Category: | Used Car Dealer |
Address: | 25280 Pleasant Valley Rd #100, Chantilly, VA 20152, USA |
Phone: | +1 888-996-6670 |
Site: | autobydesign.com |
Rating: | 4.1 |
Working: | 9AM–7PM 9AM–7PM 9AM–7PM 9AM–7PM 9AM–7PM 9AM–7PM 11AM–4PM |
MR
Mr A
I had a very unpleasant shopping experience with this lot. I traveled 1000 miles to pick up a car here, only to find out that the itemized parts list the dealer provided me when we closed the deal was falsified. Several thousand dollars in modifications the car was supposed to be delivered with were missing. When questioned, Sean informed me that they didnt really know much about the car, and they just passed along whatever the previous owner said the vehicle had. I was shocked that someone would run a business in that manner, let alone be bold enough to provide that as an excuse to a customer. Fast forward a few days later, and the vehicle developed a transmission problem. When I contacted Sean to get this handled under warranty, he informed me that the warranty paperwork we both signed was "mostly for show" and that he was not going to invest any time or money into helping me resolve the problem. Sean knew that given the logistics of the situation it would not be cost effective to take him to court from half way across the country, so he used this as a way to absolve himself from running his business in a legitimate manner. I would encourage any potential buyer to shop elsewhere. While my salesperson was generally helpful and nice, that is far outweighed by the shady business practices of the owner. Save yourself the frustration and pass this place up. ---FOLLOW UP--- Mr. Georgakopoulos, you got one thing right, I should not have purchased the car. No question about that. It wasnt until I had the vehicle at an independent shop to have the transmission diagnosed that it was brought to my attention that the parts list I gave them did not match up to the car. The VW specialist ran the serial on the turbo and informed me that it had been swapped back to factory. Once that was discovered, we went over the car part by part in comparison with the parts list provided at the point of sale, only to find out several other items had been removed also. He was even able to point out tool marks on various parts that indicated they had been removed. Coincidentally, parts that could be accessed with hand tools were missing, while several other mods that would have been too labor intensive or not beneficial to remove were still on the car, indicating that the car probably was set up as you claim at one point. None of that is relevant though, since those parts didnt arrive with the vehicle at delivery. It doesnt matter whether they were taken off by you, the owner, a mechanic wanting some side money, or the mail man. Now as far as the "buy back" goes, when the owner informed me that the warranty we both signed was not going to be honored for the transmission issue, I told him he needed to take the vehicle back and kill the deal. He claimed that if I paid someone to crate the vehicle and ship it back across the country, he would CONSIDER terminating the deal. It was also made clear that the dealership would not invest a dime into this process, and I would have to eat the $1000+ in logistics costs to get the vehicle back across country with no additional miles out of my own pocket. So on top of not meeting the terms of our original deal, he had the audacity to tell me to throw MORE money at the problem to make it right. The takeaway from all this? Stay away from independent lots and stick to reputable distribution channels for future vehicle purchases. Lesson learned.
CA
Casey Woodson
I recently purchased a Mustang Mach 1 from Auto by design in Chantilly. I worked with the manager, Mo who was extremely helpful and worked a better deal for me. The process took almost a week long and I was very patient because I fell in love with the vehicle. I was finally able to take my vehicle home and I put down $6,000 in order for them to even finance me. I was impressed with the company as it felt small and homey like a family business and recommended them to several other people. My father even was about to purchase a $120,000 Ferrari from the company until we took the mustang to our local mechanic who mentioned that my car wouldnt pass inspection due to my back dry rotted tires. I called Auto by design to ask them about a code for my radio and to mention the tires to them to possibly see if there was anything they could do to help me out. The first gentlemen I spoke to on the phone was very helpful and professional and gave me a code to try for my Bluetooth to work but then he transferred me to the owner about the tire issue. The owner started off answering the phone by naming everything off that he did to the car (replaced the windshield, the brakes, and the front tires in a very condescending way. Which I was Not aware of but it wasnt a big deal). Then he started complaining how he was the only dealer in the area who offered warranties on old cars (which he is not) and how apparently I acted like I got a sour deal. Finally, I tried to explain to him that I was not pushing the tires and that I would like to speak about why Im bringing it up but he kept interrupting me and would not let me speak without screaming at me over the phone. I told him he did not have to speak that way to me and that wasnt how you keep customers around. I simply wanted to know if there was anything he could help me with and if he was aware of the situation. It wasnt a big deal to me if he could help me or not, the point was that he was so rude and disrespectful to a customer who was actually going to be buying more in the future. He said he could sell me the tires at cost but he made sure he got the point across about doing so much to my car and that I should be calling to thank him and not calling about an issue. He then kept going on about how he wasnt interrupting me apparently and that he wasnt being rude but he was. I ended up calling him rude and there were some words exchanged then I hung up. He then called me back and told me to take the processing fee that he took off of the car and buy tires with that money. (Funny because Im being financed right.) then he hung up. I will never recommend this dealership to any of my friends, family, or co workers and I will be sure to never give them my business again. I was truly disappointed after the way I was treated by a grown man. If you do buy from this company then you should work with Mo, hes been great with everything. I even reached out to him and he apologized for how his own executive acted.
SE
Serina Georgakopoulos
I would like to write this small review on behalf of Mr. Sean Bassam owner of Auto By Design, I recently saw a bad review from a Mr. A , on google. I want to make sure that we are all clear on this situation. A few months ago I called auto by design looking to trade my VW GTI in for a Bmw 550i, I personally listed all the extensive work that was performed on the vehicle including all the upgrades and modifications that were performed by an authorized APR dealer in Cary NC, in conclusion we were able to make a trade and finish the deal. A few days later I drove vehicle from South Carolina for delivery, the staff inspected vehicle and drove it. I went over all the details to show and explain modifications, from suspension, wheels , intercooler, diverter valve, stage 2 clutch, etc,etc. I read these new buyer was disappointed with the sale, I strongly disagree with everything he has to say , the vehicle was perfectly modded by an authorized dealer, the vehicle also still carried factory warranty on driveline and transmission. If the purchaser did not agree with everything that the car had , he should have never bought it. From what I also understood the car was offered to be purchased back. My experience with Auto By Design has been flawless, here is a list of cars I have purchased within 6 months, 2010 Bmw 550i. 2009 Nissan 370z, 2011 Porsche Panamera S , and Im recently getting ready to trade in my Range Rover for another. I make the deals within a couple of hours and in a couple of days I drive up for the purchases. The Financing, paperwork, Dmv work is all set and handled professionally. Mr. Sean Bassam is definitely a professional dealer, and good person to work with , for anyone not able to come to a median with him is absolutely absurd. Im not sticking up for dealers because we all know how they can get, but right is right . I personally will have to add that this is the only dealer I can relate and trust for my auto needs. Sorry Mr. A, that was my Gti , and I know what the car had.