A Dealership Worth Dealing With

I purchased my car four and half years ago from Fisher Auto in Boulder, Colorado. My dad was my co-signer and reveled in the fact that I was at his mercy and basically had to listen to all of his finance and loan advice the entire day. He was also reveling in the fact that my six-month, car-searching, indecisive fiasco was finally over! Since my car was used I also bought a four-year, fully refundable warranty. Meaning, if I didn't need to use the warranty in those four years I would receive a full refund on the price of that warranty. Sound too good to be true? Unfortunately, even though the warranty company had a positive 30-year reputation, it was. When those four years ended last September I called to find out how to proceed with getting my refund only to find their number had been disconnected. A quick Google search confirmed my suspicions that the company had gone under and declared bankruptcy.

Hayleigh the Highlander

The Mr. called his cousin who owns a dealership here in Ohio to find out what sort of rights I had as well as what obligations both the warranty company and the dealership I bought it from owed me. Basically, I could file paperwork for a lawsuit with the warranty company that I would probably never win and the car dealership had absolutely no obligation as it was a third party to the purchase.

Panic set in as I dialed Fisher Auto to see what they recommended. I went from knowing full well I was screwed as the phone rang to secretly jumping up and down with excitement as I hung up. An employee from Fisher informed me that, although the owner Craig Fisher technically didn't owe me anything and had nothing to do with the warranty company's demise, Craig recognized that his reputation was on the line and customer loyalty in any economic market is crucial for continued success.

While Craig could only refund me a portion (about 25%) of the price of my warranty since he had many other customers who purchased this ill-fated warranty, I knew that it was more than he owed me and more than I would ever see from the warranty company. Another option was service discounts for the life of my car, but seeing as I'm now out of state that wasn't feasible. And even when Craig recognized that I lived out-of-state and may never be able to purchase another car from him, he still felt it was right to give me that partial refund. Amazing. Everyone knows of the negative reputation in the car sales industry and my circumstance is proof that not all dealerships operate with a cut-throat mentality.

So this is my personal testimonial. If you're in the Denver-Boulder area, or the Northern Colorado region in general, and are looking for a car, I would recommend stopping by Fisher Auto. Because the repercussions (both positive and negative) of buying a car, don't always end when you drive that vehicle off the lot.