Recent Reviews from AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake

This was by far my worst car buying experience in my life. I am almost 46 years old I have bought both new and used vehicles, six to be exact. I have many more years of driving ahead of me, as well as many many family and friends. I will strongly encourage everyone to go to anywhere else other than AutoNation. Just like any car dealership AutoNation has the pushy sales people who “guarantee” you that you’re getting the best price. Well, this place definitely isn’t a “no-haggle” dealership. After test driving a car I was told by the sales person my car was worth $350 “That’s top dollar”. Yet when I went to look at the car two days later that “top dollar” Went up to $500. So if anyone is reading this and you do go to this place make sure you check blue book of your own car, clean it so it looks it’s best and do not accept less than the average price according to KBB. They may not come down on the price of their car. But they WILL come UP on the price of your car. Sure I’m happy they gave me more for my car but why do I have to deal with the hassle of going two different days to talk to two different people to get the “no haggle” price? My second recommendation is to have someone with you when you sign paperwork. I signed many pages and I’ll admit I didn’t pay attention to all the details. I informed two sales people and the finance person that I would be paying for the car in full. One page I signed said “nothing owed”. Perfect, that’s just what I wanted. Now 10 days later I get a call from Lance, who was not involved in my car buying experience, who was by far the rudest person I’ve ever spoke to telling me me I have to return the car or give him $1250. He explained that there was a mistake and I didn’t pay enough. I politely told him I would review my paperwork. His response “I’m telling you what your paperwork says!” I again told him I needed to look at my paperwork and would get back to them. The next day I missed a call from Lance and in short he told me if I don’t stop in and pay the $1250 or get back to them by the end of the day they were coming for the car. His accusatory tone and making me out to being some kind of thief was completely unacceptable. This matter is the fault of the dealership and they are trying to make me out to be the bad person. In short, this place clearly doesn’t care about their customers. Mistakes may happen but if they occur they need to be dealt with in a calm polite manner. This was not how I was treated and as result of this situation I will never go to this company and I encourage everyone else to take their business elsewhere.

JD S Jul 30, 2018

This was by far my worst car buying experience in my life. I am almost 46 years old I have bought both new and used vehicles, six to be exact. I have many more years of driving ahead of me, as well as many many family and friends. Believe me, I will never in my life go to AutoNation again! And I will strongly encourage everyone to go to anywhere else other than AutoNation. Just like any car dealership AutoNation has the pushy sales people who “guarantee” you that you’re getting the best price. Well, this place definitely isn’t a “no-haggle” dealership. After test driving a car I was told by the sales person my car was worth $350 “That’s top dollar”. Yet when I went to look at the car two days later that “top dollar” Went up to $500. So if anyone is reading this and you do go to this place make sure you check blue book of your own car, clean it so it looks it’s best and do not accept less than the average price according to KBB. They may not come down on the price of their car. But they WILL come UP on the price of your car when you push them hard enough. Sure I’m happy they gave me more for my car but why do I have to deal with the hassle of going two different days to talk to two different people to get the “no haggle” price? My second recommendation is to have someone with you when you sign paperwork. I signed many pages and I’ll admit I didn’t pay attention to all the details. I just wanted to get the car and go. I informed two sales people and the finance person that I would be paying for the car in full. One of the last pieces of paper I signed was stating I owed nothing. Perfect, that’s just what I was there for. Now 10 days later I get a call from some Lance, who was not involved in my car buying experience, who was by far the rudest person I’ve ever spoke to telling me me I have to return the car or give him $1250. He explained that there was a mistake and I didn’t pay enough. I politely told him I would review my paperwork. His response “I’m telling you what your paperwork says!” I again told him I needed to look at my paperwork and would get back to them. The next day I missed a call from Lance and in short he told me if I don’t stop in and pay the $1250 or get back to them by the end of the day they were coming for the car. His accusatory tone and making me out to being some kind of thief was completely unacceptable. This matter is the fault of the dealership and they are trying to make me out to be the bad person. In short, this place clearly doesn’t care about their customers. Mistakes may happen but if they occur they need to be dealt with in a calm polite manner. This was not how I was treated and as result of this situation I will never go to this company and I encourage everyone else to take their business elsewhere.

Matthew Soule Jul 27, 2018

I guess the only way to get a response from management is to post here. Purchased Used 1-owner Jeep Grand Cherokee for $ 17k May 17th Service 4wd, turn signal, hid headlight fail within 10 minutes of leaving dealership at 11pm. Told sales guy about turn signal and point out coolant leak during test drive. Told them I wanted it fixed before I left. Sales guy disclosed the previous buyer had walked away that morning because of a service four-wheel-drive light. Probably should’ve noticed that red flag. Called for service. Received email promising to repair 4wd system and make it right. Wouldn’t accept return as an option even though I was within return window. May 21st-23rd dealer diagnosed, ordered parts. Headlight and turn signal still not fixed. Coolant pooling on air box still, told it was from detailing. 29th-June 1st in for repairs to Four wheel drive system. Transfer case actuator and controller replaced and flashed at Jeep dealer. Headlight not fixed. I replaced turn signal after picking up vehicle. Notice significant coolant leak garage floor morning of June 7th. June 7th after I left work, Service 4WD system. Air suspension fails. Called AutoNation service manager to notify Dropped off June 8th at 8 am. Heard nothing until Monday afternoon the 11th. Picked up loaner Tuesday the 12th, Jeep dealer diagnosed bad water pump and air suspension compressor. Stated they can repair in 24 hours and AutoNation Ford won’t authorize warranty work. Reached out to Lance, Kurt, and Mike no returned calls from management. They have had possession of my vehicle for 14 days of the 27 since purchased. This has been an absolute nightmare. Dealer wouldn’t take vehicle back when I was clearly concerned the repairs wouldn’t be done or done properly. Insisted it would be taken care of and no reason to return to them. There was no possible way an inspection was done on this vehicle prior to sale. Refusing to honor $2000 plus in repairs under warranty. I haven’t even received my license plates or made my first payment yet. I will remove this review once things are dealt with in a professional manner like you would expect from a reputable business.

Taylor Jun 13, 2018

If you need service on your vehicle do not take it to auto nation white bear lake. I wad traveling from Wyoming to Minnesota to visit family. My passenger window regulator broke and so i needed that fixed as well as an oil change. I was told to bring it in at 8:30am and they would service it. I waited for a phone call and at noon i still hadn't received one. So i called Cindy our contact in the service department and she said they haven't gotten to it yet. I was disappointed to hear that as we traveled from Blaine in rush hour traffic to get there by 8:30am that they hadn't even worked on it yet. I waited for the phone call to give me an estimate. I finally received a phone call at 2:30pm stating the window regulator would be $707.00 plus the oil change of $59.99. I was very surprised as i had the drivers side window fixed for the regulator and it was $400. Then Cindy stated there was a hole in pinion rack and steering and to fix that it would be $2700. Holy smokes! What!?$%#. I said don't fix that. Talk about trying to take advantage of someone. I told her i would call back in the window. I called my Wyoming dealer and they quoted me $425 the window. I called Cindy back and told her that her quote was high way robbery. She said well i don't know what they charge in Wyoming but it must be a lot different. I stated we only have 1 ford dealer and they are honest. I told her to just do the oil change and of course i had to pay $100 to diagnose the window. It ended up costing me an additional 40 for my oil change. So i essentially paid 100 for an oil change. Again high way robbery. Luckily my uncle was around to help me and found any exceptional mechanic near there. He fixed the window for $370 and the pinion rack and steering and a front end alignment for an additional $539. The total bill was $909. Praise the Lord! For reals. I almost got suckered into over $3k for work. I am sceptical that auto nation might have damaged my pinion rack and steering to take advantage of an out of state women needing vehicle maintainence. I will NEVER go back to this dealership. I'm very disappointed in the lack of trust it gives me for car dealerships.

Wytraveler Jul 24, 2017

Autonation Ford. Where to begin.Well I started out going there due to needing service on my vehicle. I bought a 2014 Taurus Sho with 21,000 miles on it. It was a stellar car until it broke down on me. Long and short of that is that one of its two turbos was blown. I am not a hard driver on the car so I was very perplexed. I had brought it in when the service area was closed but the lube area was open. I knew that they were still able to take the car and take my statement as to what I was experiencing and get me set up with a rental. Man was I wrong.The lube staff were less than ideal to deal with. The made me feel like I was stupid for even brining my car in on the first place and that was just the First Lady that asked me "did you need something?"Then, after getting nowhere with her, I spoke to another guy who walked up and said along the lines of the same thing to me. The conclusion to this was me walking out of the place due to being told they could not give me a loner for my $30,000 car and that I was sh** out of luck. Knowing that this is not how service areas are with my experience with the ppl around the metro; I went next door to the sales area.I spoke to the store manager. He was awesome. He listened to my story, was surprised at how I was treated over there, and asked that I do not let them decide my opinion of the dealership as a whole. I told him it will not be possible as I was in an extraordinary vulnerable position and was kicked..hard.He explained to me that due to not buying my vehicle from their dealership (I bought it from fury) that they could not provide me with a loner for warranty work. I was so shocked at this. Money is not everything in this world but I couldn't believe this. This is the most I've spent on a vehicle as I am 27 and have never felt so not taken care of.This car was under a manufacturer warranty still. There should have been no questions. But once again, I said fine. I left my car in the care of the store manager who the nicely enough gave me a ride to a local car rental shop who then made me pay around $400 for a rental for three days while my car was being fixed.Ford had my car for almost three weeks to replace a turbo. When I got it back, I had it for around 18 hours (4 of which I was driving it). I brought it to Monticello to purchase a secondary vehicle. After closing, it came to a grinding halt while leaving the dealers lot. I called Autonation and spoke to Cindy again about what was happening. She seemed very surprised. With the experience I had in vehicles, I noticed that a little oil came out of the car. This car takes six quarts. I had guessed that when replacing the turbo, someone forgot to fill the car back up with oil which after paying for a $270 dollar tow, I found out the engine was blown. I was eventually reemburst for the tow after some weeks. This car had less than 30,000 miles on it and now the engine was toast. I only had it back for not even a full 24 hours! I was so disappointed. After waiting weeks for this job to be done, I was offered a loaner this time but declined as I had my second vehicle now. When I finally got my car back I was not explained any type of break ins to do to the brand new motor and had to ask. At this point I was speaking to the service manager and the master mechanic who had done the work on my car. They were both very willing to speak to me which was nice.The mechanic gave me a long story of parts that were not factory that were on the vehicle when I bought it. He told me to change them back to factory. So I did. I did everything he told me. To do. I had the car in two more times for other issues that were fixed. I est the car having around $22000 in warranty work. The car is terrible. The lube experience was even worse. But these people that I have dealt with were great in every step of the way. I am a bit hesitant to go there each time, but am always taken care of by Cindy. She is amazing.See her. I would buy anything from Autonation!The reason they do not get 5 stars is because of the brand car and that fordnotbuyingitback.

david sawacke Jun 6, 2017

After two new vehicles purchased and having AutoNation WBL do all of the service work exclusively on those two vehicles, I'm done. As a former technician, I'm sensitive to the industry and how fickle customers can be, but I'm also aware that things can go poorly, and the customer can be taken advantage of. In my case, I had some routine maintenance as well as some repairs that I needed on my F350. I put a comprehensive list together for my service advisor, Steve Miner, and to make things easier, I gave them 15 days to complete the work while I was out of town on vacation. Upon returning home, I went to pick up my truck and discovered that they had failed to complete all the work that I had asked them to do. Steve apparently got caught up in so much other work that it just slipped his mind that the truck was supposed to go to the body shop to have some PDR work done. Worse, they claimed the battery I had installed last fall was leaking acid and needed to be replaced. Since I'd bought the battery elsewhere, and it was still under warranty, I told them I'd take the battery back to Batteries Plus, where I'd bought it.(Later, upon doing that, I discovered there was nothing wrong with the battery to begin with. It seems as if AutoNation was trying to sell me a battery I didn't need.) Although irritating, and insulting, I was willing to overlook this. Upon leaving AutoNation, I drove approximately 3 miles, and one of the issues my truck had been at the dealer for (for the 2nd time), memory steering, was worse than ever. They claimed they could not verify this problem (for the 2nd time). I immediately turned around and drove the truck back. I described the issue, and the mechanic that worked on the truck came out and took it for a test drive with me. Fortunately they were now able to verify the problem of memory steering. Steve assured me he'd get the truck in ASAP and get it handled. Steve called me later that day to let me know that it's a good thing that I brought the truck back, because in addition to the memory steer issue, they apparently FORGOT to put the fan clutch in that they diagnosed as being faulty! Five more days pass. Steve finally calls to let me know that they've fixed the memory steer issue and the fan clutch issue. After having my truck for 20 total days, I picked it up and all seemed to be well, save for the two dings they were supposed to fix originally. I subsequently had a conversation with Rob, the service manager, expressing my dissatisfaction. I wasn't looking for anything in return, but to let him know of my awful experience and why I would no longer be a customer of AutoNation WBL. He was apologetic. Sadly, a few days later I attempted to use the window washers to clean my windshield only to find they didn't work. I was a little puzzled, since it's part of "the works" to top off washer fluid. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the hoses that attach to the washer jets were hanging loose--the barbed nipples on the jets had been broken off. Apparently, during the process of fixing the things, they broke them off. At this point I called Rob, the service manager and left a message. No return call. I waited a few days and called Rob once more and left a message, again, no return call. At this point, it's clear to me that the culture in the service department at AutoNation White Bear Lake is one of incompetence and irresponsibility, and apparently it starts at the top, with Rob, who can't be bothered to return a phone call. There are plenty of Ford dealers in the Twin Cities, find a different one to service your vehicles! I've attached photos of the hanging washer fluid hoses and broken washer jets.

Eric Oberg Apr 23, 2017

Absouelty dishonest and terrible customer service ! Two years ago I purchased my first car and signed papers three times. The first time I signed for the car and premium maintenance package, then I was called and informed I needed to come in and resign paper work because something was not correct with the paperwork on there end. So my boyfriend I went back in and signed paperwork. I was informed that nothing has changed with my agreement and that the finance person simply just missed something and I needed to resign, so I did. I then was called again a few weeks later saying I needed to come in again and re sign paper work , and same story was told to me, so again my boyfriend and I went back in and signed paperwork. Finally the third time was the charm and I signed paperwork and made my first payment around feb of 2015 , 'mind you I had been driving my car since dec of 2014. It came due for an oil change and I went into quick lane and was under the impression I had the premium maintenance package which I had signed up for the first time I signed my paperwork . So I assumed the oil change was covered. I was told by several people I didn't have this package multiple times I went in for oil changes in the past two years and had to fight with the dealership to explain my case. Anyway Long story short I was informed yesterday which it has been two years since I purchased this car that when I signed the second and third time that the maintenance package was taken off due to the bank not approving me for the amount . The dealership never informed me of this when I signed the second and third time . The only thing I knew was the dealership messed up on paperwork and that was why I was needing to resign. I was also told I received 4 free oil changes to compensate for this , which is true but I was never informed as to why they were free. I was always under the impression I had this warranty up until yesterday. I felt completely cheated and that I had been lied to from a what is suppose to be a reliable dealership. My family has purchased cars/trucks from tousled ford for 10 plus years and since autonation has taken over we have had nothing but terrible customer service and unreliable help. Sorry to say this but you have lost some customers!

Maria Smith Jan 18, 2017

I have done business with Autonation (formerly Tousley) since December 2012. Over the years there have been several issues (detailed at the end of this review) that I have forgone and continued to return up until now. I called 10 days in advance to schedule annual maintenance for a car I store in the winter. The customer service rep confirmed my information and reserved the day/time (11/21/16 @ 10:00 AM). I received an email days later asking me to reconfirm my appointment which I did. On the day of service my wife drove the car to the dealership for service and upon arrival was informed that they would not be able to service the car due to a staffing issue (technician was out for the day). When I called and spoke with my usual contact (Steve Minar) he told me there was nothing they could do, the technician was out for the day for personal reasons. I expressed my concern that snow was coming the next day and that I really needed to get it serviced and he said there was nothing they could do. Further, I told him that it would have been helpful for Autonation to at least make a courtesy call to let us know that they would not be able to service the car to save us the trip to the dealership. He said they didn't have the time to call us that morning. If you can't provide a service that is scheduled, at least make the time to call your clients to reschedule. Further, staff up so you can follow through with service appointments. Issues: 2012 - Car detail that resulted in permanent damage to the finish of the car. 2013 - Improperly installed clutch that resulted in the car going into reverse when it was shifted into first gear almost resulting in an accident. 2014 - A car detail that resulted in a complete re-detail along with a voucher for another detail (it was that bad). I never used the voucher because I could not believe how bad the initial detail was. 2014 - A service technician stalled the car 3 times in the back parking area trying to drive it into the garage. He did not know how to drive a clutch and after the 3rd stall, I asked him to get out of the car and let me drive it. 2015 - Technician that performed the service forgot to empty the oil to air separator. 2016 - Scheduled maintenance was not performed due to a staff member out for the day. Autonation couldn't take a moment to call in advance and let us know. I am not one to complain or leave negative reviews but over the years, these issues have added up. If you are reading this, I recommend finding another dealership that is better organized and committed to delivering better customer service.

Josiah Neuman Nov 23, 2016

I would just like to let people know about my terrible experience with Auto Nation Ford in White Bear Lake and highly recommend not buying or servicing a vehicle there. I purchased a vehicle in May and the purchase process was actually good. My sales rep Jay was helpful and even got a few minor things taken care of for me to help make the deal. Sadly, that’s where the good experience ended. Ive had issues with the finance department, service, and also management. I pretty much feel I was sold a car with many issues that should’ve been discovered prior to selling it and Certifying it. I have had my vehicle in 5 times since May. And each of these times the service was very slow and has left me without the vehicle I purchased for probably about a month if you add up all the days its taken them to fix issues. Three days after my purchase I had to bring it into the dealership because the push button ignition wouldn’t turn off. Shortly after that I confirmed that there was a leak involving one of the powertrain parts. Initially I thought this was just the AC so this issue also was likely something they could have discovered in the certifying process. Ive had 3 door latches replaced, a issue with the sunroof track fixed, 2 issues with knocking or rattling with components near the firewall, and broken clips on the rear fender that required a new fender. During the course of these issues the service was far slower then had I brought it to a local service shop. Several times I was told my vehicle would be done sooner then it was and basically management did almost nothing to try and make things right for a customer who experience many issues. I even gave them several chances to do right by me by continuing to bring my vehicle in and was told by management that they cared about my business and me as a customer. The fact is they simple don’t care once the vehicle has been sold. In my opinion management did nothing to do right by me and continually over promised and under performed. Many of the times I brought my vehicle in for service I had issues and nothing was done to try and do right as they stated, but the most recent one is the straw that broke the camels back. I will never buy, service or recommend them to anyone I know and would strongly caution anyone thinking of going to Auto Nation. Prior to my visit as I had each of these issues I sent messages to Sue, who I was told is the GM at Auto Nation, in hopes that she would do something to make things right and retain a customer. Although I cant confirm this as I never spoke to her and she couldn’t be bothered to reply or contact me directly. She chose to delegate my issue to Rob. During my most recent service visit I was told that a service manager (Rob) would be involved in the process so that they could do right by me being that I was giving them yet another chance to prove my opinion about them wrong. We got my car checked in and he gave me the impression that he would stream line the process and expedite as much as he could. Well after 2 days I received a call from a service rep stating that the vehicle wouldn’t be done prior to the weekend and they would need to keep it longer then the expectation I was given. During the call I kind of felt like I was being fed a line as to how much time/work they had actually done on my vehicle in the 2 days they had it. So I asked some straight forward digging in questions and found out that basically they had completed zero of the 4 things I needed them to do. ZERO! I was pissed so I called Rob immediately to ask what was going on as he assured me this was going to be streamlined. He said they determined the rear fender needed to be replaced and would need to be repainted and that was basically all they had accomplished. I asked him why in 2 days couldn’t they have worked on the other service issues while they waited for approval or whatever from the body shop. He basically said sorry and when I pressed him more admitted they could have done other things while it sat there waiting for the body shop. At that point I just gave up on them and ultimately it took them 8 days to replace and repaint a fender and fix/stop the fuel line retainer from knocking into the firewall causing a knocking noise. 8 DAYS!!! And I never heard from Rob the entire time other then the time I called him. When I went to pick up my vehicle I was met with yet another disappointment in customer service. Rob was nowhere to be found and they didn’t even wash my vehicle. I mean something so simple as a car wash for a customer who has had nothing but issues with them. Seriously think twice about dealing with Auto Nation….aka the WalMart of car dealerships. And honestly Ive had better customer service at Walmart.

Jamie Wyman Oct 21, 2016

I've taken two different vehicles here on seperate occasions and left with a bad taste in my mouth both times. The first time I brought my truck in for a recall on the passenger airbag. I was told maximum two hours to fix it and that they would give me a ride to my house after dropping the truck off but not a ride back and that I had to be responsible for that; which as we all know is a hassle if everyone you know is working and can't give you a ride. After three hours they called back and said that they could install a new driver side airbag as that was also on recall; another two hours and basically the end of my productive day now. Three hours later I rode my bicycle the five miles to their shop and waited another two hours for them to complete my truck. I waited around all day for what I was initially told on the phone "should take an hour to an hour and a half" and they didn't want to accommodate me the way I thought that they would with a ride back to pick up my repeat-recalled issue truck. Second time I brought my mothers Lincoln into the dealership for new front pads/rotors as they were squealing on her visit to see me from Wisconsin. Additionally i wanted to have them look at an electrical shorting problem that was causing a fuse to blow intermittenly and cause the car not to start for her. They said the car needed new brakes in the front (as I already knew; $450) a new third brake LED light as that was the cause of the electrical short ($400), a new tie rod ($300), and new tires all around (who knows $$$$). Ended up paying them the $400 for front brakes as those were an immediate need and $150 for the "diagnosis" of the electrical problem. My mother then took her car to her usual mechanic when she got back home and found out that no new tie rod was needed (but a wheel alignment was), her tires had enough tread on them for roughly 10,000 miles of safe driving, and that the electrical short was coming from detached wiring in the door of the car, NOT the super expensive upcharged LED brake light they were trying to charge for (found it on Amazon for $80 when they wanted to charge $400 for the light itself). I do have to say, however, that they did get my mothers car in next day (which was better than the week they told me initially for an appointment); however they didn't look at it for another day to fully diagnosis the problem. To make matters worse; the dealership will also call you and ask if you'd "like to sell the vehicle that you just brought in or trade up to a new one" after you've had your service. Theyve done this both times to me. It just leaves an even more bitter taste in my mouth from this untrustworthy, "tell the customer what they want to hear" philosophy, and also upcharged gouge pricing and wrongly-diagnosed-issues-for-profit attitude. Sorry, I will never take another vehicle here again.

Richard B Oct 13, 2016

I did a review after buying and gave them all positive words. But now after working with them the last (almost) year that I have had my car, I wish I could give no stars, but then I can't warn you about them. BE CAREFUL WITH THESE GUYS! I bought a car only 3 years old at the time, one owner, still great condition. Within one month of driving, my electrical is all out of whack. My power steering goes out when I am driving, my car locks and unlocks with free will, my radio works when it wants, and the list goes on with problems that have almost caused accidents. This would be fine if Autonation would fix it. But with my silver protection plan, and their wonderful service department, they cannot seem to find any issues... Upon insisting that nothing is wrong with it, then sent me away, and before I got on the highway, my electrical started flicking on and off again. Interesting. Fast forward almost a year. My clutch goes out. I insist that part of the problem is electrical, because the car shifts when it is off, but once an electrical current is running through the car, it won't work. I am communicating this to a man in the service department. I am telling him about all of the issues the car has. He interrupts me every time I start to talk, as if to shut me up. He tells me "no, no, no" whenever I have something to say. Then he raises his voice to talk over me. I am not at all sure what that was about, but it was incredibly rude. Keep in mind, I have a silver protection plan on the car and am supposed to get a loaner car when I have to bring mine in. So I tell them upon my better judgement that I will bring the car in, but need a loaner for work. The rude man tells me they don't have a loaner for me, but I can bring the car in... Um, what? I tell him that isn't an option for me, and I don't even know if driving the car in is a good idea. He tells me again that they cannot give me a loaner and continues his very rude tone with every word. They have no loaners available he tells me. I ask to transfer to a supervisor before I lose it. He transfers me. I explain to the supervisor that my clutch is out, and I need a loaner. He is magically able to find a loaner car immediately. Interesting. So I bring in my car... Now the real fun begins, as if there wasn't enough fun in dealing with them already. They have my car for almost a week before they even diagnosed the problem. Then a week later they tell me they fixed it. Then immediately tell me they were wrong and it still isn't working. They send it out to be diagnosed by real mechanics. They get the car back. They fix it and it is ready A MONTH AFTER GETTING IT. It literally took a team of mechanics a month to diagnose and fix my clutch. I get a call on Monday afternoon to tell me the car is ready to picked up. I tell them that I can pick it up on Wednesday. I am then threatened with charges for keeping the loaner car too long. WTF? I am also told it will be $1500 on the dot. That is WITH my silver protection plan. I confirm that I can pay with a card over the phone when I pick the car up. I bring the loaner back on Wednesday. I go to the desks where they deal with checking in your car and getting a loaner, etc. The same woman is there from when I picked up the car. I tell her I would like to take my car for a quick test drive. She tells me I can do that after I pay for it. Excuse me? I tell her I am not paying her $1500 until I test drive my car. She gives me attitude and acts as if I am being such trouble. But I stood my ground, and I tested the car first. I had to actually verbally request that I get all the paperwork from the car repairs because they were not going to give them to me. Weird, but normal protocol for autonation I guess. I am met with more attitude about this request. And on top of it, I am pretty sure they didn't give me all the paperwork anyway. Then it comes time to pay. I inform the woman that I would like to pay with a card over the phone, and I call to get the card number. The woman tosses a piece of scrap paper and a pen at me to write down the card number. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that illegal for them to have? I tell the woman that I am not going to write down a credit card number on a scrap paper and tell her she can have my phone and the card info will be read to her for processing. She acts as if it is so much trouble to walk 20 steps to the credit card machine. So much attitude at autonation! I give her my phone and she immediately coughs all over my screen. Gross! Then she runs the card. I finally have my car back. The check engine light is on, the tire pressure gauge light is on, a service note pops up whenever I turn my car on, and it is leaking something now. PLEASE, FOR YOUR OWN SANITY, DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR TIME OR MONEY! I AM SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE, IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

Diane Satriano Aug 22, 2016

I have never gone out of my way to write a review before, but I'm writing one now to urge you to steer clear of this place. I bought a certified used vehicle from this location. It had less than 40,000 miles on it, and is a 2013. I was assured that because it was a certified vehicle everything on it was practically new (tires, brakes etc), and that everything had been inspected. To be safe, I also bought the top level warranty coverage so I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket for most repairs. I drove to Minneapolis after driving it out of the lot, and it started shuddering during shifting. I brought it back to get repaired. A couple of weeks later I brought it in because it started whining while I was driving. It was the transmission. I told them that it still seemed to hesitate while accelerating, but they told me the clutch had been replaced previously and it was now ok. I brought it in a third time because the check engine light kept coming on, and it was grinding when braking - the brake pads needed to be replaced. Also, they recommended new tires and gave me a quote for all of this. I was told they were all replaced when I bought the vehicle. They didn't know why the check engine light was on, because it went off when I brought the car in. I brought it in again for grinding and hesitating, and for new tires. They told me it was just the abs and the clutch was fine. Fast forward three months and the car shudders whenever I try to accelerate. I can turn the check engine light on by pressing my foot on the floor by the brakes, and it still sounds horrible and grinds when I brake. Now it's not covered by the 90 day warranty, and despite the extra coverage I purchased I am now responsible for a portion of the costs to replace whatever is wrong with it. I am about to bring it in for the fifth time in less than 6 months. This car runs worse that the old car with 160,000 miles I replaced it with. It has been nothing but a headache. After all the inconveniences, including a missed out of state road trip vacation due to the car being in the shop, I would hope the customer service would at least have been alright. Instead, they attempted to charge me for the work completed despite extended warranty and being within the 90 days, and when I asked for another key for the car I was told it would be over 300. I understand paying for products you use, but when a customer is inconvenienced this much, and lied to, I think it would be better to make amends if possible. Again, I have never written a negative review on any business. A car is a huge purchase, and not one to take on lightly. I urge you to look elsewhere. Learn from my mistakes.

Elaine Grant Jul 14, 2016

We had purchased a Ford Focus there. The salesperson was not very knowledgeable about the differences between the model one up from what we bought--and the one we got. While she was friendly, she admitted she was new. Fine. We could live with that. What really upset me was that we were told to leave a perfect review about our buying experience. That's padding the numbers and dishonest of the company. I left a nearly perfect review--and it still was positive. Only one number was a 4 out of 5. All the rest were 5's. So she CALLED ME!! She stated she was not getting a bonus or something because of my review and harassed me for 1/2 an hour over this. Then the car itself.... It should not be sold in Minnesota. It looks at a leaf in the next county on a dry day and slides all over the road. We made it clear that my husband drives delivery and needed a safe vehicle. This one isn't. It frequently bottoms out. Tires all ran out of air in 2 weeks of bringing the car home. We took it to our nearest for dealers. They scratched the car...blamed us. BIG SCRATCHES. They charged us for the tire repairs even though we have the tire coverage. So this car has sat in my garage for one year. We have not driven it. We bought a Chrysler 300 instead and it's a great car! When we bought the Ford Focus, we knew by the time we got home from the dealer that we didn't want the car. We called right away and wanted to return the car. But it was 20 miles past 300 miles, so we couldn't return the car. That means we have been paying on this piece of crap throughout the entire lease period. I've had bad experiences with 4 different ford dealers including Auto-nation on ONE vehicle. I will NEVER by another Ford again. I can't wait to get this car back to Ford and never hear from Autonation again. Between them finding a loophole to lock you into a vehicle you don't want, and harassment post purchase from salespeople--it's the worst place to shop.

Christina BlackFeather May 18, 2016

Bought a car that was previously owned only by the dealership which they used as their loaner, but the sales guy didn't seem to know much about it, or he didn't want to tell me. High pressure sales. I felt backed into a corner with their financing offers and they made me post-date a check when they knew I only had $1,000 for down payment. Then later I had a bunch of time wasted by the guy who signs everything with you, who is essentially 2nd string sales trying to pressure you into expanded warranties that make you take out more financing. I told him I don't want anything extra and that I had to get to work, but he still kept me there, blabbing on and on with his sales pitches. The whole process wound up taking three and a half hours and it made me late for work. After buying, customer service has been a joke. Lots of automated emails asking for your praise and reviews, but if you reply with a concern or question it's a gamble on getting a response, then more waiting for the info I requested. I had to ask multiple times to just get a couple documents emailed to me, when I finally got a response he said he'll send it tomorrow but didn't. Eventually I got a couple files sent to me but I still didn't get everything I asked for, such as the vehicle's maintenance records. It was owned and maintained solely by the dealership so I know they have that information. I saw it when I was buying the car but they didn't give it to me when I left. This freaks me out and seems shady. They advertised a $150 gas card and maintenance coupons and STILL have not received them over a month later! They said it comes with 6 months of Sirius XM radio, and even though my radio has a Sirius button, it doesn't work. Funny thing is, it worked the day I bought it when I tried to check the radio ID number, but then mysteriously stopped working the next day when I was ready to activate the free trial. Going to try to contact them again to get my maintenance records and gas card, but right now I feel like I was taken advantage of and then pushed to the side. Shady business and lack of customer support is NOT worth a little bit of upfront savings!!

Skroller Psybreaks Mar 30, 2016

Had a mixed experience here. We were looking to purchase a truck. On our first visit the sales person we spoke with spent a long time talking to us about what would meet our needs. We left more knowledgable and wanted to do some research. The next day we visited a couple more dealerships to compare and contrast vehicles, and had a less then satisfactory experience at both so returned to auto nation to talk with the same person. He wasn't there that day so we were introduced to a new person, and ultimately decided we were ready to purchase a truck they had on the lot. The new sales person and her manager both stated at separate times that the truck we were looking at could tow 9200 lbs. which we knew would more then meet our needs. The manager who was working on getting us a trade in value and terms for the loan was having a very difficult time getting the information we wanted and we sat there for 2 hours waiting to get the different options for our loans. It started to get very frustrating. In the end, we ended up being there for around 6 hours. We were well taken care of during this time and the sales person we were talking to was working very hard to find us the vehicle with the exact trim specifications we were looking for, and we left happily in our new truck. The next day I got out the owners manual to check tow capacity and did some math. Turns out the truck we were told would tow 9200 lbs would only tow about 7200 lbs. Now, I take the responsibility on this for taking the word of the sales people over actually looking at the numbers (which, to be fair, ARE provided in the sales brochure, I just falsely believed the sales people were quoting accurate information). In summary, it turns out the sales people aren't very knowledgable about stuff like towing, and I wish I would have asked for the towing capacity of the specific vehicle I was purchasing rather then take their word on the general towing capacity of the f-150. It is frustrating however, that they quoted the 9200lbs to me rather then say "we aren't sure, but here is where you can find the numbers" or something like that. We were pleased with the sales person we talked with on the first day and the time he took to answer all of our questions and educate us on some things we were clueless about. The actual sales process was fairly long and frustrating, and it turns out that in general, much to my suprise, sales people may not be much in the know about the towing capacity of vehicles. I got the truck liner and bed cover installed on my vehicle a few days after purchase and was pleased with the service center/ customer serviced I received. I would send people I know to this dealership, but I would definitely caution to ask to see numbers or anything you have questions on in writing rather then believe what you are being told.

Courtney Gabel Mar 13, 2016

Before I write my review, I would like to mention I have been a loyal customer for over ten years. In that time, I have bought a few vehicles, and my family has bought over a dozen. So this review comes not from one single visit upset customer but someone who USED to be an advocate for AutoNation for a long time. As a dealership they have really gone down not only in quality but in customer service severely in the past few years. They do not stand by their cars or service. Every department works against each other and no one takes any responsibility for their actions. I recently bought a used car and it obviously was not inspected properly or even worse was and they just push it onto the lot. The SUV I bought had severe leaks, missing safety features (which the dealership is legally obligated to repair before the sale of any vehicle), plus a variety of other mechanical issues that they did not disclose. Its a lemon. I originally went to them because my previous car died, and they said they would help me and get me into a solid, dependable vehicle. Plus Ive been with them for years and I believe in loyalty. Rather they took full advantage of me. I made the dealership aware of the issues I had right away with the SUV and they were going to charge me to bring it in, even though I had it for not even a week. Everyone kept waving me aside when I called saying it was an AS IS car so tough luck. Remember, safety issues were wrong on the car, which they are LEGALLY obligated to repair. And I made them aware of it instantly. After many phones calls, finally spoke to the GM and they said they would make it right. This is their favorite phrase they have said it for years and I swear every time they say it, it loses its meaning more and more. I tried trading the car back, refunding it, any option to get rid of it. Remember, I had all these issues with the car before my first payment. And I also didnt drive it for half the time of having the car due to it not working properly. Their making it right was having me eat well over $2,000. So they could make a profit out of me three times over. I am still stuck with this car. My brother also bought a car from there a few years ago and the transmission blew with in the first 30 days. You think we would have learned our lesson. Unfortunately, like most people we are not mechanics and trusted them too much. Brings me to their service department, used car department, etc. They are terrible and do the bare minimum to make a car pass, or worse say we missed that. Do not use them, or trust them. God forbid some gets hurt in one of their vehicles. I have taken my car to other mechanics after them and they will call them out about their poor job. They will not make anything right nor admit when they screw up. I could talk forever about their terrible service department, but I will move on. The finance section, if you work with Mike Ferraro, walk away. He is infamous for raising the price of a car then lowering it to make it seem like youre getting a discount; his making it right. In short, the lesson to learn people, DO NOT buy a used car no matter what the condition it is from AutoNation. They are no better than your local used car salesman. I would only buy a brand new car with an amazing deal from them. Because that way their service department had nothing to do with it, and you wont have to worry about the headache I received. Go to Maplewood Toyota or a dealership that will stand by their cars and guarantee them. Toyota no matter what condition one month or 1,000 miles will fix any issue with your car. Plus at Toyota you may get some decent service. My problem was I put trust into my relationship with AutoNation and expected my loyalty to matter, but in the end they care more about making a few extra bucks then you returning. Sadly, I had the same sales guys for over a decade, great guys. But unfortunately they work for a company that cuts corners, doesnt support them, and does not care about your satisfaction. Best part is I am buying a new car in a few months but not from them. My family, friends, any one I run into, I will make sure does not go there. Find a different Ford dealership if you want a Ford.

cameroncylk Feb 20, 2015

My wife and I have leased 4 vehicles from this dealership. Our sales guy Terry is always great. Never hassles us and always finds the right vehicle. The Service Department on the other hand is sub par. Every time we use them for maintenance on our vehicles, we always have issues. Our latest misadventure is currently happening. I called last Tuesday about a low coolant light, getting an oil change, and to get the 15k mile maintenance. They couldn't get me in until Friday at 1pm for my appointment. Unfortunately on my way to the dealership, my car overheated twice. I still managed to get to my appointment at 1pm. Got my car squared away and let them know what was going on. I was told that they would look at my vehicle and get back to me about what was going on, but that I might not get it back on Friday. I was fine with that and eventually left. At approximately 6pm, I had not heard back from anyone in the Service Department. I called and eventually got a hold of someone in the department. I was told that my vehicle had not even been looked at on Friday due to it being "very busy", but that my vehicle would be near the top of the list for Saturday. Now I got pretty irate with the gentleman on the phone, but I feel pretty justified in this. I had an appointment scheduled on Tuesday for a Friday service and I didn't even get it looked at. What is the point of scheduling an appointment, when it doesn't even get my service on that day? My wife and I agreed that AutoNation Ford is not living up to the Ford brand. I can honestly say that this is the last time my wife and I will ever have a Ford vehicle. We love the vehicles and the sales, but what is the point of it all if we cannot get it serviced properly? I know someone will read this and say "hey, sorry about your experience with us. Pleas give me a call and we can talk more about it." I don't want to talk about it after the fact. I want proactive, good, and knowledgeable service. I don't want someone to try to solve it afterwards.

Michael Tucci Jan 3, 2015

I recently took my truck to AutoNation for a collision repair, through an insurance claim, and it was an extremely frustrating situation. When I dropped my truck off I clearly detailed all the issues I was having after the accident, the same issues I informed the insurance company about prior to bringing my truck in, and gave them a copy of what my insurance company had already estimated for repairs. I was told I would receive a daily call updating me on the status of my vehicle which never happened. When I did receive a call, from the insurance company that was covering the claim, I was told that they were not going to cover portions of the claim. I would have to call the mechanic regarding the other issues because the insurance guy didn't understand what damage we were talking about. That is when the trouble really started. I called the first mechanic (Dave) and spoke to him and he told me he would have another mechanic call me back because he had never been informed there was another issue to look at other than my bumper. Another mechanic called me back and I began to describe the issue with my vehicle, as soon as he started to reply the store manager grabbed the phone and interrupted our conversation to tell me that nothing else would be covered under the claim. The manager didn't even know what we were talking about and he refused to let me get a word in edgewise to clarify the actual problem. The manager kept insisting we were talking about a different issue and he was adamant that there is no way it could have been caused by the accident, however he wasn't talking about the same thing I was. I even had to put my wife on the phone because I was getting so frustrated with the store manager (who isn't a mechanic and had never even seen my vehicle) not listening to what I was saying. He wouldn't let my wife talk either or listen to her. He was extremely rude and pushy. We had to get our insurance agent to call them to get them to take my truck for a test drive. They called the insurance agent back to tell him that the store manager could find no issue when he took the truck out and completely invalidated our concern, but a later review of our "tattler" in the vehicle showed he only went 2 miles with a top speed of 52 miles on his "test" drive which isn't going to allow someone (especially someone who isn't a mechanic) to accurately evaluate the performance of a truck. At that point they had no other "authorized" repairs left on my vehicle yet I didn't hear back from them for days. Finally four days later I called them to inquire when I could pick up my truck since they weren't willing to actually check out the other issue and was told they were waiting for me to call them. The store manager immediately had attitude with me and was talking over me when I was asking about getting my truck back. This man has no concept of customer service or even general decency. Based on their poor customer service, rude management and lack of thoroughness I would never recommend anyone bring their vehicle here, even if the repairs are being covered by insurance.

Robert Tambornino Nov 5, 2013

FRUSTRATED Nov 4, 2013

First of all, we understand everyone who is out working is there to make a living but I would never make that point so bluntly to a customer of mines especially when there is a big commitment involved. We were also told that the price they list there is the lowest they could go and there were no negotiating. At first, we did have a good salesman help us as first and then had to leave for a family event, this was later on during the day so it was understandable. We were then paired up with another salesman who we felt was not knowledgeable and could not answer or address some of the questions and concerns we had. I felt at times he ignored questions I was asking or attempts from me to try and be social with him. Keep in mind, this is our first attempt at looking into Ford. We test drove a 2010 Ford Edge and I remember asking questions and getting either a short answer, he didn't know, or he was going to find out for us. Finally we got through the test drive and started walking back to the dealership, it was then that we saw the new 2013 Ford Escape and wanted check it out. We test drove the Ford Escape as well and after both test drive, I liked the Escape and my wife liked the Edge. We told him we were undecided but wanted to see how much it was for either car out the door. The Edge was a used car and the Escape was a new car, having some numbers would have helped us make our decision easier as the Escape with the manufacturing discount was approaching the price of the used 2010 Edge. When I made this requested, it must have irritated him and his response was that we should make a decision on which car we wanted first and then he'll show us some numbers. He also said that if he gave us some numbers, he already knows we will shop around to find the best deals and tell other dealers to beat his numbers. He then told us to do our shopping around first and then come back with quotes he can try and beat to which I thought the prices were not negotiable. He proceeded to say that he is there to make money and would rather work with someone else who is ready to buy as he is losing out on time and money working with us. He gave us his card, then sent us out the door. We had questions he said he would addressed earlier during the test drive but we felt we needed to leave. We ended up buying 2010 Ford Edge from Midway Ford in Roseville the next day, the salesman there was informative, upfront, made us feel comfortable and asked us what he needed to do to get us our car. Also a plus as for basically the same price we ended up with a similar car that has 10000 less miles on it.

La Sep 2, 2013

I wouldn't shop here ever again even if they paid me! My first salesman was terribly arrogant and condescending, just because I am a 20 something woman buying a car doesn't mean I am stupid, will give in to your rushing tactics or will change my mind on the exact features I am looking for in a certain price range. My second salesman just dropped the ball. I talked to him for 15 or 20 minutes giving him what I was looking for and he ended the call with I will call you when I find something. I got an email a week or two later asking if I was still in the market. I told him I no longer needed his services since he didn't write anything down and didn't know he told me he would be looking for me. Back to salesman one and the condescendtion. He sent a list of cars and I found one I wanted. I contacted the deal and got salesman number three. The third salesmen was MUCH better. He was really the factor that pushed me to buy the car. I would have stopped looking here after the first and second salesman but Tousley is the only dealership in Minnesota that offers the CostCo discount program. My third salesman was really easy to work with, young and NOT arrogant, not pushy and he turned out to make the buying process really friendly. My only problem is he has dropped the ball since I have bought the car. I have had 4 or 5 questions since I have bought and he was supposed to get back to me "in a few hours" with answers and it has been a month. My finance lady was also terrible. She pushed an extra warranty really hard and when I didn't want one and finally convinced her I understood what not buying an extended warranty meant she was cold. I asked her to fax some of the paperwork to my insurance company and she told me the paper they use doesn't show up well and that is wasn't necessary. She also told me my insurance was fine and that I would be covered when I drove off the lot. She had NO RIGHT to say something like that as she is NOT my insurance company and wouldn't know if what she was saying is true (my mother works for my insurance company). I also called a week later with two questions, one of them being what bank my finance went through and she said she had it in her computer but she didn't want to or didn't have time to check for me and that I should just wait for the paper work to come in the mail. How lazy that she couldn't do her job. She must have oodles of money lying around and not know what it's like to spend $20k+ on a vehicle and not feel confident in the loan process. The best part of the experience was dealing with Ann the manager. The first night I went in to look at the car, they were were having a busy night and I would've had to wait quite a long time to get in with their finance department. Ann came out and offered to sign the car out for the night to me so I could come back the next day to sign papers. She was a very upbeat and helpful lady. No matter my thoughts of her, I would never recommend buying a car from Auto Nation, since they have bought Tousley Ford, that means the sales group came with them and they have some TERRIBLE people in that group. It's worth paying more to go to another dealership just to avoid the hassle of this place. The most pleasant person I talked to was a guy over the phone in the Service Department. I even have a $200 credit to this place from the CostCo discount program and I refuse to use it due to their terrible service. DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM HERE!!

Tanya Schloesser Jun 11, 2013

Show next 5 Reviews

Recent Reviews from AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake

Cars.com

Edmunds

Facebook

Google+

New Inventory

Research

Shop By Model

Pre-Owned Inventory

Certified Pre-Owned Inventory

Recommended Vehicles

Financing

Specials

Service

Research

Parts

Service Hours

Parts Hours

Our Dealership

Showroom Hours

Service Hours

Search

Recent Reviews from AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake

Cars.com

Edmunds

Facebook

Google+