Don Franklin Bardstown Chevrolet Buick

Purchased my vehicle there always take it there for service. They do a really good job and have you in and out quick.

We’ve decided to stick with the campbellsville and etown locations. Amber at the front desk in bardstown isn’t very well with customers. She doesn’t deliver a great customer service experience, but she does deliver it with bad attitude. She’s rude, short tempered, and aggressive. Anytime we ask questions related to the warranty and pricing, she makes us feel bad for asking. We asked for a customer service number, and she told us there isn’t one. It seems like their prices are also higher than other Don franklins (transmission flush to be exact.) she also told us that there is a 30 day grace period to get the flush done, or the warranty would be voided. But no other sales managers have heard this 30 day grace period. (Including the sales managers at campbellsville, etown, and bardstown.)
I, myself, in the hospitality business, would never dream of delivering service like Amber does. Do yourself a favor, and drive to another location. You’ll have a better experience overall.

We had our car towed to the dealership after breaking down on 65. Everyone we spoke with was exceptionally kind and helpful. Had our vehicle fixed in a short time. They provided a ride for us from our hotel in order to pick up our car. It was a great experience. We are very grateful.

We've been clients of the Franklin Family for many years. From the first time purchasing to our most recent, they've never changed. Very responsive, communication top notice, and the turn around time. Amazing. Excellent service once again Josh! You take care of us like family. Above and beyond. What's great is 15 years later, we still get to deal with the same people who know us, and care! Even after the purchase, their right there for us. They take the stress out of everything.
And thank you, Hammer!

An online inquiry prompted Brandon's prompt response; he efficiently presented superior alternative options and had the vehicle prepared for our arrival. His expertise, genuine demeanor, and comprehensive product knowledge ensured a remarkably swift and positive transaction, exceeding the efficiency of previous experiences.

Devin was great. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Worked hard to answer all my questions and make sure I was completely satisfied.

This is my second time buying a vehicle here in 3 years. Great staff and timely, not one of those all day car lots. Both purchases I made was about an hour each. Easy breezy. Sales person this time was TREY PRICE. He was fantastic, young energetic, ready to make you a deal. Go see Trey at Don Franklin in bardstown. Also I texted him after hours and he responded, and he came in on his day off to finish my paperwork. Highly recommended Trey Price for you vehicle purchase

Trey was amazing! We were able to test drive multiple vehicles and he stayed well past closing to answer all of our questions. We looked around at other dealerships after our first visit to Don Franklin in Bardstown, but ultimately, it was Trey's excellent customer service that made us return to buy our new Buick.

I researched new vehicle makes for over a year. Next, my wife and I decided to purchase the 2025 Buick Encore GX Avenir FWD as listed on the Don Franklin Bardstown KY Chevy Buick website. After chatting on the website and texting employees about purchasing this car, I set up an appointment. Our salesman, Josh Barrett greeted us as when we arrived. In his office, he showed a document which highlighted the numbers which we wanted. Next, we got a thorough overview of the car and took it for a test drive. When my wife and I returned, we processed the documentation with Josh and Chris Hammer. We have been loyal Don Franklin customers since 2013 and this vehicle purchase is number 6 and this DF dealership is the 4th. If you need a Buick, see the Don Franklin Bardstown dealership. We are happy customers and will purchase from them again. Thank you Josh Barrett and Chris Hammer!!!

Josh was very friendly and knowledgeable about the SUV that we purchased. TJ was personable explaining all of the paperwork we signed. He gave us some history about Don Franklin which was appreciated.His kind words toward Don Franklin gave us assurance that we were at the right place to purchase a vehicle. Highly recommend Don Franklin.

Out Tahoe went down the day before leaving for vacation so we had it towed to the Bardstown dealership. Jen in service took the task of getting it fixed before we returned. We found out the transmission was out and had to have a new one. They got it replaced and ready for pick up before we even got back.Don Franklin dealerships have always been customer service oriented in all my experiences there. We have bought several vehicles from them and so have my children and other family members. Keep up the good work!!

Great experience. Church is the man! Responsive, timely, and polite. Shuffled through truck after truck until we found the right one. I would buy from again!

Excellent service. Friendly folks and quickly repaired the issue with my car. Not sure about pricing but they
Kept me posted before doing anything.

The FM radio in my 2023 Colorado didnt work when i purchased it. Service ordered the part and after a week it had not come in nor did they know a time. I was told there was nothing they could do. Tanner Richmond stepped in and stepped up. He went above and beyond to locate the part and set it up to be fixed so I didn't have to continue to wait to enjoy my new truck.

Church was great. I got to test drive multiple cars to find the perfect one. Will definitely ask for him in the future for any vehicle needs!

Be ware of don franklin dealers. They use payment calculator on sites, an car value ones to get in door an switch cause they dont go by thst. Dealer in burksville ky lady name brenda told personally on phone they don't use same appraisal process. Well don't have it on ur sight or affiliate with sight if ur not gonna honor it. Sales man at Bardstown will tell u what u want hear. Just to sell car. If you ask question an they don't answer be ware. I had re wrote the review here an kinda over looking what happened. But when I was contacted by some one at dealer bout take my review down. No people should know what doing. When they low ball me on trade I said something bout there sight quote price. They tried come back by say I'm gonna get tax credit an b like getting more for truck. Wrong u already figured tax credit in. Watch there games. Very pushy pressure car dealer. Still got dealer text me to change review, just because u tried make it right. U was still dishonest. An second when spoke to them yesterday. He was like this used vehicle with no warranty Id hate see it leave have issues, it's higher mileage. Talk bout protection plan on it. But why u gonna say it like that. It'd 2016, of course no warranty, sticker on window. Gives u feeling something not right bout car. Why this just coming up in conversation. Ur site doesn't offer a protection plan cause it's older. Hmm. Strange stuff. Just stay away people. Wanted to add on to this been received letters from where they ran credit. An real odd. Why they asking for loan amount over $3000 of what vehicle price, taxes etc, an trade in value. The amount u requests determine rate an payment. An yes them do credit runs, does show up as hard inquiries. An it affects ur credit score.

*Long post warning!*

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for this dealership.

I got caught needing a car in the middle of the pandemic, so I fell victim to the insane pandemic prices on used cars. I had a great first year with the car I got at another big name dealership, but the last 2.5 - 3 have been an absolute nightmare. Issue, after issue, after issue. Not little ones either! I'm still paying off a $3500 repair bill, and that's as much as I was quoted to trade it in at several dealerships. My whole family live in WI, so back up transportation does not exist. I've spent far more on rental cars than I ever should have, ESPECIALLY because of how much money I still had left to pay off the car. I knew there was no way my car would last the several years left on the loan I had.

I knew it was going to be a stretch, if not impossible with my negative equity, but I needed to get into a safer and more reliable vehicle. I spoke to 2 other big name KY dealerships and was told it was impossible to get into a better car with all that negative equity, no money down, and stay in my monthly payment range. After several rounds of negotiations with those dealerships over several long days, the very best they both could do was $2,000 down, a payment $150 over my max, FOR A USED CAR WITH 110,000 MILES ON IT! To say I felt trapped, discouraged, etc., is an understatement.

So I went back to the drawing board and came across a used vehicle on the Don Franklin - Bardstown that looked perfect. Their online payment estimator gave me a general idea of what I'd be looking at for a monthly payment, with my trade and negative equity, and there was hope. It was quoted right at my perfect budgeted amount! Brandi was absolutely phenomenal in answering my emails and phone calls with my questions and got me in the hands of salesman Josh Barrett. I came in to test drive the car I was looking at, and explained to him my tight situation. I was prepared for the same answer I got from the 2 other dealerships. After I explained all of that, credit was ran, etc, Josh said for the used car I was looking at, it likely wouldn't work. Before I could even think to myself " okay now what", he said he had an idea about a brand new 2025 Buick Encore that had some eligible discounts that would help shave off a just under half of my negative equity. Test drive was an absolute dream, but I was prepared for the payments to still be too high. After everything was ran, submitted, and all said and done: Josh came back with a trade in value for my current car almost $2000 higher than the other dealers, a loan gor the new one with a respectable interest rate, a monthly payment less than $90 over my max payment, with no money down. Again: this was for a BRAND NEW vehicle WITH me still having a sizable amount of negative equity. After some number crunching on my end, I realized I could and would make this work financially. The release of the burden of having an unreliable car, was worth that extra $90, ESPECIALLY because I was getting into a new vehicle. Josh truly performed miracles!

I cannot thank him, Brandi, and Chris in finance, enough for what they did for me today. From the second I picked out that initial used car online: I was given hope. There aren't enough words to express my gratitude, and my family's! We are all able to rest assured knowing I have a vehicle now that is safe, reliable, and will last me for a very long time to come. I will absolutely be referring people to this specific branch of Don Franklin!

The people. Mr. Mike Wimsatt was very helpful throughout the entire process. I was out of state, and he was able to answer all of my questions and send me all the photos to help me make a decision. Flew in yesterday and picked it up. Also Mr. Bobby Chesser, picked me up from the airport. Appreciate both of you gentleman, thank y’all for your help.

We had a great experience at Don Franklin in Bardstown purchasing our new-to-us car. Brandie Adkins and Joni Walters were very attentive to replying to my husband's inquiries via email. They were speedy in having the car, a 2021 Lincoln Corsair, moved from the Etown lot to the Bardstown lot for us to come look at. We didn't arrive until apx 535pm on a Friday and they close at 7pm. At no point did we feel rushed in our experince. Stephen Tichenor was our salesman. He was very nice and personable. He was not pushy in any way. He was very respectful as to what we were interested in and didn't try to sway us one way or another. He answered all of our questions without being condescending and in a way that we could understand. Chris Hammer, the F & I manager, was very kind and courteous, as well, and took his time explaining all of the paperwork to us even though it was past 7pm and we know that he had other, family things waiting on him. Most of all, both Stephen and Chris were both very kind and accomodating to our 7 year old daughter and helped her to enjoy herself as much as a small child can during the purchase of a car.
The whole process was completed within about 2.5 hours, the process with painless and as enjoyable as numbers and paperwork can be and we left with a very nice vehicle that we love and at a decent price. Thank you to all the folks at Don Franklin in Bardstown who helped us! If and when we are in the market for another vehicle, we will definetely check out Don Franklin in Bardstown, first.

Devin Boone was a great person to deal with. Great experience until the end of the deal with the finance department. He was very rude and extremely unprofessional. At a time that should be joyful, it was a long ride home beginning upset. He took our money, but also took our joy of owning a new vehicle. I can't put into words how disappointed we were. You work so hard to get to this point in your life and is taken away by a person that should be happy that your spending your money at their dealership. Will not let him take our joy, but will not shop at that dealership or recommend them to anyone we know.

Great place if you want to turn around and bring your vehicle back in to be fixed after having it serviced because they didn’t do the job the first time around. It used to be such a great dealership and service department, now it has gone down hill and is absolutely a nightmare. They charged us for replacing an engine filter, yet never replaced it. They also didn’t put in enough oil during an oil change. When doing a coolant flush they didn’t put the ring back on, so all of the coolant leaked out and we had to tow the vehicle back to the dealership and have it redone. It’s beyond frustrating to deal with them, save yourself the trouble.

I have had mixed experiences with Don Franklin. Years ago, Tanya Larue was incredibly helpful in assisting us with a new Chevy Malibu purchase and even a subsequent OnStar issue. We were very satisfied with that experience.

However, our recent experience was quite opposite. While Tanner was pleasant to work with, our interaction with David Brown, the manager, was unfortunately disappointing. We were interested in a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, but were concerned about its history, which included a previous accident, a coolant leak, and a service engine light. They told me that they couldn't read the service code (although Autozone was able to pick it up with one of the scanners that they sell). Despite these issues, the vehicle was priced at $27,000 with an extended warranty. They have it advertised on their website for $19,497. When we expressed our concerns about the pricing, Mr. Brown's response was condescending and dismissive. He questioned my knowledge of the automotive market and stated that he knew everything. He also stated to the three of us that Don Franklin's advertised powertrain warranty is garbage and was not worth the paper that its printed on. Those were his exact words. Even though the powertrain warranty that they advertised on their website is garbage in his words, this vehicle did not qualify for it. I could not find anything on the website as to why it would not qualify.
That right there was probably the final push to leave. If Don Franklin's advertised powertrain warranty is garbage, I don't have any confidence in buying a used (or new) vehicle from them in the future. David not only lost a potential sale from my daughter's friend, who I was helping purchase a car, but he lost me, my daughter, her friend, and potentially all of our family and friends in Bardstown. Bardstown is a small town and reputation goes a long way. You do not want to tarnish it with these antics.

While we understand the challenges of the used car market, we believe that treating customers with respect is essential. Ultimately, we found a 2019 Subaru Outback from Oxmoor Mazda, which met her needs and budget. And above all, we were treated with respect and dignity.

We hope that Don Franklin will take this feedback into consideration and strive to improve customer experiences.

From the purchase of my vehicle to the first time having it serviced, I have had nothing but excellent care and professionalism! Would definitely recommend!!!

Excellent service advisor, really helpful and knowledgeable. Service was complete and timely. These folks know how to treat customers. I drive about 45 minutes to this place rather than get poor service locally.

The staff are always friendly and the service is always fast!! Plus it doesn’t hurt that you get free coffee while you wait!

I brought my truck it fix a problem with battery drain. It won't start without jump after a few hours sitting. I paid $2000 to have the issue diagnosed and fixed along with a fee other issues. Next morning I am ready foe work and guess what no start! What a joke 2k and I still can't get one simple problem fixed. This is not my first issue with them but it will definitely be my last.

My experience this past weekend was a great experience. The staff was very friendly, and very knowledgeable about the individual needs of my truck. I was kept well informed throughout the entire visit of my truck. High customer service level is exactly what I experienced.

Thanks

Satisfied Customer

Matthew McGinnis