Customer ReviewsforCity Volkswagen of Highland

I bought my VW Passat a few years ago. ***** the sales guy was phenomenal. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Stay as far away from the service department as possible. Every time I have a car issue, I spend countless hours sitting and waiting for service, even with an appointment made weeks prior. I went in one day to get a mirror replaced. They wanted me to park my vehicle and go to the parts counter (which I waited 20 minutes to get assistance). A passenger side mirror (not the assembly) was $100. They didnt even offer to install it. I took it home and installed it myself. Being that I was needing it ASAP to avoid a violation, I took into their scam and purchased it. Ever since City took over the original Highland VW, its always a nightmare dealing with just the service department. Everything else was fine.

The worst experience I've ever had trying to purchase a car. They have a vehicle that was exactly what I've been looking for. The only issue is when they estimated the total price out the door, it was a bit more than I originally wanted to spend. It was physically a handwritten estimate - It seemed there was a significant lack of convenience technology like I had experienced with other dealers. The processes were time-consuming, and there were countless times when they could not print information for me. I asked them if they could do anything to help get the price down. I told them I would be a customer for life if they could help me with this. I've spent the majority of my life in a Hyundai but recently had a pretty big issue. This was the first time I was willing to change brands, and I thought I made a good choice w/ ** - boy was I wrong. They gave me the same story you hear at every dealer right now because of the shortage issues. I told them I understood, but I'm really interested in this car and that anything they could do would help. They ended up removing some of the unnecessary services like paint and fabric protection and offered an additional $500 off the total price. I told them I needed to think about it because it was still more than my goal. He kept telling me I could afford it and that I shouldn't worry because the monthly payment was low. I ended up leaving and returning two days later. I was still uncertain, so I offered a price that would have probably saved me $1500 total (including their original $500 off). They stuck with their initial offer. Because I was so in love with the vehicle, I would go ahead with it, but I wanted to see printed details—a set-in-stone breakdown of the price, interest rate, and taxes. I ended up being there for over four hours. There were multiple red flags, organizational issues, and a major lack of respect for my time during my four-hour wait to see a price breakdown. I felt like I was treated like a plebeian all because I asked them to help me out on the price. It was as if they were actively trying NOT to sell me the car. When it finally came time to review everything, I had about had it. The finance manager told me he would try and help me because I was unhappy. His solution was to try and sell me more features I didn't want at the "dealer cost". It was the opposite of helping me if you asked me. Additionally, the vehicle was supposed to be certified. But, I found a massive chunk of rubber hanging by a thread from the sidewall of one of the tires. The belt system and tire casing were exposed. I was allowed to test drive this vehicle with a damaged tire when they claimed it was inspected and certified. (An inspection that added over $800 to the price tag. Which is not included in the list price online even though they advertise it as a certified vehicle.) I was told twice it was being replaced that day. Only to be told HOURS later that they don't have the tire. After the entire ordeal, I told the senior salesperson and the financing manager that it was the worst car-buying experience I've ever had. After considering all the issues and lack of organization, I had to pass. The senior salesperson aggressively grabbed up all of the paperwork, rushing me out and commenting something along the lines of "You could have made a deal Saturday, but you had to think about it." Which made me feel like they intentionally held me there and wasted my time, knowing they didn't want to sell me this car. Went in ready to buy a car, ended up with only a lower credit score, and lost an entire days pay on top of it. Volkswagen City Volkswagen of Chicago City Volkswagen of Highland City Volkswagen of Evanston