Used Cars for Sale at McDaniel's Acura in Columbia, SC

kaybyrd83

Jul 18, 2014

I purchased a 2009 Acura RL, from salesman John. I know one of his major key factors is to get as many cars sold as possible. However, I am very displeased with the fact of not knowing I drove a car off the lot that didnt have insurance on it. Although, he made a copy of the insurance card but no insurance was placed on the car. From my understanding of purchasing cars in the past, the car had to have insurance on it before it left the lot, especially if its a lend holder on the car. I was made aware of the car not having insurance on it when I called to check the monthly payment amount the next day. Not only was I placed in danger my kids were too. I could have easily been in an accident or hurt. Also, the car could have been totaled loss and I would have been sued or liable because of no insurance. Also, I told the salesman what payment range I wanted to be in, but I was not giving any car options that would put me in that payment amount. He showed me the Acura RL and I test drove it and liked it. Since, that was the only car that was shown to me; I thought that was the only car I could choose from. Until, I got home and I saw cars online that could possibly put me in my price range. I am still not sure if my decision was the right decision, but I love the car. I know his job as a salesman is to sale cars, and I am the consumer is to buy; he will sell what they are trying to get off the lot.

unnamedcarbuyer

Oct 7, 2013

We have owned two Acuras in the past, one of which was bought from this dealership long ago - and our experiences with that purchase and later service were not ideal. I suppose I had forgotten how difficult that earlier transaction had been, or I wouldn't have returned. Nevertheless, I did try to buy a car from this dealership late in September and was appalled at the arrogance. First, I was made to wait for hours. I assume that was part of their training and sales tactics: make the customer wait until agitation and fatigue allow the dealership to extract more money from them. Then I was (finally) offered an obscenely low figure for my trade - which they had obviously not studied, since they didn't even know the correct model / trim level when they made the offer on it! I was taken aback, and was likely visibly shaken by the time I left.Although my day had been mostly eaten up by this wasted interchange, I was able to purchase a car at another dealership later that afternoon. Despite the other dealer's lack of pretentiousness and its lack of an up-priced Honda to offer, my trade was (actually) thoroughly appraised. Of course this other dealer also tried to pay me the least amount they could, but they were courteous and respectful, particularly of my time. They also significantly discounted their car and, in only a couple of "negotiating rounds," paid me a figure very near the trade-in values I had seen in my own prior research. In the end, I was able to purchase more car, with more safety features, for significantly less money than I had been poised and ready to pay at the Acura dealer. Make no mistake, I was expecting to pay an Acura premium, deserved or not, but the dealer's treatment drove me away. I will not return.

ocskate12

Feb 22, 2012

Wow, I can't believe what a horrible experience. I never write reviews but was so blown away by the lack of customer service I had to post. I went in to test drive the TL on about 11:30 on a Saturday morning. There was no one in the showroom but I could see the salespeople through the glass office walls having some sort of meeting. After making eye contact with several of them I proceeded to look at the cars on the showroom floor, mistakenly assuming one of them would excuse themselves and come out and sell me a car..... After 15 minutes of flipping through brochures and waiting patiently I had enough. I walked out the door and drove all the way up 77 to Hendrick Acura. I drove home in my new TL about 5 hours later making sure to lay on the horn as I drove by the McDaniels exit. Seriously whoever owns this place get a clue, sales 101, if someone wanders into your showroom it's probably a good idea to actually talk to them. Odds are they came by because they are trying to buy a new car!

Jeffstallings

Dec 6, 2011

Horrible Experience - I just purchased a used 2009 Acura MDX and I am still amazed at how bad of an experience it was to purchase a vehicle from this dealership. I enjoyed working with the salesman, Joe, and I feel like I got an OK deal on the car (or else I would have quickly walked away), but pretty much everything else was a textbook case of "what not to do when selling a car", in my opinion. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but honestly I expected far more honestly, integrity and a far higher caliber of service from luxury car dealership like Acura. Basically what happened is, like everyone else, I wanted the best price possible on the vehicle - after a bit of "haggling", Joe talked to the Used Car Manager manager and gave me the best possible price. After a little bit of time thinking about it, I agreed to pay the price they quoted me. I was genuinely EXCITED about getting the MDX. I came in the next day, took it to my mechanic to get it checked out, let my wife look at it again and then came back to the dealership to finalize the deal. Joe confirmed the price with me, I filled out the paperwork/contract and we were off and running (or so I thought). This is when the problems started, the Used Car manager came in and said that he never agreed to that price, could not sell it for that price and would not sell it for that price. He said if I wanted the MDX, I would have to pay about $1000 more to get it. Joe (the salesman) knew that was the price he had been told to give me (he even had it written down in his notes), but the Used Car manager denied it. At this point, Joe offered to have the difference taken out of his paycheck (but that wasn't the right answer either). I was completely shocked at what was going on and I left the dealership. I was MAD that I had spent that much time working on this (we were signing the final paperwork when this happened) and still did not have a car to show for my efforts. I expected them to come back and make things right, but they didn't!!! This shocked me also. After sending an email to the owner and the General Manager, I got an email back from the GM agreeing to split the difference with me. Honestly, that was more of a slap in the face than anything else. It was not about the money as much as the integrity (or lack thereof). Ultimately, I agreed to do the deal and pay the $500 extra because even with the extra money, I still felt like it was a good financial deal for me, but I did it very reluctantly. I am still not sure if this was the "right" decision to purchase it anyway, but I really do like the car. The rest of the process was similarly painful - it took them a very long time to get the car cleaned (it still was not cleaned right) and seemed to drag on and on. I am still amazed at their overall lack of character. I have bought a lot of vehicles in the past and wanted a good experience with this one, but did not get it. In the middle of this process, I asked the GM if he was concerned about the potential for online reviews - but that clearly was not a concern in the least for him. I will also share that I am telling everybody I know about this experience. If someone makes a comment about my new car, I am telling them about the process that I went through to get it. I intend to post this review in other places online because I want as many folks to know about this experience as possible. The sad part is that all of this could have been avoided if they had just made things right. They put a "lifetime" warranty on car and they made some other promises about service, but at this point, I have very low expectations. The only real words that I have to describe the experience are "shocked" and "amazed" - in a very bad way. Hopefully this long winded review will help someone else avoid a similar experience.