Hunterdon Auto Resource Center

Buying a car can be a frustrating experience. There are many stereotypes of your typical car salesperson and sadly many of them turn out to be true. But my two experiences with HARC has been excellent.
Our last purchase was in December 2014. As before, the showroom was bright and cheerful. Our salesperson, Tony, was patient and not pushy in any way and very good at answering our questions. We visited the showroom several times, test driving our top choice three times in total.
Pricing was very competitive (we shopped at least five other dealerships, as we had narrowed our search to two models). None of the other dealerships were as honest and easy to work with.
They have an excellent selection, plus financing arrangements on site. When we made up our mind Tony took care of the insurance transfer, ordered the title and transferred our tags, and even had the vehicle cleaned up… and it was already very clean. They also have their own service department.
We cannot recommend HARC highly enough. Everyone we dealt with was professional and knowledgeable.

I have nothing but positive things to say about this place. I’ve bought my last few cars here and drive an hour from Hoboken to get them serviced here. They’re one of the few auto places I really trust.

Last week, I filled out their online appraisal form because I’m looking to sell a car which KBB and Edmunds put the average/​fair value, their bottom values above junker, at $ 2950 for a trade in. Perfect condition it goes for over $ 4000 trade in value. My car is above average and probably good per the definition.
One of their reps called me back the next day. And after being on hold for almost 10 minutes, he went through the information and gave me an over the phone ballpark of $ 2500 to $ 3500 which is pretty much a fair price range. I didn’t make an appt then because it would be a few days before I was ready to sell. So I stopped in today to see if they could do an insight appraisal and a different guy helped me, I didn’t mention the online form or the call. I was fully expecting $ 2500 or possibly slightly lower, it is after all a car dealership. After the inspection, he said it was worth $ 1000. lol. Perhaps he was trying to see how desparate I was, but needless to say, I would not do business with a place that can’t get its story straight on fair market value.

Found a used vehicle via the web at their business. Did the deal over the phone and they were very forthcoming with any info I requested, including internal build and pricing information from the manufacturer about the specific vehicle. They are associated with the largest credit union in NJ, so are marketed as «honest and reliable» since they count on somewhat affluent, returning customers. They advertise all of their used vehicles as «certified» with an 88 point inspection. When we arrived from way out of town to take delivery, I was going over the car, which was very clean inside and out. As soon as I got under the car with a flashlight, I immediately noticed steering fluid leaking from the steering rack — a MAJOR repair and something impossible to miss by any mechanic. Upon bringing it to their attention, they took it into the shop and 45 minutes later, the general manager) of the dealer appeared, admitting it needed a new rack. He offered to either fix it there (which would have required us to come back again from out of state) or take some $$ off the price if we fix it ourselves. We opted to take it at a discount and left. About an hour into the drive, I decided to check the steering fluid level just to be safe, and found that they had not even checked that AFTER knowing about he problem — it was almost bone dry. On top of that, the coolant level was way low (not checked either.) There was a huge mouse nest in the engine by the steering fluid reservoir as well. It was very clear that they had not checked anything on this vehicle. Upon arriving home, I emailed the dealer, copying the GM. The sales manager responded with an apology, but not a word from the GM. I would have at least offered to pay for a new steering pump if the old one was destroyed due to lack of fluid (that should have been checked by them the moment they knew about the leaking rack). Not a word after that. So, a dealer with «certified» vehicles that sends them out without the most basic things that any consumer would check at a gas station addressed? There are only two possible explanations — gross incompetence or blatant dishonesty. Unfortunately, I am left still undecided as to the correct answer.