I am really rooting for this brand to show BMW and Mercedes that this isn't just their market. But Cadillac service and experience is so far behind the mark they could be giving Rolls Royce a run for their money with build quality and not get a head.
I love my ELR. I have no problems with the car or it's build quality. It's too small for me though. I fell in love with it when I saw it and with an upcoming move and increased commute I traded in my Escalade for it thinking I don't really need all of this space.... wrong.
I’ve been shopping around reading about the CTS – Vsports from 2014 & 2015. The car is a looker and I found a few in my area. I even found a 2014 still on the lot that I thought I could work a good deal on helping to offset the negative equity I have in my car.
So I call up the dealer’s sales line from their website. I speak with a very nice lady, Natalie. I explain to Natalie my situation and she is very sweet and knowledgeable about both my ELR and the CTS V-Sport. She talks me through the few V-sports they have on the lot and ask when I would like to come see them and so I say I can be there in 30 minutes if you’re free. She agrees and I head down to the dealership. Just before I arrive I get a call back from her and she says, “I’ve spoken with my GSM about your trade in and what you’re looking to do. His name is Randy so ask for him when you arrive”. Okie Dokie….
Get to the Cadillac dealer and walk into the showroom…. No one, no receptionist, sales, greeter…. Just and SRX and a CTS. So I walk over to the Buick building and ask the receptionist for Randy. Some other guy comes out and says Randy left for the day (Natalie asked me to speak to him just 10 minutes prior). I tell him no worries, I am thinking about trading my ELR in for a CTS but I have not seen a CTS in person or driven one. Without directly responding to me he grabs a sales guy walking past and says, “Stacey can help you, Stacey show them our V-Sports” . Stacey is a man. Stacey doesn’t look at my friend or I or even address us directly but just mutters an, “OK” and walks out of the dealership. When we hop on the golf cart he does ask if we’ve seen the CTS before and I say no, that is why I’d like to see one. I then ask him if there is a noticeable punch in the three engine choices the car has and if the V-Sport is really that fast. He barks back a very condescending, “um yes… it is a 70 thousand dollar car”. Keep in mind I allegedly drive and 80 thousand dollar car. From this point on the golf cart ride hunting down the cars is awkward silence unless I have a question about the car. We finally find one which is the 2014 I found online he grabs the keys and my license and we go for a ride.
Let me just say that for those of you who have not driven a CTS 3.6 TT… you should. I was VERY impressed with everything. The sound, the power, the road feeling. It was a great car and I decided on that drive that I wanted that car that night.
We get back to the dealership after the test drive and I tell Stacey that I am very interested in the car but was hoping to lease since I plan to go back to an Escalade once the current model is a few years into its production BUT I would like to know what sort of deal they could put together for financing on the 2014.
So we pick out another 15 V-Sport to run the lease numbers on to compare to the 2014 finance. He grabs the details from my ELR which is 8 months old now and in perfect condition. He’s gone for about 10 minutes. Leaves us sitting on the golf cart outside next to my car. When he returns he says, “your car is 20 grand upside down so we’d need a check for that to do either deal”. Hands me my keys and says, “I’m sorry but I have an appointment to deliver a car and the customer is here” and just walks away.
WTF… just happened. I have never felt so dismissed in my entire life. I had my checkbook sticking out of my back pocket and could have written him that 20k check if need be but he just walked away. I’m recently 30 so maybe they didn’t take me seriously because of my age. However I thought my ELR would at least show that I was a serious vested Cadillac customer. The entire experience was horrible from start to finish. And honestly I can’t say that my past experiences have been much better. Of course the finance guy is always very nice but I always feel like I’m pulling teeth to buy a Cadillac, like they’re doing me a favor. The kicker was he also mentioned with his back already to me just before he walked away, “there just isn’t a market for my car”.
Again, I love my ELR but I can’t help but feel like a lab rat for GM. A Cadillac rep telling me face to face that there isn’t a market for my 8 month old Cadillac and that it had already depreciated 70%. I’m not expecting a hand out by any means, but good lord… My worthless market-less car is your own product! Humor me at least. What would knock my socks off with the ELR is Cadillac offered a specialized trade in program for these cars…. But that will never happen.
So I got in my car and drove right around the corner to the Mercedes dealership. A guy walked up and started talking to me about my ELR and saying how cool he thought they looked and was asking about its performance. He was very personable and walked me through their current lineup, let me drive a couple. He talked about a few promotions they had and I told him I stopped in on a whim and really wanted to do some additional research before taking the next step. He completely understood gave me his card and offered if I wanted to move forward just chat with him first and they’d get everything set up beforehand. It was a real first class experience. Furthermore when I bought my mom a 4 series a couple months ago for her birthday, the BMW experience was bar none the best and most organic car buying I had ever done.
No doubt Cadillac is putting out some great cars now. But I think this is going to be their downfall. People coming from European brands that have experienced other dealerships are simply going to walk away from the crude good ol boy showrooms of Cadillac. I haven’t thrown in the towel 100% but I have expanded my search now before I return to a Cadillac dealership.
I love my ELR. I have no problems with the car or it's build quality. It's too small for me though. I fell in love with it when I saw it and with an upcoming move and increased commute I traded in my Escalade for it thinking I don't really need all of this space.... wrong.
I’ve been shopping around reading about the CTS – Vsports from 2014 & 2015. The car is a looker and I found a few in my area. I even found a 2014 still on the lot that I thought I could work a good deal on helping to offset the negative equity I have in my car.
So I call up the dealer’s sales line from their website. I speak with a very nice lady, Natalie. I explain to Natalie my situation and she is very sweet and knowledgeable about both my ELR and the CTS V-Sport. She talks me through the few V-sports they have on the lot and ask when I would like to come see them and so I say I can be there in 30 minutes if you’re free. She agrees and I head down to the dealership. Just before I arrive I get a call back from her and she says, “I’ve spoken with my GSM about your trade in and what you’re looking to do. His name is Randy so ask for him when you arrive”. Okie Dokie….
Get to the Cadillac dealer and walk into the showroom…. No one, no receptionist, sales, greeter…. Just and SRX and a CTS. So I walk over to the Buick building and ask the receptionist for Randy. Some other guy comes out and says Randy left for the day (Natalie asked me to speak to him just 10 minutes prior). I tell him no worries, I am thinking about trading my ELR in for a CTS but I have not seen a CTS in person or driven one. Without directly responding to me he grabs a sales guy walking past and says, “Stacey can help you, Stacey show them our V-Sports” . Stacey is a man. Stacey doesn’t look at my friend or I or even address us directly but just mutters an, “OK” and walks out of the dealership. When we hop on the golf cart he does ask if we’ve seen the CTS before and I say no, that is why I’d like to see one. I then ask him if there is a noticeable punch in the three engine choices the car has and if the V-Sport is really that fast. He barks back a very condescending, “um yes… it is a 70 thousand dollar car”. Keep in mind I allegedly drive and 80 thousand dollar car. From this point on the golf cart ride hunting down the cars is awkward silence unless I have a question about the car. We finally find one which is the 2014 I found online he grabs the keys and my license and we go for a ride.
Let me just say that for those of you who have not driven a CTS 3.6 TT… you should. I was VERY impressed with everything. The sound, the power, the road feeling. It was a great car and I decided on that drive that I wanted that car that night.
We get back to the dealership after the test drive and I tell Stacey that I am very interested in the car but was hoping to lease since I plan to go back to an Escalade once the current model is a few years into its production BUT I would like to know what sort of deal they could put together for financing on the 2014.
So we pick out another 15 V-Sport to run the lease numbers on to compare to the 2014 finance. He grabs the details from my ELR which is 8 months old now and in perfect condition. He’s gone for about 10 minutes. Leaves us sitting on the golf cart outside next to my car. When he returns he says, “your car is 20 grand upside down so we’d need a check for that to do either deal”. Hands me my keys and says, “I’m sorry but I have an appointment to deliver a car and the customer is here” and just walks away.
WTF… just happened. I have never felt so dismissed in my entire life. I had my checkbook sticking out of my back pocket and could have written him that 20k check if need be but he just walked away. I’m recently 30 so maybe they didn’t take me seriously because of my age. However I thought my ELR would at least show that I was a serious vested Cadillac customer. The entire experience was horrible from start to finish. And honestly I can’t say that my past experiences have been much better. Of course the finance guy is always very nice but I always feel like I’m pulling teeth to buy a Cadillac, like they’re doing me a favor. The kicker was he also mentioned with his back already to me just before he walked away, “there just isn’t a market for my car”.
Again, I love my ELR but I can’t help but feel like a lab rat for GM. A Cadillac rep telling me face to face that there isn’t a market for my 8 month old Cadillac and that it had already depreciated 70%. I’m not expecting a hand out by any means, but good lord… My worthless market-less car is your own product! Humor me at least. What would knock my socks off with the ELR is Cadillac offered a specialized trade in program for these cars…. But that will never happen.
So I got in my car and drove right around the corner to the Mercedes dealership. A guy walked up and started talking to me about my ELR and saying how cool he thought they looked and was asking about its performance. He was very personable and walked me through their current lineup, let me drive a couple. He talked about a few promotions they had and I told him I stopped in on a whim and really wanted to do some additional research before taking the next step. He completely understood gave me his card and offered if I wanted to move forward just chat with him first and they’d get everything set up beforehand. It was a real first class experience. Furthermore when I bought my mom a 4 series a couple months ago for her birthday, the BMW experience was bar none the best and most organic car buying I had ever done.
No doubt Cadillac is putting out some great cars now. But I think this is going to be their downfall. People coming from European brands that have experienced other dealerships are simply going to walk away from the crude good ol boy showrooms of Cadillac. I haven’t thrown in the towel 100% but I have expanded my search now before I return to a Cadillac dealership.
