Auto Mentors Inc

I attended a presentation by Auto Mentos in September, 2012, at Point West Credit Union in Portland. I was impressed with the presentation, so I later called them and made an appointment. There was a particular model of Toyota Prius that I wanted, so we made an agreement that Jonathan Williams from Auto Mentors would locate the car for me. Then I went to a local Toyota dealer and went through the grueling ordeal of possibly intending to purchase a new Toyota Prius.....we bargained, and bargained and finally got to the bottom price the dealer would permit.......it was more than $1,1200 higher than the price Auto Mentors quoted for eactly the same care with the same ammenties. Auto Mentors took less than one week to locate the exact auto I requested, color and all. Jonathan delivered the car to my credit union in Portland, took care of all the registration and paper work requirements, and spent over an hour showing me how all the gadgets worked and driving around with me while I became used to the car.
Then, two years later, I discovered that I had lost the driver's manual which costs $35 to replace. I called Jonathan who located a driver's manual for me, and arranged for me to pick it up. I highly recommend this company to all my friends who also are very satisfied with Auto Mentors.

My dear old Ford Focus died this week. I needed a new car. I actually had some cash to buy a new car but it was a limited amount. On the advice of my credit union I called Auto Mentors. Glenn Howard explained how their process works. I had done some preliminary research and determined I wanted a Kia Rio sedan.
He told me to go to the Kia site and figure out what features I wanted in the car, color, etc. He was very forthright in explaining the differences you might see on the internet versus what is actually shipped to the dealers. I had some things I preferred (white color and beige interior, for example) but they were not deal breakers if a different color with other features I wanted could allow me to stay within my budget. I wanted an automatic and air conditioning. Power windows/locks, cruise control and bluetooth would be nice but were not deal breakers. Again, I was not going to exceed my $17,000 budget.
The next day he called to say he found a car. It met my needs except it did not have cruise control or bluetooth. That was fine with me. He explained that it was a dealer trade and the car was coming from Eugene and would I mind delivery the next day (Saturday). That was fine. He could bring the car to me (I live 30 miles from Portland) but I said I would be happy to go to their office.
I had spent my time pouring over all the dealer sites looking at their online inventory. The prices were beyond my budget. I arrived on Saturday morning to see my car parked in the Auto Mentors lot. Glenn guided me through all the paperwork and had me sign everything (purchase, DMV, etc.). We got in the car and he went over the features. We went back inside and he went over all the manuals and brochures that come with the car. He took a photo of me with my new car and I drove home a happy customer.
The entire process yesterday took an hour. An hour! Last year I went with my sister to a Toyota dealer to buy her car and we were at the dealer for almost 4 hours! Lots of pressure to buy stuff she did not want or need (she's retired). Attempts to negotiate a lower price were met with 'attitude' by the salesman. Or, he would leave and be gone for 20 minutes and come back with a wimpy counter offier. I had dreaded that entire process and was not looking forward to it. I would have had to take time off work to shop for a car and deal with all the negotiating. Auto Mentors did all the work for me, got me a discount on the purchase price of the car and charge me a a very nominal fee for their service.

This was not a great experience for me and I wouldn't use them again. The idea sounded amazing, but the follow-through was poor.
I was contacted by Ryan at the request of my credit union. He took my information and said he'd get to looking for something that would meet my needs. At the initial conversation, he had some good advice and thoughts, but then we got the snow storm in early February which he said would delay his ability to do anything with my search. That was on a Thursday. When I hadn't heard back by the following Tuesday, I called again only to have it appear that all my info and the result of the conversation were lost. So, we started over.
He did find something pretty quickly, but between my schedule (which is why I was considering the service) and his, by the time he could make arrangements to bring it for a test drive, the vehicle had already sold.
Then it was nearly 2 weeks before I heard from him again.
By that time, I'd taken a Saturday afternoon and gone to one of my local dealerships and found what I wanted for a deal that I couldn't pass up.
Ultimately, I'd probably have continued with them, if only there had been more communication and followup. I'm OK with email statuses and updates...I don't need lengthy phone calls. But, I didn't even get those.

How wonderful not to have to set foot on a car dealership and spend half a day negotiating on a car. I knew what I wanted so I called Auto Mentors and Dale found a couple of cars that met my requirements. I settled on one and he delivered it to my home. The process was easy and stress-free. I would definitely use this service again and I have already recommended it to others. Dale even helped make sure I got the best financing deal.

Auto Mentors was recommended by my credit union since they offered me a lower interest rate if I went through Auto Mentors. It made me anxious that Auto Mentors would be pushy and smarmy like a lot of dealerships.
Dale called me back speedily and was very helpful in explaining how they got cars from dealers with extra inventory etc. They had a vehicle in stock that would meet the needs of loan requirements. It was a newer vehicle than I anticipated.
Dale was very accommodating with test drives, making sure the vehicle was cleaned and in good condition before delivery, gave me a thorough review of how the vehicle operated (it's a hybrid) and tips.
I never felt pressured. They were very easy to work with and made me feel comfortable as a purchaser.