| Author |
Message |
    
Ninanic
| | Posted on Thursday, March 8, 2001 - 7:03 pm: |     |
I'm interested in hearing about others' experiences with local car dealers, both good and bad. I'm particularly interested in Honda and Toyota dealers, also in hearing about experiences with buying a certified pre-owned vehicle in the area. I've already heard two negative reports about the Ford dealer on Springfield Ave. Thanks. |
Livinwestwless
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 10:12 am: | |
I have been really happy with Douglas Ford/VW in Summit. Very straight forward, no razzle dazzle, and they want your business. Plus, they're close to the train if you have to drop the car off for servicing. |
Johnjdel
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 11:07 am: | |
I've been a Honda owner for a long, long time. locally, Route 22 Honda in Hillside is my choice.
Planet Honda on Rt 22 in Union is a downright scary place. You'll walk out of there with a car, but no underwear if you're not careful.
The dealer at Route 22 Honda in Hillside is OK. The dealership is certainly not much to look at, and the salesmen are just that: salesmen. Its kind of like choosing your own method of torture.
BUT BUT BUT..the Service Department at Route 22-Hillside is STELLAR. I've always been treated fairly, and in a timely manner. They've had virtually no management turnover in the Service Dept in the 6 years I've been going there, which tells me something good. |
Napes
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 11:58 am: | |
We just bought a new Honda Odyssey in January. Let me tell you a bit about our experience, which I think illustrates a bit about some local Honda dealers. The Odyssey is a particularly hot-selling Honda; it's tough to find them for test drives let alone to buy, and you can forget about paying less than sticker price. We went to Planet Honda first, where they had one beige Odyssey left in stock. We testdrove it, liked it, but were in no mood to settle for a beige one (it was one of our least favorite colors for the car, mainly because the beige interior would last about 5 minutes with our kid and big dog). The dealer proceeded to harangue us over and over about how this was "our last chance," and if we didn't buy this one, "we'd be waiting for three to six months" for another one, and how there "weren't any other Odysseys around for miles," and how "you'll regret it, because it will be sold by the end of this day," etc., etc. Then he wanted us to buy it at about $2000 OVER sticker price! We left, feeling a little harrassed, and went home to make some calls to other Honda dealers. Indeed, Odysseys were few and far between, but then we hit the gold mine: Route 22 Honda in Hillside - just down the street from Planet Honda - had two or three Odysseys IN STOCK, including the one in our first choice of color and trim line. We beat a path down there and test drove it. We had a female dealer, which was new to us and very nice...she was low-pressure, friendly, knew her product (and was amused at the Planet Honda guy's exhortations to buy his beige one OR ELSE). We decided we were pretty lucky to find our first choice of color, trim line, etc so we then bought it that day, for about sticker price (like any dealer, they did try to get us to pay more, but we negotiated them down). The Planet Honda guy, meanwhile, called us for days afterward trying to get us to come in and put in an order for an Odyssey. Since we bought the car, Route 22 Honda has been pleasant and helpful. Hope this helps. Sorry for the longwindedness. |
Mtierney
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 12:37 pm: | |
We have bought Hondas at Madison Honda, and more recently (98) at Planet Honda. We received good salesmanship, in our opinion, at Planet because we entered the show room armed with Consumer Reports printout we paid $12 for from the internet.
The salesman was courteous once he knew we had all the facts. We found their service OK, but hated the RT 22 location.
So, we have continued to have our cars serviced in Madison and think they are excellent.
What say anybody re the VW dealership on Springfield Ave.? Our 11 year old Honda was to be replaced in '01 (before reval) and I would love to have a Passat wagon. Ah well... |
Ril
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 1:03 pm: | |
AVOID Maxon on Rt 22! They sold me a used car, and then called a month later--I had to bring it back--the title hadn't cleared. In a way, I was lucky, because it had already been having electrical problems (a mechanic who looked at the car thought it might have been flooded at some point).
Planet Honda--overly aggessive salespeople; overpriced cars.
I liked Springfield Acura, on the other side of 22. They sell used cars of all makes. I didn't buy from them, but they were very nice. As a woman car-shopping alone, I often felt like there was a big target on my forehead--and Maxon and Planet Honda were condescending and rude. |
Bmpsab
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 1:48 pm: | |
We purchased our Honda Accord in 2000 at Route 22 Honda in Hillside. We too went armed with Consumer Reports printouts. They gave us a terrific deal on the car (better than what Consumer Reports told us would be our best deal) & they were very accomodating to our needs (we bought the car right before the closing on our house & they gave us a clause that promised if our house didn't close we could back out of the contract no questions asked). Hope that helps. |
Tracks
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 2:01 pm: | |
DCH on springfield ave has been great since they changed owners last year.... They have Mazda, VW and Audi
Mark |
Nohero
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 2:25 pm: | |
For Hondas, go with Route 22 Honda. I had the same feeling as Johnjdel about Planet Honda. The dealers at Route 22 will take their time with you. |
Villagenative
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 2:26 pm: | |
Watch the service at DCH. My VW auto window broke last year, and they replaced it. When I picked up the car, I luckily tried to open the door just after getting in (wanted to put something in the trunk) and nothing had been re-connected (the door handle, the up/down for the window, the lock). I ended up having to climb into the passenger seat to get out (not easy with a 5-speed!). The window is acting up again (the auto-up and -down feature is not working any more).
I also had my last oil change there, and they obviously did not put in enough oil. The car was 2 1/2 quarts low less than one month later.
I still use them, but I check the work before I leave the dealership. |
Ninanic
| | Posted on Friday, March 9, 2001 - 6:50 pm: | |
Wow! Thanks for all the great input. This helps alot. I think Rte 22 Honda will be my first stop.
(By the way -- no Toyota experiences???) |
New2so
| | Posted on Saturday, March 10, 2001 - 10:25 am: | |
We had a pretty good experience with Springfield Acura on Rte. 22 also. |
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