I had a very pleasant experience purchasing my vehicle at Miramar Car Center. Nico was my point of contact and never once did he pressure me to purchase a vehicle. I had my heart set on a specific vehicle, however, I wouldn’t be able to look at for another week or so since I live out of state. They told me that if it didn’t sell that weekend, that they would hold it for me for a $1,000 deposit. Thankfully, it didn’t sell, so I was able to hold it until the following Friday. When my sister and I arrived there, they were so warm and welcoming and made us feel like family. They were very straightforward and honest. Pete, the finance manager found I was being charged a line item on the purchase contract that shouldn’t be there and had it removed so I ended paying a lower price. What was amazing was they found me a better auto loan deal then I found for myself and I ended up with a lower rate and payment. The whole experience was wonderful and I would highly recommend this dealership to any who was looking to buy.

Big selection, but some concerning practices…

They had a solid inventory with alluring sticker prices, which is what brought me in. But after my visit, I left with several concerns.

First, every vehicle has about $3,000 in mandatory add-ons bundled in (GPS, window tint, ceramic coating), so the sticker price you see won’t be what you’re actually paying.

The sales approach also felt off. I’d scheduled a test drive in advance, but when I arrived, they acted like they were doing me a favor by letting me drive the car. I was told test drives are “usually the last step” in their process, and they were making an exception since the car I was interested in wasn’t a common model. That was a strange first impression, but okay.

During the drive, I noticed a few defects. Each time I pointed something out, I was told it was a “known quirk” of the car and that since it was “only” a $15,000 vehicle (before those add-ons), I shouldn’t expect things to be perfect. One issue was even something I could supposedly fix with double-sided tape.

What really got me though: for all the things they dismissed as quirks, they knew almost nothing about the car itself. They couldn’t adjust the steering wheel, couldn’t open the back windows, and couldn’t explain how any of the controls worked. When I suggested I might be more impressed if I understood how the features actually functioned, I was told it was on me to “be wowed” by the vehicle.

Great selection of cars on paper, but the experience left me looking elsewhere.