Van Bortel Chevrolet is a very poor place to work. The sales manager does not treat employees equally, nor does Kitty's assistant. There is a lack of organization, procedures, and uniformity in the way things are done. At times, customers were given deals by the sales manager who then later denied having agreed to the deal. The sales manager is also not direct with employees. Rather than discuss an issue with an employee, he will be passive aggressive (such as giving a salesperson's deal away to another salesperson without the first salesperson's permission or even being aware).
I ended up not being able to buy a car for Van Bortel, but my experience was incredible. Ruth sat down with me and discussed options for a good part of the day. They weren't simply trying to sell me a car; they were looking out for the best interest of someone whom may or may not be a customer - that is true service! Once I build up my income, I will be back with a trade-in!
Drove two hours to visit the Corvette showroom and really to look at a 2010 Grand Sport convertible. i could not of been more pleased with the car and the variety of all the other Corvettes that they had in stock. I was so pleased with the car and Matt that I bought the car on the spot. Would highly recommend this dealership!!
I had a great experience working with the team at Van Bortel during the sales cycle, and fully expect that experience to continue into the service portion of my relationship with them. There was never any pressure during the cycle and the team was always very responsive right from the start. In fact, responding immediately when I connected via the web was one of the things that helps cement my purchase there. Other dealers such as Bob Johnson, didn't respond at all. Matt kept me informed as to my options, worked with me to ensure I was happy and keep me appraised throughout the process. I would highly recommend Van Bortel.
Outstanding experience beginning from my initial request via email with Matt, and he promptly answered all questions with direct answers. Many times I had requested information from other dealerships, only to get a generic email in return. Not from Matt. Matt went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable with my decision he gave me suggestions and his advice, but was in no way pushy. After I decided to pull the trigger, the process was smooth. I felt like family by the end of the whole process (Nate chatted me with while Matt got the paperwork organized).. Got to watch Steve put the final details on my car..refreshing to see a true detailer, not a car washer..Ruth helped organize my paperwork, and has been on point answering questions I had post purchase..I drove over 300 miles to do business here, and after this experience, will repeat when it's time for an upgrade :)
Recently purchased a used Corvette from VanBortel and it was the first time I had purchased a vehicle from the Dealership. I worked with Nate throughout the process in which Nate made me feel like I was part of the family. His friendly demeanor and no pressure approach made it stress free. Nate was very knowledgeable and made sure all my questions and concerns were addressed. In addition his Corvette team of top notch professionals in sales & service provided me with a great experience from start to finish.
Kevin & Barb Quinn / Churchville
This was my first time visiting Van Bortel Chevy. It's a bit of a drive from Greece, but well worth it. I was greeted immediately as I walked in and then introduced to my sales consultant, Dave Cosner. Dave was a pleasure to work with and even called me on his days off to update me on my pending purchase. I never felt pressured to buy or upgrade anything and not hassling with a price was a big plus. I can see why the Van Bortel dealerships are so highly praised.
Matthew Farnes was an absolutely wonderful salesman! He did a phenomenal job explaining all the technology of the car (I'm technologically inept, and he explained things wonderfully). He took his time and was very thorough.
Van Bortel Chevrolet says there's nothing they won't do, and that is true. They did an excellent job helping to get me financed, get me a wonderful car, and to ensure that I was happy with the purchase.
Everyone at the dealership is friendly and professional. I highly recommend Matthew Farnes, and everyone at Van Bortel Chevrolet!
Friend of mine and I are both avid Corvette enthusiasts. He has three classic Corvettes, including two restored by his own hands. I am on my second C5; which I built up to ~460 horsepower. We're younger guys, but we know what we're doing with Corvettes.
Friend came all the way from Maryland to visit me, so I thought that it would be fun to go see Van Bortel's sizable Corvette collection, and maybe test drive a car or two. This took place on 3/21/2017.
Upon entering the facility, we were greeted rather apathetically by a gentleman who did not give us his name. Pretty much shooed us off to go browse the cars. Nice cars, but the poor lighting of the abandoned grocery store, and several buckets catching water leaks from the ceiling were a bit iffy.
I was rather taken aback when we asked to drive a car - salesperson barely looked up from his computer and told us in a blatantly annoyed voice "Well, for starters guys, there have to be clean roads, so. no, you can't." He made it very clear that he had no interest in treating us with at least a modicum of respect; choosing to not engage in conversation about Corvettes with two enthusiasts, nor showing us around the place, and very clearly not taking us seriously about driving a car.
No, we were not buying that day, but we both have owned several Corvettes so we're always considering our options in regards to where we may purchase our next ones. You would think that with the kind of money involved in these transactions that Van Bortel, or at least the salesperson, would care about making a good impression for future consideration.
Will I be buying my third Corvette in the next year or two? Absolutely! Will i even consider buying from Van Bortel Corvette? Oh hell no!
To put it into perspective, the next day (3/22/2017), we decided to go browse cars at the Porsche dealership. When we got there, Salesperson got up from his desk, came over and shook our heads. We made it clear to him that we were there simply to browse and admire the cars. Didn't matter; he happily engaged us in discussion about all varieties of cars, insisted on getting us coffee and showed us around the facility. After that, we went over to Alfa/Maserati. There we were greeted just as nicely and encouraged to take as much time looking at the cars as we would like and even offered to take us for a drive.
Van Bortel could stand to learn some lessons from those dealerships. We can afford Corvettes, but not Porsche or Maserati. Yet the expensive dealerships treated us like gold, while the "every man's sports car" dealer made it clear we were not welcome. For shame!
I've been bringing my car in for service since Van Bortel took over the location. I have been very pleased! Very honest, professional service department! ANDI TRUST THEM!!!! They aren't out for my money, they give me honest opinions on what kind of work "should" be done or what absolutely "needs" to be done! When it's time to car shop, Van Bortel will have my business!!!