The Keating dealerships are scum. I went back and forth with a salesperson who kept agreeing on a drive out price then adding on extras. Finally reached a great price. Told me they couldn't email me a quote of the price because I would use it to negotiate it against them with other dealers but promised me if I came in to the dealership it would be honored. Ultimately had the manager email me the quote after going back and forth for days. I showed up ready to buy. They had me sit around over an hour or two till dealership was closing. The finance manager rushed me through the buying process. I kept on finding extra minor charges which he promised to remove but couldn't print me off a copy of the contract (said printer not working) and said he would email it. I find out the Apex protection package had been added on without my knowledge. Luckily I found this reviewing the final contract and it was removed after calling and threatening legal action but it goes to show you the deception these dealerships will go through to screw people over. You'll never convince me or many of the other people on here that the keatings aren't horrible people for running their dealerships the way they do.

FLATOUT said:

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Mookie said:

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I don't necessarily like posting a video here knowing the reaction it will get and the outrage that comes with it, but I also know FLATOUT from a prior life amd know he is a good dude.

I have also worked for a dealership group in the past with a nepo baby owner who likes to race cars too. There is something about 2nd gen owners that is all about entitlement so I know where he is coming from cashing a check from a morally bankrupt dealer principal. But I also had the wherewithal to quit that dealership and not look back. Maybe FLATOUT will come around.

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I don't think people realize that an automobile is the last truly negotiated product that we purchase. Think about what that introduces into the entire process.

It would be SO much easier if everyone was just forced to pay MSRP right?

But everyone wants a great "deal" and everyone thinks they know the best way to get it.

The Dubis have spent a bunch of time in my office and I love showing them all of the behind the scenes stuff. I've always tried to look out for and help Texags posters but I'm also running a store and don't post or read forums at 46 as much as I did in my 20's and 30's.

There's so much bad information passed around here about the car business that I never even know where to start so I just don't.

For all of you that posted your positive experiences with me personally I appreciate it. Going against the posting "majority" takes some courage and I thank you.

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Honest question: why not look out for every customer the way you say you look out for TexAgs customers? My experience in business has been that any questionable practices tend to start at the top, and no amount of "he's otherwise a good dude" stories can overcome that he, you, and your other partners would have to condone this behavior for it to be so widespread across your group. You are what you tolerate.

Stringfellow Hawke said:

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Mookie said:

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They are not but run by a bunch of fools.

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I agree. The salesperson said that a down payment will decrease the overall price. Never would respond to the fact that the prices were so far apart except by stating that tint and and other extras were installed.

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Was this the Columbus store?

TVF used to own that one. The GM of that place used to be a sales guy there. He told me Cavender forces all these adds and plays games like Autonation and Planet and Max Haik does now. Giant internet price discount, and thousands of adds on the backside.

dubi said:

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Is Cavender Ford part of Keating? They advertise one price and then the out the door price is no where near the "detailed" pricing.

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List of dealers in Keating Auto Group

Cavender is not part of KAG.

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Cavendar is based out of San Antonio. They like to promote themselves for all the philanthropy they do around town (which is usually just a social club for old money), but I don't know many people who buy at their dealerships other than old money people who trade Cadillacs every two years. When Red McCombs has a better reputation than you do, you know you're a dirtbag.

Back in 2013 I still had season tickets at Kyle Field in the armchair section of The Zone. The two seats next to me never had the same person, so whoever owned them was flipping them. When Alabama played at Kyle in 2013, Rick Cavendar of the Cavendar family sat next to me. I recognized him from TV, so I let him know that. He was wearing a white shirt with an Alabama logo on it. I welcomed him to Kyle Field and then asked if he got a bowl of soup with that shirt. He didn't think that was funny and didn't talk to me for the rest of the game.

I don't have a high regard for the Cavendar family either.

dubi said:

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Stringfellow Hawke said:

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Yes.

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You said yes and I said no. Their website says no.

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He was saying yes to 1ags

"He was wearing a white shirt with an Alabama logo on it. I welcomed him to Kyle Field and then asked if he got a bowl of soup with that shirt."

Stringfellow Hawke said:

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fixer said:

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Stringfellow Hawke said:

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Is Cavender Ford part of Keating? They advertise one price and then the out the door price is no where near the "detailed" pricing.

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Had same experience at Cavendar Lexus in Lubbock.

Total slimeballs.

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That cannot be good for business. Luckily I do not suffer from I want it now syndrome. Well wait until I find a good deal.

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Yep. I lived my whole life without an lx 600. I can wait a bit longer and not have to deal with oxygen thieves.

My experience with Cavendar was so bad it might be worth its own thread. It was the automobile purchasing equivalent of Saw.

Edit: I bought a 24 suburban at a podunk dealer in New Mexico and was treated like royalty.

Lesson learned: know very very well who you are buying from.

It would be great to have a thread of Texas dealers that did honored advertised prices and did not require additional ons as part of purchase made. I only know how to respond to stuff.

1626 said:

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It would be great to have a thread of Texas dealers that did honored advertised prices and did not require additional ons as part of purchase made. I only know how to respond to stuff.

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Flatout and the rest of the Keating bunch won't even honor the price they agree to at the table

The outdated dealership model inflates vehicle prices through hidden fees, unnecessary add-ons, and aggressive upselling tactics. To protect their entrenched interests, dealer associations lobby extensively against direct-to-consumer sales, arguing that they preserve competition and consumer protection, even though such claims often mask self-serving motives.

If Elon moving Tesla to Texas and building that giant factory didn't get our scumbag politicians to ignore the dealer lobby, nothing will. California dealers are now suing VW to ensure that Scouts have to go through a dealer before a customer can buy it.

I went through the car pro show when looking for my Ford F150. Tomball was one of them. I went in knowing it and Jorge over there helped knock a lot of the crap add ons down a lot. Still was the best deal out of the 3 quotes I got.

Was an easy process overall. BUT folks not knowing the game will get taken advantage of sadly.

Ultimately, in the end, the whole add on crap really will make me consider not going to a Keeting owned company on my next purchase in 5 years. (I let them know about it)

I even got the "but we use Apex for inventory purposes". I replied I don't give a flip about how you manage inventory .

kubiak03 said:

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I went through the car pro show when looking for my Ford F150. Tomball was one of them. I went in knowing it and Jorge over there helped knock a lot of the crap add ons down a lot. Still was the best deal out of the 3 quotes I got.

Was an easy process overall. BUT folks not knowing the game will get taken advantage of sadly.

Ultimately, in the end, the whole add on crap really will make me consider not going to a Keeting owned company on my next purchase in 5 years. (I let them know about it)

I even got the "but we use Apex for inventory purposes". I replied I don't give a flip about how you manage inventory .

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Flatout has pushed that line here before. The customer shouldn't have to subsidize their inventory protections

RMD10 said:

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Told me they couldn't email me a quote of the price because I would use it to negotiate it against them with other dealers but promised me if I came in to the dealership it would be honored. Ultimately had the manager email me the quote after going back and forth for days. I showed up ready to buy. They had me sit around over an hour or two till dealership was closing. The finance manager rushed me through the buying process. I kept on finding extra minor charges which he promised to remove but couldn't print me off a copy of the contract (said printer not working) and said he would email it. I find out the Apex protection package had been added on without my knowledge.

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Haha this is hilarious. I had almost the exact same experience when I shopped there. Here's my post from my 2019 shopping experience. Must have been the same salesperson…or it's policy

" You must not have had Gene. CS Ford was the first dealership I visited and I told him as much, and that I planned on shopping around. They had the exact truck I was looking for (and that I bought elsewhere a week later) so I told Gene to get me a price. He said sure and asked me to fill out some paperwork. I told him that my credit was frozen due to ID theft and that I didn't want it run until we had a deal and I had it unfrozen. He says sure, won't run it until we have a deal so I went ahead and filled it out. He gave me a verbal price and I went on shopping.

I kept in touch with him and gave him the opportunity to match another dealership who gave me a written, out the door price. I exchanged 5-6 emails with the guy asking for his out the door price and got "my printer is broken", "scanner isn't working", and finally "if I give you a price over email you won't come back to the dealership, just come in and we can talk". I told him thanks but no thanks and bought a truck elsewhere.

Well a few weeks later I get a letter in the mail giving me notice that CS Ford had run my credit even though he said he wouldn't. Glad it was frozen and I didn't get an extra hard pull on it. I am sure just by filling the paperwork out I agreed to some small print that says they can run your credit but having a salesman flat out lie and run credit without a deal, after saying he wouldn't is enough for me to tell anyone I know to avoid that place."

College station Hyundai

I find a certain irony in the local car dealer mouthpiece admitting that cars purchases are negotiable then seeing stories of car dealer / salesman behavior where they use multiple angles to thwart the buyer from negotiating

kubiak03 said:

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I even got the "but we use Apex for inventory purposes". I replied I don't give a flip about how you manage inventory .

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But we have to charge you to manage our inventory that is no longer our inventory.

I'm glad I could get this thread off to such a nice start!

There's 3 options with 2 conclusions the way I see it.

Andrew Wheeler either:
1. Promotes the scammy, sleezy behavior.
2. Is aware it happens and does nothing.
3. Is unaware it is happening.


We all know it's not #3, but I'll play along.

If it's 1 or 2 he's obviously lacking a moral compass. If it's 3 (it's not) he's an inept GM.


It's clear what Andrew's view of the Aggie Code of Conduct is... An Aggie never Lies, Cheats, or Steals, except if they're in the car sales business. That's different.


For anyone who feels the need to stand up for Andrew because he may have done some nice things or is a personable guy, I have this for you:
The end justifies the means. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

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It would be SO much easier if everyone was just forced to pay MSRP right?

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It would have been during covid when human garbage like Keating and others were charging "market corrections".

Burdizzo said:

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Anyone remember Longhorn Bob's last name?

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Uh oh...

FLATOUT said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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OP vanished like a fart in the wind after the last thread regarding Keating.

Maybe his boss told him to post this video and white knight for him. Whatever. Go back to Cars and Coffee and brag to people about the cars you bought by your employees scamming old people and single moms and anyone else they can on the deals they got at your workplace.

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I've been on this forum for over a decade, I'm not going anywhere. I remember when this forum actually had something to offer people. It offers very little anymore.

And no I didn't expect anyone to watch it, you might have actually realized that the Internet is full of ***** Pretty hard to watch that interview and continue to think BK is some kind of monster.

I have a bunch of great Aggie customers that come through my store that talk about how ridiculous this forum has become.

I posted this thread/video to highlight how irrational this place is these days.

"Nope didn't watch it, nope never been to a Keating dealership, but I hate everything about him and he's a horrible human being/aggie because some people on the internet said so."

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Never been to a Keating dealership; honestly don't know much of the back story on this thread as I don't pay much attention to dealership drama on here.

However, I've been on this forum for a hell of a lot longer than a decade. Over 2 to be exact. And to assert what you did in your first post is absurd. It hasn't changed much at all. I see things I don't necessarily agree with, but I'd like you to point out the SPECIFIC differences you allege between what it had when you first came on and what it has now.

You're doing exactly what you're complaining about other people are doing.

Burdizzo said:

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Anyone remember Longhorn Bob's last name?

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Wheeler?

He was forged of a hotter fire