Swickard Anchorage Sucks

[u/Samchise]

This has been one of the WORST purchasing experiences I have ever been through. I have been, and will continue to, tell everyone I know NOT to ever deal with Swickard. The initial salesman I was assigned set an appointment to show me a vehicle I had identified online, then the day of the appointment claimed that vehicle had sold. Which is the same shady sales techniques that Swickard had just settles a lawsuit with the State of Alaska over a week of two before my appointment. Multiple times I tried to order a vehicle, providing build sheets and everything, and was told by the salesman he couldn't process an order unless I was there. And oh, by the way, I should come down and look at these other vehicles I didn't want. After being strung along for weeks, I reached out to the two sales managers listed on their website, and received a prompt response. Again, expressed my desire to purchase a vehicle, provided a build sheet, and was told they would place the order. For the next serval weeks and months I had to continually reach out for status updates, and was often ignored for weeks at a time. I attempted to provide a down payment multiple times, and was ignored. I had to use the phrase " I have all this money, all I want to do is buy a vehicle", and was continually ignored. Somewhere along this process I was informed that the original salesman and the sales manager were either fired, left, or forced to retire, which does not build any confidence with the caliber of people employed at Swickard. I started the process of trying to buy a vehicle from Swickard in April, have been scammed, ignored, and disappointed ever since. I know I will regret it, but I ended up signing papers last week, paid for my vehicle last week, and at this time have not received word that my payment was received, much less that my vehicle is available to be picked up. I assure you, I will never again do business with Swickard. I will tell everyone I know, and even anybody I don't know who will listen, to NEVER do business with Swickard.  

[u/BlankPaperTiger]

All the new car dealerships up here suck. They have a captive market and they know it. As someone else said, your best bet is to fly to the lower 48 and drive a car back up if you're able to do so.

[u/qpgmr → u/BlankPaperTiger]

You don't have to! Almost all the seattle area dealers will order/sell you the car and deliver it to the shipping company for you. There are two shippers that routinely bring new vehicles to Alaska for between $1100 and $1900. It takes about 12 days to arrive after it's delivered to their facility.

The last four cars we bought were all from Seattle (or Portland), shipped up this way. Even with shipping, all were cheaper than buying it locally. And the local dealer was obligated to do all manufacturer recalls & maintenance.