Like just about every GM dealer right now, Franklin - Ben Jamen
Like just about every GM dealer right now, Franklin engages in fraud. Bait and switching, price changing, and false-promising, just to name a few. Car dealers have always been inconvenient (and unnecessary) to deal with, but it is truly a shame that it's easier and cheaper to buy a barely used model off of Carvana than it is to buy new from GM.
Examples? There is no such thing as a "contactless" car buying experience. When you inquire about this, they tell you that you still have to come in to the dealership for some reason. Then, when you go there, they tell you that they "no longer have the car you asked about and should consider this other crappy one instead (for more money, of course). Or that you should put a large non-refundable deposit down for some "in-transit" model that never seems to arrive. The idea of "buying online" simply doesn't exist. If they don't have the car, they'll still advertise that they do in hopes that, by making you wait in the dealership for hours, you'll soften up and commit to buying something you don't want. It is unreal that the resurgence of illegal sales practices hasn't led to these dealerships being shut down and GM selling direct to its customers.
I've ordered a Tesla, and 60% of the reason for doing so is because I don't have to deal with a dealership experience. I just ordered it online and then when it arrives I just go and pick it up. No BS about how it was there but now it isn't. Or that I need to buy some warranty to get the car now. Or that I need to pay a "market adjustment" fee that no one mentioned when I ordered it. Or that it's going to take hours and hours to sign 5 minutes of paperwork because "finance is busy", which is just code for "we think if we waste your life and lie to you incessantly, you'll sign anything to leave with a car." GM needs to have their own dealerships and showrooms that actually care about GM's name and reputation because I can't be alone in preferring to have Carvana deliver a slightly used car to my house than to deal with the nonsense that Franklin and pretty much every other GM dealer dishes out in hopes of ripping off people who think they have no alternative.
In short, I'd rather ride a bicycle for the next three months waiting on my Tesla to arrive than to spend one more minute in Franklin's (or anyone other GM dealer's) showroom.
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