I don’t like to leave negative reviews because it’s tough to accurately evaluate a company, its people, and its business practices from a single interaction. When I have one of those bad interactions, I simply write it off and move on—there are plenty of other places vying for business and everyone has different tastes. However, I’m making an exception for North Country CDJR in Arab, Alabama—the single worst car-buying experience of my life.

I was lied to, charged thousands in fees over the sales price, and had to navigate one high-pressure sales tactic after another late one Wednesday evening in July of 2024. At the end of it all, I was delivered a 2015 Jeep that was unfit and terribly unsafe to drive.

I relayed the entire story to North Country CDJR, and they have shown no interest in making things right. As such, I feel it’s my duty to narrate this experience as a cautionary tale.

Now, if you love the “game” of purchasing a used car—you against the dealership in a battle over who can get the better deal—and know a lot about cars, then read no further. You’ll love North Country! On the other hand, if you’re like me and hate that way of purchasing a vehicle, I’ll detail everything that happened. Hopefully, it will help you in the future.

Story Background

I was in the market for a used Jeep, eventually finding one at North Country CDJR in Arab, Alabama. Priced at a seemingly fair $19,907, I contacted the dealership to get more information. Here is the salesperson’s text message:

This was on a Wednesday. It was a simple, harmless text with a subtle assurance that the Jeep was in good condition. Then, I asked for more information about the Jeep’s condition and wear. The salesperson responded as follows:

And then:

Most dealerships have guidelines regarding the condition of vehicles they resell. For example, if the brake pads have a certain amount of wear, they replace them. If the rotors and tires have a certain amount of wear, they replace them. This is to inspire confidence with the buyer, ensuring they are getting a safe car that won’t need immediate mechanical attention.

So, my wife and I took the hour-long trek to Arab since the last Jeep I’d been interested in got swooped up within a day. We test drove the yet-to-be-cleaned Jeep and it drove well considering it was a 2015 model. I tried to get some speed, testing it for “death wobble,” and while the steering was a little stiff, it didn’t present any immediate warning signs.

At about 8pm, we decided to sleep on it and wait until the Jeep was completely serviced/cleaned before making a final decision. When we made it back to our car, we found a dealer car parked behind us, blocking us in (there were plenty of free parking spaces). When I went back inside to ask that it be moved, a sales manager walked out and began the full-court press.

“What can we do to put you in that Jeep today?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Work on the price, I guess.”

He nodded and asked my wife and I to follow him back inside.

I thought the car parked directly behind ours was a strange coincidence. They even joked about it. In retrospect, that should have been the first red flag. I should have left immediately. Unfortunately, I didn’t and this story exists because of it.

Outrageous Fees

After waiting in my salesperson’s office for a while, he returned with an offer from the dealership: $23,500—$3,593 more than the sales price on Autotrader. I leaned back in my chair, getting frustrated and wondering why I was supposed to pay so much more over the list price.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Where does the extra $3,600 come from?” I did some “back of the napkin” math out loud for taxes and fees and couldn’t arrive anywhere close to that number. The salesperson nodded, then changed the “3” to a “2” on the otherwise blank sheet of paper. “$22,500.”

I still didn’t like the number. The salesperson left and returned with the sales manager. He tried to sell me on their Wolfpack Advantage as a part of that number.

“I’ll be honest. It’s dealer profit,” he admitted.

Then, he mentioned taxes, title, and the dealer doc fee. I wanted further clarification since none of those fees were written down, and he never articulated the costs of those fees.

Come to find out, North Country CDJR has a dealer fee/doc fee of $999—”non-negotiable,” as the sales manager put it. “Even if I buy a car here, I have to pay that,” he said.

For reference, many reputable dealers charge anywhere from $150-$500. If you read the fine print on North Country’s website, you will find the following disclaimer: “Price is plus tax, tag, title, registration, any dealer-installed accessories and dealer-provided benefits, and a pre-delivery service fee of $999, Private Tag Agency Fee of $189, and Electronic Registration Filing Fee of $199, which charges represent costs and profits to the dealer for items such as inspecting, cleaning, and adjusting vehicles and preparing documents related to the sale. Pricing excludes the WOLFPACK ADVANTAGE and any reconditioning expenses, which amount will vary depending on the vehicle.”

This disclaimer essentially allows the dealership to arbitrarily charge additional fees that could significantly increase the final cost without those fees being reflected in the advertised price.

The Wolfpack Advantage

“What’s the Wolfpack Advantage?” you might wonder. Also from North Country’s website:

Sounds pretty good, right? And in the middle of negotiation, I tried to find value in that, hoping to justify the Jeep’s cost. To me, “complimentary” means “free.” While signing the purchase documents, I realized that North Country CDJR defines “complementary maintenance” as maintenance that only covers “up to $30 Lube, Oil, and Filter Service” with an additional surcharge for cars requiring synthetic oil or special filters. Since 2010, somewhere between 70-80% of manufactured cars require or highly recommend synthetic oil. Also, since those surcharges and “special filters” are not explicitly defined, one could reasonably assume any filter could constitute that additional surcharge of an unknown amount.

I also realized that their definition of “lifetime” isn’t the same as mine either. On the “application” below, the 60 months/60,000 miles box is checked.

Back to the Negotiation

I still wasn’t satisfied with the numbers. At one point, they even mentioned $1,800 worth of service completed on the Jeep.

“And don’t forget sales tax,” they said.

“How much is that?” I asked. “4%? So about $800?” I wasn’t sure the exact number.

Both the salesperson and the sales manager said 4% was correct. I found out later, as I was signing the paperwork, that my county has a tax of 2.5%, but they didn’t adjust the sales price to match.

That’s when the sales manager attempted to move negotiations away from the sales price. Instead, he focused on the financed amount.

The sales manager wrote down “$20,000” on a sheet of paper (I was putting $2,500 down). “Financed amount,” he said, extending his hand. “Let’s do this deal.”

We bickered back and forth for a while. I wanted an additional $500 off. He wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t,” retorted the sales manager, mumbling something about how I was really purchasing the Jeep for $18,500 or so. “$20,000.”

I was adamant about the $500. “$19,500,” I said, falling into the trap of negotiating the financed amount.

Smirking, the sales manager said something so utterly ridiculous that I still can’t believe he said it. He acted like I was being unreasonable and stated that the $500 would only make about a $2 per month difference in the payment. Yes, he said $2 per month. I’m no finance major, but that math don’t math on a 60 month finance term.

Perhaps it was because the payment was less of a concern than the dollar figure, but I didn’t call him out on it.

During this “negotiation,” the sales manager also threw out something about needing the sale for a quota or extra bonuses for the salespeople or something like that. I don’t really remember—only that it didn’t move the needle in their favor. I needed a Jeep for work, and this was the closest thing that had fit the bill in a while. That need placed additional pressure on me. Ultimately, I agreed and they scurried away to secure financing with a purchase price of $22,500.01—$2,593 over the listed sales price.

The sales manager later returned with financing terms, and asked what I thought about them. I reiterated that they would look better with a $500 cheaper sales price. He snickered and once again said something along the lines of, “I looked it up. It would have only made a $2/month difference.”

I can’t fathom any scenario in which his twice-repeated statement could be true. Unfortunately, I let the pressure get to me, and signed off. I admit, there’s no one to blame but myself for this. They were playing a game I hated, but I was a willing participant. If I was uncomfortable, I should have left. However…

The Story Doesn’t End There

Oh, no. That was just the beginning. North Country CDJR still had a few items remaining to finish on the Jeep (service/detailing), and said it would be ready on Friday (2 days later). In the meantime, they offered to let me drive a newer Jeep Gladiator, which I thought was a nice gesture. I agreed and went home.

On Friday, I returned to pick up my Jeep. I hopped in, only to find a missing power mirror switch in the low-center dash, heated seats that no longer heated, and door locks that no longer locked—problems you would think a competent service department would discover prior to having me make a two-hour roundtrip.

With a wave of frustration returning, I went back into the dealership, and they agreed to let me continue driving the Gladiator while they fixed everything.

“Fair enough.”

So, again, I left without my Jeep.

The weekend came and went. On Monday, I sent this:

On Wednesday, they gave me an update:

A few more days pass with no updates, so I check in:

His response:

On Wednesday, July 31st, two weeks after I purchased the Jeep, they delivered it to my home—including leftover glitter and hair from the previous owner and her dog.

Upon delivery, the driver mentioned, “You’ll need to contact [your salesperson]. There’s still a problem with the door lock switch on the passenger side. He’ll tell you more about it.”

I immediately spoke to my salesperson and he said they planned to replace the switch. It was supposedly a quick, 15 minute fix, but the part was on backorder and would be 2-3 weeks before the switch arrived. A quick test proved the power side mirrors still didn’t work either.

“Okay,” I thought. “I don’t guess it’s that big of a deal.”

Driving the Jeep around, I instantly knew something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t ride like it did just two weeks earlier. It was stiff, yet wobbly. The handling was atrocious. Running over a pothole or dip in the road made the wheel want to jerk out of my hand. What had happened? I still can’t answer that.

Concerned, I set up an appointment with a place that specializes in Jeeps to investigate. Within 5 minutes, they bring me this photo, showing how the control arm was a couple of threads from separating from the Jeep, potentially causing a major incident.

That alone made me livid, wondering how a service department could keep a vehicle for two weeks and miss such a glaring problem, but things got worse from there. When the inspection was completed, the first thing the technician asked was, “Where did you buy this from?” I knew I was about to get hit with a large repair bill as I told him I purchased the Jeep from North Country CDJR in Arab, Alabama.

In short:

In the technician’s words: “The only reason you don’t have death wobble right now is because whoever installed the lift, did it incorrectly, stiffening the steering to such a degree that it has prevented death wobble thus far. That said, you’re about 15 minutes away from serious problems.”

I got a second opinion and that technician echoed a similar sentiment.

Not only did North Country CDJR get me on the numbers, they also lulled me into a false sense of security about this “babied” Jeep that was unfit and unsafe to drive upon its delivery to my home. So, I made my dissatisfaction known to the salesperson:

This was my salesperson’s response:

That was it. I left messages at the dealership—nothing. No further response. Granted, there is no way, after everything I’ve witnessed, I would let the North Country CDJR Service Department touch my Jeep, but I wanted to offer them the opportunity to make it right in some way. I take their silence as a loud response.

A Crazy Conclusion

A quick search reveals that the door lock switch is in stock everywhere. Even the OEM part directly from Mopar can be delivered within a few days. 2-3 weeks is a ridiculous number.

Curiosity and frustration got the better of me, so I went outside and pulled the passenger door panel off. Any guesses regarding what I found?

The door lock’s wire harness was unplugged. I plugged it up and like magic, the switch worked again. Not only that, the power mirror harnesses were also unplugged, but I couldn’t find the mirror wires. That will require removing the mirror or trying to fish them out from behind the inside panel which I have yet to do.

There have been so many issues after the purchase that my friend even humorously suggested the following: “What if they thought they had it in good enough shape to drive for a while, and they purposely left those things unplugged? Then, what if, when you returned to get the switch fixed, or even returned for your first service in October after the Wolfpack Advantage had expired, they ‘found’ all these other problems you’ve just discovered during their “Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection?” That would be crazy, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course it would be crazy! No dealership would be that bad,” I replied. “That’s pure, unfounded speculation with no concrete evidence to even remotely indicate truth behind such an outlandish thought.”

And that’s the end of my story…for now.

My Own Disclaimer

This review is based upon my personal experience with the North Country Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership in Arab, Alabama and my opinions resulting from that experience. I’m sure that good people work there, and most likely, the majority of their transactions aren’t this problematic. While a quick search of their Google Reviews will show some similar experiences to mine, they’ll also show that most people who have written reviews have had positive experiences. I encourage you to make your own judgements. That being said, in the event you choose to make that trip to North Country CDJR, I would recommend….

Suggestions for Your Visit to North Country CDJR (or any other dealership)

These items may be common knowledge to others, but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate them.

1. Take the car somewhere to get it checked out by a professional before signing anything. It doesn’t matter whether or not you think you should be able to trust a “legitimate” dealership. You can’t. It’s the best $100-$150 you’ll ever spend.
2. Ask for everything in writing. Do not negotiate on a blank sheet of paper.
3. Look up the dealer’s doc fee prior to arriving. Understand that will be something you need to account for.
4. Find your tax percentage and be sure the correct numbers are being used.
5. Don’t go late in the evening, especially if you have a tendency to get hungry or tired. Dealerships can use your emotional state against you in order to make a sale.
6. If something seems “off”, get up and leave.

Good luck out there.