My husband and I had visited a number of larger-name dealerships when I decided I wanted to downsize from my suburban. The process was dreadful. I never felt the salesmen were truly listening to what I wanted and instead pushed vehicles that were far out of our price range. The worst was when the salesmen wanted to ride with my family of four on test drives. It was awkward and terribly uncomfortable for everyone. My husband had checked out Auto Kingdom after work one day and encouraged me to visit as well, but I was worried to go alone. I didn't want to deal with, yet another, pushy salesman.
When we arrived at Auto Kingdom, we were greeted by Darrell who asked what we were interested in. He pointed out a few vehicles and then encouraged us to look around and test drive as many as we wanted. There wasn't any pushing of certain vehicles; he truly wanted us to find a vehicle that we were going to enjoy. That day, my husband and I drove at least seven or eight vehicles from the lot. The best part, Darrell told us he didn't want to ride with us. He wanted us to go and talk about the car, drive the car how we would normally drive it, and really see how it felt to us. Considering how uncomfortable I had been at every other dealership, this was a completely different experience. There was no pressure to buy and I appreciated Darrell's knowledge and honesty about each vehicle we were interested in.
I left that day with my heart set on a certain car. Because my husband and I weren't sure if we were going to trade in my Suburban or sell it privately, I wasn't sure we should go through with the purchase of a new car that day. Darrell reassured me he would not sell the car until my husband and I had time to make a decision regarding my truck. Let me stress how much of a relief it was to NOT have a salesman breathing down my neck pushing the sale of a vehicle. A couple days later, I was back at Auto Kingdom ready to purchase the car. The guys let me take it out for another drive, and then we met in Darrell's office to sign papers. Darrell explained everything thoroughly and was patient to answer all of our questions and provide clarity as needed.
I left Auto Kingdom wishing I hadn't wasted so much time looking at other dealerships and lots. Darrell made the car buying experience enjoyable for me, which is incredible considering how much anxiety I had felt at every other dealership. The next time my husband and I are in need of a new vehicle, we will be heading straight to Auto Kingdom. I don't think I would ever consider buying a vehicle anywhere else after the experience we had. These guys are all about their customers and they are amazing to work with.
Stephanie Killian
Saint Paul, MN
March 19th 2017
