Good experiences at car dealerships?

[mav]

I wanted to post a review I did for Economy Honda Chattanooga this evening.

My review:
In 2006 I purchased a brand new Accord to drive back and forth to work. I now have over 200k miles on my car, so it has seen a lot of service from Economy Honda over the past 6 years.

I dropped my car off at the service department around 7:00 am on 12-7-12 for some major service work, i.e. replace timing belt, etc... I informed the associate that I was dropping my car off for the major service work, and that I would also like them to take a look at the brakes because I knew they needed to be replaced. I was told (paraphrasing), "Okay. We will take a look at it." Having a done a major service work 100k miles ago (~ 3 years), I roughly knew what the cost was going to be. I was expecting my bill, which included the brake work, to be over $1000.

Around 2:00 PM I received a call from one of the service managers who informed me that I need new brakes and a brake system flush something or other, and he provided me with the price. I approved the request because I knew it needed to be done.

Around 5:00 PM I received a call informing me that my vehicle was ready. I drove to the dealership and went in to pay my bill. Once I was handed my bill, all I could say was holy expletive. I knew my bill would be high, but sheesh, $xxxx for service.? I wasn't mad about the bill, because I knew it would be high, and I am certain that everything that was done needed to be done. I was a little irritated that I wasn't informed of everything that was to be done and the total cost. It was irritating because if I had the information up front, and since I was having so much done, I could have worked on negotiating a discount.

I have to say that your cashier is outstanding. She insisted that I speak to a manager to explain everything before paying my bill. That is excellent customer service and should be commended.

Several minutes later, I met one of the service managers (the same one who talked to me about my brakes). He was very apologetic and professional. I told the service manager that I was not mad at all about paying the bill, but I wish I had been informed on what all was to be done and the total price so I could have asked for a discount. It is much easier to negotiate a discount beforehand than it is after the work has been completed. Your service manager was very courteous, and told me that he wanted me to be happy and that he would see what he could do.

Several minutes later the service manager returned with a revised bill. I was absolutely stunned. $xxxx. There is no way whatsoever that I would have imagined that the price would be cut that much. I immediately said, "Sold." It has been a crappy week, and it was going to end with me spending a lot of money. I still spent a lot of money, but I was smiling all the way home. In fact, I am still smiling as I am writing this review.

My only complaint, and it is a minor one, was the lack of communication. It would have been nice to be informed of everything that was to be done and the total price. This would have alleviated the distress brought on by sticker shock.

Overall, this experience was really positive as it always is with Economy Honda. Over the last six years, I have had nothing but excellent service from both service departments. I wouldn't have liked it, and I would have griped about it for a week to my friends and relatives, but I would have paid the original amount. Even if I had paid the original amount, I would have still continued to be a Economy Honda customer because the service has been that good.

I have never done a review or customer satisfaction survey before, but after this experience I felt it is incumbent on me to write a letter of appreciation.

End of review

I marked out the actual costs, but the original cost was shocking, and how much they cut was more shocking.

Have any good experiences with car dealerships?

[Raoul]

I tried to buy a car at Toyota of Bristol. Everything went well until they told me I had to sign an Arbitration Agreement to buy the vehicle. Then it got ugly.

[Erik88]

I bought a 2012 Toyota Rav4 back in April. We had a terrible experience at the first dealership and we walked out. We drove to another dealership and I told the guy exactly what I wanted with no BS.

It ended up being a great experience. I plan on buying a Tacoma in a few years and we will go back to the same dealership.

[Patton]

As a former car salesman it is apparent in my findings that Economy Honda may very well be the most well run, professional dealership I have ever come across. Slowly about 50%of the car salesman that I actually respected and thought were good people have found there home at Economy. It is about the only dealership I have seen that actually does all the candy coated crap dealerships claim they do.
Long story I was looking for a standard cab Tacoma with low miles. A friend over there at Economy called and said they traded for one. I went and looked at and they said we got to have it looked at. Bad news, it showed signs of water damage, clean Carfax though(not a surprise), so they sent it to the auction. Another friend at a dealership across town called and said they just got a perfect Tacoma and it's been inspected and serviced;)

[Patton]

As a former car salesman it is apparent in my findings that Economy Honda may very well be the most well run, professional dealership I have ever come across. Slowly about 50%of the car salesman that I actually respected and thought were good people have found there home at Economy. It is about the only dealership I have seen that actually does all the candy coated crap dealerships claim they do.
Long story I was looking for a standard cab Tacoma with low miles. A friend over there at Economy called and said they traded for one. I went and looked at and they said we got to have it looked at. Bad news, it showed signs of water damage, clean Carfax though(not a surprise), so they sent it to the auction. Another friend at a dealership across town called and said they just got a perfect Tacoma and it's been inspected and serviced;)
Guess which Tacoma it was.

[dlm37015]

i buy ford superduty trucks from a ford dealer in alaska pick yhem up in louisville at the plant with the x plan i can buy them for much less than nashville

[Just2Honor]

Maybe "good experience" and "car dealership" are an oxymoron.

[JPR1959]

Honda went with timing chains years ago. I've never heard of anyone having to have one replaced. Did you mean serpentine belt? That's an easy DIY fix. It took about 20 minutes.

[kieefer]

My wife bought a new 2000 left-over Camry from Rivergate Toyota, overall this was a good experience. All the service I've done myself so I can't speak for their service dept.

Personally I haven't bought a new car since 89 and that was my last bad dealer experience.
When there was a Capital Chevorlet I bought a "new" S10 Blazer. The screwing or rather the buying as I recall was painless but the warranty work and service related to it was enough to drive me mad.

Thinking that this SUV had been around long enough I had hoped all the problems were worked out, no so. The rear windows leaked water, numerous electrical problems all due to poor workmanship...from the factory and some caused by trying to fix the water leaks. Oil leaks that I never did get fixed, battery and alternator problems along with vacuum leaks related to the 4WD which resulted in trying to fix another oil leak. Several nicks and dings, inside and out from the mechanics working on it. They must of had a gorilla working in the interior because they broke a seat once, poked holes in two speakers. I made them clean the interior twice due to boot scuffs and dirty hand prints.

I sold it about three yrs later and bought a used Ford.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

We had bought 2 vehicles form Reeder Chevrolet in Knoxville within the last 5 years or so..One was a Chevy Avalanche and Chevy Silverado..NEVER had a problem with their service department.. Never.. for one minute did we think we where taken advantage off. Always nice and very accomodating.
bend over backwards to get our truck towed when we had a minor problem.. prices are very good for stuff we had to have fixed.. got a free rental out of it..
Prolly wont go anywhere else in the future

[mav]

[quote name='JPR1959' timestamp='1355000574' post='856961']
Honda went with timing chains years ago. I've never heard of anyone having to have one replaced. Did you mean serpentine belt? That's an easy DIY fix. It took about 20 minutes.
[/quote]

No, I did not mean a serpentine belt. This is what is replaced during a major service [url="http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/buy/products/354872-timing-belt-water-pump-kit-by-dayco-part-wp329k1a.html"]http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/buy/products/354872-timing-belt-water-pump-kit-by-dayco-part-wp329k1a.html[/url] Your statement is only partially correct. V4 Accords have a timing chain, whereas V6 Accords have a timing belt that needs to be replaced every 105k miles or 7 years.

[jcj]

[quote name='Sour Kraut' timestamp='1355002601' post='856971']We had bought 2 vehicles form Reeder Chevrolet in Knoxville within the last 5 years or so..One was a Chevy Avalanche and Chevy Silverado..NEVER had a problem with their service department.. Never.. for one minute did we think we where taken advantage off. Always nice and very accomodating.
bend over backwards to get our truck towed when we had a minor problem.. prices are very good for stuff we had to have fixed.. got a free rental out of it..
Prolly wont go anywhere else in the future[/quote]

My grandparents have bought two vehicles there. Reeder has always taken great care of them.

[SonnyCrockett]

I have bought plenty of new vehicles , i think the experience varys greatly from
Brand to Brand....Its un fortunate that some brands have really bad salespersons
because the mgt dont pay and the get the bottom of the barrel of professionals
but some,like my last GMC I bought in 2011 were fun experiences


I have one rule,always walk out after the test drive and make them sweat for a day before you buy anything

Edited December 9, 2012 by SonnyCrockett

[daddyo]

I'm one of those people who can't stand the car buying experience. I'd rather drive one till the wheels fall off than deal with some of those people. I have bought three vehicles at Carmax and had a great experience every time. The last three have been bought from family members who wanted to trade for new vehicles although their old ones had plenty of life left in them and were in excellent shape. Plus they took the hit on the first year depreciation, not me. Edited December 9, 2012 by DaddyO