Olson Chevrolet — Local services in Redwood Falls

UPDATE 10/15/20 I did receive a call from the manager the day after my review was posted, though I was unable to answer. Having a busy week, I didn't get back to them before I discovered the A/C on my vehicle wasn't working (and there was a mouse nest in the engine...not sure how vehicle inspection missed that). It did stop just days after I purchased the vehicle (totally chance) and I saw it wasn't covered under the 2000 mile/2-month warranty they gave us. While that was disappointing, the service we received from 3 different persons at the dealership far made up for the lack thereof previously.

Marthaler drove an hour and a half to pick up our SUV, and left a fairly new loaner vehicle in its place. The cost to repair the A/C and rear unit was over $700, but due to the circumstance, they covered half of it and had it back to us in under 24 hours! They checked multiple times to ensure we were satisfied with the entire transaction.

Based on text conversation and what we've recently experienced, I don't doubt the manager whipped communications into shape. They've also gone the 'extra mile' in quite a few ways, so I have no problem giving them two more stars for a job well done. ORIGINAL POST I spent a week thinking before writing because it's never good to leave a harsh review without consideration and empathy towards what someone else may be going through. So understand it's not as much out of frustration for almost losing the car (their fault), it's the extensive, multi-layered disappointment my fiancé and I had over terrible communication and service that not only wasted many hours, but caused us more stress than we've ever had buying a vehicle...and this is our 10th car purchase between us. We did end up buying the car; we're fine with it and it works well so far, but the process was rough and chances are good you'll face the same. Here's why:

I demonstrated serious interest on a vehicle with intent to buy, only to get the run-around for two days from three different personnel who weren't sure if the vehicle was sold or available. I eventually discovered via the store manager, after being ghosted by a salesperson, that someone else had attempted to buy it after my request because no one locked it down. Fortunately for us, that person's financing failed.

Getting our credit dinged only find out the car wasn't available was frustrating to say the least. Having to fill out a credit form twice because they couldn't figure out how to retrieve the data was ridiculous.

I communicated with salespersons on Facebook Messenger and another via text, only to have them not communicate with one another, and then the store manager who didn't communicate with either of them. The manager even texted me again after we drove the vehicle off the lot to see if I was still interested in the vehicle. Wow.

We were contacted on our drive home, again via text (I'm fine with calls), to see if there was anything they could do get me to leave a 5-star review. I again patiently explained what we went through and said if they could prove they're working on interdepartmental communication and they were willing to go the extra mile, unspecified, I'd consider it. A week later and I haven't heard back.

They were willing to drive the car an hour and a half to me to get the sale, but not willing to fill up a gas tank after the deal closed because I didn't "negotiate for it". We drove away on empty. I guess 'going out of their way', as they suggest they do, doesn't go beyond closing the sale.

Never once did we demonstrate anything but patience and kindness to Marthaler, however Marthaler dealership showed a serious lack of mindful customer service throughout most of our experience.

The only reason I'm leaving two stars instead of one is because of Roberta in Finance. She prepared everything beforehand so we could make a hasty exit as we had other appointments. She was genuine, kind, and cared about our time. As far as I can tell, she's the...

I purchased a 2016 Chevy 1500 on January 10th, 2024. Within 14 days of the purchase, the transmission went out with less than 1000 miles put on the truck. This left me stranded on the side of the road in the winter. The truck was towed to your dealership and the Service Department told me that the truck needed a new transmission, which took over a month. The day I picked it up, I got 8 miles down the road before the transmission started acting up again. The truck was taken back to your shop, and I was told the truck needed ANOTHER transmission since the one installed was bad. The truck sat at your dealership for approximately another month. I picked up the truck once the second transmission was installed and noticed several door dings that were not present when I purchased the truck. The truck was thoroughly looked over before I purchased it by myself, my father, and my mother. These dents were not present and appear to be door dings. I had the truck less than 14 days in my possession, and for the other two months, it’s been in the back of your dealership between cars. I brought this up with your staff and was told they would look into it and see what they could do before later denying any of this damage was their doing.

While my truck was in the shop the 2nd time for another month, I requested a full sized truck as a loaner vehicle as I purchased a truck for a reason as I regularly haul things. The dealership originally gave me a truck that had almost no gas in it. I filled the truck up and the dealership called to switch it out with another loaner a day or two later. They took the truck that I filled up on my own dime and replaced it with ANOTHER empty truck. This happened multiple times throughout the month I was forced to rely on loaners.

Although I’ve owned multiple other vehicles, this is the first truck I’ve purchased on my own and it has been an absolute nightmare! I’m frustrated not only by your sales staff's lack of communication but also by your Service Department. The only staff member who seems trustworthy and goes above and beyond for your customers would be Bob Okins.

I thought I should bring this experience to everyone’s attention so the dealership can evaluate its customer...

Cory earned the 5 star review. I found myself needing a vehicle quickly and at a time when the market was difficult for buyers. Marthaler Chevrolet had a reasonable vehicle with a listing price at the bottom of its blue book value. Anytime I have bought a new car, I expect a long process of negotiating the price. The price on my car was low enough that it was unreasonable to expect them to drop the price further. Buying the car was easy and I appreciated the help from both Cory and Ben.

It isn't the price of the car that impressed me so much as it was the customer service. I bought a used vehicle and within a few days, the check engine light turned on. I was flying to Florida, but Cory worked to have the vehicle picked-up without any effort from me. They discovered that a sensor in the vehicle had malfunctioned and I expected to argue about the reasonableness of the costs. Again, no argument was necessary.

Although the part and repairs were not covered by the warranty, the dealership jumped in and paid for everything. They provided me with a similar vehicle to use while they fixed the car I had purchased. When the repairs were complete, they worked around my schedule and exchanged the vehicles without any effort or inconvenience on my end.

Given the customer service and treatment of the dealership, I will go back in the future. I trust Cory and Ben a this dealership. I would pay slightly more for a car from these guys, knowing that they will help me and cover me if anything goes wrong. I should add that I live 2 hours and 30 minutes from the dealership. They drove to me to exchange vehicles both times.

I will buy from them again and I would encourage anyone who is looking for a vehicle to give...