Bad experience at Honda West

[VWEvo]

Trading in the Avalanche for a Honda Odyssey as we are expecting our third child soon. Long story short, didn't have the exact buyout on my Avalanche when we negotiated the Odyssey. I knew it was $29000 + gst, give and take a couple hundred dollars. We agreed that when I found out the exact buyout they would adjust the price accordingly. We arrive on a settled price and I sign on the dotted line. The next day I get the exact buyout which turns out to be $28701.25 + gst. I had a security deposit which they then deduct from the total buyout to give a total of $29 436.31.

So I forward the dealership the exact buyout and get told my lease is going slightly up since the buyout is higher. They told me they included GST on the $29000 negotiating price. I clearly remember on the worksheet my salesman Keith D. used that it said $29000 +gst. I then went to the dealership to clarify the error. Keith D admitted yes it should have been $29 000 + gst. He discusses this with the manager, Robert, and they agreed it was an error on their part. The manager even comes out and apologizes for the misunderstanding and error on their part. I mentioned that the actual buyout is $300 less and includes my security deposit so there should be more money owed to me. He said that when I pick up the vehicle he will "personally check the math and make sure my money is my money".

Fast forward to today. I go to pick up the vehicle and sure enough they didn't bother to correct the pricing to reflect the lower buyout and security deposit. When I brought this to their attention they put me on the phone with the manager (not sure why he couldn't come in the room). He tells me that I'm not doing my math correctly and that I don't understand how this works. I explain to him that he is welcome to show me, but he said I won't find a better deal anywhere else. He said I can get my deposit back and walk away from th deal. So that is exactly what I did. However they said they can't refund my deposit until Wednesday.

The part that pisses me off is that I specifically went in 2 days ago to clarify everything at which point I was told they made an error. The salesperson Keith D for some reason told me he didn't make a cent off my deal and didn't really matter to him if I got the car or not.

Terrible experience please think twice if you are thinking about buying a car from Honda West.

[Maxt]

http://www.weswhite.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/shell-game-flash.jpg

Every time I go to negotiate a car deal it feels like I am dealing with one of those guys ^^^....
Except for Drumheller Chrysler, they were straight forward, no hassle, no bull..

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Glad you were able to walk away at least.

[max_boost]

That is lame. Why do they have to be like that. :nut:

[The_1]

Good thing you walked away!
I would have been pissed
You should go to Airdrie Honda and deal with Wayne
That's who I bought my accord from and he was able to give me a great deal

[FraserB]

Originally posted by VWEvo
The salesperson Keith D for some reason told me he didn't make a cent off my deal and didn't really matter to him if I got the car or not.


I got told this when I was shopping as well. He tried using it as an excuse for not going lower on the price, said at this price he makes no money and won't go lower. Walked away and oddly enough the next guy I dealt with was about to knock the last $1k off I wanted.

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by FraserB


I got told this when I was shopping as well. He tried using it as an excuse for not going lower on the price, said at this price he makes no money and won't go lower. Walked away and oddly enough the next guy I dealt with was about to knock the last $1k off I wanted.

I hate the games they try to play. I have dealt with awesome salespeople that are upfront and explain their cost, and what margin they need to make. I have no problem with that.

[shadowz]

Sounds like a waste of time, good thing you were able to walk away from the deal. Family member went in there as well with intentions of making a purchase he never came away from a dealership so angry

[Weapon_R]

Glad you walked away. Maybe he'll soon realize they aren't the only dealership in town.

[frozenrice]

Sorry to hear about your experience there. Keep us posted on how it goes with getting your cheque for your deposit.

[VWEvo]

well they have led me to believe that I am getting my deposit back on Wednesday. Hopefully they don't lie to me.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Sorry to hear that dude,

I've dealt with Kieth a lot over the years, I do have a hard time believing he was rude or misleading to you about anything. He is probably one of the fairest and most honest sales persons I know actually.

As for the department there that handles the lease details and financing, I am not a fan. I had a border line yelling match with them over my lease buyout last time I was in there (October this year). If that Robert guy is who I think it is, that is definitely the source of all your grief.

Sugarphreak,

You are correct, Keith was not rude, nor was he misleading. However, he admitted to the mistake of the misunderstanding of not including GST in the negotiated amount. What I do take issue with is the fact that he isn't supposedly making money on my deal so it didnt really matter if I got the minivan or not. Secondly, when the same issue came up on delivery date, he didn't do a single thing to help me out. As I left the dealership upset and disappointed, all he cared about was that it wasn't his fault this happened. Actually, it was because of him this all happened to begin with. He was more worried about himself then anything.

Two years ago I had the best experience I have ever had at any dealership. I was helping my father get a brand new X3 at BMW Gallery. Ryan (Redlyne_MR2) dealt with me directly. There was absolutely no bullshit, he was honest, upfront ,and made the process so simple and painless. Ryan isn't a salesperson, (he was the leasing manager), however, he was by far the best person I have dealt with and continue to deal with. I guess he has raised my standards of which a dealership should operate. On average I trade in a vehicle every year so I have plenty of experiences with many of Calgary's dealerships. I have never encountered such a terrible experience.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[heavyD]

Honda West is just another of the many dealerships in this city with absolutely no ethics. Anyone looking for a Honda should stay far, far away from this dealership.

[boxer23]

My friend recently financed a new CRV through Honda West and they actually did play a very similar trick of including and exluding the GST on the numbers to make it look more attractive until she came and picked up the vehicle at which point they told her that it didn't include GST and that the price is now higher.

[TomcoPDR]

Good on you for walking away Doc... Go see Nick Matusiewicz @ Village Honda

[ExtraSlow]

Good on you for walking away. Shame they didn't treat you better and it's wierd that they use lines like that on people. I had a good expereince when I bought an Odyssey there last spring, but they also used some pretty cheesy lines on me.

[bastardchild]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
Good on you for walking away Doc... Go see Nick Matusiewicz @ Village Honda

I personally do not recommend Nick M at Village Honda. He is a very shady character as he has cause a tremendous amount of loss to myself. He was a very close friend of mine until He crashed my BMW M3 just over a year ago (drinking and driving) and had it written off. He lied numerous times about getting it repaired and royally fucked me over about $13,000. The car sat outside tune dub for over a month and George had no idea who's car it was because Nick left it behind and went to Las Vegas. Nick also did not pay the tow bill so they tow truck drive kept the key and left the vehicle in the tune dub parking lot. When I talked to George at tunedub he said he never heard from the owner of the vehicle so nick pretty much lied about booking it in to get it repaired.

Rhys (redlyne_jr) can attest to this as he was the one who bought my salvage M3 for $7000.00. The whole tunerworks staff knows as well about this clown. If you want to get ripped off, go see him.

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by bastardchild


I personally do not recommend Nick M at Village Honda. He is a very shady character as he has cause a tremendous amount of loss to myself. He was a very close friend of mine until He crashed my BMW M3 just over a year ago (drinking and driving) and had it written off. He lied numerous times about getting it repaired and royally fucked me over about $13,000. The car sat outside tune dub for over a month and George had no idea who's car it was because Nick left it behind and went to Las Vegas. Nick also did not pay the tow bill so they tow truck drive kept the key and left the vehicle in the tune dub parking lot. When I talked to George at tunedub he said he never heard from the owner of the vehicle so nick pretty much lied about booking it in to get it repaired.

Rhys (redlyne_jr) can attest to this as he was the one who bought my salvage M3 for $7000.00. The whole tunerworks staff knows as well about this clown. If you want to get ripped off, go see him.

Oh man... Well, I bought 1 car from Nick and it's been smooth and cool... And another Beyonder bought a car, and Nick got the dealer to pay me a $100 customer referral.

But man, that's a shitty experience; the personal experience (and I'm guessing everyone would have a negative tag over their head in their personal lives at some point or anything).

But for sure, things that make you go hmmmm.

[78si]

As an alternative.. Contact Derek Kroeker at Village honda. I work with his father, he comes from a very good/honest family.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by VWEvo


Sugarphreak,

You are correct, Keith was not rude, nor was he misleading. However, he admitted to the mistake of the misunderstanding of not including GST in the negotiated amount. What I do take issue with is the fact that he isn't supposedly making money on my deal so it didnt really matter if I got the minivan or not. Secondly, when the same issue came up on delivery date, he didn't do a single thing to help me out. As I left the dealership upset and disappointed, all he cared about was that it wasn't his fault this happened. Actually, it was because of him this all happened to begin with. He was more worried about himself then anything.

Two years ago I had the best experience I have ever had at any dealership. I was helping my father get a brand new X3 at BMW Gallery. Ryan (Redlyne_MR2) dealt with me directly. There was absolutely no bullshit, he was honest, upfront ,and made the process so simple and painless. Ryan isn't a salesperson, (he was the leasing manager), however, he was by far the best person I have dealt with and continue to deal with. I guess he has raised my standards of which a dealership should operate. On average I trade in a vehicle every year so I have plenty of experiences with many of Calgary's dealerships. I have never encountered such a terrible experience.


Thanks Wally, really kind of you to say. :)

[Mitsu3000gt]

The best experience I've ever had buying a car was actually at Honda West. Gave me a great price, some free stuff, zero hassle, waived the "admin" fee without the usual arguing, and did every single thing we agreed upon by the time I came to pick up my car (touching up a rock chip, etc). They didn't even try to push protection packages/accessories on me. Very painless. Their service department has been excellent as well, so far.

Sorry to hear about your experience though. If you go looking through similar threads though, pretty much every dealership has people who have had multiple good experiences as well as bad ones. None of them seem to be perfect.

For those of you surprised by the dealer adding GST after, that is pretty normal. Same as any other store unless you've been specifically negotiating "all in" pricing, which is typically the route I take. The dealership doesn't make money off the GST, obviously. It's the 100% money grab "admin" fees you need to watch out for - you wont see that until you sit down to sign the papers. Just pretend to walk away from the deal and the fee magically disappears every time.

[urrforce]

you would think that now in 2013 businesses no matter what they sell would realise that poor customer service or not sticking to their word can hurt them so much with all the social media and methods of spreading bad experiences in dealing with them.

yes i understand that VWEvo can hit up any other honda dealer and close his deal if he wants and losing "one customer" doesnt really make a dent in honda wests bottom line but negative feedback adds up just odd that they (the businesses and sales people) dont wake up to that fact now.

[Sorath]

airdrie honda, look for patrick li or wayne luong. tell them kasem referred you. you'll get hooked up :)

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by bastardchild


I personally do not recommend Nick M at Village Honda. He is a very shady character as he has cause a tremendous amount of loss to myself.

When a scammer is telling you someone is shady... you better listen! :rofl:


Originally posted by Sorath
airdrie honda, look for patrick li or wayne luong. tell them kasem referred you. you'll get hooked up :)

Patrick was great to deal with. Even for a lowly little Civic LX.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


When a scammer is telling you someone is shady... you better listen! :rofl:



Patrick was great to deal with. Even for a lowly little Civic LX.

Took the words right out of my mouth :werd:

[rc2002]

+1 for Patrick Li.

I remember buying a phone from him on my corporate plan back when he worked for clear star. Must have been about 8 years ago now.

Excellent customer service. He actually delivered the phone on extremely short notice and even gave me a free bluetooth headset!

[VWEvo]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm still waiting on Honda West to refund my deposit as they promised.

[clem24]

Originally posted by bastardchild

He is a very shady character as he has cause a tremendous amount of loss to myself..

Karma's a bitch.

[VWEvo]

Honda West called me. They said that I was correct and that the security deposit on the previous vehicle should have gone back to me. They said that the deal is back on the table. Unfortunately there is no longer trust in the relationship and that I simply want my deposit back. I got another call back later and they said they were going ahead and processing my refund and to check my visa in a couple of days. So, at least Honda West admitted fault (twice) and for now it appears I am getting my deposit back. Its unfortunate that they let an otherwise decent experience go so badly at the negotiating stage. Hopefully the managment will be more upfront and accountable with their future dealings.

I ended up getting the Honda Odyssey from Okotoks Honda. They were super simple and easy to deal with. They did everything over the phone and at the end, gave me a better deal as well.

[Lex350]

The last deal I did for a vehicle was mostly over the phone even before I set foot in the dealership. I must say I prefer this approach. I find that over the phone less of the bullshit game is played. I can have a firm number before going in.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by VWEvo
Honda West called me. They said that I was correct and that the security deposit on the previous vehicle should have gone back to me. They said that the deal is back on the table. Unfortunately there is no longer trust in the relationship and that I simply want my deposit back. I got another call back later and they said they were going ahead and processing my refund and to check my visa in a couple of days. So, at least Honda West admitted fault (twice) and for now it appears I am getting my deposit back. Its unfortunate that they let an otherwise decent experience go so badly at the negotiating stage. Hopefully the managment will be more upfront and accountable with their future dealings.

I ended up getting the Honda Odyssey from Okotoks Honda. They were super simple and easy to deal with. They did everything over the phone and at the end, gave me a better deal as well.

Glad you stuck to your principles and it all worked out for you!

[max_boost]

Awesome news Doc.

That's the thing I don't get, how hard is it to cut the bs and run the numbers properly?

It's not like 6/2(1+2) where you the answer is ambiguous lol

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by spikers


Glad you stuck to your principles and it all worked out for you!

Thanks,

We still need to gtg and do some BBQ one of these days. I'm anxious to try your BBQ Pulled pork.

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by max_boost
Awesome news Doc.

That's the thing I don't get, how hard is it to cut the bs and run the numbers properly?

It's not like 6/2(1+2) where you the answer is ambiguous lol

Great, now you made my head hurt trying to do math!!! Damn you :banghead: ;)

[clem24]

Originally posted by max_boost

It's not like 6/2(1+2) where you the answer is ambiguous lol

Uh... Anyone who passed what, grade 4 math can do that. Answer is not ambiguous...

[FraserB]

Originally posted by max_boost
That's the thing I don't get, how hard is it to cut the bs and run the numbers properly?

Then they get all hurt and upset when you call them on it.

[bignerd]

Guess it just depends on the day. We have bought two Honda's from Honda West with no issues.

Mind you these were straight purchases with no trade-ins which simplifies things a little.

Don't think it matters though, you could have a great experience one day and go back the next and it sucks.