AutoNation Reviews 

Update: 8/14: Contacted Customer Care Team as instructed. I was told someone would contact me within 24-48 hours. It’s been close to a week. Nothing but crickets. However, I did receive a call from DMV investigations, a great lawyer and the good folks from CBS/KOVR 13 News. That’s positive!

Update:
This notice confirms the successful submission of complaint number PC-0000020469. We appreciate your concern and will contact you if additional information is needed.

If you have any questions, please contact your local DMV Investigations Office. Contact Information can be found at Investigations Offices - California DMV.

Sincerely,

Investigation Division

CA Department of Motor Vehicles

_____

What a terrible experience. Carmax, and AutoNation Honda continue to ignore requests to fix a real issue that they created.

2019 Ram Promaster purchased new under one of our companies, of which I am the only Officer. I'm on the purchase agreement as a guarantor.

In February of 2024, I decided to sell the van and didn't want to hassle with a private party. I chose two companies that take trade-ins (Autowest Honda in the Roseville Automall and Carmax in Roseville, CA).

On February 13th, I visited Autowest Honda and was greeted by Salesman Thomas Condon who provided an analysis of the trade-in value of the van. To make a sale, Thomas indicated that he needed some additional items from his manager, but his manager was unavailable. He then asked to check back in the morning. I informed Thomas that I would be taking the van to Carmax.

I left and took the van to Carmax. Carmax essentially offered me the same trade-in value and indicated that their system could title and pay off Chrysler Capital directly with a wire transfer. We then made the sale. They wrote me a check for positive equity and sent me on my way.

On February 27, 2024, I discovered that Autowest Honda initiated the purchase of my van without my approval, the van, or any paperwork. They also paid Chrysler Capital the payoff amount.

On February 27th, Carmax contacted me via phone to indicate that they have not been able to complete the payoff with Chrysler Capital, and as a result of Autowest Honda's involvement of contract interference, they wished to back out of the sale.

I called Autowest Honda and asked to speak with the General Manager. Gary Pistochini identified himself as the GM and listened to my interaction with Thomas Condon and Autowest Honda. He was completely shocked and said that he had never even heard of such a thing happening in the auto business - and that there were processes in place to prevent such a thing- and that he would address it immediately and call me back with an immediate solution. I have heard nothing back. Reaching Mr. Pistochini was impossible and so I tried to speak with the first salesman Thomas Condon for an update and learned that he was no longer employed there.

I then contacted Carmax to explain the situation about Autowest Honda and that they should attempt to contact Autowest Honda directly, and attempt to try and pay Chrysler Capital directly to pay off the van.

I contacted Chrysler Capital and they indicate that the van was initially paid off by Autowest Honda on 2/16/2022 and then reversed that payment on March 22, 2024 - a full 38 days after initially paying it off.

On June 1, 2024, Chrysler Capital indicated that the van was approaching five months delinquent and scheduled for repossession. I noted the issues with Autowest Honda and Carmax.

Carmax has been very aggresive with certified letters. Van has been on their lot for six months.

I have attempted to resolve this issue with both automotive companies and both are pointing fingers at the other. Carmax has been very aggressive. Autonation is hiding.

Be careful folks. This is as ridiculous as it gets. Van is officially in repossession, my credit has been seriously damaged, and these big companies are heartless.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! Stay away!

They sold me a lemon! I purchased this vehicle one year ago, in May 2023. Over the last year, I have encountered nothing but issues, including frame and body, engine malfunctions, and wheel and suspension breakdowns. I've tried communicating with the store manager and service department but have had no resolution. When I purchased the vehicle, I trusted the advice of the sales and finance associates and invested in an extended warranty and maintenance contract, which I was told would cover the vehicle bumper to bumper; however, the only response that was ever provided was "it is not covered." The poor customer service and lack of concern displayed by the store staff and the poor quality of the vehicle sold to me have left this experience to be nothing but dissatisfying.

This store took advantage of me and sold me a vehicle that was not in working condition. I have had to make several repairs out of pocket already, and now I am being told that additional repairs of over $2500 need to be made for my vehicle to be safe to drive!

The sales manager always claims he didn't receive my messages, be it phone calls, emails, or letters I have sent. This business does not care about the customer's safety, nor will they take responsibility for their failure to deliver a quality product. They run the business and behave like a small dealership, leaving me feeling frustrated and helpless.

A junk website. Never shipped the part. Avoid the place. Customer Service is useless.

AutoNation had a good price on a battery box for my Mini. I waited a month for it because it came from overseas. Its box was too small, warping the part. I'm using a heat gun and plywood templates to straighten it out. I should have just bought a used box and saved money as well as time rehabbing this part.

The following is an accurate and factual account of my recet purchase from Autonation Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram in Mobile, Alabama.

On June 8, 24 I purchased a used 2022 Ram from this dealer. It had 9800 miles on it though it had been listed on various sites with 9500, 12,400 and 24,000 miles. Obviously the 24,000 mile figure was incorrect. It was a California truck and was shipped rather than driven to Mobile thus allowing for the 9500 and 12,400 difference.

I live three hours away in Louisiana so the trip was somewhat long to look at a truck.
The trade was fair and the truck price seemed fair. I traded my truck in order to save money on taxes.

When it came time to purchase the truck I was offered three warranty or maintenance packages. The numbers were extremely high so I refused all. Immediately I was offered the same package at a steep discount. Nealy half the original cost. I accepted the extended warrant, tire and rim package and the Mopar maintenance which covers all recommended maintenance for the warranty period.

Later, upon reading the warranty I saw that it had a $100 deductible for work performed at AutoNation. There are none near me. The deductible for a third party contactor was $200. Totally out of the question. Upon reading some reviews of their coverage I cancelled it and got a much better deal locally with more mileage and no deductible.

I paid for the warranty etc. by credit card. It was not financed.

Auto Nation has a handling fee of $995 added to the vehicle cost. I felt that was extremely high. Just another way to add to their profit margin.

I drove home on the interstate with the radio on and at 70 – 75 mph. Everything seemed fine. Upon arriving home I noticed a thumping of bumping noise coming from the sub or the speakers. It was so bad it would give one a headache at lower speeds. I contacted AutoNation and they said to take it to my local dealer as it was under factory warranty.

Long story made short the dealer replaced the ANC module but that did not stop the noise. They reprogrammed the system and even checked all the tires to be certain they were no making excessive road noise. After three trips to the dealer we puled the fuse on the ANC module. The dealer had contacted Stellantis for support. I am waiting for them to contact me once again. Upon leaving the last time I was told it was the tires on the Rebel which are a bit more aggressive. Just my truck? I have friends with the Rebel. No issues at all which is why I bought it.

When I contacted AutoNation I was told they held no responsibility for this problem. I was told I could sell the truck, trade the truck of live with it. When I argued I was told they would trade for something on their lot but would not guarantee I did not lose money. I traveled to Mobile for a specific vehicle which they no longer had. Our conversation went poorly and I couldn’t believe the attitude of the manager.

When my credit union was sent the finance package it included the warranty etc which I had already paid for. I called AutoNation and they removed those costs and sent a new package. A simple mistake? I don’t know.

Then I realized I had no temporary license plate. Today is July 29 and it has been over seven weeks since I purchased the truck. I called and after six weeks was told the paperwork had been sent to my local DMV. Really? Six weeks later? I still have no license plate.

According to the Alabama Lemon Law I have a case. We will see. I could go to small claims court for reparations as well. One of those will happen.

My experience was abysmal. I will never do business with them again nor recommend them.

Am I being too harsh? You decide.

Doug

Stay away of this business as they don't care about the customer's safety.

They sold me a car with seized caliper, front brakes with 3mm or less and an old battery that was causing error codes. Clearly they did not inspect 125 points as advertised. Made me drive a car from Margete to Jax on a seized caliper.

The repairs I made and paid off my pocket were $1310.43 to have the vehicle be safe to drive!

When I contacted them about the repairs and sent them the report from the dealership, they totally ignored me, Charles replied after two days saying they did inspect and when I asked for explanation about he never replied.

The sales manager never bothered to reply.

Customer service is very bad whenever they connect me to the sales of the dealership and I never get a reply.

Customer relations never replied even after 9 business days that is ridiculous!

They are behaving like a small shop not a dealership.

i WENT TO AUTONATION FOR MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK,, TO FIX THE DCM .. MAN WHAT A PROBLEM,,DRAINING THE BATTERY THAN HAVE TO USE JUMPER CABLES AND THE RADIO NOT WORKING.. TOOK IT 2 OTHER DESLERSHIPS , GOT THE RUN AROUND ,,THAN I WENT AUTONATION AN WOW ,, THE SERVICE AN ATTENTION THEY GAVE ME WAS SUPERIOR,, I MEAN TRIPE A PLUS .. FRIENDLY, POLITE, PLEASING AN ABOVE ALL HONEST WITH INTEGRITY AN DIGNITY.. THEY HAD MY OUTBACK FIXED AN OUT THERE IN TWO HOURS .. IVE NEVER RECEIVED THAT HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE .. THANK YOU AUTONATION AN I WILL BE BACK . THE EXPERIENCE WAS ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST.. D.LOCKETT

Went in for oil change and alignment with an 8:45AM appointment. Waited for almost 4 hours, was given a story about the mechanic working on my Tahoe left and no one knew my car wasn’t being worked on. Had a coupon for oil change, the same one they send me every time my oil change is due, they didn’t honor it, however he did discount it a bit due to the time I had to wait.. Told me I had a small oil leak, however proceeded to tell me the technician didn’t look to see where it’s was coming from; and the price to fix could be between $400 and $1800?? Lastly after my car was completed, they couldn’t find my keys for 20 minutes. I always use this facility for my service, this was a 1st I admit. We’ll see how it goes on the next!

I've waited over a month to write this...to let my anger cool. Autonation 385 serviced my Honda Odyssey three times in the three months before it died, WHILE IT WAS BEING DRIVEN. The driver, a family member, could have died. The car became unsafe and could not be slowed with the brakes - it needed to be stopped with the parking brake. The car had only 83,000 miles and was purchased from the same Autonation dealer -where it had also been serviced regularly. They said it needed a new engine and a new transmission - $26,000 worth - essentially the value of the vehicle. There was no accident- just a malfunction while it was being driven- that totalled the vehicle.

Autonation passed me off to American Honda, who wasted a month of my time and then did nothing. Then, after more dithering by Autonation, I eventually sold my car for scrap - after 6+ weeks of useless conversations. I sold my car for scrap because it was the best offer I could get, because I couldn't trust it to ever be safe for my family, because Autonation wanted to be paid to find the cause - despite the fact that this is a regulated product and they have obligations to learn about failures. And finally, because I couldn't trust Autonation to tell me the truth about a vehicle where they held a vested interest in the outcome that could conceivably implicate their earlier repairs. Read my NHTSA report #11589527 and know that Honda Odyssey can be unsafe, and that Autonation doesn't care.

Edwin Rasmussen said he had keys on his desk on car we were driving all the way from Wickenburg and when we arrived. He was told we were there and and walked around chatted with coworkers and then when we walked up to him gave the car just sold a few minutes ago. Said he called several times to tell me yet no calls on my phone. If you want to have good ethics be honest. It does not hurt. I work at a Dealership and never have treated costumers the way he did.

I took my newly purchased Ford Mustang in because the engine light came on. Simple Repairs were made, but the light came back on the next day. A faulty repair caused this second visit. Days later I had a heavy oil leak. This is due again, to their bad repair job. They are refusing to take responsibility even though we all know the truth. I do not recommend Autonation Ford in Fort Worth. They can not be trusted to do a correct repair and do not stand behind their work.

A week later
Mike Parker, the service manager contacted me and kept me informed through this last repair. He listened to my concerns and was responsive and informed about necessary repairs. He was kind, funny and respectful. I was very appreciative of his time and knowledge.

Wow. Just wow. Took my vehicle to AutoNation 2 weeks ago for evaluation to sell. They offered me $24,000. I didn’t have title at the time. I received the title and contacted them today. The offer today was $13,000. I asked them what had changed in 2 weeks since it had been parked since I was on vacation.
They came back with “oh office made a mistake. We can offer you $18,000.”
Be careful or at least know who you are dealing with.
Carmax offer went down $500 not $6000 in the 2 weeks.

Charlie (the director) is a lying scumbag. Make sure you record any conversations you have with him over the phone or otherwise. Not only was the scum that sold my parents their car a lying sack (who was at least fired) but Charlie promised my parents one thing, made them wait 3 months for the supposed repairs, but then said he never said they were going to do the repairs. The car was purchased less than 3 months prior to the initial inquiry about the issues with the AC. Then at 6 months it got worse, they then made my parents wait 3 more months for an appointment, and then flipped and said they would never cover such a repair. This location sells Used lemons, do not buy any used vehicles from them, and if you do, make sure you have a recorder running, so if they try to screw you, at the very least you can throw it right back in their face. If Charlie the scumbag is still the director there I genuinely recommend not even bothering to visit. Absolute scum. Makes up sob-stories to make you feel sympathetic. If the one about his wife is even true I hope she leaves him because he sure as hell doesn’t deserve her, he is the scum of the Earth.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This place is terrible! I ordered Molding R Drip Side ($89.81) and Molding L Drip Side ($89.81) for my 2008 Honda civic. Auto parts charged me $369.94 for shipping and my total cost for whole entire order was for my $595.59 (including tax). The parts are very light and less than 2Ibs. They are just very long and it’s made out of rubber (very thin car part). I paid almost 3x the amount for shipping then the actual product. They also packed the very thin parts in two separate boxes. I attempted to call and dispute this order but they refused to give me back money for the shipping ($369.94). In order for me return the package they are requesting for me to pay the $369.94 and claiming that it is width of the box that’s costing me. Which is ridiculous. I reordered the parts from another company and shipping was FREE and both moldings packed in one thin box. Yes, the other company was OME parts. My advice is to check the shipping cost and don’t order from AutoNation Parts.

Worst customer service and slowest shipping on earth! Avoid at all costs!

Horrible. Waste of time. Placed order 2 weeks ago, no conformation email, nothing at all. But they did charge me rightaway. Only when I called 2 weeks later a very unfriendly rep told me over the phone that part is not available. What a joke. DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM.

The worst customer service I have ever had with insurance is with Autonation Insurance! I will tell everyone I know not to purchase a policy from them. Their call center puts you on hold for 30 minutes (several times) and then hangs up on you. They request the same information over and over. I can only assume they are stalling in hope that the customer will give up and they won’t have to pay the claim. Horrible company! So disappointed. I cannot believe I spent over $3500 on a warrenty to get treated so poorly when making a claim. DONT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID, never purchase a policy from these people!!!

Where can I even begin to start . If someone can HELP . Please do so. Co-signed for my son 8-23 a week later started having problems with his Jeep 2012 SRT he was taken advantage of , how did is pass inspection. First battery , then alternator . Car broke down they finally replaced alternator, I cxx as me out my pocket of $200 . Few days later same issue , car was smoking and backfiring . In shop again , got out of chop my don broke down on E Colonial, in shop three weeks . Broke down again paid another 200 I hold my don stop it off they told him it was too late . Was still within the 30 days . Finally told it needed an engine , they claim they replaced that . About 6 weeks later transmission goes out . Owe over 20k on vehicle hadn’t be driven in three months . I’ve written everyone I thought I could , no results . They took advantage of a 21 year old kid and sold him a LEMON, they saw he was desperate. What can I go to get them to fix it , was told the warranty doesn’t cover it , how did this vehicle even pass inspection before it was sold. They wanted it off of their hands . Gonna call channel 9 news

I'd give them a zero because they're hard to contact, don't return repeated emails- just canceled parts on me due to "catalog issues" HORRIBLE

They sold me a car and tried to hide the fact that it had a major oil leak necessitating a $6000 repair. I returned it the same day because they had a stated 7 day money back guarantee; however, it’s now day 18 and they have yet to return my money.

I thought that since they had a 7 day money back window, it would be okay to do a vehicle inspection after purchase, but that was a mistake.