Greetings Everyone!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!
My name is Rafael and I work for Capital Motor Cars we are based in Springfield NJ. I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful members of the LH community.
If we have done a deal together in the past and you can take a few minutes to write a review (maybe even post a picture), I would be most appreciative!
Thanks,
Rafael (973) 563-7374
Not only did Rafael get me the deal of the century: $2650 due at signing, $450 a month on a T6 R-design with polestar, metallic, air suspension, heated rear&steering, and 21" wheels, he got it in Bursting Blue. It’s a 7500m/year lease but I drive 2 miles to work, so I’m cool with that. And, it took a little while, and had a few bumps in the road. However: I. Love. This. Car., and I’d use Rafael and Capital Motorcars again anytime.
Rafael helped my Aunt with her 2019 Grand Cherokee lease a few weeks ago.
He was very responsive and quick to answer texts and phone calls, and answered any and all questions about the transaction. He got her a great deal and she is very happy with the car.
Rafael even drove over an hour to meet her halfway to drop off the car so she could avoid rush hour traffic, which was very much appreciated!
Highly recommend Rafael and Capital Motor Cars to anyone looking for a great deal on their next lease!
I highly recommend working with Raef @Cars4Us. He got me a great deal on a xc60. Was very responsive and answered all my questions. I was able to pick up the car in a week. He made the entire process very smooth and easy. Would work with again in the future.
Here is my experience:
I reached out to Rafael about a 2020 Volvo XC60 T5 Inscription. We had a couple phone calls and settled on a deal he had posted.
Overall, I cannot recommend him as a broker based on my experience as a client. This was a big waste of three weeks into my car search that ended up with a deal that was not honored, a shady dealer that wouldn’t provide detailed lease numbers, and several times I had to step in and tell Rafael what needed to be done. I was patient in the entire process, always giving Rafael a chance for explanation. Both of us were respectful in our interactions.
Here is what went wrong:
Dealer raised the selling price by $1500 but gave $1500 additional in incentives after Rafael and I agreed on a selling price. This does not cancel each other out as incentives are TAXED. It’s a few dollars per month, but Rafael did not inform me at first, it was only after I brought it up he mentioned it. In the end, the dealer working with Rafael did not honor the deal that was initially discussed. As a suggestion, it would be helpful for future clients to know the price they see on LH is the price that the dealer will quote. If the price isn’t right, then as clients we expect brokers to speak to the dealer and correct it, or find another deal altogether.
As I mentioned before, the numbers Rafael and I agreed on were not honored and ultimately the dealer gave a higher monthly payment. The car would have been registered in Chicago, which meant an additional tax structure, but the fact that the dealer threw out an inflated number and wasn’t willing to show the math should have been an easy sign to walk away from the dealer. Getting a lease breakdown showing all numbers was something I obtained within minutes of walking into my local dealership. It seemed that Rafael and the dealer clearly were not on the same page in terms of the deal. Ultimately it is up to him to do the due diligence to confirm the deal and iron out these hiccups.
When I did receive some of the dealer numbers through a screenshot that didn’t even show a breakdown of DAS costs, the screenshot listed the “new” car with 6007 miles in the dealer system! This was addressed by Rafael and confirmed by the dealer to be new, but I expect Rafael to clear these things up before it makes it to the client.
I had to consistently call/text Rafael pushing for updates, but Rafael was very responsive to texts/calls, no matter the day or time. I did ask for pictures of the car and during the 2 weeks I was in contact with him, he forgot multiple times and did not send me anything.
I placed a great deal of confidence when I first spoke to Rafael about his brokerage services. But after an extremely frustrating process, I had to part ways with him. Every deal is a learning experience and I hope Rafael applies these takeaways to help him become a better broker.
It unfortunate to hear that you feel this way but I will like to disagree with this entire statement.
I’m tight with my time right now and sadly can’t write a descriptive letter this second but I’ll try to hit every main key.
"Dealer raised the selling price by $1500 but gave $1500 additional in incentives"…
Yes this happen, BUT the reason for that is there something called taxable/untaxable rebates. There was a $1,500 Bonus Cash Allowance for “Tri-State Area ONLY” (For Volvo, that month) That is an “Untaxable Rebate” (Which means it gets subtracted from the selling price of the vehicle.) The numbers I advertised had a $1,500 (Untaxable Rebate) less then the SP, But it was meant for my Tri-State Area Residence." You didn’t qualified for it since we were registering in CHICAGO, IL. But I convinced the dealer to give you a $1,500 Taxable Rebate to make up for the difference to still be aggressive.
(So yes I “technically” didn’t honor the numbers that I had advertised at that time BUT it was only because your region didn’t qualified for it)
When I did receive some of the dealer numbers through a screenshot that didn’t even show a breakdown of DAS costs
You left out that, Those documents not only SHOWED what was broken down when it came to the DAS. But that "6007 miles " was a typo. I told you the dealer confirmed it was a BRAND NEW Volvo that just came from the Port. The screenshot just didn’t look similar to the document you got from a local dealership in Chicago.
The truth of the matter is, You had your calculation of what you believed your monthly payment should of been with your tax rate.
and the dealership had a different number.
Thank you for your opinion and I will keep your perceptive in mind for next time.
Edit: Yes I Put “Chicago, OH” It’s been a long day.
I thought Volvo programs/incentives are by dealer location, not customer location? And how does a dealer just give a $1500 taxable rebate?
Volvo are by dealership zipcode but there still are bonus cash that comes out.
The dealer just went back an extra to try to close a deal, it was the end of the month period.
Thank you for your reply @Cars4Us.
Thank you for clarifying what the $1500 taxable rebate you convinced the dealer to add was for. However, we could have avoided this problem had the full background of regional incentives been disclosed to me initially and what you and the dealer were willing to do for me given that I live out of state. That was not communicated to me (or else I wouldn’t have brought this up). Now after you explained the situation, it makes sense.
While I will refrain for posting the exact screenshot you gave me, your picture shows DAS to be $6800. Upfront sales tax is $2641.61, Acquisition fee is $995, MSD was $5500, first month payment of $533.72, and Doc/Registration to be $945.45. There is no combination of those numbers that add up to $6800.00.
You are correct to say that my calculation was different than what the dealer quoted, but the truth of the matter is I simply wanted a breakdown of how $6800 DAS was calculated (what you sent me doesn’t add up to a perfect 6800), how sales tax of $2641.61 was calculated, on how the dealer arrived at a monthly payment of $533.72. Showing me a picture with text boxes that just show those amounts are in no way illustrative enough.
I know for a fact that what the dealer quoted for sales tax of $2641.61 is completely wrong. That tax rate is effectively more than 10% off selling price definition (total lease payments + taxed incentives) when IL state sales tax is 9.5%. I can show you the correct calculation if you need it using the ST556LSE tax document from the state.
Knowing this, any logical person would want a breakdown of how state sales tax was calculated, because the county/state/city will all have separate amounts.
Now you can ask any hackr or broker here, getting a breakdown of these sums (monthly, DAS, sales tax) should be a completely pain-free task. None of this is specific to only what I was able to obtain locally at my dealership. You can look all across the forum for hackers posting detailed dealer lease breakdown sheets.
The real problem here is when I asked you to get me a lease breakdown worksheet, you replied that the dealer doesn’t have a way to show the breakdown. First, that is false. Those breakdowns would be in the contract I’d sign, hence those calculation numbers exist. Whether the dealer wanted to disclose them is another topic.
Whether you agree with the version of events, objectively you failed to provide me a simple breakdown of lease calculations such as how a monthly payment was calculated to be $533.72. I walked away from the deal frustrated because something so easily obtainable and somewhat crucial to a lease could not be obtained.
Time for all of us to move on.
I am in the final stages of a deal with Cars4Us - the car was delivered today and I am waiting for some last minute issues to be corrected by Rafael. I will have a full review once that is completed, but in the meantime I will say that Rafael has been very responsive and has said that he will get to the bottom of our issue.
Will update this in a few days.
They are, but Tri-State bonus is by customer’s location in this case. The second part about giving $1,500 taxable “rebate” is really interesting though.
Finally getting around to a review for Cars4Us. I closed a deal right before we all got locked into our homes.
I had a great experience with Rafael and Cars4Us. I responded to one of his posted deals in the marketplace. Went back and forth a few times to establish my preferences on options. I sent him an autotrader link of 2020 Jeep Compass Limited that was optioned the way I wanted as an example. He gave me some choices from his dealers stock which normally would have been fine with me but the vehicle was for my daughter so I wanted to get her exactly what she liked. Rafael offered to get the exact vehicle from the link I had supplied to him via a dealer swap. It added a few days to the transaction and a few extra dollars to the deal for the swap, but I was completely satisfied with result and my daughter loves her Compass!
From start to finish Rafael was prompt and professional. They delivered the vehicle directly to my home at no additional cost and I signed right in my driveway.
I would use them again and would recommend them to anyone in the area.
Thank you for the warm message. Really do appreciate your business and I hope you and your love ones are all staying safe.
Rafael got us a 2020 Grand Cherokee High Altitude that we love. Better discount than what I was offered from dealers and overall provided very transparent and efficient service.
I’d have no reservations about doing another deal with him in a few years.
Thank you very much and I hope you guys enjoy the vehicle!
I had no issues with actually leasing the car… as it stands now my main issue is being able to use the car.
My temp tags have expired and have been expired since the 8th of Jan.
I understand the state DMV may be taking a bit longer to process but the lack of communication is what stings.
Now, I have an X3M that’s been sitting in my driveway since Jan 8.
I’m left with no one to blame but Rafael, however unfair that may be.
So you would agree that, the payment, timing on car, paperwork all that was A-1 service.
But because the plates are delayed (something that no dealer can control) makes this experience lack.
I’ll take the blame, no problem. But, once again we cannot extend or make a new temp plates because that is illegal to do.
You are able to drive the vehicle with the plates expired, since dmv said they have extended the time for temp plate to be expired.
Drive around NJ/NY you’ll find thousands of cars with expired license plate because of the same issue, DMV delay issue.
Unfortunately there’s nothing that me or my team can do besides wait, I do apologize for the inconvenience again. If you ever get a ticket for this issue, we would handle it. We can only control what we have access too, DMV is not one of them.
Thank you
As I said, I know it is unfair to you.
And, I am giving some leeway for plates. I still was expecting it to be completed by now as I haven’t heard of this much of a delay for dealer processing.
You’re only to blame because I have no one else to blame, lol.
If I can indeed drive with no problems, I’ll be more patient.
