-
December 2023 by Scott Odden
It was so nice to purchase a vehicle from Brandon and Larry at Trade Guru. Inventory was very good and we felt no pressure at all to purchase. We will check out Trade Guru first on our next purchase!!
-
December 2023 by Keith Denny
Without question, the best car buying experience ever. Over the weekend I purchased a car from Trade Guru and this dealer exemplifies all the best attributes of a automotive sales dealer. Brandon and Larry exhibited the most professional, no-nonsense approach to the car buying experience and their ability to conduct the transaction is unparalleled. The car buying experience with Trade Guru will be unlike any other dealer and I recommend this dealer to anyone looking to purchase a vehicle.
-
December 2023 by Kim Fuhrmann
OnlineI came across what I thought was a great business owner dealership.I am a single woman who called this location to inquire about 3 vehicle models, on the phone.I have been in sales for 40 years.Our work ethic seems to be quite a bit different in MN than down South here at this Florida location, in Venice. The salesperson wanted me to do the homework in regards to the 3 directly top of line vehicles.His comment was “I’m not the buyer and the seller for vehicles. Brandon & I exchanged a short conversation about this subject & I was hung up on.I was looking to pay cash at this establishment.With this type of phone service, I think that I will pass on working with a salesperson that should not be in sales at all.
-
December 2023 by T B.
Criminals standing behind a facade of Christianity. Where do I start? Finance manager narrows it down to two vehicles...one was a dodge avenger they had to jump start to get going and sounded like a golf cart, the other a ******* sonata with a cracked dashboard. We chose the ******* being that it had low mileage and the other vehicle barely made it down the road for the test drive. We came in wanting to pay $1,500 down and we're led to believe that wasn't going to be a problem. He then tells us last minute it'll be $3,500 in order to leave the lot. We reluctantly agreed. He came back with a $300 a month payment and we were happily surprised. This must have given him the go ahead to inflate his commission because he got back on the phone with United Auto and walked out of the room whispering then came back and said $320....which I have now calculated to be an extra thousand dollars for him. Anyway that's just where the story begins...The Monday after we purchased the vehicle I get 4 calls from the finance manager while at work. Before I even had time to check the messages, I get a text from my neighbor stating three guys from trade guru just knocked on our door saying they were coming to pick up the car because we hadn't paid for it. FALSE. We had just put $3,500 down on it!!! I now check the messages and the finance manager is threatening me because he didn't get proof of residency and the bank wouldn't give him his commission. We clear that up and make our first payment the following month and two weeks later the car is picked up at 11 o clock at night. I call the police thinking it was stolen and my husband follows the tow truck who tells us there was a repo order on it. The police officer shows up and says he knows trade guru and did some investigating and our payment from the 2 weeks prior was returned and that's why it was repoed. We were never notified of the returned payment nor given the opportunity to rectify. Thanks Trade Guru I'm out $3,500.
-
November 2023 by Jules Snow
A faith based, family owned and operated car business? We were sold there.Brandon was fantastic. Great to work with and made things simple.We met Josh, the owner as well. Genuinely good people.I dread buying cars. This experience was the best we’ve had!
-
November 2023 by Mark Byrne
Purchased 2013 Ford Edge July 17, and during the signing process, it seemed odd that I was asked to verify that I have a mechanic in the family. Drove it a couple months transmission fluid is completely gone out empty and it’s jumping which means it now needs a new transmission which our mechanic cannot put in. There is no leak so there is an underlying transmission problem. Send they sell problematic vehicles and pass them off. This goes right down to the Ford decal in the front of the vehicle that fell off within a couple of weeks. We do not have the equipment to replace a transmission. The cheapest I can find is $2500 and that’s not including labor to put it in. I will be checking to see if there is recourse for me to take. So, shady is probably the word I would use. Too bad because the buying experience was good and I intended to send my son to buy his vehicle there soon.I did not buy a high mileage vehicle. One of the features you told is you have low, mileage vehicles. One of the things that attracted me. The vehicle had to 77,899 miles. So no it was not high miles. I’ve noticed that you respond a little nastily to everyone who is posting reviews here. It’s very hard to put down a decent down payment, pay monthly payments and then have to deal with a four or $5000 repair.
-
November 2023 by Rob wiseman
I brought an impossible deal to the table. Brandon, Larry, Barry, and Josh made the deal happen. Easily the best experience I’ve ever had a dealership. I’ll definitely be back in the future.
-
November 2023 by Ty Kirkland
This is direct response to the owner Josh's comment regarding the previous review:UPDATE: (after the owner has responded for the second time.)We did not just ask for our money to be refunded. We asked that the dealership pay for any major mechanical issues that the vehicle was potentially sold in bad faith. Simply to a mechanic that we trust and we know operates in good faith. We simply did not ask for minor issues to be repaired. Only the major mechanical issue(s). The demeaning answer I received from the question immediately challenged my intellectual ability.What I find interesting is that the owner Josh keeps attacking me personally through reviews. That truly shows what type of person he truly is and how non-Christian his actions are. If this individual reads actual scripture, he would know that Proverbs 12:22 states: "The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy."Josh the owner of Trade Guru is a Con-Artist. Its obvious Trade Guru barely patches their vehicles for sale so that they will operate for a short time, then fail. If anyone reading this questions my intentions, you can research my name in particular and find that I operate my own reputable business with great reviews. I am also an accomplished musician with a large referral base.Even more proof of the issue with the Jeep is that we have found the Jeep was recently powder coated on all of the under carriage. Which sounds like the vehicle was flooded or badly damaged. The Carfax we received was clean, but we are believing now that the Carfax was altered to reflect a good image of the vehicle.It should make everyone that reads these reviews run away from Trade Guru.PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM TRADE GURU!This establishment lies and sells LEMON vehicles. READ OTHER REVIEWS AS WELL.
-
October 2023 by DoNotBuyFromTradeGuru1 D.
DO NOT BUY FROM THIS DEALERSHIP! THEY ARE CON ARTISTS!After 4 months, the Jeep has become unsafe to drive and is a safety hazard. The owner basically said "that he would have their mechanic look at the vehicle to determine what the issue is if there is any." Then' if any repairs need to be made, he would source USED parts for my 16 year old daughters vehicle." Now why on earth would anyone want pick and pull parts that may or may not work be put on their Childs vehicle? What's funny is I asked Josh the same question on the phone. He couldn't answer me! Thats because he wouldn't put his family member in that vehicle.The other issue here, that josh would not meet us halfway for, was that we want to have our trusted mechanic look at the vehicle. Why on earth would we trust Trade Guru's mechanic when they have already sold a faulty vehicle.The issues with the vehicle and timeline are:- Within the first week of purchase: A major drivetrain or suspension style of vibration started. (Its like you are rising on rumble strips constantly. This happened after a day of purchase!)-Second: The battery went dead after 3 weeks. ( Even the day we drove off the lot, Larry had to jump start the battery as it wouldn't turn over. He explained to us that the issue might be the driver's door latch. The only thing he mentioned was to shut the door a bit harder and everything is fine.) We replaced the battery as normal.-Third Issue: After approximately another 2-3 weeks, my daughter goes to crank the vehicle, and it would not turn over. So she then disengaged, and re-started the ignition and the Jeep would finally turn over. This has been going on for a few weeks now.-Fourth issue: Shortly after the ignition issue, around the same week, the head unit in the radio becomes intermittent, and her check engine light comes on. ( Keep in mind the vehicle to this point has not been driven but 400-500 miles in and around Bradenton. ZERO highway miles. ) The next time the vehicle was turned on, the entire radio and electronic cluster started to malfunction and would randomly work.-Fifth Issue: Happened just the other day. My wife and daughter had driven 4 miles from our home and my wife witnessed the temperature gauge slowly increasing until it red lined. To the point she had to pull the vehicle over and wait for a tow. All fluids were at maximum and it appears the water pump is operating just fine. So there are major issues to this vehicle.-Sixth Issue: We have found that the under carriage of the vehicle has been powder coated to cover either flood, water, or some type of damage. Once you are able to look inside of the frame walls, there is rust peeling off under where the Jeeps undercarriage was literally powder coated in black on the outside.When on the phone with Josh explaining these issues, he cut me off at every opportunity. Would not even let me explain all of the issues the Jeep is having and decided to lecture me on what a "Used" vehicle is. Treating me like I am illiterate and I do not matter.We did not just ask for our money to be refunded. We asked that the dealership pay for any major mechanical issues that the vehicle was potentially sold in bad faith. Simply to a mechanic that we trust and we know operates in good faith. We simply did not ask for minor issues to be repaired. Only the major mechanical issue(s). The demeaning answer I received from the question immediately challenged my intellectual ability.What I find interesting is that the owner Josh keeps attacking me personally through reviews. That truly shows what type of person he truly is and how non-Christian his actions are. If this individual reads actual scripture, he would know that Proverbs 12:22 states: "The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy."Its obvious Trade Guru barely patches their vehicles for sale so that they will operate for a short time, then fail. If anyone reading this questions my intentions, you can research my name in particular and find that I operate my
-
October 2023 by Ty K.
If any of my friends down in the Ft Myers area knows of the car dealership Trade Guru, DO NOT BUY FROM THEM! The owner sold us a defective Jeep Wrangler and after not even a month, the vehicle developed a serious vibration either in the drivetrain or the suspension. Shortly after that, the ignition started to slowly act up. To the point where the vehicle would not start to begin with. The other day, my wife was driving the Jeep, and all of a sudden, it appears the thermostat has failed and overheating the vehicle. Then, we fast forward to Saturday afternoon, when the vehicle would not start at all! It acts like it will turn over, but will not ignite. When I contacted the owner of Trade Guru, he was immediately condescending, and making degrading comments regarding my intellectual knowledge. This person claims on their website they are a Christian company that believes in treating people right. It seems this company is using the "Christian" name to try and sell vehicles. There is nothing "Christian" about knowing that you sold a vehicle, one that is intended for a 16 year old, and knowing that said vehicle is not safe! Then when mentioning the Lemon Law, the owner of Trade Guru has the audacity to say, "If anything needs to be repaired, they would source used parts for the vehicle." I told him that was entirely unacceptable for the safety of my daughter. He then started down another condescending conversation when I mentioned that we would prefer to use our own mechanic. He then stated, " Do I know what a Used vehicle is?" In more of a condescending tone. Trying to explain to me the differences between a new and used vehicle. This is/was entirely unacceptable from a supposed reputable Christian business. This is completely in essence is non-piety! This person is not a good soul and I hope that everyone else that read this will stay clear of this dealership. Lets put bad people out of business! Thats his family on the front of the site. Im sure he will feel completely different when his daughter starts driving....Im sure she will have a brand new car and not have to worry about an issue like this. BAD FAITH VEHICLES! DO NOT BUY!
-
October 2023 by Randy Barchalk
These guys are very transparent and honest, larry and josh gave Us very good information on the cars we were interested in. We looked at a couple of cars they steered us away from, mostly minor issues, but when does a dealer do that? After selecting two cars we liked, we wanted to leave and come back another day after doing research on our choices. The dealer wished us a good night and we left. When is the last time you visited a dealer and they didn’t panic and begin the games to get you to buy their vehicle when you tried to leave. They have the lowest dealer fee in the areas and no add on’s like fabric protection and other worthless items. If you’re looking for a good used car, stop at Trade Gurus in Venice for no pressure sales and honest sale people. We did purchase a used one owner car from them replacing my wife’s car destroyed by the hurricane and are really enjoying the BMW. One of the best car purchases and the best experience in purchasing our new vehicle.
-
October 2023 by Dave Kohler
Great staff, honest, and no question they won't answer! Brandon was great and even opened us up to a better deal! Josh came and introduced himself, making the whole process feel right.Highly recommend stopping in and taking a look, you won't be disappointed.
-
August 2023 by Bryan M.
We've purchased 5 vehicles from Trade Guru. The owner Josh is great & we'll be back again in the future. We fly down from Indiana every few years & drive awesome low mile Florida used cars back!
-
August 2023 by andrew fisher
Had a really positive experience working with Colton at TradeGuru. Even though we ultimately didn't buy from them, he was very gracious and helpful. Cass in the Service Dept was also awesome taking time to explain things and following up. I definitely recommend working with Colton and the crew there and will be back for future purchases.
-
July 2023 by cass iron
Great guys, was looking at a truck ready to pull the trigger when the owner walks up and says I've got an even better deal for you. Hooked me up with a gorgeous 2011 Silverado, exactly what I wanted from the engine to the transmission. Treat these guys right, and they'll go above and beyond for you, best can buying experience to date.Have to give an update these guys get me what I'm after little older this time but July 2023 is antique time. 89 f150 5.0. love this dealer.