"When I was in the market for a car, we visited numerous dealerships and salesmen are salesmen. At the other places, I found them to be just a little too pushy - you know what to expect but then when it exceeds what you personally feel is acceptable it just turns you off completely. This happened at other dealerships.
However, here it didn't feel like that. I was able to test drive the car, ask my questions and have a little chat. I was not ready to pull the trigger at that point and they left it at that. We agreed to follow up and I was outside left with a dilemma.
Having made the decision, the bartering was next and they all have the same rigamarole of having to ask their supervisor etc.to check if they can do a better deal etc. Here the sales manager came out and we were able to cut to the chase.
He was more sincere than most so the deal was done. In fact, whilst waiting for them to get the car ready they let us take out a TT for the afternoon which was great fun."
- Nick L.
"We were about to purchase an Audi from another competing dealer that was trying old school tactics on us (hiding the interest rate, wouldn't negotiate, kept us waiting one hour for a test drive). I called the Audi Exchange just to see what they had in their inventory, and we were lucky to find a better new car than the one we were about to buy, received better service and learned more about the car in one hour than the previous dealer told us in 3 visits! The experience was wonderful from start to finish.
We live in downtown Chicago and took the long drive to Highland Park. It was actually great fun to see this dealership. The facility was state of the art, well-designed and a pleasure to visit.
The Audi Exchange dealership seems like a business run by people who are true car enthusiasts, and beyond professional. The General Manager, Mario Rogic, was very welcoming and passionate about the Audi brand. We worked with a long-time senior sales manager, Bob Bolick, who could not have been more polished, gracious and helpful. This was not the typical experience you find when buying a car. We found the entire staff to be personable, attentive and moved quickly to get us in and out - driving our new car home back to the city!
In terms of the actual financials/deal: Mario and Bob put together a very fair deal for us under the Season of Audi program, and did not try any of those old 'car dealer' tricks that we've all grown to expect. I highly recommend doing business with this team to anyone, and most especially if you are a single woman purchasing a car on your own. They will not pull any shady moves and treat you fairly.
Many thanks to Bob, Mario and Pat for making this a fun experience and for offering us a fair deal. Our only regret is that we didn't find the Audi Exchange sooner!"
- Christine B.
"I bought my A8L 4.2 from Shawn Malizio at the Audi Exchange. I was looking for a very particular color combination, along with a specific set of options, and Shawn was able to locate my ideal car quickly. I was extremely pleased with the level of service that I received, both during and after the sale. Audi is making an absolutely tremendous product, and it only makes sense that you would buy your Audi from an equally tremendous dealer. I have recommended The Audi Exchange to numerous friends and family in the past, and continue to do so to this very day."
- Ralph H.
"Where do I start? I tend to be a little long winded, so I will try to give you all the short version. First off, I can't understand why any reasonable person could not help but be satisfied with this service department. Audi's are expensive to repair, especially if they are out of warranty, so accept that or buy a different car. Period. I don't think I have to go any further on that. Second, my experience with this dealership has been exceptional and feel they deserve every bit of a 5-Star review. It's a shame that people tend to get a little loud when they aren't completely happy, so here's to speaking up on a great experience at The Audi Exchange. I'm confident that I am not alone.
So, I have an issue with my transmission in which another dealer explained to me was "normal" on 3 different occasions. I was not convinced that my issue was "normal." I took it to The Audi Exchange to get I guess what you would call a 2nd opinion and sure enough my issue was not "normal." They actually took the time to look a little deeper into the issue and really went to bat for me on something that was taken care of under warranty. These guy's communicated with Audi corporate and got it done.
The entire experience was super pleasant. From the moment the service manager took a test drive with me, to the communication and lastly the end result, this dealership did an excellent job and deserve every bit of a 5-star rating.
Thanks again Audi Exchange for taking the time to do it right, the impressive communication and overall pride in taking care of your customers. My car drives beautifully. With no question, I will be back to this dealership to buy my next car."
- Joel M.
"This review has been a long time coming. I was lazy and figured people only read/write reviews for restaurants and salons so I wasn't going to bother. However, a recent trip in for service left me positively glowing so here goes.
I bought my car in June - my first luxury car - midlife crisis perhaps, but I've always wanted an Audi so I thought f*$ck it!
After visiting all other Audi dealers in Chicago, I made the trek out to Highland Park. I wish I had started there, it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble and spared me from hundreds of follow-up calls from other eager dealers. I was greeted with a smile, which should be customary, but I was pleasantly surprised because at one of the other dealers I had to ask someone for help and then wait for quite a while before someone actually spoke with me.
I'm not one to make a purchase on the spot and I enjoy the negotiation process - I think buying a car should be a fun, not stressful experience, and that everyone should walk away happy. Within 5 minutes I felt like Steve R. was my old friend, and we began the friendly yet firm banter that is negotiation. Steve was extremely knowledgeable about the car itself - he actually travels to Germany annually to learn about the cars - I don't know if this is an Audi thing or a Highland Park Audi thing but it paid off because I was impressed. If you buy a car from him, take notes, because his explanation of how everything works is exhaustive, and exhausting! When we got into the more heavy negotiations, Ryan M. came out to talk, and again, I felt like I was having a conversation with a friend. No BS, no scamming, I don't feel like I got ripped off, everything was very straightforward and honest.
Ditto all of this for the service department - Mike P and Steve V in particular, but everyone I have ever encountered there is friendly, smiling, and eager to help.
If you're going to buy an Audi, this is the place to go."
- Tory W.
"Quick Diagnosis. Work is done quickly and well. I was there once with what turned out to be a bad wheel bearing. When I got there, one of the guys rode around with me for 5 or ten min. in August heat, closed windows, no a.c. so he could hear noise. These guys never condescend or act as if the problem is my fault. Positive experience every visit. I live downtown with Fletcher Jones 1 mile away and I'll drive up to Highland Park for an oil change."
- John M.
Your brand is much more a function of what you do than what you say about yourself. And there's no more powerful way to affect your brand?either positively or negatively?than through your customer service.
I've been driving my Audi A4 Cabriolet?very happily?for seven years. When I bought the car, the dealer?The Audi Exchange in Highland Park, IL?asked if I wanted my license plates on the front and back or just the back. I hadn't realized that the latter option even existed, but they pointed out that front plates weren't required in Illinois. As someone who generally prefers a very clean look, I took the "back only" option.
Unfortunately, at some point over the past several years, the city of Chicago?where I often go for both business and recreational reasons?started ticketing vehicles without front plates. But when I recently asked the Audi Exchange to install my front plates, I was initially told that the installation bracket that would be required would cost about $280. When I explained my situation to the service manager and pointed out that I wouldn't have been charged for the bracket had I had the front plates installed when I bought the car, he smiled and said, "That's a fair point. Okay, the brackets are on us."
That was it. No haggling. No complaining that I'd bought the car seven years ago. No running to the general manager for approval. He simply did the right thing and treated a customer fairly. In a perfect world, that wouldn't be newsworthy, but in an age when so many companies fail to empower their employees to make decisions that will make customers feel truly valued, this experience was a very refreshing.
The result is that I'm more loyal than ever to Audi in general and The Audi Exchange in particular. In fact, I'm so loyal I might even write a blog post about it!
- John P. (from viewfromthe14thfloor.com)
"I bought my 2009 A4 2.0T Quattro from Audi Exchange in Highland Park. This dealership has great inventory, less BS and beats competition in the Chicagoland area. Sales team was super fast in responding, friendly, quite knowledgeable about Audi and knows how to close the deal. If you are in Chicagoland area I recommend considering Audi Exchange in Highland Park, they know how to keep the customer in the door over others audi dealerships."
- Username: 09A4Quattro
"Our whole family has bought Audis from the Exchange for over 20 years. By far the most professional for sales and service. I've seen some of the same faces in sales and service since I bought my first Audi. After buying 35 audis Audi Exchange has continued to impress."
- Username: Jack112
"I bought my last 2 Audi's from there actually, I would recommend talking to Ryan Meegan there. He'll get you a good deal and make the whole process as easy and seamless as possible."
- Username: Audihopes
"I bought two Audis from them. My salesman was Garrett Dahm and I had a very good experience with him and with the dealership both times. By the way, I recently traded my 2009 A6 Avant in on an A7. The last time I checked The Audi Exchange's web site they had my Avant listed as a CPO car. If that's the car you're interested in, send me a private message and I'll tell you all about it. Short version is that it was incredibly babied and extremely well cared for."
- Michael C.
"My wife and I have dealt with the Audi Exchange for over 12 years now, we have purchased 8 Audi's from these guys, the most recent being a 2011 A6 Avant back in Feb. I agree that talking to Ryan Meegan is your best bet, he gets things squared away rather quickly."
- Username: blueshockeynut
"Leased one Audi and had my S4 serviced there they are great!!"
- Username: 2380 S4
"I love my Magellan Blue Q7! John H. was great in helping us through the process!"
- Diane S.
"I bought online and over phone with Paul. He was a great help! We flew up from Cincy. He came in on day off and waited for us. Stayed after closing and walked us through it."
- Username: myallroad
"After more than a year of complaining and several calls to audi customer service, after hearing service techs and managers tell me that "they dont notice a problem", "its supposed to shift like that" to "these cars always shift hard" and my favorite "what do you expect from a 2001 with 80k". I took my car to the Audi Exchange in Highland Park, Il for the first time ever. I explained my 1st gear slipping and slamming into 2nd especially when the car is cold and slamming into 1st from 2nd. I took the A8 tech on a test drive but since the trans was hot, I could only duplicate the problem a few times. They suggested to leave it over night so that the trans can cool. I get a call the next day telling me that it is worst than I thought and that the trans will be replaced under audi assured! I will only have to pay a $50 deductible. I am so happy. And all of this on the last day of my audi assured plan!
I have found a new dealer for life. I hope you guys from McGrath, Laurel, Westmont read this post because you had your chance. I got honest troubleshooting and great customer service without having to beg for it."
- Username: Cybertron
"Another good experience at Audi Exchange in Highland Park, IL. Took the car in for some oil leaks under CPO warranty. Wasn't sure if there would be a problem getting it covered, also because I have H-Sports, thought there may be trouble.
Picked up the car later and they had replaced:
Rear differential seal
Propeller seal
Tightened the valve covers
Replaced a control arm up front that was worn (which I didn't even notice)
All for the $50 warranty fee.
I have had a great experience every time I have been there! I get a loaner and everything is covered under warranty. I think that it would have cost me $7000 so far. I like warranties now!"
- Username: tk1780
"Excellent! Praise yet again to the Audi Exchange in Highland Park IL.
Called and left me a message that my car was ready. I dropped it off at 8PM yesterday, so that to me is impressive.
They changed the CV boot.
The CEL I was told was due to "multiple vacume line pieces found, and replaced".
OK cool, even though PaulW and I looked at the lines and reset the engine light last weekend, and I even checkeed them again before dropping it off. It must have been internal cracks and such, good, no big deal and I can check them again this evening to see what they replaced them with.
They performed an oil change, since winters right around the corner and the 56K mile service is only an oil change anyway.
I assume they still use Castrol Syn, weight? I did the M1 thing over the summer and its just easier to drop it off for service then run around looking to save $20 buying oil at wallmart and using my indi mech.
So, I'll pick it her tonight but overall another 5 star rating for the Audi Exchange in Highland Park IL for quick service, covering items that change on the "Assured" warranty and for sticking with new Audi loaners."
- Username: carbonLORD
- Michael W. via our Facebook page