Butler Conti Dodge - Lafayette, CA

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The most recent reports are at the top of the list; the oldest are at the bottom.

Sales=Excellent, Service=Don't Know, Parts=Don't Know, bought there=Yes, Buy_DaimlerChrysler_again=Yes,
I spent a long time researching and deciding on what truck to buy. I visited numerous dealerships - Ford, Chevy, Toyota, GM, Nissan, etc. Tim at Butler-Conti, (one of the last independent Dodge dealerships) provided me with excellent, most professional and honest service and advise. No hassle and best deal. Would highly recommend this outfit. And yes, track was waxed, full of fuel and ready for me when I arrived to pick my truck up.
I am planning to bring my truck back for service. I hope their service department as good as sale one.
Submitted by: Withheld by request
Number of dealership visits=1, Last visit date=1/3/05, Date report submitted: Mar 1 18:26:09 EST 2005

Sales=Excellent, Service=Don't Know, Parts=Don't Know, bought there=Yes, scv_there=No, Buy_DaimlerChrysler_again=Yes,
Where to start, hmmm,
Well, for my wife and I buying a new vehicle was a big deal, I mean hey its a lot of money to most folks. With that said, first decided exactly what type of vehicle we needed, then we started to look at a number (10-15) dealerships.
8 in California 1 in North carolina and 1 in Montana. The first price quote was rock bottom from the dealer in NC. 4 California dealerships came in the ball park (i was primarily looking for fleet or internet dealers), the cali dealers where just a bit higher than the rock bottom NC dealer but very reasonable, a few hundred off, hey they have to make a living too, and we all know its more expensive out here.
I could make this super long but at the end of the day, my only regret in dealing with Butler Conti Dodge was that i couldn't buy 2 vehicles. I had a salesman named Tim, was extremely courteous, super knowledgeable (about the truck, financing, rebates etc) I got so much crap and bullshit from other dealers, so every time they said something fishy, like, " oh if you order your truck u wont get the rebates" I would just call Dodges 800 number and ask them, or their finance and rebate department, if the dealer lied to me or was "gave me a premature answer" that's it last time I talked to them. out of the 8 Cali dealer that i started with 2 at the end, Butler Conti and a dealer in San Jose where decent fellows.
Anyway, I got a great price, he searched everywhere for my vehicle, and whenever he would call me with a close one, and it had something i didn't want he would just say ok john no problem let me keep looking, never tried to upsell me crap i didn't want. after a week of searching he said we can order it for you no problem and you'll still get the rebates, so i said well try searching again and this time i expanded my color choices and small options and wammo in less than 24 hours he had my vehicle Then he said let me get it to the lot so you can look at it. Maybe i came off as a serious buyer but he never asked me for any down or commitment, other dealers would say well we have your truck but we need 500 down to get it here. I am not saying that that's unreasonable but Butler Conti didn't do it. Also My Dodge has the factory Off Road package and i visited about 20 dealerships in the bay area looking for one and none to be found so i hadn't even seen one similar.
Listen, Ill go on forever here so let me cut to the chase, I used this board in helping me find a dealer, I asked Butler Conti about their postings here and the explanation was great. really made sense. So I fell that I should, no , I fell obligated to write of my fantastic experience with this dealership.
Further more I included my email so people don't think its a bullcrap dealer post.
This is my third brand new vehicle in my life, and i have had many experiences buying them with parents, brothers friends, etc. I just cannot say enough how great this dealership and guy Tim where. Not I got the best of both worlds, I got a great bottom line price and 5 star customer service to go with it. I mean from the very first conversation to me driving off the lot at this place i was happier than a pig in sh##. Time and i have over 20 emails to and from about the vehicle, about 40 phone calls, and he made me feel like i was his only customer every single time. One day he was off to take his wife to the doctor and he even emailed me his cell phone incase i had questions on the incoming vehicle
We got great financing, everything laid out super simple when we got their, no pressure about extended warranties, clear coat, undercoat, blah blah, damn i mean my truck was even waxed.
Its not a big fancy dealership with 5000 salesmen running around, it seems like an older family owned place with customer service and a desire to pease the customer,rather than move product for the sake of numbers taking,a priority.
Trust me i have better things to do than sit here and write this post, (like drive around in my new truck :) but i have to, being in LAFAYETTE its a little off the beaten path but why this dealership doesn't have a line around the block hmm, people are to impatient, they get pulled in by the u gotta sign now, this is the last dodge ram in the world get in now attitude of some dealerships, If you don't give this cat tim a call about your new Dodge and check price and ask him the questions you asked the other dealers, well , you just wont know what you missed.
I feel as a consumer i have a lot of power, and no dealer is stressing me out about buying a truck, when i talked to most not all but most of these salesman i felt it was me against them, not here really i felt great. some dealers just didn't know their product would you believe that a guy at serramonte dodge in colma told me if i didn't get the electronic transfer case i had to 1 put the truck in neutral to get into 4x4 and 2 turn hubs, i was like turn hubs , he said yup that's why we don't order many, i said later bro, what a dolt.
THIS PLACE IS GREAT
Some Notes
SERAMONTE - sales staff uniformed, and try to bullshit their way through questions. One salesman on the lot said I would have to "turn hubs" if i didn't get an electronic transfer case (lol idiot)
OAKLAND DODGE - they want to sell lot trucks only, told me 6-7 months if i ordered my dodge, sh## i could build one in my garage by then. I called Dodge 800 number that day and they said 8 weeks tops, all other dealers told me 6-8.
Lithia - Sales staff was kinda decent, I was referred to their internet manager Jim Povio, this guy called his sales own sales staff a bunch of dumb mother fu@%#^$,said ill hook you up don't worry, was rude, and just slimy. When i informed him another dealer found exactly what I want with only 2 small extra options he said that was impossible as he already found exactly what i want, some email back and forth and , anyway i have the emails saved where I said 2 or three times there was no light group in the truck, so after he said i found exactly what you want I emailed him back explaining what was missing, and i got an email back stating that my email was deleted without being read, lol what an idiot, crappy customer service.
San Jose Dodge - they had a fleet internet manager named Will, good guy, I like him too straight shooter , but i dealt more with the Guy and Butler Conti
Anyway hope this helps, I looked around a lottttttttt, and I don't think i could have possibly done any better, great price, great service, Dodge should give this place 6th star.
I love my HEMI, going fishin and critter killing in my Dodge HEMI < Hell Yeah!
John      john_kraft2001[a]yahoo.com
Number of dealership visits=10, Last visit date=March 26 2004, Date report submitted: Mar 28 13:14:21 EST 2004

Don't Know, Service=Avoid,
I called the *only* "5 Star" dealership in the East Bay area (near SF) to schedule an appointment to have a leaking/defective battery replaced under warranty. Butler Conti Dodge in Lafayette, CA just told me that the service manager will not allow them to work on any Viper not sold there, even though they have a certified Viper technician. Is this legal? How can I get warranty work done?
Number of dealership visits=1 phone call, Last visit date=August 28, 2002, Date report submitted: 05 Sep 2002

Sales=Good, Service=Excellent,
Great service, always helpful, on time with estimates, etc. friendly. Only item ever wondered about was when car was in shop brakes had perhaps 5,000 to 10,000 miles left on them which I didn't know. In this situation they would usually call and ask if I wanted to replace or wait, this time they did not call, but I was heading on a 3,000 mile trip, with some off-road, and would have had them replaced if they had called. They probably thought they wouldn't seem like they were trying to sell me something I didn't need!
Date report submitted: 01 Aug 2002

Sales=Don't Know, Service=Avoid,
My absolute worst nightmare ever!!!! This service department f***ed up about everything one can....they charged me about $4,200 for a wrongly installed fuel pump and the following repairs: they flushed the fuel pump without a filter/screen so dirt got in the fuel lines. They flushed the fuel lines (pushing the dirt up in the injectors and installed a filter on a fuel pump (each time taking of the fuel tank = $500). They adjusted the timing chain, checked the injectors and said they were ok, although they were clogged up with dirt what was part of the problem of a barely running engine. There was a lot more to it, as one can imagine looking at a total of over $4,000. Not to mention that they charged me for a rental car about $30/day and were trying to charge me for some gas, since they topped off the tank after I brought the car in. It's a really strange feeling you get, when a service department suggests that you get rid of your 88 Ram and buy a new one or some used Chevy.... Seems to me there is not one 5 star dealer in the bay area that can get a job done....
Date report submitted: 17 Jan 2002

Sales=Poor, Service=Poor, Sales extremely rude and combative. Won't deal and financing offered was 2 points above average. Incompetent and rude service dept. doesn't know diesels.

Dealership Rating:
	Good sales department, good service
	Fair sales, fair service
	Conflicting or not enough information
	Poor Service or Poor Sales Department
	Avoid like the plague!!
	Don't Know / No Experience

This page was edited on: February 26, 2007