I hate my dealership.. or at least my salesperson

[RobGood]

So, my wife bought a CR-V in 2012 from a local dealership (Waterloo Honda) in Ontario, Canada, and has been having a bad experience there ever since, and I've had other people warn me away.

The problem, though, is that the dealership is 2 blocks from work, so it's incredibly convenient.

I've been watching the forums for months and patiently waiting my turn to purchase a Civic and I've now becoming frustrated with the experience due to really bad customer service. I just need to vent, so feel free to ignore this thread if you'd rather not read a rant.

I went in a week ago Saturday, and met with a rep; did a test drive, played with the features, it was pretty awesome. (Especially, coming from the '03 Dodge SX R/T that I'm currently supporting)

We get to the deal room and he gives me a number (I went financing for 36 months with a few thousand down). I dance the dance, and get the trunk protector, better floormats, and a "discount" on my weekly payment, amounting to about $150.

So, I ask him for a moment while I talk it over with my wife. Something didn't sit right with me so I loaded up my phone and put the same numbers into Honda's online calculator. Based on that, I figured out he was charging me about $700-800 over MSRP, and throwing in about $400 of "perks" for "free".

I should have walked right there, and I feel dumb for not leaving.

So, I asked him about the discrepancy, and I got him to "honor" the online price (with the perks still included). At the end of the day, I discovered that he "forgot" about the additional $150 he knocked off the price. I should have also walked right there. Lots of little red flags going off.

During the pitch he went to his manager and found out that the model and colour that I was looking for was "on a truck and heading to his dealership really soon", so he expected it in early that week.

I sign.

Monday goes buy, nothing. Tues goes buy, nothing, so I give him a call and he says "it's not in yet" and quickly gets me off the phone.

Wednesday goes by nothing.

Thursday, nothing, so I email him and we have this discussion...

Me: "Sorry to bug, but just checking in on the status of my purchase. You mentioned that the car was on a truck and on it's way and that it should arrive early in the week, but we're closing in at the end of the week. Keep me posted. Thanks!"

Him: "Yes I did tell you that and it was slotted to land this week. My manager is out of the office today so I have no way of checking for you. I will speak to him tomorrow and see what the eta is for the vehicle"

Friday goes by, nothing. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, to practice marginal customer support, I wait until the end of the day before writing him back.

Me: "Any news?"

Him: "I have no news yet. I am sorry I cannot give you an update, believe me we want it here as badly as you do. I will update you as soon as I have information."

So, I try to tactfully call him out..

Me: "I'm a little confused. On Saturday you were able to tell me the colour and models that were on a truck and on its way to your dealership, but today you're unable to tell me anything? That doesn't make sense."

Him: "I am very sorry, what I told you was what the systems said. They have told me very little, the system says they are released and we are waiting for them to arrive. I have multiple customers all waiting for the first shipment. I will keep you updated as soon as they arrive, I know you're anxious to get your new civic."

I stopped talking with him at that point. Not that I'm shocked but, before he had my money, he was magically able to tell me everything I wanted to hear and had a solid line in what was in stock and when it was coming. But now that I've signed, that evil company no longer wants him to know anything!! What a sad situation for this poor, innocent salesman.

I feel used. He's made me feel that I am to that douche is a ATM from which to pull his next bonus.

Seriously, it's not that hard to do customer service right:

a) Don't lie to your client.
b) If you've promised your client something by a date and it's not going to happen, call and let them know. It will create the illusion that you care.

The weekend has come and gone, and so has Monday, and still nothing. And, sadly, I have no way to "un-buy" the car and go to a better dealership. Aside from trying to rip me off by selling over MSRP, he was a fairly nice guy... until I agreed to buy.

Worst part is that I haven't put winter tires on my existing cars, because the expectation was made that I'd have the new car buy now and nearly got into two different accidents this morning. Weee!

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Lesson learned. Avoid Waterloo Honda.

(Oh, and the really funny part of the whole thing... the salesperson that my wife dealt with and disliked... is now his manager.)

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[HondaMan]

You have not taken delivery and can back out of the deal!

You may check into that!

 

[Design]

This is why I only deal through fleet dealers or over email. Often times, too much drama and effort wasted on "negotiating."

Agree with the above recommendation. Worth a look if not already in the dealer's possession. GL.

 

[takemorepills]

Go to a friendlier dealership, negotiate on a car that is in stock.

Then, have all your warranty work /TSB's done by this dealership (not routine work that you pay for). They HATE taking care of "other dealers" vehicles!

 

[Golf6]

Go to a friendlier dealership, negotiate on a car that is in stock.

Then, have all your warranty work /TSB's done by this dealership (not routine work that you pay for). They HATE taking care of "other dealers" vehicles!

Seriously, why give these guys the business and profit. Give the business to someone more deserving.

 

[hondo]

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a terrible experience. We actually wanted to buy the new civic from there dealership where we bought our previous one. We have been very pleased with the service from them. But they didn't have the color we wanted on the lot. I was paranoid about putting money down on a car that's not there. Because of this we went to a different dealer that did have it on the lot. Before signing anything I make sure I laid eyes on it. Since it's not delivered yet, I would back out. Hopefully they won't give you too much of a hassle getting your deposit/down payment back. Best of luck.

 

[takemorepills]

Seriously, why give these guys the business and profit. Give the business to someone more deserving.

Yeah that's my point. I used to work at dealerships, they generally dislike doing warranty and TSB work on cars that were NOT bought from them, they don't really profit on such work. That's why I suggested he didn't have any retail work such as maintenance done at the "bad" dealer. Most dealers make their profit from the service department (retail work, not warranty) and used car lot (they never give you what you thought you got on a trade).

No sense in inconveniencing the OP for warranty/TSB work that can just be done at the closest Honda dealer.

 

[t3hub3rk1tten]

I've had a kind of similar experience with my dealer. The sales man said "less than 30 days" on 11/12, the on-sale date for the Civic. Then they said "we think by the end of the month." Now they said they got more info, the Touring production has been pushed back on the schedule, but "definitely before 12/20." But they were very clear the whole time it was an estimate. I knew the uncertainty going in, since I wanted the MSM Touring and wouldn't compromise on the color (so many whites, blacks, and silver Tourings near me, very little greys...). My dealer had it assigned, so it was sensible to just go with him and wait it out.

Really the only one in control is Honda. The guys on the floor get limited info (literally a sheet of paper with cars incoming, and a week-long expected delivery date, that can change easily or be early/late). However they should be letting you know, even if they don't have info. Get cozy with their manager! I've walked into the dealership a couple times now and the manager recognizes me, and I'll let him know if they aren't keeping in touch like they said they would.

You might also ask them to look into a dealer swap. I pushed my dealer to search around, and simply put they're all sold out. Production for everyone is delayed somehow. They've actually been getting calls asking if they would trade out my car.

 

[cdmta]

Hate MY dealership more. Was there to sign papers and we had a disagreement about dealership trade costs and the finance manager said "maybe you shouldn't by the car from us."
I grabbed my deposit check and walked out.
Could. Not. Believe he said that to me.
Won't ever be spending $ there.

 

[takemorepills]

Hate MY dealership more. Was there to sign papers and we had a disagreement about dealership trade costs and the finance manager said "maybe you shouldn't by the car from us."
I grabbed my deposit check and walked out.
Could. Not. Believe he said that to me.
Won't ever be spending $ there.

at least they cut to the chase and didn't continue to BS you

 

[hondo]

at least they cut to the chase and didn't continue to BS you

Sadly the bar has been set pretty low. Better uncooperative and honest than cooperative and dishonest though.

 

[t3hub3rk1tten]

Hate MY dealership more. Was there to sign papers and we had a disagreement about dealership trade costs and the finance manager said "maybe you shouldn't by the car from us."
I grabbed my deposit check and walked out.
Could. Not. Believe he said that to me.
Won't ever be spending $ there.

That's ridiculous! Wow.

I picked the highest-volume dealer in the region (mainly because I live next door). The salespeople are busy, but very friendly and helpful.

 

[cfochs]

I would back out of the deal if you still can. I understand that it is convenient, but that doesn't mean you have to purchase it there. I plan on purchasing my civic from whatever dealer is going to give me the best price, but I plan on having it serviced at my local dealership.

 

[Ultrafrozen]

I would back out of the deal if you still can. I understand that it is convenient, but that doesn't mean you have to purchase it there. I plan on purchasing my civic from whatever dealer is going to give me the best price, but I plan on having it serviced at my local dealership.

Good luck with that. There is a reason the service department ask if you bought the vehicle from them and it's not to find you in their system. They won't admit it (although some have) but scheduling dealer bought cars for service will always come before servicing vehicles bought elsewhere. I challenge anybody to prove me wrong! People are people and some are very petty. To this day, I have a Ford salesman regularly bring up a comment I made about the cheap plastic dash in a Taurus I test drove 20 years or so ago.

 

[takemorepills]

Good luck with that. There is a reason the service department ask if you bought the vehicle from them and it's not to find you in their system. They won't admit it (although some have) but scheduling dealer bought cars for service will always come before servicing vehicles bought elsewhere. I challenge anybody to prove me wrong! People are people and some are very petty. To this day, I have a Ford salesman regularly bring up a comment I made about the cheap plastic dash in a Taurus I test drove 20 years or so ago.

This is very true. I used to work in dealers, it happens at almost all dealers. Now, I have dealt with BMW and Infiniti dealers who treated me extremely well despite I didn't buy the car from them and the warranty was nearly expired. But with all blue collar makes, they do discriminate based on where you bought the car, AND they may go even further and discriminate on how cheap of a car you bought.

This is why I say never give an unfriendly dealer your money for normal services. Dealers make much of their profit off of retail vehicle service. If you pay for normal service on your car, take it to a dealer you like so they get the profit.
Then, take TSB and recall work to the dealer you don't like. Service departments don't get paid much for internal programs, and they will despise you even more!

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