Potential customers: Read this entire review before visiting or buying anything from this dealership. It's long but you'll be thankful at the end.
I spotted a decent looking used 2010 silver Honda Odyssey touring edition minivan listed at this dealer and called ahead to make sure it was still there. The sales person told me it was still there but currently getting test driven. I told him that was ok, I still wanted to stop by and see what else they had. If the other person didn't buy it, I might.
An hour later, I was there. The sales person told me the car was still out on the test drive. Odd, but ok. I went out to look at other vehicles in their lot. But wait! There's that 2010 silver used Honda Odyssey touring edition! I went over to touch the hood to see if it was warm. Maybe it was just returned? No. Ice cold. It was never driven. I looked around the car, noting some issues that I will get into in a minute.
I went back in and brought up the fact that the van was not out being test driven (as I was told). I didn't like that I had been lied to. But a sales manager named Paul apologized and explained that they had misplaced the keys when they were replacing the battery and simply crafted that story to save face. So lying to a pitential client (instead of being honest) is their policy, I guess. Meanwhile, our sales guy asked another sales manager (Al) for help locating the keys, to which the sales manager replies "don't talk to me about the damned keys". This guy comes into play later in this review, stay tuned for that...
They located the keys after 10 minutes and I agreed to go for a drive. The van drives well, except for a high speed shake between 55 and 70. So the wheels weren't balanced properly... Or worse (wait for it). It looks decent, except that the front bumper looks... Odd. Like it has a sun burn. The clear coat is peeling off and the edges of the bumper don't match the fenders well... Not to mention the color wasn't exact. Even if it's the same silver, paint ages different over time. Could be a salvage bumper. I looked inside the hood and inside the wheel wells... Hoping to not spot front end damage. The engine bay looked clean. Too clean... Body shop clean. The front fender wells had brand new plastic cladding. Not a spect of dust or dirt. Brand stinking new on both sides. The rear wells? Dirty. Just like a car with 80k should be. Odd.
I go in and offer the dealer a reasonable offer. They wanted 14k plus taxes and tags and some ridiculous fee called "pdi". (PDI is their fee to change fluids, wipers, and detail it. You know... All the stuff they should do anyway because they're trying to sell the car! An oil change, wipers, amd detailing isn't worth $1,000.) Total cost for a 9 year old used van? $17,000.
Keep in mind, fair market value was $11,500 to $14,000. So we countered at $14,500. I brought up the obvious issue with the damaged and likely swapped bumper and wheel wells and the sales person goes to get the sales manager.
The guy from earlier who yelled at our sales person about not bothering him about keys comes walking over and introduces himself as Al. I introduce my family and he immediately stars off with the sales tactic I like to call negging. He tells us we are being unreasonable, low balling them 2k under their price. I told him they were asking the top range of fair market value and that the van had some issues that made it less than perfect condition. I explained the bumper was questionable and that there were parts that had been replaced that would only have been if the van had been in a front end collision. I explained the fact that there was no report of that on carfax means the previous owner did it under the table and I didn't feel comfortable paying sticker price for something that could have been in a wreck. He countered with this..
"So what if it has new cladding in the wheel wells? Thats new parts, that's a good thing".
I immediately ended the negitiation because if the sales manager can't understand that new body parts and a mismatched, flaking bumper don't warrant negotiation, I didn't want to buy from them. I tried explaining that to him because he was getting pushy, but he called me unreasonable. Then he started to get very loud and offensive. I reminded him that he was acting like that in the middle of his dealership, in front of many other clients. It was uncalled for and highly inappropriate.
To my sales guy and the first sales manager, Paul. You both were decent. You didn't have to craft a lie because you lost some keys, honest is the best policy. But I get it.
Al, you cost your dealership the sale. You would have been better off telling me right up front that you'd have your guys inspect it and certify that it was in good condition. You could have offered to meet me in the middle on price. Instead, you insinuated that I was being cheap. Pushy sales tactics don't work on everyone, Al. Especially people who undrstand cars. Know your client. read more