Incredible!

by cf from Philadelphia
Incredible!
As many I am sure, I was not looking forward to shopping for a used car....well maybe excited about the prospect of finding the right car, but skeptical about the experience as well as the quality of the pool of used cars to select from. After a significant amount of research I identified a few cars across three dealers that seemed worthwhile to look at. The first dealer we visited seemed inconvenienced by our visit and the car ran with some issues that they didn't acknowledge. Leaving this dealer on our way to World Auto Sales I realized how risky buying a used car is, and that I would be really fortunate if I got a good car and knew what I was truly buying. We walked into World Auto Sales showroom, and we were greeted by Alex, who was with a client but with a huge welcoming smile told us to make ourselves at home and he would be with us shortly. They had a number of Mini's as well as a GTI that had just arrived that morning. We were in the market for a Mini, but also curious about how it compared to the GTI. I think we test drove 5 cars, 2 of which we took out twice. We were able to drive the cars with the mechanic Serge, who was able to tell us about the history, his experience with the brand, as well as any specifics we might need to know about maintenance or performance. All cars we were interested in were $6,999 - $9,999 - and it was easy to understand their pricing strategy - a combination of mileage and age of the car. They don't negotiate - their cars are priced reasonably, and in fact this makes the decision quite simple. We arrived at the showroom around 12:30 and left around 3:00 to go home in order to discuss which car was best for us. We returned around 6pm to purchase the car. We expected Alex to be long gone, but he and the mechanic Serge both stayed until all of the paperwork was signed and we finalized the purchase which was around 7:30, along with Paul who was working the evening shift. A few other noteworthy call-outs about our experience : I called Saturday before our visit and had questions about the cars as well as what type of warranties they offered. I spoke with Tatyana a few times and she was extremely helpful, urged me to call before our visit to make sure the car we were interested hadn't sold, and sent me the warranty literature in advance so I could review it. The showroom is really simple and comfortable - they have a seating area with roomy couches, a TV with Netflix service, and snacks and coffee/tea. My boyfriend was a saint through all of this, and was comfortable hanging out while all of the paperwork and final details were being handled. If you look on Cars.com for cars from World Auto Sales, notice the pictures of the cars. They take their own photos - they are so good that I called Tatyana when I first found my car and asked if she would send me the actual car photos -not the stock photos. She politely explained to me that they were the actual photos!. They take time to really detail the cars, and believe that the photos play a huge role in selling the cars. Worked for me. So I guess in a world that is less and less personal, and in an industry where overlooking a few details might sell a car, I was shocked by my experience. It was everything that you don't expect - genuine interaction, staff that is patient and seems to really want you to find the right car, honest feedback and details as best they know them, and a selection that is refined with a point of view.