Russ Darrow Group
Reviews and Complaints

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

She came in with a down payment from her divorce from her husband lied cheated and stole anything she could plus she said she wanted unattainable finance rates had the cars in stock and she waited to long for the special pricing THE QUOTE HAD AN EXPERATION DATE ON IT AND WAS A WEEK LATE

On Thursday November 19th, I noticed a 'beater car' on Carfax.com through Russ Darrow for my son to just drive in winter. He has a really nice car and does not want to drive it in the snow. I called there to see if the car was available and of course the gal said yes it was. We made an appointment for a test drive that evening at 7:00. We arrive promptly, they had our names, and gave us to a sales person. The car was a 1999 Honda Civic, green, with 142, 000 miles for only 999.00. Perfect. They bragged it up quite nicely, 14 pics, inspection sheet all checked off etc. Well, the guy, after about 20 minutes, brings out a Pearl White one. My son stated that wasn't the right vehicle, and of course he played dumb. Was talking about playing call of duty and other things, laughing, said this car was a much nicer one than the one we initially came in for. Too bad, that on was $2, 900.00, so not happening. Ok, he will go get the other one. Another 20 minutes goes by, he says it's outside warming up. We take a look, and it's green, so we thinkg that's the one. My son hops in, even though I said I don't think that's the one - it looks a little different. Well, while they are out for a test drive, another guys hands me the safety report, supposedly on this car...'major' oil leak, extensive under body corrosion, rear end damage...wonderful, I thought. They get back, I show this to my son, then the same guy goes "we can't sell you this car anyway." Of course i said "why not?". He said "we don't have the title for it". I asked him how he could even have the car if he has no title. He gave a sideways glance to the salesman with my son and then says "well, that's the million dollar question I guess". Yes it is, i stated, and I would like it answered. Never got the answer, but I have a feeling if I said I didn't car about the title, it was just a beater that would be junked after winter and that I was paying cash, they would have sold it to me. The car had the radio ripped out of the dash, harness, wiring - everything. Then we find out that this ISN'T the car we came to see either. The salesman tried for another 10 minutes to locate the keys to the car we actually came to see - went to the car and came back - no car- and said the keys were stuck in the ignition and that radio had also been 'taken'. Turned out the safety report was for the one we wanted to drive, not the one he did drive - with no title. We were now there 1.5 hours and nothing. Guys eating pizza, doing fantasy football on their computers. Seemed like only one guy was really working, everyone else was just hanging around trying to sell very sketchy used cars, with no titles. Stay clear, Russ Darrow, 91st and Brown deer.

[This is an email I just sent to jre@RussDarrow.com the address provided by Russ Darrow above, regarding my complaint experience and their shady practices that are still apparently going on after 4 years from what is being told on this website]

My name is Anjanette Norton. I am a single mother of 2 children, and a nurse with both a bachelor degree in business as well as associates degree in nursing.

On Saturday 10-3-15 I went to your Russ Darrow Nissan location to look at a 2013 Ford Explorer for sale that was listed on CarFax.com. A salesperson named Fernando assisted myself, my aunt (who came along to help review the vehicle, she has a degree in engineering) and my 2 young children. Fernando accompanied us on the test drive of the vehicle. All boxes on the sticker detail relating to the car were checked in passing condition, with no problems reported. I noticed that the Engine Light was on and questioned Fernando about it... Fernando had a service technician take the vehicle back for inspection. The service technician came out and indicated that all systems, including the engine, were functioning appropriately. He said the light was on because when a Ford vehicle sits for nearly a month the engine light goes on for it to be reviewed by the dealership and manually turned off by the service dept at a Ford dealership, to encourage consumers not to let their vehicles sit for extended periods of time (as in extended vacations or 2nd vehicles). Fernando then claimed that the price of the car was higher than what was reported on CarFax - I indicated this was false advertising if so, and would walk out.

Fernando went to the manager, came back and said that they would honor the CarFax price that I had brought along as confirmation. I had indicated the monthly amount I could afford, a printout from an online bank source with the finance rate I should qualify for, as well as printout of Kelly Bluebook value on my trade-in. Because we were in the offices for over 3 hours, with multiple stories over prices and attempts to haggle - which I indicated I did not want to do - I walked out of the building and into my own vehicle. Fernando chased me down in the parking lot to stop my vehicle, saying they would come down slightly less in price - I said no, based upon the research I had done. When I arrived home 45 minutes later, there was a message on my machine from Fernando saying they would come down a little lower on the financing and monthly payment. I called Fernando back, told him what I was comfortable with - he spoke to his manager, they came to terms and said they would meet the finance percentage I was looking for, with a monthly rate $20 higher than I had looked for. I said if that was firm, I would make the 45 minute trip back out on Monday since it was very late in the day. They assured me that would be okay after 9am.

On Monday 10-5-15 I arrived to speak with Fernando, and was upset to say the least that again they were trying to haggle over price. They indicating that although telling me on the phone the price/finance terms were firm, they didn't actually have the authority to agree to that and needed to run a credit check (I have very good credit, and just qualified for a premium mortgage refinance through my mortgage lender that is much less than what I was paying - given I receive $80, 000 per year in support that does not account for taxes and responsibilities). They tried to tell me that the credit check would only allow them to go with a finance rate 1% higher than what they originally told me over the phone... and that now they were also changing the monthly payment $17 higher than what they had agreed to earlier. I again went home to pickup my children from school. Fernando called me saying that they would come in at $7/month higher than what they originally agreed and I shouldn't have a problem since such a small amount - I said since so small, they should honor the consumer and take that amount themselves since they didn't honor the verbal agreement over the phone initially. I told him not to call me back unless he spoke with his manager and all was firmly agreed to be met - that I would not make a 3rd 45-minute trip out there unless they agreed. He called me back 2 minutes later saying his manager agreed and to come back. I drove with both of my children out to the dealership, only to be very disgusted that again they tried haggling over the price and finance terms. At this point, I did not want to continue to make back-and-forth trips to the dealership. They came down $2 (not the $7, which was petty enough it seemed). The Ford vehicle I was purchasing was being driven fast and erratically by a dealership person (my kids and I were concerned as we were signing paperwork) all over the parking lot and into the service dept. The finance person went through papers with me, and I questioned amounts that were different than what I had been told - he indicated he hadn't had a chance to change to the correct amount. I refused to sign, so he reprinted correct paperwork for me to sign. I had called my auto insurance company, which faxed all paperwork to the dealership & told the finance person I would be getting GAP coverage through my insurance company at a lower rate.

After the paperwork was signed, the vehicle was brought out to me so I could drive home for an appointment that was in 15 minutes. I almost risked making that drive, but instead stayed in the lot and went back inside to speak to Fernando. I told him I was mad that the Engine light had not been resolved as they had made it seem it would be from the service person we all spoke to (Fernando, my aunt, and I all with the technician). Fernando went inside to speak to someone, came back out and said Nissan only has equipment to manually turn off Nissan's - not Fords. I said to him that I would not pay $1 more to have this taken care of when they assured me beforehand it would be - Fernando gave me the information for a Ford Dealership near me, and that there would be no charge to have the light turned off.

This morning I called the Ford Dealership - they said they do not have any arrangement with Russ Darrow Nissan on Brown Deer Road, and that it is definitely not a free service - that it would cost $100 for the diagnostics and light turned off. They said to have Russ Darrow Nissan contact them and they would arrange for payment so I could have this performed and completed as originally promised by Russ Darrow (who - from all sales and complaint ads - says they stand by their word, honor, and customer interest in 100% satisfaction). I left a message at 8:30am with the secretary for Fernando giving all applicable details, the dealership information to contact and arrange, and how to reach me at work to assure me that he had looked into it for it to be taken care of. It is now after 4pm the same day - Fernando HAS NEVER had the courtesy to return my call. I called 30 minutes ago, again speaking to the secretary stating it was urgent, that I did not want Fernando's voicemail, and that I expected a call back from him today so this could be taken care of - she said they didn't know where Fernando was in the dealership even after being paged.

I don't have to tell you how this is poor customer service, the pit in my stomach that if the Dealership lied extensively about the Engine light and costs associated with it - what else might actually be found if diagnostics are run on the vehicle, and liability of such since the sticker paperwork was not accurate no matter what Fernando, the service technician, or Dealership manager all stated to me.

I do not plan to sit back idly or quietly. I have already posted this whole ordeal publicly on Facebook for my 200+ friends to share with their thousands of friends so that word of mouth spreads about my experience (under Wisconsin tort so long as the story is limited to my own experience, it is not illegal and very consumer-driven). I am also pulling up the Better Business Bureau page so that I can file a formal complaint about this - especially given that in trying to find complaint contact information for Russ Darrow online I discovered a dedicated webpage going back more than 4 years with pages of terrible consumer stories about this particular dealership I wasn't aware of - and how this is still an ongoing matter that obviously hasn't received appropriate attention from Russ Darrow for correction. I plan to take that website information, along with all of my paperwork and experience, to my local Senator to also issue a complaint for them to look into.

On top of this, if there is not satisfactory rectification made to the matter I will contact television WISN consumer news for them to report on local businesses that fleece consumers - and contact an attorney to handle the matter.

I would instead expect that Russ Darrow will take the necessary measures to ensure that something like this is addressed immediately by the Russ Darrow Nissan dealership on Brown Deer Road, without further cost to me, so that I have peace of mind in my recently purchased vehicle through the dealership.

Anjanette

Russ Darrow strives to create an exciting and rewarding atmosphere for every employee which will then reflect in superior service to you. Total customer satisfaction is our ultimate goal whenever we open our doors.

I recently bought a vehicle and was extremely disappointed. I drove the car off the lot and the vehicle was making a noise. I contacted the dealership and they said to have their shop look at it. Well they found a $200.00 problem which they said they would not cover. I contacted the GM George Matthews of the Browndeer Rd. Location and he said I should have bought the warranty that was approximately $50.00 a month. I just paid $15000 for a 2012 and they didn't care about my satisfaction. The finance agent lowered my interest rate so he could sell me oil changed/free car washes etc. but wouldn't lower my rate for buying the car! I will never buy a car from this company again.

Russ Darrow Nissan also treats their employees like crap too. I was in there for service and witnessed the managers Dean or Nick virtually bullying an employee which was totally uneccesary. The managers of this location need to take classes on how to treat their employees fairly and NICELY. When you have someone who is a hard worker they should be complemented not bullied.

They are very dishonest even for car sales man. Only care about making money. Never, I mean Never go on line at Russ Darrow. I went online 3 weeks ago. I know get a call every day about a vehicle that was sold two weeks ago. I asked the on line sales person if the car was still available a week after it was sold to see what she would say. She told me it was there, she could give me a deal on it, and that I should come in. I told her I lived over 3 hours from the dealership could she please check and make sure the vehicle was there, I told her I would be paying cash for the vehicle. She said she was sure the vehicle was there. At this point I thought I knew the vehicle was sold because I spoke to a sales person the week prior who said that he was sorry that he had sold it himself..Anyway I went down to the store Russ Darrow CDJ Milwaukee to see the vehicle and after sitting there for almost 30 min. was told the vehicle was sold! I explained to the internet manager what happened all she said, I think her name was Kelly, That sort of thing happens and then said why dont you look at a different vehicle. I was still mad because I really think the car was sold a week prior to me going in but I decide I would look as long as I was there. I aks if she could help me look for a vehicle that may be close to what I was looking for. She said Me...no...I am the INTERNET MANAGER... you will have to wait for the sales person. I asked her if she could look on line for me because I had seen a 2010 Jeep Wrangler that I wanted to check on she said that she was to busy and walked away! I left the store and will never go to that Russ Darrow on 7676 north 76th street again very glad I did not buy a vehicle there, if something would have went wrong I know what I would have been told.. "THAT IS TO BAD I AM JUST TO BUSY DEAL WITH IT' ANY WAY BAD MANAGER, BAD STAFF!

PEOPLE SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THE PRACTICES AT THE RUSS DARROW CORPORATION NOT ONLY IN THE WAY THEY SELL OR REPAIR CARS BUT ALSO HOW THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE TREATED AND THE OSHA AND STATE LAWS THEY BREAK.

I AM DISSAPPOINTED AT HOW RUSS DARROW DOES BUSINESS. I DECIDED THAT I DID NOT WANT TO BUY A CAR AND ASKED FOR MY 100.00 REFUND. I HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY GEETING THE RUN AROUND. I CAME INTO THE OFFICE AND GAVE THEM A 100.00 CHECK TO HOLD A CAR. IT WAS CASHED A DAY LATER. I HAVE BEEN WATING OVER A WEEK TO GET MY REFUND...I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH RUSS DARROW AND WILL TELL ALL THAT I KNOW NOT TO AS WELL!

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Please contact me at josh@russdarrow.com so I can help you resolve any problems you may have had.

It's funny to hear that ladies story. A very similar situation just happen to me. I found a car I liked on their Russ Darrow site that was listed at 10998.00 I went to test drive the car and liked it so we went in to talk about financing. The guy took our info. Walked away and all of a sudden some other guy comes over Josh I think and says the car I'd 16999 I said no you have the wrong car and showed him the one I was talking about. He brought in the sticker from the car which said 16999. I asked why it was posted as 10998 and he lied and said he just sold a very similar car the before and that's what I saw. I said that was ironic they had two cars with the same color year and mileage. So we went to leave when he followed us out and said if saw something we might like he would call and I said no if you can't explain this don't bother. I pulled my phone out with the picture of the vehicle I saved and held it up, he seemed irritated and said just hold on ill he right back. He returned a couple minutes later and said he spoke with RD3 which I guess is what he calls Russ Darrow the third. He said Rd3 will sell it for the price I found on the Internet. Against my better judgement we went back inside before signing the loan papers we decided we should look at the vehicle one more time and he said ok stay here I'll pull it up when he did so there was mass amounts of exhaust coming from the back which he ignored. I questioned it and first he tried Changing the subject and then he said its an SUV they have a lot of exhaust and I said ok I'm not stupid but that was really a lot when he knew I wasn't going to drop it he told me if it would make me feel better he would drive back by the service department to have them look at it. Literally 2 minutes later he drive up with the stereo blasting. I assume trying to change the topic so I asked again and he said he spoke with the mechanic (which I later found was one of many lies and learned that on Saturdays the service dept. Is only open till 12 and that all happen around 5) and everything was fine. So after purchasing the car we drive a block away and hear a horrible noise start when I turned the air on I tried calling the dealership and they were closed now so I figured I would call Monday well I go home run into the house to grab something and back to the car. When I started the car in the underground garage there was so much smoke I couldn't see the car next to me. I had to prop open the door to try and get some of the fumes out. I called and spoke with the salesmen on Monday which happens to be the manager at the Waukesha location too and basically too bad it was sold as is when I asked why the info sticker had all of the boxes checked off that everything was inspected and working when it clearly isn't he said if it turns on its working maybe not correctly but if it works they check yes it passed. Then a friend if mine looks under the hood and checks the oil and said there was none at all and to immediately drive to valvoline to get oil I paid 20 to have oil added that day. Then I took the car to their service department and exolai.ed everything I waited there over 3 hours. While I was there oddly a finance guy comes up and starts telling me how he has the same vehicle just a different year and how it had a sludge engine I'm thi.king why is he telling me this? He recommends an extended warranty that would cost more per month than my car payment so I figured he was just trying to sell me something. Well after all that time and being late for work the service guy comes up with my keys and says they can't find anything wrong with the car. I was shocked to say the least but what was I going to do? I figured maybe someone had forgotten to replace the oil when they took the car in and maybe everything would be ok? Nope! The smoke had gotten worse and after 3 days I checked the oil and again completely empty. So I took it to a mechanic in town and paid almost 400 for a diagnosis and tune up he tells me he's sorry to say it has a sludge engine and that the engine would eventually seize and stop working. He said furthermore whoever I had bought the vehicle from knew because when he took the engine cap off it looks like someone literally took there finger and cleaned the sludge around that area so you couldn't see it without an experience eye. So now it makes sense why that fiance guy was talking about sludge engines. Boy what a coincidence... Unfortunately now I'm in the process if trying to find an attorney.

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

One would think you would be happy and grateful that you were finally getting your car. It sounded like you have bad credit and only had so many options available. It sounded like Russ Darrow also spent 3 weeks of their time going back and forth ttying to find you the make and model you wanted. But you never got into the cost of the car, how much money you had to put down and what monthly payment you could afford.
I am assuming that you were only approved for a certain amount and the bank wouldn't approve the cars you wanted. That's why they told you the car you wanted had too many miles on it.
We all want all the options but if the bank is only lending you a certain amount, and somebody at Russ Darrow spent 3 weeks trying to find you the make and model you had to have and the price and miles the bank had to have, I would think you would have been grateful for all the effort everyone put in at Russ Darrow to get you approved and driving a Ford Edge which was what you wanted. You had been going round and round for weeks so you knew what you could afford and when you test drove the car you liked it enough to purchase it. You knew it didn't have leather and said you were ok with that. You drove the car at 8:30 at night and you must have turned on the lights. Didn't have a problem turning them on then. In fact, you probably didn't notice reaching your hand out to turn them on because it's simple to do. You have to start the car to drive it and don't complain about that. You were ok not having leather. You drove the car, you were happy, satisfied, you were ok with the price, they sold you a warranty at cost that you bought.
So, why are you complaining when you should be grateful. You got everything you wanted. You drove it. You liked it, you bought it.
What bothers you is it didn't come with satellite and you were either ok with that or it wasn't important enough to check.
Would you not have bought the car that night if they told you it didn't come with satellite?
You bought a warranty at cost that night. If they offered to sell you satellite at cost that night, you would have bought it if you really had to have it.
And Russ Darrow offered to sell it to you at cost now so again, what are you complaining about?
I am positive the bank would only lend you the wholesale value of the car. Because of this, they couldn't mark up the car. They really didn't make anything selling you that car. The reason they kept telling you to leave and that they did not want to sell you a car is because of that very reason. They got you approved on a chevy and then you changed your mind and made them go through everything all over on another car that they knew the bank wouldn't approve. You wasted their 3 weeks. And not just one persons. You waisted finance, the manager, salesperson and not just Brown Deer, you were getting Madison to jump and Nissan, and who knows how many Internet reps. Good god. All this and you got exactly what you wanted.
So ungrateful.

We are very sorry to hear this please contact me at jre@russdarrow.com to allow me to assist in anyway possible. We value ALL OF OUR customers and will go above and beyond to help

People; Beware of Russ Darrow Mazda Greenfield, WI (Service Shop)

Our vehicle was in their Service shop for a month and a half. It went in with an engine problem they and our extended warranty confirmed yet, learned we now had another dilemma. After their shop installed a rebuilt engine; we were notified the transmission had multiple faulty codes and that they would have to tare down the transmission to further diagnose the problem.

My husband and I authorized them to proceed and we were told that they found the pump was bad and that this was a pre-existing condition however, many people told me not to believe that. I was told if our vehicle ever had transmission problems, there would signs such as:

Transmission gear slippage, Transmission non-engagement, slow delayed gear shifts - we never had any of these issues...

So, I decided to do a little homework and did some research online and obtained VERY interesting results which prompted me to get a second opinion...

I contacted a certified mechanic whose specialized in transmissions telling him what was going on and per the information I gave him; he says it sounded as though these issues arose due to an improper engine installation; and was the exact search results I got online!

So, I took him to Russ Darrow Mazda and while he was inspecting the transmission, he pointed out a couple problem areas which showed signs that the torque converter was not placed in correctly and is what caused the internal damages to the transmission. This is when he asked to see the torque converter and was shocked when I learned this part got transferred to another shop! The mechanic asked the Service Manager why if they were stating there was nothing wrong with the torque converter they sent it out where now it's looking as though it was re-manned.

It was evident this was NOT a pre-exiting issue; it was an issue caused by their shops negligence! The Service Manager was agitated and was all up in the mechanics face; not to mention how he was unprofessional using profanity and degrading a product that they sell/advertise on a day-day basis..

Til this day, The Service Manager has been uncooperative. He has repeatedly declined to provide my husband and I with copies of their work order, technicians report on what was found upon their diagnostic, the shop involved who re-manned our toque converter which he alleges was done without his approval... ALSO: we have no record where our Extended Warranty requested Russ Darrow Mazda to transfer our torque converter except for Mazda's allegations; however, they insist they have documentation. WELL - where is it!?

So, it got to a point where my husband and I got fed up because clearly we were not getting any result; we asked several of Mazda's personnel to speak to a General Manager and no one was able to come up with a name of who we could contact.

So, here again, I am now playing detective. I went into the BBB and found Russ Darrow's Corp office in Menomonee Falls and the following morning; made it our decision to file a complaint. We explained our situation and how we have been unfairly treated and how we felt we shouldn't have to be paying any extra costs for the replacement of the transmission. My husband and I were told that they would be contacting Mazda's Service Manager and call me back with how we can get this resolved.

Being the fact this is the home office, my husband and I were peace minded with the thought we were going to see a positive outcome. WRONG! Rather than hearing back from the Corporate office, we got a call from the Service Manager who we were clearly having problems with.

He called to inform my husband and I they had another vehicle in their shop with transmission issues and that as an option, they would replace our pump with this other one. The problem was, they were not guaranteeing that our vehicle would last us more than a couple days... Are you kidding me!? What type of bogus offer is that!?

I lost my patience and demanded Mazda provided me with copies of EVERYTHING under our file however, I was bribed. I was told the only way they would release our documents was when we removed our vehicle from their shop... I did not want to hear it no more and I hung up...

Now I am ticked off and contact their corporate office once more and request to speak to the lady who took my complaint. Before I allowed a conversation, I informed her I was monitoring "recording" the call. It sounded as though she was trying to get rowdy however, noticed a change of tone the min I announced I was recording our conversation.

I asked her why rather hearing back from her, I was getting a bogus offer from their Mazda Service Manager.? I also told her I did not appreciate how she told me she was going to get back to me and having to hear from someone else. I also told her that how we've requested our records and are not being released and demanded she finds out why and for her to get these over to me.. "Just so you know - she never got them"

So, I am running out of options and started to look again and found this posting from:
Brad Whippo (5/20/2009)
General Manager
Russ Darrow Mazda Super Store
**offers to help/assures you a wonderful experience**

I looked him up on Facebook PPL! And found he has an account. I sent him a message stating I had a problem with the Mazda Shop and that I had found his posting and asked him for help. I left him my cell ph# and waited for him to correspond.

The following day I received a message from him. He told me the name of the person's Service Manager is ***** and suggested I talk to him. I was fuming and very disappointed. Clearly, Mazda, the Corporate office and were giving me the run around and got that same impression of him. I told him how I was disappointed and how he's not reliable as he portrayed himself to be. I also told him that the Service Manager was my issue and that the Corp office was also aware however - it all stood the same... He wrote back and told me he was off that day however, that he'd talk to the Service Manager the following day and left it at that. I of course apologized because I know I was rude. But, explained how their product was degraded and was being forced to have our un-drivable vehicle from the Mazda shop with the condition of getting our documents. I also informed Brad that this was an ongoing issue 2 days straight and found they were violating ATCP 132 and that I was going to make that known with the bureau.

I never got any further correspondence HOWEVER, I was now getting a call from a General Manager in sales from Mazda offering to buy our vehicle which is under a bankruptcy and has a debt of $7000.00; clearly this was not a problem for them as long as the bank gave them a clean title... Where does this leave my husband and I? Well, the plan which was not 100% guarantee to be a success was to try and get us in a new car. I knew then and there that was not going to work; our credit is doomed.

My question was: why if their willing to buy our vehicle which still has a debt of $7000.00, they would not replace the transmission (which would be a $4, 000.00 savings). The Manager in sales knew that was logical however, he was only following instructions...

So, this was now looking to become a legal matter which died out because Mazda offered to replace our transmission with a used one as a "goodwill gesture". Right!

My question is, WHY if you know this was not a wrong doing, you will offer to buy our vehicle and now replace our transmission for free..?

This is the problem: There were wayyy tooo mannyyy verbal agreements made from Sept 22 until recent. Because I did not get anything in writing for example: Rental bill - is reasons my husband and I now have to pay close to $700 for a week our Warranty will later reimburse us for however, is money we still lose because we have to pay the portion of the insurance my husband added ($490 with some change). I was under the impression that Mazda covered the entire Rental bill when clearly - they didn't...

The purpose of me posting this is so people out there know how my husband and I were hassled. This situation has taught us a lesson; Know and Fight for your rights as a Consumer! If you have questions about things, ask. If you don't understand, ask again. Still in doubt; continue asking until you get a satisfying answer. About these repair contracts: Ensure you understand the whole concept; These shops don't require your signature and can simply use your verbal authorization. Matter of fact, I was sent this link and found it to be very useful; check it out if you feel you are being victimized...

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb/code/atcp/atcp132.pdf

When dealing with an extended warranty, ensure the shop is giving you ALL the information anytime it involve s a claim. My husband and I never knew our Extended Warranty would have paid the entire claim with a no out of pocket expense for us if we would have chosen a used engine. This is why we were stuck with a repair bill close to $700.00. Know your options and don't let anyone chose for you; if you can afford to pay a little more, then so be it. But, again, that should be your call and no one else's.

IF you're in a situation where you're inconvenienced due to an issue you have no control of where the shop makes you an offer, get it done in writing! I can never understand how certain verbal agreements are acknowledged and for others it's of no use...

So, if you suspect you're rights are being violated; know there are options. Be smart and let other peoples experiences guide/serve you as an example...

I cant believe people could be so stupid, WHAT?! No free 10, 000 car with purchase? What!? The price that is thousands less than the competetors isnt real?! How old are you people? You get what you pay for. If you fork over some profit to the dealer the process goes much smoother. Trust me. There is no such thing as a free lunch losers.

I was MOST dissatisfied with Russ Darrow of Wauwatosa. We went in yesterday (May 19, 2009) to inquire into their 2-for-1 deal. According to the email I received, I was eligible to select a used car (valued up to $10, 000) when I purchased a new car. It sounded a bit too good to be true, but they had a similar deal in January, ostensibly with great success. When we arrived, we discovered, to our horror, that the ad was FALSE, and that we would only be able to apply the rebate ($500) from the purchase of the new car that we wanted towards a used car. Some deal! The salesman was not even aware of a concurrent promotion, which would have netted an additional $500 credit. After running some preliminary numbers, the finance man suggested that we could pay around $475/month for a Kia Spectra, and and additional $106/month for the used car we liked. $400+/month for a KIA? What a joke!

What a misleading advert! 2-for-1? No way! 2-for-2...that's more like it. This is NO deal. Why would this be anything special?!? I could easily get the same, if not better, from a reputable dealer on a better car.

I'm glad Russ Darrow was so soundly defeated in his bid for the US Senate seat for Wisconsin.

My name is Brad Whippo and I am the General Manager at Russ Darrow Mazda. I am sorry to hear about the experiences that some folks have had in the past. I will tell you that I have worked for the Darrow Family for a number of years, and they have always worked hard to take care of their employees and customers. We go the extra mile to take care of our customers, and I can tell you from personal experience, that most every call from folks that have problems, are resolved immediatly. My door is always open and my cell phone is on 24 hours a day. I meet most of my customers and they have my business card with my personal cell number. I am proud to say that we are the number one volume Mazda Franchise in Wisconsin, and that only happens when you take great care of your customers. I invite the folks who have had less than pleasant experiences to come and visit. I would like to meet you. I can assure you that you will have a great experience!

Brad Whippo
General Manager
Russ Darrow Mazda Super Store

I think it's very unfortunate that these folks had such unpleasant experiences at our stores. I have been with the Russ Darrow group for 6 years and have hundreds of happy customers. The owners, Russ and Mike are wonderful people and very conscientous and community minded. Most of our dealerships have a 95% or higher customer satisfaction rating in both sales and service. I would invite anyone with an issue to contact me.

Dan Shutts,
Operations Manager

I strongly agree! apparently the lying goes across all Russ Darrow locations.

Chantel and Kevin Wilson from the 91st and brown deer location.. STEER CLEAR OF THEM.
SORRY FOR THE PUN.
pathetic, liars, unprofessional
the whole 9..
Filled out an application and a credit check was run at one location... ended up having to go to the 91st and Brown Deer location. Based on a call from Chantel. The salesman, Kevin WIlson supposedly cant get a hold of anyone regarding my original application... subsequently the loan was not approved due to " some things I am not sure"
apparently it doesnt take much to be hired there.. just an unscrupulous lying nature...
I would never recommend anyone go to Russ Darrow if they need a car...

I've had the same bad experience with Russ Darrow. My wife and I bought a new Mazda 3 there and we were lied to time and time again. We had the car for a week and when we filled it with gas for the first time we found it was a quart low on oil and there was no coolant in the overflow tank. When we were signing the papers they said they were cleaning the car and inspecting it, job well done. I brought the car back to have them check the motor for damage (they probably never did anything) and to have the car undercoated, rust proofed and paint protection applied. When I came to get the car I was told it was done, but when I looked under the car nothing had been undercoated! When I pointed it out the service manager told me "they did the wheel wells really well", I didn't pay all that money to only have the wheel wells coated and they weren't even sprayed with anything! The next day they undercoated the car, again it was a c****y job. When I got the car home I removed a door panel to check the rust proofing and found it was not done as well. After 2,000 miles the paint started chipping off the rocker panels and door bottoms. They repainted the car and added mud flaps and a few months later the paint started coming off again. It was repainted again (a very poor job). I was told the orange peel was a chip guard, I'm not stupid and I could see the stone chips below the new paint. I was lied to many times by these guys, they will look you in the eye and lie. I would never buy another car from them or suggest anybody buy a car from them. I fought with them (and Mazda USA) for over a year and finally sold my car. It was the worst car experience I've ever had!