Just curious if any current or previous dealership service managers could give me some advice. I interviewed for a service manager role at a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and RAM dealership. It went well enough I need to seriously consider what pay I should expect, and what the day to day looks like as a service manager with these particular brands. Also curious if there is any thing you’d warn me about.

I have 5 years experience as a service advisor.
Prior to that I worked in the dealership’s body shop as an assistant manager for about 10 years.
Prior to that I was initially hired at this same dealer I’ve worked at over the last 15 years to wash the cars being sold.

Thanks for any advice!

So I recently got a new car, I was at the dealer for a promotion. I trade my car and they gave me 3k as a down for the new car. I was there for hours pushing back on price and then I finally made the choice to take the deal. I got to hasty and signed my contract. Made the mistake of not double checking what I signed before leaving the door. I didn't get the price I wanted and ended up paying for a used car(42k) at what it would cost new(55k) and all the other charges lead to the total being 73000 dollars. I only realize after driving away and looked at my packet. Its been a week and ive been dealing with buyer remorse. Ive talked to the sales manager and I cant do anything until its registered by the state(ks) in my name and I dont have the title so I cant do anything for months. I honestly dont know how to deal with this. I cant even look at the car or myself because I screwed myself for not being on point. Im looking into what to do and alternative and everything turns into losing more money and a car. Im fucked, and wants go back. I dont know what to do officially. Its made me doubt myself so much, I don't know if I will make the eight or wrong decision.

Ran the numbers on whether "EVs save you money" holds up across the whole ownership timeline, fuel and maintenance AND depreciation, not just the part everyone leads with.

Fuel and maintenance favor EVs. Home charging costs about a third of gas per mile right now (gas is at $4.09/gal, unusually high this year), and EV maintenance runs roughly 40-50% less per DOE and Consumer Reports data.

but Depreciation favors gas cars. Average EV loses 58.8% of its value in 5 years vs 45.6% for a comparable gas car (iSeeCars, 800k+ vehicles analyzed). On a $40k car that's over $5,000 more lost, which works out to more than 4 years of the fuel savings you banked getting there.

Where it nets out depends entirely on how you own the car. Finance new and trade every 2-3 years, the depreciation math wins. Buy used or hold long term past 5+ years, the fuel and maintenance savings win, since someone else already ate the depreciation or you're not selling into it. Tesla's also a genuineexception, Model 3/Y hold value close to gas cars, so the calculus shifts again there specifically.

Full breakdown with sources if you want the deep dive: https://youtu.be/n1ceHZ9rmTg

Curious how people here actually approach this, buy new and trade often, buy used and hold, or does it depend on the specific car for you?

Hey guys, need some advice on a super shady VinFast dealership here in Hyderabad — Nanesh Automotives (near Rasoolpura Metro).

The Bait & Switch:

Booked a VF6 for my sister’s birthday, promised for July 9th. When I went to check the car on July 8th, it was a total joke:

• 167 km already on the odometer.
• Dirty interior and a stained key fob.
• 10-month-old tires on a 6-month-old car.

The sales guy actually tried to tell me 167 km was "normal." I flat-out refused it. Suddenly, they apologized, made me wait 2 hours, and brought a fresh car from the yard (21 km on the odo, fresh tires, plastics still on). I took delivery of the new one.

The Hidden Charges (Dodging me for a month):

During the purchase, I paid the ex-showroom price plus an extra ₹16,000. But they only gave me a receipt for ₹8,294.

For a whole month, I’ve been calling them asking where the rest of my money went. They kept dodging me, saying, "We don't give receipts for those other payments."

Today, I got fed up. I went to the showroom, sat my ass down, and refused to leave until I got a breakdown. They finally printed this out:

• Life Tax: ₹10,324
• FASTag: ₹400
• PDI & Logistic charges: ₹5,276

I know RTOs and consumer courts have ruled PDI and handling charges are illegal. I told the manager a blank printout means nothing, and I forced him to stamp it with the dealership seal so I have official proof.

The Irony:

Once I had the stamped paper in my hand, I asked the manager:

"If you're charging me ₹5,200 for a PDI, where is the report? And more importantly... if you guys actually do PDIs, how did you try to hand me a dirty, 167km driven car a month ago?! The fact that you even showed me that first car proves you never do PDIs."

The manager just sat there in dead silence.

What now?

1. Now that I have their stamped paper proving they took illegal PDI/Logistics fees, what's my next move?
2. Should I hit up the consumer grievance portal (NCH), send a legal notice, or escalate to VinFast corporate?
3. Has anyone here actually gotten a refund for these fake charges?

Avoid Nanesh Automotives, or at least double-check everything if you deal with them. Thanks!

Every single Subaru dealer in the MD area is no-haggle, which means paying 4k above MSRP for a 20k+ mile two year old car.

Fuck this I'll walk

For context: This happened to my Mrs. At the time she was surrounded by sales staff, it was getting dark, she was on her own and 30 miles from home. Her car was on 138k miles and had never failed to start or ever became immobilised before. This was at the exact dealership that she had bought this car originally from 13 years ago and it was the first time her car had ever been back.

The keys were taken off her when they were assessing it for a trade in price and this was the exact moment it became immobilised, they then threatened to drag it off their forecourt and asked her if she had another way to get home.

Ohio, dealership doesn't have 'sales people', just finance people. They pride themselves on giving out the door no haggle pricing on vehicles. One in particular caught my eye, further research found it was on the lot of 90+ days, was a fleet vehicle from the East coast (many of their inventory are fleet). One picture caught my eye and I drove over to take a peek at it in person as the kept wanting to contact me by phone, not email as I requested. I know this dealership has a location in which they do work on the cars, I was just not sure to what extent. The car had some damage to the front passenger bumper and fender. Both of these were plastic parts. Strangely the small body panel between these two damaged pieces was perfect. Asked for what they did to the vehicle, they said oil change/filter, and new tires and detailed it; the previous party might have replaced the panel. I just walked away and went right to searching the VIN+auction and found the auction site with photos. Dates match up with the history report. Sure enough the auction site shows the damage to the bumper, fender, and body panel. Lying POS. Nothing in the description of the work, nothing on the history report. Dealerships doing their own body work to sell should have to report it. LMK if there is somewhere I can add to that report so they don't screw the next person.

Wondering how people think a dealership will handle this situation and if Im right to feel like I shouldnt have to replace a windshield on my loaner truck.

My truck was in the dealer shop for a fairly expensive repair that was under warranty. As they finished the repair and employee made a mistake and did some body damage to my truck. The dealership was upfront about it and they are taking care of the repairs at no cost for the body work, but because of this i had to keep their loaner truck so far for an extra week and a half and counting. The loaner truck is brand new. Like had 300 ish miles on it when they had me take it. As of 2 days ago we are past the quoted time frame they said my truck would be done by. Well now I just had a rock flip up and crack the windshield while driving the loaner on the free way. The crack is small and patchable but with it being a brand new truck im certain they’re going to expect a new windshield. Am I wrong to think I shouldnt have to pay for the windshield replacement in this situation? Anyone in the repair shop world have any thoughts on how they think the dealership will handle it? Im going to call them to go over this with them shortly when they open, just kinda trying to figure out where i might stand on this and what people think is fair.

I am a careful automotive salesperson who always prioritizes following proper procedures. Before discussing any fees or terms with customers, I consistently check with the sales manager or used car manager and follow their instructions. I do not have the authority to independently decide or quote dealer fees.

During what appeared to be an undercover investigation by OMVIC, I was accused of misleading a consumer regarding dealer fees. Despite explaining that I was acting under management direction and had no independent authority on this matter, OMVIC held me fully responsible. They required me to complete additional training and treated the issue as entirely my fault.

This experience has significantly damaged my confidence in the fairness of the regulatory process in the automotive industry. I already struggle with depression, and this situation has made it considerably worse. I believe the process lacked proper consideration of the salesperson’s limited authority and the role of management direction.

I wanted our next vehicle purchase to be a full size electric truck, so we set our sights on the SEV, specifically a 2025 SEV WT because it has the range, towing payload, 240V, large frunk, native CarPlay (wife doesn't want to subscribe to EVPlay). I've been browsing this sub the past year, learning the ropes, pros/cons of the truck, meanwhile shopping, man it has been a journey.

Unfortunately, I was never able to secure a deal for a 2025 SEV WT and I looked nationally, now the 0% nationwide financing offer is gone. I refuse to fork over funds for 84 months 7%. That's a big oof.

The biggest roadblocks were the dealers. They would often try to steer me to their gas or diesel trucks, play games with add-ons, say a truck is there when it wasn't, shifting numbers around in a four-box grid, the back-and-forth manager game, bump-up in financing, bait and switch tactics, and so on and so forth. I must have the worst luck. But the dealership experience left such a poor taste in my mouth that I don't even want to buy a truck from any dealership anymore. I'd rather let these trucks rot on the lot than give money to these moneygrubbers.

Enjoy your great trucks and keep it moving.

Until then, ciao

Since google keeps removing my review of one specific car dealer in UK, I decided to post it here.

The dealer is MJC Motors in Tividale, west midlands, UK.

let's hope my review is not going to be removed here

Avoid those cowboys at all cost.

Cars they are selling are not only in bad condition but they are profoundly dangerous to drive.

The car I bought started suffering from major defects in the first week since I purchased it. This includes: faulty EGR, traction control, collision control, Faulty DPF, oil pressure. Rear wheels had couple of nuts missing and one of remaining nuts was loose. There was not a single week without any problems. The car mechanic they use : Rasell from K.R. autos needed three attempts and three weeks to clean the EGR valve and another month to replace it.

MJC not only disrespect you as a customer but they disregard any legal requirements. I tried to exercise my consumer rights (consumer rights act 2015) and I tried to return the car twice. On both occasion they not only laughed into my face but also became unpleasantly aggressive.

It is worth mentioning that they failed to register the car with DVLA for 2 months. When I spoken to DVLA I found out that they never received any application from MJC. It's only when I used V11 form the car got registered.

I have spent some time (unfortunately after buying the car) to analyse some positive reviews they have on FB. It looks like most of them are from fake FB accounts with no activity.

Warrantywise they sell is worthless. And it is used by MJC as a gimmick to sell you some junk. At one point, during one of the disputes, they suggested to use WarrantyWise with hope that I would get a full refund from WarrantyWise if its decided that my car is not repairable.

Those people are not unprofessional, those people are dangerous.

This year I traded in my car, which was my first car that I purchased from family. Around a month after the trade in the car was towed and I didn’t get anything at that time because my residential and mailing are different, but it was made aware to me that the due amount had gone to a collections agency and they’re holding me liable, despite not having possession of the car.

Now since this I’ve learned that a report of sale is something that is done by the seller to avoid this exact situation. What’s frustrating about this is I had no idea how to go about purchasing a car from a dealership and had asked many people both from the dealership and family what I was expected to do and no one mentioned to me that this was something I would need to do. The car was sold from the dealership to a salvage yard, and from there to the individual who had it at the time of the tow (a bill which is now like $2000)

I cannot pay this, I have plenty debt that is my own and I’m frustrated that I didn’t know I had to do this (I would have done it 😭) I’m scared. Help. I don’t want them to ruin my credit.

I have a report of sale showing the salvage yard selling it to the guy 😒
And a bill of sale for me to the dealership and dealership to salvage yard. The collection people are not accepting these.

I’m based in washington state

In February 2026, after more than a year of planning, deciding, checking and rechecking our finances, my partner and I decided to splurge a little on our next vehicle - a Volvo XC90. The process started out well and was straightforward enough. We went through various online auto markets until we found something that fit the bill in terms of finance and specs on car listings from a dealer – E&E Car Sales – from CarFinance247, which describes itself as a car finance and loan company but primarily connects car buyers to actual lenders/financial companies. 

The online reports from a car dealer showed that the vehicle was clear, with no outstanding issues on the MOT report, which was completed in December 2025, along with a full service done by the dealer. Of course, at that time, I didn’t know what I do now. I contacted Carfinance247, which assigned me an agent, and got in touch with the dealer to arrange a day and time to view the vehicle before committing to a purchase (as anyone should). We’re based in the East Midlands, and the car dealer is 180 miles away in Canvey Island. We decided to make a trip out of it, go see what Canvey Island was about, and see the vehicle. That was on Monday, 23 February 2026. 

The following day, we got a call from the dealer asking if we’d be okay with paying in advance so we could view, inspect and collect the vehicle on the Saturday (28 February 2026). Naturally, we said no; that’d be too risky as we’d have to inspect and test the vehicle first and make sure it was okay. The dealer expressed their obvious displeasure - something about us jerking his chain around - which, in hindsight, was also a red flag. 

We confirmed that IF the vehicle was in good condition on the Saturday, we’d give the go-ahead to Carfinance247 to transfer the funds, and we would leave with the vehicle. To that, the dealer - who, according to our assigned agent, had well over 200 transactions with Carfinance247 - responded that the broker doesn't do payment transfers on Saturdays/weekends. I asked the Carfinance247 agent about this, and they confirmed, encouraging us to proceed with the pre-payment. If there was any issue (they emphasised the ANY ISSUE), we could just return the vehicle within the cooling period. 

In a right-to-reply response, Carfinance247 notes that "Our call review confirms that the salesperson clearly explained our process and stated multiple times that no funds would be released without your explicit permission. You provided this permission on 26/02/2026, and only then were the funds released." Yes, following the assurance that we'll be covered fully if anything went wrong. The Carfinance247 response continues, "Regarding the suggestion of a 'full refund': The salesperson did not state that the purchase was fully refundable. They correctly outlined the Consumer Rights Act 2015, under which customers have 30 days to report any fault. If a fault is identified, our Customer Care team works with the dealership to ensure they meet their legal obligations. This is the standard and lawful process for all customers." 

That I disagree with - I'll be happy to review the call and everything in said call if they are willing to provide it. 

Anyways, from the Midlands to the shop in Canvey Island was about 360 miles round trip and considering ‘we could return the vehicle if anything was wrong’, we took the erroneous and easy route and decided that it made more sense to pre-pay and just have a single 180 miles going and 180 miles return and be done with it, rather than having to go back for the vehicle at a later date. That’s where the problems started. 

We signed the payment transfer on Thursday, 26 February 2026, encouraged by the Carfinance247 agent that it was all reversible if there was ANY issue with the vehicle and also with our very limited knowledge of the 30-day returns period under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Things seemed to be progressing according to someone’s plan - we just had no idea it wasn’t ours. We made a trip of it - we got to Canvey Island on Friday, 27 February 2026, and did a little tour of the area on the morning of Saturday, 28 February, before going to get the vehicle and head home. 

On arrival at the dealer’s, we were given the vehicle keys to ‘take a look around the vehicle’. In the walkaround video that we were sent two days before, the vehicle was in the courtyard, but it wasn't there when we arrived. I understand it’s a car shop, and cars come and go, and have to be rearranged all the time. However, I distinctly recall that there was a van parked (seemingly unnecessarily) directly in front of the vehicle, wedging it in - at that time, I thought that was strange, especially as it was a vehicle that was about to be sold (shouldn't it be out in the open? Why was it hidden away?). 

Anyhow, we were true to our word - we needed a vehicle and had no plans to ‘jerk the dealer’s chain around’ - signed the papers, got a drive-away insurance, and hit the road. Maybe this is just me, but there was less than a quarter tank of fuel in the vehicle, which I thought was tasteless and stingy considering the price of the vehicle and how far we’d driven and were going to be driving. If it were me, I’d probably have done a half tank for the customer - just saying. 

My partner drove our other vehicle, and I drove the new-to-us XC90. We were to meet at a fuel station around the corner from the dealer in Canvey Island. When the entire thing blew up days later, she still recalls that I called it then. Driving to the station, the vehicle kept leaning to one side and then the other, even at low speeds - and I mentioned that it seemed that there was something wrong with the steering. But again, I thought, maybe I wasn't yet used to driving an SUV of that size. 

We hit the highway after that, and, as a precaution, because of the wheels leaning one way or the other, I did around 50-60 mph most of the way back. It wasn’t until I was a few miles from home that I thought, "We won’t be driving the vehicle at 50 mph; I might as well test how it’s going to be driven", and I did. I got to the speed limit and, fortunately, almost immediately after, there was the obligatory M1 weekend traffic, and I had to apply the brakes a bit aggressively, and the shudder that went through the steering wasn’t even mistakeable anymore - there was clearly something wrong. 

I immediately considered calling the dealer right then, but I decided that as I had booked a look-over service with Lindsley’s Autocentre, an independent, former Volvo-brand service centre for the next week, Tuesday, 3 March 2026, I'd have to wait for any results from that. Before I dropped the vehicle off, I called Carfinance247 customer service (in hindsight, perhaps I should have called the agent, who had encouraged us to pre-pay for the vehicle in the first place) to report the issue, and they asked for a report from an independent shop. I informed them I was on the way to get one. 

According to the independent garage report, the front wheel alignment was off, and the two front tyres were marked as “bent out of shape, requires urgent attention” - which probably explains the shuddering on braking and leaning when driving - as well as brake fluid that was too old and had not been changed according to the vehicle brand requirements. Considering the “service” and MOT done only a month or so before that didn’t find anything, I asked the Lindley techs how that was possible. 

The laughter that accompanied the question was probably all the answer I needed. Apparently, if one is so inclined and knows the relevant parties, one can easily ‘sort’ any MOT issues. I didn’t know that back then, but it raised serious questions about our entire experience. 

At that point, we decided not to accept the vehicle and to involve the finance company Motonovo, which, in the contract we had signed, offered a no-questions-asked 14-day contract cancellation period. I forwarded the inspection report to Motonovo, Carfinance247 and the dealer. The dealer was adamant and stated that the MOT clearly showed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle, which, in hindsight, would make sense, as MOT tests do not cover some of the issues highlighted by the independent inspection. However, their refusal to accept damage at the point of sale also meant that I somehow misaligned the wheel and bent and severely damaged the tyres in the minutes it took me to notice while driving to the fuel station, or in the 2 hours it took to drive back home. 

One of the questions we had that pushed our decision to return the vehicle was that, if the tyres and alignment - things that are obvious and easily noticed - were broken, what about other parts/items in the vehicle that can be hidden and are not easily accessible or tested at a quick inspection? Again, considering what we now understand about MOT tests, was an important question. 

Motonovo, on their part, refused our rejection of the vehicle and cancellation of the contract. In the agreement, Motonovo states, “You have the right to withdraw from the agreement for the Vehicle and/or any Settlement Shortfall Loan and/or any VAPs Loan, without giving a reason, within 14 days starting from the day after the date we tell you in writing that the agreement has been made.” I had exercised my legal rights and called and emailed to cancel the contract and withdraw from the agreement within the first week, and Motonovo had rescinded the agreement. 

In the first month, when we believed we were dealing with rational people, we tried to highlight the points - the issues with the vehicle, the independent report, and the terms of the contract. They were ignoring everything and adamantly pushing for payments, threatening to wreak havoc on our credit rating if we didn’t make at least one payment. Thankfully, one precaution we had taken was to pursue a zero-deposit option throughout. So, although we had spent time and fuel travelling to get the vehicle, we had no significant financial horse in the race. Every time another Motonovo agent called and made all their threats of wrecking credit rating havoc, I’ve always asked them to kindly send the update via email, so that we have a record. So far, they have refused. I decided I’d start recording the calls in case I needed evidence, and they have stopped calling. They haven’t stopped sending letters about payments, though. 

I also sent them a right-to-reply about the content of this article, and they declined to comment, as did the dealer. 

Following the requisite eight-week discussion period, after which, if no settlement is reached by any of the parties involved in a dispute, we pursued the next logical step: we got the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) involved. As required, I presented my side of the case to the FOS – emails, the independent inspection report, and all the expenses following their refusal to accept the terms of our contract, which left us without transportation for several weeks. It’s been more than four months, and the case is ongoing. In that time, Motonovo, as the financier, is responsible for providing evidence that any defect found in the vehicle was not present at the point of sale, which they have been unable to do. 

They have, however, not failed to send us more non-payment letters (three different letters in just the second week of June 2026) and add their promised adverse information to my credit file. I assume their goal is to bully us into submission. It’s not working yet.

Although the initial FOS investigator sided with us, MotoNovo rejected the judgement (stating that there is no connection between the vehicle leaning and vibrating and the issues spotted by the independent garage), and the case is now awaiting an ombudsman’s decision.

The investigator suggested that I ask Lindley's Automotive to provide an email stating whether they thought that the symptoms I experienced while driving were connected to the degraded tyres and alignment. After saying they'll send the email the next day, they gave me the runaround for a few days, so I stopped chasing them - I completely understand not wanting to be involved.

MotoNovo seems to be trying to distract from the primary issue: the vehicle was not in satisfactory condition at the point of sale. And they have not been able to, or have not bothered to, prove otherwise.

I've looked at several car dealership reviews and noticed some slightly similar cases where the dealer or financial provider is taken to court to get the necessary result. I understand I could have been more careful with the purchase - that is a lesson learned. But as we can't always have savvy consumers buying things, the consumer protection laws are supposed to step in, right? Is this the norm?

So I got a truck at 40k final price OTD allegedly, I put 5k down, so I’m at 35k financed, I added some warranty that idk how much it was because they didn’t disclose how much it’d cost me total, i got a 6.2 APR, and my monthly total is 709 a month for the truck + warranty. Does this make any sense or did I get fucked, they never gave me a final contract before I left the dealership, they never showed me a final breakdown of everything, they almost got me to sign before I asked what the APR was and was surprised that I asked before signing which was weird. Toyota dealership in cedar park tx btw. I was too impulsive and was just ready to leave when it came to talking with finance to where I didn’t ask for the final breakdown + contract before I signed anything stupidly enough. Any help would be appreciated. (I messaged salesperson and they said they’d email it but they didn’t and said they’d do it Monday since they’re closed tomorrow)

Edit: I asked ChatGPT and did calculators online and my monthly total before warranty should’ve been 583-600 a month.

Another edit: financed for 72 months.

I'm in Ontario and recently signed a purchase agreement for a vehicle but have not taken delivery of it.
I contacted the dealership asking to cancel the agreement. They told me that if I refuse delivery, they can resell the vehicle and refused to return $2,600 deposit to cover their losses.

In the email they sent me it states "If the dealership’s documented losses exceed your deposit, the dealership reserves the right to pursue you for the outstanding balance. Following the resale, the dealership will provide a detailed accounting of the resale and the losses incurred."

My question is: Can the dealership intentionally sell the vehicle to the next customer for a lower price and then charge me for that difference?

For example, if my contract price was $36,000 and they later sell it for $32,000, could they claim I caused a $4,000 loss and pursue me for the difference after keeping my $2,600 deposit?

I'm not trying to get my deposit back at this point. I'm mainly concerned about them coming back to me 6 month later after selling their car for a lower price and asking me to spot the diffrence.

its not a new car I ordered from the factory, it was a used car

Edit1: Thank you guys for the replies, what are the next steps i should do to protect meself, I am not very liquid right now and any extra charge from them might put me under. I have already contacted OMVIC to mediate the contract.

I took my 2024 Mazda CX-5 into the dealership yesterday for its 15,000 service. they came back with a list of what they wanted to do “due the mileage on my car”. I said just do the oil change please. I sat in the waiting area and listened to their highly tuned spiel to each and every customer of how much work they too needed due to the mileage…..and the very very special “Wyler Care” program that would save them so much money. hey, I bought that program the last time I was in! so when my car was done I went to the counter and they presented my bill. I told the kid I had purchased that program and he squinted and squinted and then “found my membership”. miracles do happen. had I not said anything he would no have noticed and I would have been paying the bill in full. I am livid with this dealership!!

I left there and bought another non Mazda car. so if you want to loose customers your f’d up, lying service department is a good place to start!

looking for resale value of 2024 Mazda CX5 turbo with 14,514 miles