U Car Connect

Reviews 3

JU

Justin Smith

*UPDATE* - I have downgraded this now to 1 star from 2, due to the research that was just performed. It seems as though at least a few of the reviews available on this site are actually from Tommys Friends or "circles" as google+ calls them. And they are all 5 star reviews. This new 1 star rating should help to equalize out the false reviews of others and hopefully allow people to find a good place to do business - this clearly is not it. It is unfortunate that this review must be written in a negative sense, because Tommy seems, on paper at least, to be a pretty decent person. Upon calling to confirm that a car I wanted was still available, Tommy informed me that not only was it still available but he had had a "really great month" and thus was willing to do some movement on the price to ensure I got into the right vehicle. I looked at a Volvo XC90 that was supposed to have 151,000 on it, 2.5T 5 seater. NADA prices this at 6300 in perfect condition, UCar had it priced at just under 6500. During our negotiations, I did bring up that the car was overpriced according to book, and was informed by Eric (who had taken over half way through from Tommy) in an exasperated and very angry way that "If we go by book value then we can start tearing apart your trade in, cause it isnt worth what we are offering you..." Of course my car was worth what it was they were offering me, they are used car salesmen, are they going to make money off of giving more than what a car is worth? Anyway, past this, at almost the end of our negotiations, we were writing up a bill of sale whereas Eric gets into the Volvo to check the mileage and then looks just shocked and says "Well, this cant be the right car, it only has 118,000 on it." And then all of the sudden stammers out that "we just had the instrument cluster replaced on this Volvo and it normally is 153,000, but it says 118k now. Dont worry, we can talk to Volvo after you buy this car and have the mileage changed on the new odometer..." *Ahem* can I get a yeah right please? I actually contacted a Volvo Dealership service department to confirm whether this was true, and the technician said I would have to buy a brand new, from Volvo, Instrument Cluster, and then have it installed and have Volvo Computers reset the correct mileage to the thing... 1500 dollars easily just based on estimate. Would it have been that easy then to have changed the mileage on the Odometer that was somehow replaced and was not disclosed right away? Nope. The tailgates handle was also almost inoperable, there were several smaller things wrong but nothing too major, and I requested that we do some haggling and presented them with an offer that amounted to around 5600 out the door with a combination of trade and my own financing... 800 dollars less than what they were asking and I was fine with the Odometer if it meant I got a better price. Not so much, not only was I not offered any other price than the 6500 dollars they were originally requesting, but they seemed shocked and again, yes, angry, that I would say anything of the sort. Again I was told that my trade was not worth what they were offering me (again... wha...?) and I clearly should be looking at a different vehicle and price range. Tommy, If you read this, you sure seem like a swell gentleman and surely you have a good heart somewhere under the car salesman exteriror, but you are right... i should be looking for something different - but its not the car or the price range... its the dealership. After all that I have read, I had such high expectations of this place, perhaps it is my fault for having put it onto a pedestal, only to find out that they are like every single other used car dealer in the US. Truly disappointed. *smh*

PI

Pinney Colton

I purchased a used 2004 XC90 from U Car Connect last month and decided Id give it a month or so before writing a review to see if I had any buyers remorse. If you go into U Car Connect with the right expectations and know a little bit about cars, you can have a very good experience here. If you expect a certified used luxury vehicle that feels brand new in nearly every respect, you will probably be disappointed. If that is your expectation, you should go to a dealership that will sell you a certified luxury vehicle. You will spend 25% - 50% more than you would at U Car Connect. Are there imperfections in the car I purchased? Sure. Will U Car Connect work with you on the imperfections you point out? Yep. Will those repairs be as high quality as they would be if they were made by a dealership selling certified luxury vehicles? Probably not. Will you find some imperfections after you get home? Yep. If youre ok with this, you can get a good deal here. At my request, they addressed some dings in the body, a headlight issue and a few minor interior issues. After returning home, I discovered a fuel leak, found that my passenger side tires had air leaks, and found a leak in the drain that prevents water from building up around the moonroof. The plastic speaker cover on my a-pillar also came off. They addressed the fuel leak with no questions asked, but I remain disappointed that their safety inspection did not uncover the issue. It leaves me wondering what else could have been missed. I took the car to my local tire place that I trust to patch my tires, and I addressed the speaker panel and moonroof drain issue (common on Volvos and easy to fix) myself. These were mostly trivial issues. That being said, if I had to put thousands of dollars into more significant issues, Id be very unhappy right now. Ill probably return the next time Im car shopping, but with the right expectations. Some places have no-questions-asked 30 day money back guarantees. U Car Connect does not. If they did, Id recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat. Because they do not, you need to be a little more careful. Keep in mind that theyre in it to make money and are going to try to do what they can to maximize their profits. Youre in it to make a purchase that youre happy with. If youre not happy with it, you can always walk away - but I think theres room for them to make money and for you to be happy with your purchase, as long as youre smart and their inventory aligns well with your expectations. If their safety inspection had caught the fuel leak, I would have given them 4 stars. The shopping and purchasing experience was a breeze.

DO

Donald Kurtti

We wanted to but an AWD car for the crappy Mn winters and we knew what we wanted and what we wanted to pay ... We looked ... we test drove.... we talked.... we negotiated ... we negotiated some more ... and we left with the car we went there to look at .... All in all it was a nice experience Tom is a super nice guy who made himself available during the entire process ... he welcomed us with a hand shake and he also made our 11 year old son part of the process he told him go look at the cars ... sit in them ... see what u like so ur parents know what they will be buying u when ur 16. Eric is a straight shooter and a funny guy to spend ur day with ... which made the experience less stressful .... Now the guy who was told to detail our car ... well I think he may need a little bit more training as I had to do the actual cleaning when I got home .... We also asked for floor mats to be in the car b4 we left and well he found some old crappy ones that didnt fit well into our car we didnt know this right away because he said he placed them in the trunk for us ... we took him at his word and regretted it afterwards ... Now we have only had our car four days and havent driven it much since its spring time and we have a summer car .... No snow = kitty playtime ! #jaguar ! so time will tell if this 04 Audi was a good buy ... UPDATE: Tom called us after reading our review and he said he was sorry that we had an issue and that he wanted us to swing by and pick up a brand new set of floor mats now maybe that doesnt seem like a big deal to most car buyers out there but this is what integrity is ! He most certainly couldve just ignored what had happened but he showed us that he cares about his customers beyond the point of just a sale. We had already planned to be repeat customers and planned to send our friends and family his way ... But we thought that we needed to update everyone on this since Tom deserves this higher rating ! 5 stars for sure. Thanks Tom for being a man of integrity it was a pleasure doing business with u!