McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago

I started car shopping on Chase website. Chase will finance any car they listed and send you to the Dealer that listed it. I chose three different Dealerships. The two of them said they didn't have the cars listed and tried to sale me other cars. I went to McGrath Acura Downtown Chicago. They didn't have it. I decided to go to another, but Mr Guillermo Perez, my Salesman, advised me to wait. He had another car I may like. I wanted a Honda Civic. He had a Honda Accord. He was right. While I waited. They found a Company to finance it. My credit wasn't that great. I drove out with a great car. I took it in because of a recall. McGraph of Honda did a thorough check of the car and found many things that needed repair. I took the car back to McGrath Acura. I couldn't afford to repair it. I was on my way out, but was stopped by Mr Johnny Fernan, the Manager of McGrath. He said I can't let you leave without a car. He showed me a Honda Civic, It was five years younger than the one I had. He found financing and I was elated. I had the best experience from this Dealership ever and I have purchased many cars. They made me feel like a favorite family member. I highly recommend them…AL Jam.

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but this experience was so negative that I feel obligated to share it. I’ve purchased several vehicles over the years, and this was by far the worst dealership experience I’ve ever had. The biggest issue is that no one there communicates with each other. I went in with a set price that had already been agreed upon with their online/business department. When I arrived in person, they immediately started haggling with me as if none of those prior conversations ever happened. It was clear the sales staff had no idea what had been discussed or agreed to. I ultimately had to ask for the sales manager to come in so I could negotiate directly with him and get things straightened out. Then in the finance office, the numbers were different yet again. The finance manager actually called the sales manager in just to make it clear that she hadn’t changed the final sale price — basically proving a point that the mistake wasn’t hers. Once again, it showed how little communication exists between departments. It was disorganized and frustrating from start to finish. When I finally took delivery of the vehicle, I noticed it hadn’t even been properly cleaned. Yes, it’s a new car, but every other dealership I’ve worked with has always delivered the vehicle fully detailed inside and out. This one looked like it had barely been touched. A couple of days later I went to start the car just to run it, and it wouldn’t start. Dead battery. A brand-new car with a dead battery right after purchase. Completely unacceptable. And the cherry on top: they never physically transferred my license plates from my trade-in to the new car. I called looking for answers and was basically told they think someone stole my plates. That makes zero sense. The only place I drove this car was back to the dealership to get a new battery. It’s been stored in my garage this whole winter. There’s four bolts with their McGrath paper plate on there. This was never touched and my plates were never put on the car. From poor communication, to incorrect pricing, to lack of basic delivery prep, to missing plates and a dead battery — this experience was a mess from beginning to end. Needless to say business with McGrath will be nonexistent in the future. Thanks for everything guys.

I would give -0 if I could, the worst dealership ever, dont ever waste time abs money here. They advertise bait prices, pushy sales, charge different prices. Not to mention they video record you. Totally humiliating. Stay away from them and dont ever give them charge cards.

Sent communication twice- not one response I guess they don’t need any car sales y’all!

Ethan Bailey is a treasure!!! The absolute best new car buying experience from start to finish. He is friendly, knowledgeable, hard working and just the right kind of person you want when making a major purchase decision. A standout guy at a standout dealership!

A gaggle of arrogant imbeciles. They don’t even comprehend the idea of customer service,common courtesy, and negotiation.

AVOID THIS SERVICE DEPT AT ALL COSTS!!! This review is for the service department at McGrath Acura, which has shown a shocking combination of dishonesty, incompetence, and predatory sales tactics. TLDR: I paid nearly $3K for a repair that was likely misdiagnosed. Then I was charged another $260 for a second diagnostic that led to a completely wrong $5,600 quote to replace my headlights — and told I should just “sell or trade in” my car. A free 15-minute second opinion elsewhere revealed that the issue was not the headlights at all, but a faulty control box — and that the lights themselves were working just fine. Visit 1 – AC repair: - My 2015 Acura’s AC failed. I had already added Freon myself. - McGrath charged $500+ for a diagnostic + Freon (even though I told them it was full), and tried to charge me full price again for a refill. - Only after I pushed back did they apply that fee toward the $3K+ repair. Shady, but I went along with it. They did fix my AC. Visit 2 – Headlight failure: A week later, both headlights stopped working. Their multipoint inspection had flagged a warning light earlier, but they made me pay another full diagnostic fee to look into it (the right thing to do would have been for their first pricey diagnostic to be holistic). Diagnosis: $5,600 to replace both headlights, and a suggestion to “sell/trade in” my car to them. - They gave me two incomplete sentences as justification. No schematics, no explanation, no confidence the repair would actually solve the issue. - Items they said “needed attention” two weeks prior (like brake fluid) with cost estimates to approve were suddenly fine with no repairs made. The truth – from a real mechanic: I got a free 15-minute diagnostic from a reputable independent shop. - They confirmed it was the body control box that had failed — a known issue — and when powered directly, the headlights worked perfectly. - The headlights were never the problem. - They also suggested the same box could’ve been responsible for the AC failure, meaning McGrath may have misdiagnosed that too. I can't prove this. I even asked McGrath if the issue could be electrical. My service rep repeatedly insisted their “master technician” had tested everything. Clearly, that was either a lie or a wildly inaccurate claim. This place is either a scam or completely unqualified to do proper diagnostic work. They tried to pressure me into a $5,600 unnecessary repair and then into selling them my car. They wasted my time, misled me, and charged me hundreds for a “diagnosis” that was completely wrong. Do not trust McGrath Acura’s service department. Get a second opinion and save yourself thousands of dollars.

Tl;dr: I sold my low miles, no accident vehicle to McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. I absolutely would not recommend this deal, and would even go so far as to call them predatory based upon their payment policy (which they strictly uphold) which places all risk on the individual. Long form review: April 7: I sold my vehicle to McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago. We were able to reach a fair sales price very quickly and the sales transaction itself was fairly quick and easy. At the time I was advised that they do not release payment until the title is received by the dealership, typically 10 business days (they now stringently deny ever saying this) April 16: The check is received by the lien holder (VW Credit) and the loan is paid off. I call to request the date that they will be mailing the title, in order to make sure that I will be able to pick up the check around childcare and work travel responsibilities. VW Credit informs me that McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago chose to send the payment via unsecured funds (which they told me is quite rare) and so they will be holding the title for 15 business days to ensure that it will clear. However, what the majority of dealerships do is call them, and VW Credit will be happy to verify that the title will be released and the date, so that the dealership can release the funds. April 17: I speak with Theo Noor regarding this, and share my frustration that at this point it is going to take more than a month to be paid for my vehicle, contrary to the expectations that they have set (which, once again, they deny having ever said). Given that I only had a loan for about 50% of the value of the car, McGrath Acura of Downtown Chicago is now in the position of holding both a large amount of money they owe me, as well as the vehicle, so I have no access to either the funds or the usefulness of still having a car. Theo did understand, and agreed that if I could provide an email stating the lien-holder would release the funds, he would cut the check. April 17, part 2: VW Credit isn’t able to send emails due to system limitations, but kindly agrees to expedite the title being sent out to help, although they were surprised as this is the first time they’ve ever heard of a dealership requiring this. April 17, part 3: In order to make it possible for me to pick up the check around the work travel I had previously made them aware of, Theo kindly agrees that a tracking number will also be sufficient, and I agree to call him once I have it available. April 23: Tracking number is provided to McGrath Acura of Chicago. Theo happens to be off that day, and when I call to arrange picking up the check, I am once again told that “because things can happen in the mail, we don’t pay without the title”. Of note, at no point did I sign an agreement to this effect - I trusted the 10 business days estimate, which was clearly never expected to be a reasonable estimate, or else they would have stood behind saying it. As of the time I write this review, I still do not have the payment they owe me, or confirmation on when I will receive it. If you’re looking to sell your car, especially through the Kelly Blue Book program, I would advise you to stay as far away from this dealership and their “policies” as possible.

Overall The salesperson John was most helpful, kind and professional. My only complaint was it took them a while to get all my paperwork and docs that I signed emailed to me. Also car shipment company they used to transport vehicle to my destination could have better up to date info on delivery date... instead of last minute.

Car service is good but calling trying to get the finance department is a pain. No one in the department ever answers the phone or returns phone calls.