Fitzgerald Auto Malls

I am writing this review to share my frustrating experience with Fitzgerald Used Car Dealer in Germantown, and to caution potential buyers. I recently purchased a 2009 Acura MDX, fully paying the no-haggle price, trusting in their advertisement and reputation.

However, my experience quickly turned sour due to an unexpected and significant issue a delayed title transfer.

After finalizing the purchase, I was dismayed to learn that I could not get the car registered in Virginia because I would not receive the title for another 20 business days. This delay is not just an inconvenience but a serious impediment to using the vehicle as legally intended.

What compounded my frustration was the response or rather, the lack of it from the dealership's management. The on-duty manager, while polite, was unhelpful and repeatedly cited the accounting department's backlog as the reason for the delay. This explanation, frankly, is unacceptable for a transaction of this magnitude and importance.

I want to emphasize to potential buyers the hidden cost of "no haggle pricing" at this dealership.

What you save in haggling might cost you in time, stress, and legal complications. My experience serves as a stark reminder that a seemingly straightforward purchase can quickly become entangled in procedural delays.

In conclusion, I advise caution if you're considering purchasing a vehicle from Fitzgerald Used Car Dealer.

The post-purchase service and support I received were subpar, characterized by delays and a lack of accountability. This experience has left me questioning the integrity of their business practices and commitment to customer satisfaction.

Old Fitzgerald founder might roll in his grave when he learns that his company has declined to such state.

Not at all happy with the Hyundai service center. For years, I have used this service center with no issues but in fact they made me feel well taken care of not taken advantage of at all. However, it has been horrible since 2020. They have had 3 years to figure this out. Must be new management because the issues I see were never there before 2020. I gave them insight about this before. They now come off as money hungry, egregious, and shady. I appreciated them addressing an issue last year that should not have happened. Here we are about a year later and their business practices remain shady and worthy of consumer advocacy investigations. What do I mean? Let me explain the issue this time around.

My battery died and I used my Buyer Protection Plan or BPP to tow my car to the dealership, believing they would do well by simply replacing it and performing my regular maintenance which is an oil change with tire rotation. Simple stuff. My maintenance appointment was in about 2 weeks but they assured me no problem just doing it now. I let them know a brake light, headlight and turn signal needed replacing as well. Cool. No problem and par for the course. I was told this could also be done in an hour or 2. When I called, they told me they may need to keep my car for 3 to 4 days just to diagnose it because they had so much business from the folks who did not want to use the Rockville location. So they're that busy. Then I was told getting a loaner would be a problem though I have the BPP that assures you get a loaner. Ok. When I got there, the place was not filled with people as Saturdays used to be. Not many advisors even working. Because the tow operator confirmed it was just a dead battery, oh now I can get in and out in 1 to 2 hours. All i needed was a battery and basic maintenance. So he tells me this is like around $420. Wth? When he told me my car was done and read off lights they installed, they totally missed my turn signal light which I reminded them. They insisted they checked and all were working until i told him a cop pulled me over for it. So it is definitely not working. So they take a look again for another hour or so and now my bill went from 420 to 725! What the entire *** Then they don't give me choice about the battery but install a battery only good for 2 years or 36,000 miles. I brought my car in at 61, 000 miles. Why would I want a battery that only guarantees me 36k miles and just 2 years??? Plus pay $304 for a a battery?? I drive a 2019 Elantra. So wtf??? So though they charged 725, they took off 100 for BPP for towing. Are you serious??? This kind of nonsense was not typical of this service center in all the years I have been a customer. I hate that I was in a hurry to get out of there. I had a day of work to do for my business that meant I was losing money the longer I was there.

Well, they lost me as a tire buying customer. I buy tires at Sams or Walmart. I won't go back for brake work due to prior experience with that. 3rd strike is this *** they pulled. Will need to find another place for regular maintenance. I think the purchase of their BPP is a waste as well. They had a great thing going and with the wrong people running it now, it's ruined. Good place to purchase vehicles but do not use Hyundai Service Center in Gaithersburg, even someone working there discredited the Hyundai Service Center in Rockville. This experience sealed it for me.

Dr. A.M. Dawson

Hello I Purchased a 2012 Cadillac SRX on 12/11/21 in Lexington Park with the expectation that it had been fully inspected. I took the vehicle for the first time on a long trip for which I had purchased it for (not daily driving) from 3/12 thru 3/19 to Florida.

While on my trip the check engine light cam on so we checked the oil which was 1 qt low so we put oil in it (oil was not low when we left for our trip) next morning light was off later in the day check engine light came on again we checked the oil 1/2 qt low so again put oil in it and it parked it and next morning light was off again. Again the next day light was on put oil in it again and then it was ok for the rest of our trip. 2nd issue and most importantly is the transmission, it takes several seconds if not a minute to engage into reverse or drive dangerously so that we almost got into an accident with a train. We contacted Bill Blumenfield when we returned from out trip and he suggested we take it to Annapolis so they can check it so we did.

They found some codes and gave recommendations regarding a solenoid replacement for the oil consumption and they changed the oil recommended to drive it for another 1000 miles and recheck. For the transmission they recommend replacing the transmission of which Mr Blumenfield had told them in Annapolis that he would pay for half. I am not satisfied with the as in my opinion he knew of the faulty transmission when he sold the vehicle and therefor it should not have been sold in regular inventory if he was not intending to fix the issue. During this whole scenario he did not speak with me regarding his intentions or non intentions he went through the service manager instead of speaking to me.

The only time he spoke with me was when I called him that evening Friday 3/25 to speak with him directly since he is the one who sold me the vehicle. He was rude and spoke over me when I tried to talk tried to tell me that he had no idea there was anything wrong with the vehicle and stated "things break". Now I know vehicles have issues and need repairs now and again however I have not driven this vehicle very much until my trip and was under the assumption it to be a safe and good vehicle for my trips. I wish I had driven it more then I could have noticed the issue sooner but did not think there would be any issues since I trusted that it had been inspected to be a safe vehicle.

I am not satisfied with Mr Blumenfields matter in which he handled this in my opinion you only avoid a consumer if you know you are in the wrong. I don't want him to pay for half of the cost to repair I want him to pay for the entire cost of the repair or just refund me my money and take the vehicle back which ever is best and easiest.

I would like to have resolve with this matter out of court but if need be I will contact the BBB and the Consumer Affairs in assistance with this matter. I appreciate any assistance you can provide

Thank You

Darlene Norris