Brown Automotive Group Charlottesville Ripoff Charlottesville, Virginia

Lin, a manager, told me there would be a $250 restocking fee if I didn't go ahead with Brown. So I said go ahead since I wasn't going to pay $250. I have no idea what Brown means when it says it checks to make sure its prices are competitive. Competitive with whom? Certainly not tire and wheel dealers in Charlottesville. So again, I authorized the repair after being threatened with a $250 restocking fee and again I consider this firm a ripoff, in spite of its 29 year history - by the way feel free to check its reputation on the net. Others have complained they charge $85 for an oil change, a 180% increase over Jiffy Lube. It is nice to know they secretly record conversations with customers - gives a nice cosy feel to how they feel about customers. All the reputable companies I deal with warn you in advance that the conversation will be recorded, but I guess Brown wants to keep it hidden. I would have been happy to share with Brown exactly what I was considering - tires not suited for heavy snow where the Toyota was until recently, but much better on rain (I slid out on rain) - but never asked. But given the $250 penalty on restocking - which actually doesn't appear on the contract so was presumably just a bluff. Anyway, my advice stands. Avoid this dealership.

This note is in response to a report written by Derek. Brown Automotive has been in business for over 29 years. Though we are not always perfect, we consistently rank very high in customer satisfaction.

At Brown, we record all phone calls for the purpose of training and settling customer issues. After Dereks complaint, I went back and listened to all calls from Derek to our company.

On March 25th, Derek had his vehicle towed to our dealership with two broken wheels and two flat tires. He asked us to repair the problems by putting on the same wheels and tires that were damaged on his vehicle. This meant two custom wheels from Toyota and two high grade tires. When we called to give Derek the price, he said that he could find them cheaper but that we should go ahead and put them on, which we did.

The next week Derek called and was still unhappy with the price and stated that he could buy four tires and wheels for a little over $900.00. We offered to refund Derek the full price of the tires and explained that there may be a restocking fee on the custom wheels because once custom wheels are put on a vehicle, the wheel manufacturer considers them to be used parts.

Derek then picked up his truck, paid the bill and left. Of course, there was NO restocking fee, because Derek kept both the tires and the wheels. I spoke with derek after he picked up the vehicle and told him that we had done what he asked for and that tire and wheel prices vary. Tires can run from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars and I explained that if he wanted to spend less money on lower grade tires or wheels, we could have gotten him a less expensive product. Derek never shared with us the competitive tire or wheel quote, and therefore we never confirmed that he was comparing the same products.

As a matter of policy we review our service and parts pricing every three months to insure that we are competitive in the market place. Customers have choices when it comes to the products they buy. We sell both manufacture certified parts and after market or non-manufacturer parts which are less expensive. There are benefits to using both. We would not be able to stay in business if we were not competitive in the marketplace.

True. I should have checked. Having bought on the internet and locally for decades, I am used to and okay with local stores charging maybe 20% more cos they have to pay for space, etc. But a 100% markup? That to me defines ripoff. Brown didn't even bother trying to defend their markup. And others have complained they charge $85 for an oil change; Jiffy Lube charges $30. A 180% markup. It doesn't take rocket science to change oil. Your definition of ripoff may differ from mine, but I do agree I should have looked at Brown's ratings on the internet (dismal, all based on prices) and checked how much they were going to charge me. I stick by my term ripoff.

   Here's a thought.   How about asking how much the tires and wheels cost BEFORE you buy them?    Any simpleton knows that tires and wheels are cheaper on the Internet than they are from a dealer.  Just because you don't bother to find out what something is going to cost until after the sale, does not make the seller a ripoff.  It makes you a doofus.