after the sale of the vehicle, we decided to take the vehicle to a different Ford service station (Autonation Ford off of Cobb) and we have been told that the entire braking system is rusted. It was noted from the service advisor, that it appears as though their was gross negligence on the part of Wade Ford (or willful deceit on the part of both First Choice and Wade), as this should have been brought to our attention during previous repair work. Now we are looking at a $1600 repair. We got a 2nd opinion from Jim Tidwell Ford that confirmed the findings of Autonation. When the brake was taken apart there was obvious, debilitating rust that had been there for awhile. The brake plate had actually started falling apart and crumbled upon disassembly. In addition to this there was a mess with receiving the title. My wife had been handling the matter and noted that throughout the process she felt as though she was being patronized. Her words were exactly, "I feel as though they dont give me a straight answer because I am a woman." They had allegedly sent the title to my home of record (though it never arrived), my wife was starting our move to Colorado and had to come back for business, where she thought she would simply receive the title that she was now being told wasnt sent. The mysterious location of the overdue title was being blamed on different people within the First Choice personnel (which consists of three people). After an extension on the temporary title tag, and numerous daily calls from my wife to First Choice, we did ultimately receive the title, though not without considerable anxiety on the part of my wife and myself as to what possible reason there could be for this issue, along with a growing suspicion that First Choice was being less than truthful with this exchange. At the end of the day, we are ultimately responsible for purchasing a vehicle that we should have taken to a third party repair (we thought we completed this via Wade Ford, however it appears the two parties, Wade Ford (at least their service department) and First Choice, have elected to leverage their experience against the consumer). The vehicle does have a limited warranty from First Choice, however that does not include rust. These are the facts. However, any potential customer should take note, that given the opportunity, both companies will take advantage of the buyer. If you are looking for the prototypical used car experience, this is your place. If you want an honest exchange of your hard earned money for a vehicle, shop elsewhere. We will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and the Georgia Attorney General (particularly the department of Consumer Protection) concerning this matter.

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Kim N

Ill be buying soon, and have visited 9 dealerships. My experiences have varied widely. I swore I wouldnt visit smaller dealerships because I assumed them all to be sleazy, as well as having few choices. The two small dealerships I went to before this didnt disprove my theory, so I was surprised that First Choice turned out to be the best experience Ive ever had at a dealer. Its true that the selection is not as varied, obviously, as it was at the large dealerships I visited, and his prices dont dip much into my range ($10k) for his lowest priced used cars, but Im still looking at buying there because he treated me with the respect that I thought was impossible to get at a dealership. I did have that respect at CarMax as well, but CarMax didnt give the amount of information about cars that Tim at First Choice gave. Not only did Tim, who is an owner of First Choice, come out to greet me, but he didnt do ANY of the annoying things other salesmen have done, such as: pushing me to buy right now or today, pushing me to make a decision without even driving a car, trying to pretend like were best buddies, trying to get me to ruin my credit with yet another application, getting annoyed with questions about the cars, etc..... And he knew about his cars and knew the prices without having to disappear to go get a price. In fact, he did something NO other salesman has done. He listened when I told him what I need in a vehicle, and THEN he gave me honest pros AND cons (regarding my needs) on just about every car on his lot! I recommend checking out their cars- at least online, if not in person- because if they have the type of car or SUV you want, you should buy it here.

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Anne Chambers

We bought a used car from First Choice Autos that was advertised as having side curtain airbags. A trip to mechanic less than a week after purchase revealed all side curtain airbags on the driver’s side had been removed prior to our purchase and not replaced. Total cost to repair the safety system to dealer specifications was $4,700. We contacted the dealership while the car was in the shop being repaired, and they initially refused to assist with the any of the costs of these repairs. After a visit to the dealership and multiple phone conversations, our understanding was we came to a mutual, verbal agreement to split the repair costs with all costs to be communicated to the dealership prior to having work completed. Additional expense was uncovered as the car was being repaired, and subsequent to us notifying the dealership of the expense, they decided not to honor our previous agreement and capped the offer at a few hundred dollars (less than 13% of mechanic’s estimate) in a gesture seemingly to get us to go away. They then accused us of slander in our last conversation when we expressed our displeasure with their change in stance from our original verbal agreement, which felt like a threat of legal action. In our opinion, beware of this dealership and the “AS-IS” paperwork signed at any used car dealership. The paperwork voids all verbal and written statements made by the dealership prior to the sale, leaving the buyer responsible for repair costs regardless of what was advertised, said or implied before the sale. Do your due diligence and have it checked out by an independent mechanic before taking their word on what is or isn’t wrong with a car.

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Zachary Batson

Checked out this dealership because they specialize in pre-owned hybrids. Went by a few times to check out their available vehicles and get a feel for prices, etc. Dave Ichay is the salesman I worked with. We purchased a car from them and literally a week later it broke down. Called them to get things fixed because the car was under warranty (limited powertrain) and things went totally downhill from there. Understanding that the faulty part was not part of the powertrain, I called to get some general advice on where they service their cars and potential options for repair. It was almost impossible to get the sales staff on the phone, and when I explained that the car was having issues after a week from purchase they told me to figure it out myself and hung up. It literally took myself and three family members calling over and over to get someone to even answer the phone. Worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I explained that I knew the warranty didnt cover the piece that broke and needed some information on repair shops but all I got was the salesman yelling in my ear that I couldnt change the terms of our deal. They wouldnt answer any questions and were just generally rude and unhelpful. I told them I wasnt looking to change the terms I just felt like they should stand by a car that was sold less than 10 days ago. The salesman just told me it was my problem then hung up. Buying here is a gamble at best. These guys are dishonest and treat their customers like garbage.

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