I should have listened to the negative reviews posted about this business.
When I read all of Road Ready’s negative reviews, I just thought that people were exaggerating. They weren’t. I was stupid enough to travel over 1,000 miles from Georgia to Connecticut to buy a vehicle from Road Ready because it had some specific features I’ve been looking for. That, and I seriously underestimated a used car dealership’s ability to screw people.
I no longer trust any of Road Ready’s positive reviews, because half way through the buying process, they tried to usher me into another room, telling me they wanted me to write a review for them while the salesman stood there watching. This happened very early in the process, before I had a chance to experience all the things I read about in the negative reviews. I found out later that the salesmen receive some sort of compensation for every positive review they are able to get a customer to write. The salesman was very insistent about making us write a review while we were there. It was almost as if he knew things would only go downhill from that point, and he needed the review to be written before that happened.
The only way someone could have a decent experience at Road Ready is if they agreed to every upsell, lie and scam Road Ready tries to pull over on their customers. If at any point you decline any of these services, or refuse to pay for services done without your approval, you will be met with anger and hostility, and with them trying to manipulate you into paying for them. Here are a few examples:
1) Window etching $200: They told me that it’s a Connecticut state law that they have to etch the VIN number into your windows. It is not a law. The law states that the dealership make the service available to their customers, not force them to have it done for a fee of $199.
Here is proof of this:
State of Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles ct.gov/dmv (PDF Downloadable Document) states in a FAQ section:
Question: “Must my vehicle/motorcycle be etched?”
Answer: “No. This is an option. Even if the vehicle has already received the VIN etching process, it is the consumer who makes the choice of accepting and paying for it.”
2) Other reviewers agree that they try to force people into getting the $600 underbody coating. If you do your research, you will find that:
The thick truck-bed-liner type of coating they apply is prone to cracking, allowing moisture beneath it, which accelerates the corrosion process and leads to even more serious rust problems, which will be hidden from view until major issues arise.
The type of coating they apply makes it nearly impossible for mechanics to access nuts, bolts, parts, etc under the vehicle when service needs to be done.
It is known to be frequently applied by used car dealers as a way to cover up signs of rust, leaks, damage or other problems, and creates a way to squeeze more money out of their customers.
3) Extended Warranties: I was unaware that I was being lied to about the window etching, and I didn’t understand all the potential problems with undercoating, so I didn’t mind that they were charging me extra for these “services” at the time. I was sitting in the finance office when the finance girl asked us if we’d like to purchase the extended warranty for a few thousand extra dollars. I said, “No thank you.” She replied with, “Hmm, I’ll have to ask the sales manager about that.” She left and then returned with the sales manager, who dramatically sat down in front of us with his arms crossed, saying, “So what exactly is it you don’t understand about the extended warranty?” He was being very intimidating, and I could tell that he was actually trying to be as intimidating as possible on purpose. That’s his thing. His sales manipulation tactic is intimidation, and he’s pretty good at it. I could see how a lot of people would probably just sign whatever he told them to. He pushed hard on the extended warranty, and made us feel so threatened and uncomfortable that my wife had to leave the room and go wait in the car.
4) Financing: I was not told what my financing or monthly rate would be prior to my wife and I driving over 1,000 miles to the Road Ready dealership. I was finally given my APR and monthly payment information while I sat in the finance office getting intimidated by the Sales Manager. I was suprised by the high interest rate, so I said I would like to call USAA (I served four years in the Marine Corps Infantry). Suddenly, Mike, the sales manager became irate. Instead of being concerned about their customers’ best interest and doing what was best for his customer, he said, “Why you gotta call them? If you wanted to use someone else, why wait till now? Why didn’t you do this before you came here?” I continued to stay on the line with USAA, who offered a lower rate, but Mike insisted on going through his lender, Wells Fargo, who has a terrible reputation with auto loans. Mike kept saying, “I need my money today. Today! USAA isn’t gonna get me my money today!” He was either extremely angry, or he was trying to act extremely angry in order to manipulate me into going through his lender. USAA was on the phone through this, and when I had a chance to speak to the USAA representative privately, she told me that she was shocked by his unprofessionalism and terrible overall behavior. She said that he was just trying to bully us into using Wells Fargo as a lender because Wells Fargo gives dealerships incentives for each loan they secure through them.
5) Gap Insurance: Road Ready wanted nearly another $1,000 for gap insurance. USAA offered this feature for only $250, which combined with their lower rate, helped make USAA the clear choice. Mike the Sales Manager was infuriated by this. While I was still discussing this with USAA, he told me that he would match USAA. I asked about the gap insurance, and he said that he would, “take care of that, too.” I believed him, thanked the USAA rep, and ended the call, willing to go with Mike’s offer. But when I asked to see an itemized list of the various fees and charges applied to the sale and total loan price, I saw that there was virtually no difference from the original deal. The $1,000 gap insurance was still there, and almost everything else was unchanged. When I asked why the gap insurance was still there, he said, “I can’t beat USAA’s price on that. It’s not possible.”
I was about to argue that he had just told me differently, but that was the point when I realized that Mike and Road Ready are not to be trusted, and that even though I had driven nearly twenty hours to get there, spent money on gas and a hotel stay, and was excited to buy the vehicle, I needed to do the responsible thing and walk away. At that point, I began to worry about all of my personal information that they had collected throughout the process, and what they might do with it. If they could be so untrustworthy, sneaky and manipulative just to squeeze extra money out of a customer, what else might they be capable of? I asked Mike the Sales Manager if he could run all of my documents through a shredder. He said, “You’re really starting to piss me off,” as he tore up some of the paperwork by hand and threw it in the trash can.
6) “Down Payment” Before driving from Georgia, they had me put a $1,000 down payment on the vehicle that they said would be applied to the sale price, so I gave them $1,000 on a credit card. Before I left the dealership, I asked if they would refund my $1,000 down payment, since I didn’t end up purchasing the vehicle. He said, “No.” I asked why. He said because they “did a lot of work to the vehicle to get it ready to sell.” I told him that wasn’t a good reason to keep someone’s down payment, especially for that much money, and he argued that the storage bins I asked to be removed from the van were really heavy, and that’s why he was personally making the call to keep the down payment.
At this point, he looked angry enough that I thought there was a chance he might actually physically assault me, so I decided to leave before things escalated any further. I talked to someone else from Road Ready a few days later, asking for a refund for my down payment. He said that my purchase agreement was written in a way that allowed them to keep the money even if there was no sale. I told him that was not very ethical, and that the document was destroyed along with all of the other documentation created while I was there. He said he had the document in his possession, proving that I was lied to once again when I was told that all of the documentation was destroyed.
I told him that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to do the right thing and refund my money, but that I predicted that they would not do the right thing, and that they would keep the money instead. He responded by saying, “You’re d**n right I’m gonna keep the money.”
That’s an example of Road Ready’s character and business ethics.
My take away about Road Ready: There are companies out there that succeed because of outstanding customer service, and then there are companies out there that succeed because they have learned how to manipulate, intimidate and squeeze as much money as possible from everyone they possibly can. Between the “down payment” they kept, travel expenses and hotel stay, I lost over $2,500 through my experience with Road Ready and didn’t even purchase a vehicle. Buyer beware.
Who am I? I am a former Marine Corps Infantry Sergeant and combat veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom, I have been a fourth grade teacher for nearly ten years, and am currently in the Christian ministry field, serving children in the foster care program who have been through trauma and various types of abuse. I have nothing to gain by posting this review; I just think it is important for the public to be warned of businesses like these so they might avoid an experience like the one my wife and I had at Road Ready. This is the first and only negative review I’ve ever written. I have seen how Road Ready likes to reply to reviews like this, and how they deny customer allegations and make it sound like the customer was being unreasonable. I expect they will do the same with this review as well. I hope this review acts as a wake-up call for them to re-think their conduct and business ethics, but since they’ve been in business for thirty years and have had so many negative reviews without changing the way they do business, I am doubtful that any good will come from it.
Road Ready Used Cars, Inc. Reviews
I should have listened to the negative reviews posted about this business.
When I read all of Road Ready’s negative reviews, I just thought that people were exaggerating. They weren’t. I was stupid enough to travel over 1,000 miles from Georgia to Connecticut to buy a vehicle from Road Ready because it had some specific features I’ve been looking for. That, and I seriously underestimated a used car dealership’s ability to screw people.
I no longer trust any of Road Ready’s positive reviews, because half way through the buying process, they tried to usher me into another room, telling me they wanted me to write a review for them while the salesman stood there watching. This happened very early in the process, before I had a chance to experience all the things I read about in the negative reviews. I found out later that the salesmen receive some sort of compensation for every positive review they are able to get a customer to write. The salesman was very insistent about making us write a review while we were there. It was almost as if he knew things would only go downhill from that point, and he needed the review to be written before that happened.
The only way someone could have a decent experience at Road Ready is if they agreed to every upsell, lie and scam Road Ready tries to pull over on their customers. If at any point you decline any of these services, or refuse to pay for services done without your approval, you will be met with anger and hostility, and with them trying to manipulate you into paying for them. Here are a few examples:
1) Window etching $200: They told me that it’s a Connecticut state law that they have to etch the VIN number into your windows. It is not a law. The law states that the dealership make the service available to their customers, not force them to have it done for a fee of $199.
Here is proof of this:
State of Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles ct.gov/dmv (PDF Downloadable Document) states in a FAQ section:
Question: “Must my vehicle/motorcycle be etched?”
Answer: “No. This is an option. Even if the vehicle has already received the VIN etching process, it is the consumer who makes the choice of accepting and paying for it.”
2) Other reviewers agree that they try to force people into getting the $600 underbody coating. If you do your research, you will find that:
The thick truck-bed-liner type of coating they apply is prone to cracking, allowing moisture beneath it, which accelerates the corrosion process and leads to even more serious rust problems, which will be hidden from view until major issues arise.
The type of coating they apply makes it nearly impossible for mechanics to access nuts, bolts, parts, etc under the vehicle when service needs to be done.
It is known to be frequently applied by used car dealers as a way to cover up signs of rust, leaks, damage or other problems, and creates a way to squeeze more money out of their customers.
3) Extended Warranties: I was unaware that I was being lied to about the window etching, and I didn’t understand all the potential problems with undercoating, so I didn’t mind that they were charging me extra for these “services” at the time. I was sitting in the finance office when the finance girl asked us if we’d like to purchase the extended warranty for a few thousand extra dollars. I said, “No thank you.” She replied with, “Hmm, I’ll have to ask the sales manager about that.” She left and then returned with the sales manager, who dramatically sat down in front of us with his arms crossed, saying, “So what exactly is it you don’t understand about the extended warranty?” He was being very intimidating, and I could tell that he was actually trying to be as intimidating as possible on purpose. That’s his thing. His sales manipulation tactic is intimidation, and he’s pretty good at it. I could see how a lot of people would probably just sign whatever he told them to. He pushed hard on the extended warranty, and made us feel so threatened and uncomfortable that my wife had to leave the room and go wait in the car.
4) Financing: I was not told what my financing or monthly rate would be prior to my wife and I driving over 1,000 miles to the Road Ready dealership. I was finally given my APR and monthly payment information while I sat in the finance office getting intimidated by the Sales Manager. I was suprised by the high interest rate, so I said I would like to call USAA (I served four years in the Marine Corps Infantry). Suddenly, Mike, the sales manager became irate. Instead of being concerned about their customers’ best interest and doing what was best for his customer, he said, “Why you gotta call them? If you wanted to use someone else, why wait till now? Why didn’t you do this before you came here?” I continued to stay on the line with USAA, who offered a lower rate, but Mike insisted on going through his lender, Wells Fargo, who has a terrible reputation with auto loans. Mike kept saying, “I need my money today. Today! USAA isn’t gonna get me my money today!” He was either extremely angry, or he was trying to act extremely angry in order to manipulate me into going through his lender. USAA was on the phone through this, and when I had a chance to speak to the USAA representative privately, she told me that she was shocked by his unprofessionalism and terrible overall behavior. She said that he was just trying to bully us into using Wells Fargo as a lender because Wells Fargo gives dealerships incentives for each loan they secure through them.
5) Gap Insurance: Road Ready wanted nearly another $1,000 for gap insurance. USAA offered this feature for only $250, which combined with their lower rate, helped make USAA the clear choice. Mike the Sales Manager was infuriated by this. While I was still discussing this with USAA, he told me that he would match USAA. I asked about the gap insurance, and he said that he would, “take care of that, too.” I believed him, thanked the USAA rep, and ended the call, willing to go with Mike’s offer. But when I asked to see an itemized list of the various fees and charges applied to the sale and total loan price, I saw that there was virtually no difference from the original deal. The $1,000 gap insurance was still there, and almost everything else was unchanged. When I asked why the gap insurance was still there, he said, “I can’t beat USAA’s price on that. It’s not possible.”
I was about to argue that he had just told me differently, but that was the point when I realized that Mike and Road Ready are not to be trusted, and that even though I had driven nearly twenty hours to get there, spent money on gas and a hotel stay, and was excited to buy the vehicle, I needed to do the responsible thing and walk away. At that point, I began to worry about all of my personal information that they had collected throughout the process, and what they might do with it. If they could be so untrustworthy, sneaky and manipulative just to squeeze extra money out of a customer, what else might they be capable of? I asked Mike the Sales Manager if he could run all of my documents through a shredder. He said, “You’re really starting to piss me off,” as he tore up some of the paperwork by hand and threw it in the trash can.
6) “Down Payment” Before driving from Georgia, they had me put a $1,000 down payment on the vehicle that they said would be applied to the sale price, so I gave them $1,000 on a credit card. Before I left the dealership, I asked if they would refund my $1,000 down payment, since I didn’t end up purchasing the vehicle. He said, “No.” I asked why. He said because they “did a lot of work to the vehicle to get it ready to sell.” I told him that wasn’t a good reason to keep someone’s down payment, especially for that much money, and he argued that the storage bins I asked to be removed from the van were really heavy, and that’s why he was personally making the call to keep the down payment.
At this point, he looked angry enough that I thought there was a chance he might actually physically assault me, so I decided to leave before things escalated any further. I talked to someone else from Road Ready a few days later, asking for a refund for my down payment. He said that my purchase agreement was written in a way that allowed them to keep the money even if there was no sale. I told him that was not very ethical, and that the document was destroyed along with all of the other documentation created while I was there. He said he had the document in his possession, proving that I was lied to once again when I was told that all of the documentation was destroyed.
I told him that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to do the right thing and refund my money, but that I predicted that they would not do the right thing, and that they would keep the money instead. He responded by saying, “You’re d**n right I’m gonna keep the money.”
That’s an example of Road Ready’s character and business ethics.
My take away about Road Ready: There are companies out there that succeed because of outstanding customer service, and then there are companies out there that succeed because they have learned how to manipulate, intimidate and squeeze as much money as possible from everyone they possibly can. Between the “down payment” they kept, travel expenses and hotel stay, I lost over $2,500 through my experience with Road Ready and didn’t even purchase a vehicle. Buyer beware.
Who am I? I am a former Marine Corps Infantry Sergeant and combat veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom, I have been a fourth grade teacher for nearly ten years, and am currently in the Christian ministry field, serving children in the foster care program who have been through trauma and various types of abuse. I have nothing to gain by posting this review; I just think it is important for the public to be warned of businesses like these so they might avoid an experience like the one my wife and I had at Road Ready. This is the first and only negative review I’ve ever written. I have seen how Road Ready likes to reply to reviews like this, and how they deny customer allegations and make it sound like the customer was being unreasonable. I expect they will do the same with this review as well. I hope this review acts as a wake-up call for them to re-think their conduct and business ethics, but since they’ve been in business for thirty years and have had so many negative reviews without changing the way they do business, I am doubtful that any good will come from it.