Not as many as Hetts does.....

Dear “BIG J”,

Now allow me to also share some facts about AutoSmart to avoid any confusion. I would like to respond directly to a few of your numbers above:

2. AutoSmart contributes to the community in the following ways:
Member of Chamber of Commerce
Sponsor of the Chamber Golf Outing
Sponsor of the Chamber’s Inspiring Women of Oswego
Sponsor of Rotary Club of Oswego’s Chukkers for Charity
Major Sponsor of Oswego Drag Strip Reunion
Hosted 2 child safety seat inspections in conjunction with the Oswego Police and Fire Departments
Hosted several Women’s vehicle safety events

3. AutoSmart is a proud sponsor/presenter of Operation Impact in the Oswego high schools which is a program that teaches our high school youth about safe driving.

8. AutoSmart is an advocate for the consumer and has located vehicles for customers as far away as Spokane, WA.

Not sure why you would slam other businesses and call them “fly by night”, but the owners of AutoSmart are firmly embedded in this community and have 30 years of automotive experience.

I encourage anyone to take a look at their customer testimonials on their web-site:
http://autosmartnetwork.com/

Thank you,
Donna

Thanks for the website Donna. I just checked it out. I was thinking of coming by there when I realized AUTOSMART is located in the middle of an industrial park with the store front the size of a Subway sandwich shop! I went home to check out the website again and found 10 vehicles for sale, one of which was a mobile home. There was also 2 motorcycles which means there are only 7 cars or suvs for sale? I went on HETTSAUOSALES.COM and found 41 vehicles!

Just another typical comment from a member the old Oswego Mafia. That's the problem with all of you people that are part of the Oswego good ol' boys' club, you can't stand competition or change of any type.

Also, your quote from above: "Not to badmouth anyone..."

You sure are hell bent on a rampage to bad mouth anyone that's not Hetts, since you're just one of their little cronies.

Btw, I guess when you went to school; they didn't teach you how to spell…

Gater, sorry to hear about your problem with the car we sold you, please tell us what you purchased and when, no one is perfect, we try very hard to make sure are vehicles are ready to go by having them all safety checked and having a carfax report. We always show our customers the repair order on what work was performed on the vehicle that they are looking at, if they purchase it we do offer a extended warranty and if they decide not to purchase one they sign off that they are declining it, Unfortunately, no matter how carefully our vehicles are serviced and inspected, used vehicles may develop repair problems, Almost always if a problem occurs shortly after the purchased we help financially, looking through our files we have no customer under Gater, so please call me at the store 630-554-9339, thanks Ed Hettinger Owner

Dear “always a panther”,
Great detective work! I DO have a dog in this race. If I wanted to hide who I was, I would have hidden behind an alias like others do on Oswego Patch. I simply stated facts about AutoSmart above.
But, you do bring up an excellent point…please feel free to check out AutoSmart’s CUSTOMER Testimonials on their web-site.
http://autosmartnetwork.com/testimonials/
Donna
PS. I am actually Brian’s wife. You were SO close.

I guess that's why they are not listed as a car dealership but a buying service. If I want a motorcycle I go to a motorcycle dealership. If I want a rv I go to a rv dealership. If I want pizza I go to a pizza parlor. If I want Italian for dinner I go to an Italian restaurant,and so on. Makes sense ;)

always a panther, I'm not sure where you're receiving your information, but AutoSmart is licensed with the State of IL as an Auto, RV, and Motorcycle dealer. So they're not just a car buying service as you stated. ;)

To Oswego, Hetts offer many of those services also, but without a fee, I have known John and Ed for years, They help there customers anyway they can, They appraise vehicles and collector cars all the time including mine, They take vehicles on cosignment also, They have helped customers with new car purchases as well as finding that special used vehicle if they do not have it in there inventory, Ed has found many vehicles for there customers, you are right they do carry older vehicles mostly in the $3000.00 to $8000.00 range, but for a reason, thats what the younger crowd can afford, most of the vehicles they sell are to the first time buyer, and yes Autosmart does have vehicles but on consignment, again as a service for people that do not have time themselves, Each business offers different options, like you said its your choice, I choose Hetts because of them and there selection of vehicles to choose from, thanks

GO HETTS!

Big D, obviously you have never been at Hetts Auto Sales Dealership to make that statement, if you have been there and talked to Ed or John, the most up front and honest there is, no B.S. from them, the only true downtown Auto Dealership, also I went on Autosmart website and they have a fee of $500.00 to sell your car for you, a fee of $375.00 to buy new and $75.00 per hour phone consultation, that is there business but that is a buying service, not a dealership

Camaro 70,

So you're trying to tell all of us here that Hetts will sell a vehicle on consignment for free? You should ask Ed Hettinger if he works for free. You'll discover after that discussion that Hetts is in business to make a profit, just like every other business in Oswego. Btw, there are plenty of other honest an upfront business owners out there, so Ed and John aren't the only ones in town.

Hi Greg, This is Ed Hettinger owner of Hetts Auto Sales, we do not pressure any of our customers, most of our customers tell us we are to laid back, same goes with trade-ins, I appraise them and tell you the value of them, no games plain and simple, sorry if you felt pressured, whats your last name and what year did you buy it so I can pull the deal and see what your trade-in was, email back at hettsauto@sbcglobal.net, thanks Ed

Carly, what is a rip off is that AutoSmart charges you $75 for a phone consultation...hetts doesn't charge you for calling them. AutoSmart charges $500 to sell your car...hetts doesn't charge anything. To me, that sounds like a rip off and you're probably one of the suckers who goes there. And carly, you just made everyone's point on here by saying "people are tired of getting ripped off by car dealers! AutoSmart all the way!" you just admitted that AutoSmart is not a car dealership...which is true, very true. They are a car buying service and shouldn't even be mentioned on this list.

Junior,

Hi Junior, this Brian Caldwell co-owner of AutoSmart, I would like to clarify that we are a licensed auto dealer with the State of Illinois, the same as all other dealers in this contest. Both owners have a combined industry experience of 30 + years serving the local market.

When we formed our business, we found that the consumer needed an advocate and that’s how we developed our business model. Yes, this is different than the traditional dealer, but we have found that customers enjoy our process and the services we provide. We provide a transparent approach to buying or selling vehicles and this has lead to the success and growth of AutoSmart.

Most consumers are tired of the traditional approach of buying vehicles or just don’t have the time and insight to negotiate the second largest purchase they make. It sounds as if our business model doesn’t work for you but that doesn’t mean that we rip our customer off! I suggest that you view our web site and look at what are customers have to say about us. We have many testimonials on our web site have been submitted by actual customers!

I would invite you to stop by and I would be willing to discuss how AutoSmart works as an advocate for our customers and provides many different services based on the customer’s needs and not the needs of our own. Look forward to talking to you soon!

JERRY LEDGER

Hi Jerry, this is Brian Caldwell co-owner of AutoSmart. I am sorry but I don't recall ever working with you. If I can be of any assistance in the future, feel free to contact me at 630-554-2285 or e-mail me at brian@autosmartnetwork.com

That sounds like AutoSmart. having their significant other come on here and comment. That's pretty funny as well. What's even funnier is the fact that AutoSmart has 125 votes. They've come nowhere close to even having 125 customers especially since they've been open for like a year. Ed and John have been in the car business for over a combined 50-60 years. They both live in Oswego so I'm positive they dont sell "POS's" to their customers since they might run in to them around town. Not sure where the cronies part comes in, but we are customers who have had awesome experiences with Hetts. We show respect and support for our local downtown Oswego businesses. Hetts gets my vote!

Anthony, you must be pretty smart, since you know everything about AutoSmart, to include the number of customers and friends that they have. fyi, both of the owers of AutoSmart also happen to live in Oswego, and we also support them 100%, since they are also a local small business. If you go back and read all of the comments above, you'll see that the attacks were made on AutoSmart, and they were just defending themselves. AutoSmart gets my vote!

Hi Keith, please call me at the store, 630-554-9339, all are vehicles are safety checked. but no matter how carefully our vehicles are serviced and inspected, used vehicles may develop repair problems, I do not remember your situation, but we almost always help out some way if we are aware of a problem, we always tell are customers if a situation arises to please call us, we will do as much as possible to have satisfied customers, agian please call me at 63-554-9339 or e-mail at hettsauto@sbcglobal.net, thanks Ed Hettinger, owner

Keith, just wanted to add something, crooks come on, if a problem comes up on a vehicle that doesn't make us bad, cars are mechanical and parts break and wear out, I have been doing business here going on 8 years and have grown my business by taking care of our customers, we sell repeat customers, referrals and well as new customers, our misson here to to give you a pleasurable buying experience before, during and after the sale, thanks Ed

AUTOSMART= NOT SO SMART. Should of gone to Hetts. They could have got it cheaper fo sho.....lol