We scheduled a 7:00 p.m. appointment with Napleton Jeep Dodge Ram in Arlington Heights, IL to see two used vehicles, both over $60k and advertised on their website as available on the lot.
On the phone, we were very clear: we asked if the vehicles were physically on the lot and explained we’d already had a bad experience at another dealer where employees took the cars home. The representative (who we later learned was just a call-center agent, not actually at the store and with no real visibility to the lot) laughed, called that situation “crazy,” and assured us both vehicles were on the lot and would be pulled up front, warmed up, and ready with keys in them for our 7 p.m. appointment.
We arranged childcare, drove over an hour, and even received a confirmation call around 6:30 p.m. while we were already on the road, and we confirmed.
When we arrived:
• No one seemed to know we had an appointment.
• Neither vehicle was pulled up or ready.
• Our second-choice vehicle was eventually found, cold and covered in snow.
• The main vehicle we came to see wasn’t even on the lot – it had been taken home by an “employee,” who we later learned was actually the General Manager.
So the GM is driving a $63k+ Jeep home while it’s being advertised for sale and promised to us as “on the lot and ready,” and we’re standing there after an hour-long drive and paying a babysitter.
Despite this, we still tried to buy the vehicle. We talked numbers and were basically at or near their asking price on the Jeep – even though it already had about 1,000 more miles than advertised, likely from being the GM’s “play car.”
Instead of selling the vehicle at that point, Napleton:
• Refused to make a reasonable deal, and
• Gave us 20% low-ball trade-in offer, even though we had written comps and offers from multiple sources (actual offers from other dealerships, CarMax, KBB, Carvana, etc.) showing realistic trade-in values.
A few days later, when we checked the online listing again, we noticed:
• The mileage on the listing had been “corrected” upward by over 1,000+ miles, and
• The price had been raised by $16,200 (20%) – pushing it completely out of the ballpark for what the vehicle is actually worth. If you don't want to sell cars and keep them for your "employees", don't list them and don't waste people's time.
So from our perspective, after we showed up with serious intent to buy, we were willing to pay basically their asking price, and brought solid trade-in comps, they:
• Had the GM using the vehicle as a “play car,”
• Wouldn’t sell it at or near the advertised price,
• Then corrected the mileage and jacked the price up dramatically.
Our experience with this store:
• You're talking to a call center with no real insight as to what’s going on or what’s there.
• Misrepresentation about vehicle availability
• A wasted evening, a long drive, and childcare costs
• The GM using high-value inventory as a personal toy
• Mileage and price changed drastically on the listing after we tried to buy.
• Trade-in offer drastically below multiple dealer and online comps
We came in as serious, qualified buyers ready to purchase. We left feeling like our time and intelligence were completely disrespected. If you don’t want to sell your inventory, don’t list it!
We will not be buying from Napleton Arlington Heights and would strongly recommend that anyone considering them double-check everything and be prepared to walk away.
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On the phone, we were very clear: we asked if the vehicles were physically on the lot and explained we’d already had a bad experience at another dealer where employees took the cars home. The representative (who we later learned was just a call-center agent, not actually at the store and with no real visibility to the lot) laughed, called that situation “crazy,” and assured us both vehicles were on the lot and would be pulled up front, warmed up, and ready with keys in them for our 7 p.m. appointment.
We arranged childcare, drove over an hour, and even received a confirmation call around 6:30 p.m. while we were already on the road, and we confirmed.
When we arrived:
• No one seemed to know we had an appointment.
• Neither vehicle was pulled up or ready.
• Our second-choice vehicle was eventually found, cold and covered in snow.
• The main vehicle we came to see wasn’t even on the lot – it had been taken home by an “employee,” who we later learned was actually the General Manager.
So the GM is driving a $63k+ Jeep home while it’s being advertised for sale and promised to us as “on the lot and ready,” and we’re standing there after an hour-long drive and paying a babysitter.
Despite this, we still tried to buy the vehicle. We talked numbers and were basically at or near their asking price on the Jeep – even though it already had about 1,000 more miles than advertised, likely from being the GM’s “play car.”
Instead of selling the vehicle at that point, Napleton:
• Refused to make a reasonable deal, and
• Gave us 20% low-ball trade-in offer, even though we had written comps and offers from multiple sources (actual offers from other dealerships, CarMax, KBB, Carvana, etc.) showing realistic trade-in values.
A few days later, when we checked the online listing again, we noticed:
• The mileage on the listing had been “corrected” upward by over 1,000+ miles, and
• The price had been raised by $16,200 (20%) – pushing it completely out of the ballpark for what the vehicle is actually worth. If you don't want to sell cars and keep them for your "employees", don't list them and don't waste people's time.
So from our perspective, after we showed up with serious intent to buy, we were willing to pay basically their asking price, and brought solid trade-in comps, they:
• Had the GM using the vehicle as a “play car,”
• Wouldn’t sell it at or near the advertised price,
• Then corrected the mileage and jacked the price up dramatically.
Our experience with this store:
• You're talking to a call center with no real insight as to what’s going on or what’s there.
• Misrepresentation about vehicle availability
• A wasted evening, a long drive, and childcare costs
• The GM using high-value inventory as a personal toy
• Mileage and price changed drastically on the listing after we tried to buy.
• Trade-in offer drastically below multiple dealer and online comps
We came in as serious, qualified buyers ready to purchase. We left feeling like our time and intelligence were completely disrespected. If you don’t want to sell your inventory, don’t list it!
We will not be buying from Napleton Arlington Heights and would strongly recommend that anyone considering them double-check everything and be prepared to walk away.