Rairdon's Hyundai Of Bellingham
My short answer is, don’t bother.
I’ve been putting this off for a while, hoping to receive some form of resolution from the dealership, but ultimately realize that’s not going to happen. So, this is the full story to the best of my recollection.
In December my wife’s and my sole car was damaged due to a faulty defroster. The cost of repairing the car was such that the insurance company eventually declared it a total loss. On January the 27th, after working on finding a suitable replacement for a month, I happened across a 2011 Nissan Rogue at Rairdon's Hyundai Of Bellingham. I did some research and it was for all intents and purposes, my wife’s ideal car. I was there after hours when I found it so after doing some research I came back the next day.
Before going in I contacted a family member who had dealt with Rairdon previously, they had gotten screwed over royally with the first vehicle they’d bought from them. The management changed after the first, and they decided to try them again, twice more in fact. When asked they told me their last 2 experiences with Rairdon had been decent. Certain other family members are of the opinion that they got hosed by 2 of the 3 cars.
On Saturday the 28th I got a chunk of cash, intending to make a large down payment and finance the difference. I arrived and looked at the car, their sticker price was $13,990. From the research I’d done, I came up with a number that I felt we could afford and was still higher than the roughly $10,500 that was the high end blue book value for the vehicle. I offered them $11,000. I told them that was my absolute maximum, all in, including taxes and fees. The salesman David advised that he’d have to go talk to his sales manager, Gabe, who would later deal with the paperwork. Shortly thereafter he returned with the key for a test drive. I confirmed that the $11,000 was agreed to before taking the key from him. I took the Rogue for a test drive to our house so I could show Michele. She loved it immediately, and felt good about getting the car. I went back to the showroom to start the paperwork. While I was waiting, I texted my father-in-law about the vehicle, letting him know that they’d told me they’d agreed to the $11,000. Dave came back to confirm payment options, I chose the one that was closest to what I thought I could afford, I was of the opinion that it didn’t really matter because as I’d told him, I intended to pay it off in very short order, the money was in the bank, I only had a portion of it with me.
When Gabe was going over the paperwork, he asked me if I wanted GAP coverage, as I was thinking about paying it off over time to improve my credit I agreed. He then asked if I wanted to add in a warrantee for $3000. I did some estimating in my head; $11,000 for the Rogue, another $3000 for the warrantee, less my $7000 cash in hand, would leave $7000 owed. He asked how much I’d be paying up front, I handed him the $7000. He then printed out the final paperwork and pointed at a number that I understood to be the subtotal. Doing the quick estimates in my head that looked right. $12,883. Add estimated sales tax and fees and the total comes to a little over $14,000. I signed off and Michele and I took the new car home.
Later that week the Rogue hadn’t been driven and my stepdaughter needed some help moving out of her place in Seattle. I drove down to help her and when I was attempting to leave the Rogue wouldn’t start. To me it seemed like a battery issue, it was jumped and then drove fine back to Bellingham. Doing a quick test the battery and alternator both seemed to be working properly.
About a week later I was checking my bank account and saw that the loan had shown up. The loan in the amount of $12,883. I contacted my bank thinking something there had been a bank error, they advised that the documentation and the loan amount matched and that any change would have to come from Rairdon. Following that conversation I contacted Rairdon. Gabe was unavailable, he was on vacation, it took almost a week before I was able to speak to him. I was told he would next be in at 10am the following Saturday, I showed up about 5 or 10 minutes before 10am. I was then told that he wouldn’t be in until noon. I’d had a knot in my stomach for a week and had been feeling lightheaded, I had no intention of trying to go home and then come back so I waited. When he showed up he went over the paperwork and indicated that Rairdon endeavors to be transparent in their dealings then he pointed at the that same $12,883 that ended up being listed as the amount to be financed, the amount of the loan. Gabe then stated there was nothing that they could do about the loan because the bank had already processed and paid the loan. He advised that the most they could do is cancel the GAP coverage and the $3000 warrantee. I was not eager to do either and so I held off to discuss options with insurance and family.
After talking to my insurance I decided to remove the GAP coverage and then I began muddling over the question of the warrantee. I looked over the documents I got from Rairdon to review the coverage of the warrantee and noticed some discrepancies with it. Having noticed the discrepancies I decided to contact the warrantee provider and clarify the warrantee with them. Specifically I had noticed the limits of the warrantee had not been filled in. I asked the representative of the warrantee company if they had record of my warrantee or not, he advised that they had not received it yet. The most I could do was get some hypothetical information from him. He said that if information regarding the limits of the warrantee is missing then it would be rejected and sent back to the dealer.
While I was debating the warrantee, my father-in-law contacted them on my behalf and spoke to Gabe and then to the manager for Rairdon. According to my father-in-law Gabe indicated that there was nothing he could do and the manager quickly indicated that they’d only made $2000 on the sale. If the car was a trade in, and Rairdon paid maximum Kelly Blue Book value of $8,900, that’s $5,090. If you add the $12,883 financing to the $7000 cash I paid, that’s $19,883 before whatever interest I’m paying, roughly $4000 of that would be the warrantee and gap coverage.
I had 30 days to decide on the warrantee and GAP coverage if I wanted a full refund, a few days before the time was up (February 26th) I filed the paperwork to cancel the warrantee and GAP coverage. I was told that the refund would likely be applied within a week but that they had to advise up to 6 weeks as the payment would be mailed to the bank.
A couple days later I received the rejection of the warrantee submission from the warrantee provider indicating that as the form was submitted they could not provide coverage.
On April 9th 6 weeks had passed and the payment had not shown up in my bank account. On April 10th I contacted Rairdon and the woman who was supposed to file the paperwork had no record of the warrantee and GAP coverage refund form. She went through her paperwork and couldn’t find the form. Having failed to find record of the refund request she called to ask if I could come in to fill out the paperwork again and they would give the full cost of the warrantee and GAP coverage in the refund (something I was already supposed to be getting). A few hours after getting off the phone with her I received a call from Gabe telling me that I didn’t need to come in and fill out the form again, and that they would be processing the refund.
At this point I don’t hold Rairdon’s in high regard and so I call Rairdon’s main line to talk to the woman who was supposed to process the payment. She got on the line and explained that they’d found the form, it had somehow been placed in a pile of paperwork on some other employee’s desk. She then told me she would process it and issue the refund before the end of the week. The refund showed up in my bank account on April 17th.
On April 14th, my wife’s birthday, she went to Trader Joe’s in the evening. She was there for less than 30 minutes before trying to come home. When she got back out to the Rogue she found it would not start. Her daughter and boyfriend were able to meet up with her to jump the Rogue and she made it home, but now the check engine light was on. Two days later, on the 16th I took it in to Autozone to have it tested again. The code that came up indicated an issue with the computer and the battery tested within the acceptable range.
At this point the Rogue had been driven roughly 608 miles. I contacted Rairdon and Gabe advised me that the Rogue had been purchased As-Is and as I’d cancelled the warrantee they could have their technicians look it over but I’d be responsible for the costs.
Rairdon offered 6 oil changes for free with the purchase of the Rogue. At this point I don’t even trust them to do that. I took the Rogue elsewhere to have the code checked and cleared. The battery was shot, in all likelihood before we bought it.
On January 28th when I left Rairdon’s with my wife’s 2011 Nissan Rogue I was feeling good about them. Optimistic even, at that time and a couple of times since both David and Gabe asked me to post a review. I didn’t have the time that week, and in the weeks following I’d hoped that the issues would resolve themselves. I’ve been working on this review for the past few weeks whenever I could find the time.
I honestly can’t think of an auto company I would be less likely to recommend than Rairdon. I will not encourage anyone to waste their money there.
