For those of you who are unaware, Jaguar Land Rover South Bay falls under the AutoNation umbrella, meaning that it is not a privately owned dealership which poses a multitude of problems when attempting to file a complaint or receive help. I should mention that the last vehicle I leased, a Mercedes GLC300 from South Bay Mercedes (directly across the street from Jaguar Land Rover) was a fantastic experience. I was treated kindly by the staff and couldn't have been happier with my vehicle. My experience at Jaguar Land Rover South Bay was the complete antithesis to AutoNation's South Bay Mercedes dealership. My initial interaction with sales associate Nathaniel Hill was fraught with misinformation and a lack of care. I visited the dealership on Saturday, May 16th to view a 2019 Jaguar F-Pace. Nathaniel mentioned to me that the vehicle has navigation (it does not) and presented me with misinformation regarding engine type by stating that two of three identical vehicles listed were the 25T model (less horse power) and one of the three was a 30T - as it turns out, all three were the 30T version. After working out a deal later that day, Nathaniel asked me to meet him at the dealership the next morning. I text him asking to please make sure that the car that is reserved for me is the 30T model (at this time I thought there was only one) and to also make sure that I do not receive the showroom demo. Nathaniel did not respond to my text. I called the dealership due to Nathaniel's lack of response and spoke to general sales manager, Danielle Maynard who happened to pick up the phone. I explained that I would like to reserve the 30T model and that I did not want the showroom floor demo, she assured me that the stock number on my quote was not that of the demo and that all three vehicles were 30T. Danielle then transferred me to sales manager Andrew "Drew" Polenchar. Drew was extremely aggressive, rude, and dismissive of me on the phone. His exact words were, "you will be receiving the car we quoted" as if I did not have a choice in the matter. He then told me not to come to the dealership that night as I had been prepared to in order to make sure that I receive the correct vehicle. The next morning I arrived at the dealership ready to meet Nathaniel and was met by sales associate Roger Ribeiro instead. Nathaniel did not have the courtesy to mention he and I would not be meeting which I found to be strange after we had agreed upon it. After asking multiple times not to be given the demo and having been quoted for a vehicle that was not the demo, I ended up with the demo when there were two IDENTICAL vehicles sitting on the lot. Prior to completing paperwork, I asked once again that I be given a different vehicle and Drew said to me, "the car has only been on the showroom floor one day." He then proceeded to tell me that the other two cars were not in, "good shape." The day after getting home with my new car, I noticed that the service light was on, autonomous breaking is unavailable, forward alert is unavailable, and the lane departure feature does not work. Fast forward a few days to being caught in the rain only to find out that the windshield wipers do not work. No one took the time to inspect this vehicle prior to selling it to me. I asked Danielle Maynard the general sales manager to be to exchange this vehicle for one that did not have features that do not work, a reasonable request for having spent close to $50,000 purchasing (not leasing) a new vehicle, this did not lead any further than being told to bring the car in for servicing. NO. I specifically asked for a different vehicle that does not have issues straight off the lot, I did not ask for a service appointment. If you enjoy feeling demoralized and receiving subpar products and services, I would encourage you to shop at Jaguar Land Rover South Bay. If you would like to be treated like a human who matters, I would avoid this dealership at all costs.
Priya GS
May 26, 2020
