It's only been a couple days, but we feel great about our purchase and would go back to Steve in a heartbeat. Even if a problem were to pop up with the truck, we feel we got a good enough deal to invest in some repairs if need be.
DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. Bought a 2009 Mini Clubman from Elite Auto Sales from STEVE (the owner) in Herrin, IL. Steve also discussed my credit report, score, and bank offers in an open area of his business in front of anybody who was in the building at the time. Another sales associate and whoever he has cleaning his cars. I’ve never had a salesman do that before. I bought this car because I like it, not out of need. And that was the only reason I was there. Before buying the car, we mentioned to Steve that we smelled burning oil when test driving it. STEVE assured us it was NOT an issue. Four (4) days after purchasing the vehicle and driving it 16 miles per day for those four days…smoke was rolling out of the front, into the cab, and the check engine light was on. Called Steve and took the car in. He took it to a mechanic, supposedly. I’ve yet to see any receipt or write up from any mechanic he has ever taken it to. When I got it back there was oil handprints down the passenger side and on the hood. Took the vehicle Myrtle Beach, SC. By the time we reached Myrtle Beach, the light was on again. Called Steve. He said he’d order the part and have it fixed. Returned to Illinois 5 days later, still had not heard from Steve. A week later. Nothing. Meanwhile, the vehicle started smoking worse. The engine light was still on. Smoke would fill the cab of the vehicle. Called Steve. Still no part. Finally…three weeks later…the part is in. Steve so graciously agree to lend me a car since this was my primary vehicle. He had his sales associate put me in a LeSabre edition grandpa. It had not been cleaned. It smelled like somebody had sex in it and then left their tissues in the floor board…and we left those tissues right there. A week later, I finally got the Clubman back. Same issues. Except now, it has either burned 3 quarts of oil, it has leaked 3 quarts of oil, or his mechanic did not top off the oil after working on it. CALLED STEVE. I told him it was very frustrating and I was yelling about it. He told me he could take it to the mechanic…the same one. I said well, that hasn’t fixed it. It’s the same problem. He told me he could trade in the vehicle for something else on his lot. I was pretty reluctant about that too. Steve also informed me that “other dealerships” would just tell me it was MY problem. Four days after buying a vehicle? Yeah, I don’t think so, Steve. He asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a running vehicle that didn’t have these issues! He said to let him get off the phone so he could call a different mechanic. I said fine and hung up. My boyfriend called him to explain the oil situation (the missing 3 quarts) and Steve told him that I should not hang up on him. Steve told him that I could drop off the car with his associate and he would provide a loaner vehicle. Steve said he would NOT be in office. When we arrived, it was very apparent that Steve was in office. So I began talking loudly to my boyfriend about the loaner car issue and how frustrating this whole deal has been with the Mini Clubman. Guess who walked out of the back office and once again told me he did not have to give me a loaner car OR fix the Mini Clubman. I told him that was fine, I could do it myself, and I asked him he remembered my lawyer, Terri. Because well…our family knows Steve and his background. I was warned but felt like everybody can grow and be better. Guess I was wrong. How dare you take advantage of a single working mother?Your responsibility as a business owner is customer service. Especially when I already made you aware of the problem. Oh, and Steve apparently had an issue speaking with the OWNER of the car which is me because he never returned MY calls but he’d return my boyfriends. So good job there too. KARMA, STEVE. IT’S GONNA GET YA. And even after asking about receipts and warranties on the work SUPPOSEDLY done on the Mini Clubman, I was never given that either. Says he's only been sued once. He'll pay his lawyer $20K and he wont have to pay anything. His words.
Bad customer service. The older man acted very uninterested in us and acted like we didn't matter. Very rude. He left us outside in the cold waiting on him to even speak with us about a car because he was with a customer. We drove off and left and went to a better dealership.
My fiance and I just purchased a used F150 from Steve James at Elite Auto Sales. We had been searching every dealership with a website within 100 miles looking for an older, cheaper 4 door pickup truck I could use for work but also lug the whole family around if needed. I had been checking Craigslist daily too. Finally, I found Elite's website.
Worked with my bad credit, made the buying process so much less stressful!! So happy with my new purchase and the no hassle process. Will definitely be a repeat customer.
Luke T.
Highly recommend!
I had a good experience here. Everything was straight forward and friendly. I had never bought from a privately owned smaller dealership before (I just moved from STL to attend SIU) so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it was kinda nice working directly with Steve, the owner, on my purchase. No drama, just a fair price on a good car for college. I was a little worried about my credit score but he worked it out for me. I would recommend to any friends who wanted a new car.
We came in for a test drive, and Steve and the team were very laid back and pleasant to deal with. The test drive went well enough, but given the truck's age we asked to take the truck for an independent inspection at a local mechanic which Steve had no problem with.
While most of their inventory is newer and nicer than what we were looking for; Steve had one older model F150 he had taken in on a trade, and it was priced to move at the bottom end of KBB retail value.
The mechanic found a few small things, nothing major, but Steve came down even further on on the already low asking price.
Elite Auto Sales is a US Car Dealer based in Herrin, Illinois. Elite Auto Sales is located at 3221 S Park Ave, Herrin, IL 62948, USA.
Please contact with Elite Auto Sales using information above: Address, Phone number, Fax, Postal code, Website address, E-mail, Facebook. Find Elite Auto Sales opening hours and driving directions or map. Find real customer reviews and ratings or write your own review.