Stead Motors of Walnut Creek

I purchased a vehicle from these people in 2006. The salesman was hopeless, finally someone else took over the sale and he was better. I still got the feeling that I was being ripped off. .. there was a lot of double talk, the sleeze factor was 9 out of 10. The car was previously owned, had 5,900 miles on the odometer. It had very noisey brakes. They promised to replace the brakes and noted it in their computer. They never mentioned that I had to return within a certain amount of time for the replacement. When I did go back they said I had waited too long so goodbye and good luck. The sales manager said he would bring it up at the manager’s meeting and get back to me, you guessed it, still haven’t heard from the man. I wouldn’t go back to this dealer for a car or for service. During the period of my ownership I discovered that they charge almost twice as much for service and repair as many excellent independent auto mechanics charge. Too bad so many people believe that they have to continue to have their vehicles serviced at the dealership. In the case of Stead Motors, it’s an incredible waste of money.
Vote with your wallet, take your business elsewhere!

I took my 2000 Mercedes CLK 320 in to Stead to have the convertable top repaired. They quoted $ 4,500 to fix the roof citing it needed a new pump. They said the part alone cost $ 4,000. They charged me $ 250 for the quote and to manually close the roof. I almost sold the car but decided to take it to Independant Mercedes on Mt Diablo Blvd. They were fantastic and fixed it for $ 350. Apparently all it needed was a new relay switch. This is not first time I have had an experience like this with Stead. Rip off artists that cannot be trusted!

One star is too many for these guys.
I purchased a couple of cars here over the years. The most recent was a 2006 E350. The transmission on this car was a mess. It was in the shop all of the time and they had no solution to fix it. Their solution was to try and rip me off on a new car. Such a solution only makes sense to a car dealer. Luckily I leased the car and when the lease was up I gave it back. Unfortunately they probably sold it to someone else without mentioning its problems. «You are having transmission problems? Really?»

My wife and I went to Stead Motors a couple of years ago, interested in a Mercedes E320. We test drove one that we liked and returned to the salesman to work a deal. After we had worked out some of the details, the sales guy went outside to look over our trade-​in.
After he returned and while we were discussing trade-​in value, another employee walked into the office and asked for the keys to the car we were about to purchase. He said he had to move the car because it was blocking another on the lot. The salesman handed him the keys and we continued our trade-​in conversation.
After we had everything worked out, the salesman went to check on the paperwork and to get the keys back. After about 20 or 30 minutes, the sales guy returned with an odd look on his face. When we asked what was up, he told us that the guy who took the keys gave them to another salesman who took another couple out to test drive the car and just made a cash deal with them. In my experience, car salesmen have always proven themselves to be sleazy, but that was the lowest I’ve ever seen.
To our salesman’s credit, he apologized profusely and said he had never seen anything like that. Needless to say, Stead’s credibility, in my book, was instantly rendered to junk status. I will never do business there, nor at any of his other dealerships.
By the way, the one star rating by me was an accident. Stead deserves zero stars but I couldn’t figure out how to undo the one star rating.

If you’re looking for an honest salesperson and an enjoyable buying experience, this is not the place…
The salesman who helped me test drive a Mercedes was condescending and outright shady. After our test drive, I told him what I was willing to pay per month but we could not agree on a price so I left. As I was driving home, he called my cell & said he could meet my price & asked me to come back to finalize the purchase. Of course, I was excited to get my new car so I turned around & went right back over… I should have known better.
As we’re reviewing the final paperwork w/​the features & whatnot, I again get this condescending attitude & he actually tells me to stop saying OK to what he is saying. I’m like dude, I’m acknowledging your comments, what would you have me say?
Then the real fun begins when I go into the Finance Mgr’s office to sign the contracts… turns out the REAL price of the car is over $ 100 /​mo more than what we agreed.
I told her to immediately stop the purchase & give me my Jeep back. I was not going to be conned like that or embarrassed into paying more. The salesman then tries to take me back into his office to show me the price we «agreed» to had not included tax so I needed to go back in & complete the purchase b/​c it was *my fault*. When I asked him what he was thinking when I was talking about payments per month & what I was willing to pay, he had no response.
I mean, come on! When I talk to a person about final monthly payments… the real-​true-​to-​life MONTHLY PAYMENTS… I mean the actual payment that will be coming out of my bank account every month — not the payment before tax!
First of all, for this guy to never mention that he was speaking in «before-​tax» terms and secondly, for him to try to tell me it was MY fault for not understanding when I specifically asked him on multiple occasions if the price included EVERYTHING… ARGH!
With all the competition for business & multitude of dealerships in the area, I would have expected to have been treated with respect and honesty… too bad for them b/​c I went out the next weekend & got my Mercedes from CLARIDGES in Fremont — hassle free, total honesty and an absolute pleasure to deal with — they’ll definitely get my future business!