This weekend I had my first excellent car buying experience and it was with Antelope Valley Mazda. I had Mazda pickup before and it never gave me any grief, so I went in already liking the company. I had just heard by word of mouth that the newest version of the Mazda3 is getting upwards to 40 mpg, this had me interested so I went in to check one out. I had no intention of buying a new Mazda nor did I really know anything else about them. I was first greeted by a salesman named Steven Willoughby and the way he approached me I didn’t feel like I had been thrown in a shark’s tank like most car shopping experiences. I told him I was interested in the newest version of the Mazda3 and knew everything I mean everything, about the Mazda3 with Skyactiv. This guy is like a living encyclopedia for Mazda. Not only did he tell me everything I wanted to know, he answered my questions without looking at the window sticker (like most other salesmen), and he even made comparisons to other cars that I had in mind without me having to ask. Now I consider myself somewhat mechanically savvy, but Steven told me specs and comparisons in a way that I feel comfortable saying that anyone could understand.
The financing department was a breeze to deal with. I did a trade-in with my 2009 Nissan Versa and the first offer was below what I expected but they ended up meeting me half way. They were very straight forward, fair and trusting. At no time did I feel like I was being cheated. I told them exactly what I wanted and they did their best to meet my expectations.
Their car selection was to be expected, it’s a really small dealership and the car that I wanted is just now being released. Understandably, I had to wait a couple of days for the car to come in and they only had one hatchback to choose from. You have to remember, this is the Antelope Valley, not the San Fernando Valley. The nice thing about it was, even though they only had one and I told the Steven that I am not definitely buying a car, he still had the car held for me until the weekend when I could come in and test-drive it.
Overall, I am 110% satisfied with my buying experience at AV Mazda. I’ve dealt with new and used car dealerships many times before and never walked out this happy. The salesmen are relaxed, friendly and knowledgeable to say the least, and not pushy at all. The finance department was way better than I expected. If you’re looking for a new car, I highly recommend stopping by and checking out what Antelope Valley Mazda has to offer. - Russell Bomar
(Thank you for your kind words Russell!)
