Suntrup Volkswagen

Initially, we had a decent buying experience with Suntrup VW and Kainoa Layton our salesman on 8/5/25. We were told that the vehicle needed to be inspected/repaired to past Safety and Emissions. We didn't receive our vehicle back until 9/1 when we drove 45 minutes to pick up the vehicle “completely fixed” per the assurance of Service Manager Rick. Five days later on 9/6, we broke down on the highway while bringing it back to Suntrup VW because it was overheating with engine lights aglow and spitting coolant and oil everywhere. We spent 6 hours waiting to be towed back to the dealership and naively decided to give Suntrup another chance to remedy this. The Jeep was again in their shop for several more weeks. We got it back on 9/22 and surprise: Suntrup VW and their service department let us drive this vehicle with a broken drag-link, the worst one our mechanic has ever seen! This defect/damage is not something that could be missed in an honestly COMPLETED Safety Inspection- which would have immediately found/fixed this major safety issue when they had it for the first 4 weeks and supposedly did thorough dealer, safety and emissions inspections. The irony is that the drag-link is a fairly cheap repair ~$360, but this FAILURE while driving WOULD CAUSE US TO LOSE COMPLETE STEERING CONTROL before being thrown around the highway and KILLING US AND EVERYONE AROUND US DRIVING!! I am so angry that I sent my husband to work in this vehicle and drove my young CHILDREN all over St. Louis in a LITERAL ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN due the dishonesty, ignorance, incompetence, and lack of regard for human safety from Suntrup! Thank God we got it to our mechanic early on 9/23 to find this out or we never would have know until we CRASHED and BURNED due to Suntrup pencil whipping their safety and emissions inspections. Our mechanic said that there’s NO WAY IN xxxx he would drive this Jeep like that and he advised that we don't drive it either- it needs to be towed back to the dealer. SUNTRUP VW is now ignoring our calls and wont return our requests for refund or remedy. Our mechanic also found leaking axle seals (3 of 4) which should’ve been spotted on brake/rotor repairs in the first month that Suntrup VW had the Jeep and told us they were doing the repairs. We are in complete disgust and disbelief at the lack of honesty, concern for others safety, quality workmanship, and time and money already invested/wasted in what should’ve been a great experience buying a vehicle with a dealership that we trusted. Per MO State Highway Patrol, Safety and Emissions on this vehicle should NEVER have passed in its current condition. I will now make it my personal mission that NO ONE will ever receive an inferior quality vehicle that could KILL them due to this dealership's (or any other dealers) negligence. Rick Thayer (Service Mgr.), Beau Schwartz (Sales Mgr.), Kainoa Layton (sales) and anyone else at SunTRAP VW that wont return our calls, READ IT HERE: lawyers, MO State HP Troop C, and MO Attorney General have been contacted. News media is next. BUYERS BEWARE!!! Your life could literally be in danger buying a vehicle from Suntrup!!!

My first interaction with Suntrup was on-line. They immediately sent me a reply about the vehicle and I believe it was on a Sunday. (I was impressed by that.!) Her name was Veronica and she did an excellent job with the communication between myself and the dealership. When I arrive to the dealership my sales person Kainoa Payton was so kind, patient and helpful. I was running behind due to rush-hour and work but when I arrived the finance department and my sales person was very patient with me. I arrived at 5pm and they closed at 6pm. They wasn’t rushing me and I was able to drive my vehicle in peace. Everything checked out fine and I am so glad that I was able to find this vehicle at Suntrup. This is the first dealership that I came across and they have a program with the transmission and the engine stay under a warranty for the life time you have the vehicle. I really wish that I have came across this dealership much sooner. KB

Kai and Brandon were great! Knowledgeable and quick to respond to our needs. He got us the car we wanted! Thank you Kai and Brandon! You get 5 stars ⭐️ ! Everything was great up until it was time to pay our down payment, which was a significant amount! No one told us that we could not put the down payment of half the cars price, on our debit card! He wanted us to go back home and get a check. No, we live 30 minutes away. Plus, we do not have checks for that account. Then wanted to do a wire transfer, then suggested going to the bank the next day for a cashiers check. He stated, they did not want to take a debit card, because they get charged 5%. That’s not my problem. If the rules of Suntrup Volkswagen are that you can’t pay with a debit card, then you should inform the buyer of this before hand!!!! Especially when they told you they would be putting half down on a brand new Jetta. Do not waste my time trying to make me feel bad for you getting charged a fee for us using a form of payment. Then the finance guy had to question with an attitude, if we can even withdraw that amount on our debit! YES, we can. In fact, just last year when we purchased our 24 Jetta from Bommarito Volkswagen they never once questioned it! we put the same amount down then! So here is my suggestion, when someone tells Suntrup they will be putting a large sum of money down on a car, tell them the forms of payment that you will take beforehand!

Sales person was nice and knowledgeable but we were not happy with getting rushed through finance and very unhappy with the rate which was not discussed. We have an excellent credit score and I know for a fact we could have gotten a better rate. If not for the fact I plan on paying the loan off quickly I would not have accepted the paperwork or car. What happened to discussing these things?

We had a great experience buying a used vehicle from Suntrup Volkswagen. Kai made the entire process easy and took care of us along the way. I would definitely recommend Suntrup Volkswagen and Kai to anyone looking for a great deal on a vehicle with a seamless car buying experience.

This is the second car we have gotten thru this dealership.I always tell people to go to you all. Great selections and very helpful people to help you find what you want. Thank you for Kai and Rj they were both very nice and helpful

KAINOA(Client Advisor/Sales Rep), Beau(Manager) and AJ (Finance Manager) really were all so amazing. I had an appointment with Kainoa and was immediately attentive and had my car interest pulled up ready for me to test drive it. He was knowledgeable about the car, its features and throughly explained differences in car model options. I was a little nervous going through the process of purchasing but Kainoa often encouraged me through it and did his best to work with the manager Beau to fit within my budget. Beau was kind and did what he could to work through details of the paperwork. Once it was sent to the financial manager AJ their consistent effort to help flowed. AJ really worked through details and explained what needed to get the appropriate payment amount. I am so grateful to the Suntrup Volkswagen team for bringing relief & peace to a stressful situation. I highly recommend Kainoa for your car needs!

My wife and I had been car shopping all day. Suntrup was going to be the final stop of the day before we made a decision. I was blown away with Kainoas amazing customer friendly salesmanship. We test drove 3 different vehicles and he made sure we knew everything we needed to know about each one. The rest of the team was very friendly and made the experience fun. I normally dread car shopping, but I am so happy we chose Suntrup for our next family vehicle. Thanks again Kai for all of your expertise. I will always refer anyone to Suntrup!

Always the best customer service and no sales pressure conversations. This is our 2nd vehicle with Suntrup VW and they have a customer for life with us.

Great dealership to work with. Kai and AJ were easy to deal with, and left you feeling like friends