Great experience at Hanlees Napa! I walked on the floor at the Hanlees Subaru VW dealership and was greeted (not solicited) by Eric. Right away, I sensed a difference from my other car buying experiences - he wasn't selling, instead he was asking me open ended questions and actively listening to my answers; our conversation was about my automotive needs but it was also a real conversation. As we walked around the lot looking at cars he listened to my comments and within 2 cars we were test driving the car I knew I would be buying. At this point I'm thinking - definitely a 4 star experience. Here's how they earned that 5th star.
I was also turning in my leased VW and concerned about how the VW settlement (diesel emissions law suit) payment would work. Eric clearly explained the 2 processes - lease termination & settlement payment and what my best path forward should be. We then drove to the Hanlees Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram up the road where he introduced me to Max and Miguel to complete the paperwork/financing. Max and Miguel were the icing - funny, cheerful, and most importantly knowledgeable about their profession. This is usually the part of the process where time sloooooows and you feel stuck in Dante's 8th ring with tar-sand coffee and muzak. Nope. Max offered me his Monster drink (thanks Max!) and Miguel entertained me with stories of the crazy world of auto finance (aka movie Fargo Lundegaard's).
As I drove away in my Subaru, I realized how different this experience had been from the many previous car buying experiences I've had (1st car purchased was a Jeep CJ7 in 1984). I'm just an average guy in his 50s who walked on the showroom floor in overalls, work boots and a hoodie yet was treated with professionalism and respect not hustled, pressured or ignored.
The really cool part - Eric is the General Manager and he & his team genuinely understand how to take care of their customers. I'm a customer for life.
- Karl S., 1/27/2017
