StanTheMan

I'd rather buy a Stook, but my wife wants a new Civic--and maybe an Odyssey too. We're new to the area. Any recommendations from peninsula S2k owners regarding quality of local Honda dealers (I see some good words about Los Gatos Honda). Any particular sales reps that have treated you well? Any recommendation on buying services via internet?

passleft

Well Stan, the Civic Si is quite fun, but it aint no stook...

I used to live in redwood city, and didn't have any good experiences with menlo honda. they were rude and their service department was more than ready to charge for things I didn't need.

On the other hand, I looked at the Civic Si at Anderson Honda when they first came out and they couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. I didn't buy the car at the time (was waiting for the stook), but they were excellent there, and bragged about how they were the only dealer in the area that didn't mark-up the odessey.

Anderson Honda
http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=Typ&ta...122.235298&cs=4

Then again, I went to Santa Rosa (Manly Honda) to buy my stook. Fred "Derf" does internet sales, and he was great about dropping the mark-up and letting me know when all the stooks were in and was honest about trade-in prices. http://manlyauto.com/

good luck!

malachi

might want to check out Josh's DB. there is some data about dealers in there.

Serramonte was OK, but not great.

yu888

I know that Berkeley is a little bit out of your way, but if you are willing to drive a bit, call Kip Siegal (General Manager) of Doten Honda in Berkeley and tell him that Ed Yu (yu888) with the S2000 referred you. He will take care of you. 510-843-3704. Good luck and welcome to the area!

CaliS2K

Another endorsement for Anderson Honda. I didn't buy my S2K there (was living in L.A. at the time), but since I've been up here, I have had it serviced exclusively at Anderson. Its service department is great - very customer satisfaction oriented. They have gone out of their way for me more than once. Ask for either Jim or Aaron (sp?), who are both good service writers (especially Aaron). Their head S2K technician (in case you buy one) is Chris. He is very knowledgeable. Good luck.

ST

I've had quite a few experiences from all the local Honda dealerships around here:

- Los Gatos Honda: Bought my Accord EX V6 Coupe from them. They were being pricks about the pricing, until I gave them an ultimatum ready to walk away. They budged pretty quickly afterwards Overall, it's a small dealership with good sales people but very anal retentive management.

- Autowest Honda (Fremont): These guys were the nincompoops. I had stopped by one night, because I heard they had an Odyssey in stock ready to go. I was prepared to pay over MSRP because it was a Bday present to my wife. The sales guys thought I was some punk kid or something (I'm 24) teasing them. I was quite pissed and told them if they wanted to deal or I leave. Sure enough, I got the next Odyssey in line (with my color choice, but unfortunately not option - could't wait 8 months for an EX model). I also went by here when I was inquire around for my Stook. Again the idiot sales guys thought I was some young dweeb and laughed when I said I wanted MSRP. Idiots...

- Anderson Honda (Palo Alto): I had a pretty bad experience with them. I called up and talked to a sales guy about the S2K. We talked about pricing and everything over the phone ahead of time, and had the impression they were willing to budge. I got there ready to negotiate when there sales manager told me they can't do any lower than $39k!!!!! Needless to say, I left very peeved for wasting my time! I also did an internet query later on, and they told me back they couldn't go any lower than $37K. A week later I receive an mass emailer tellling me that for one day only, they would do $35K! Bastards...

- Capital Honda (San Jose): These guys weren't half bad, depending on who you talked with. The sales guy there actually let me test drive a Stook full out (albeit it was used one). The pricing was reasonable $38K with tons of options, but I wanted MSRP without any options. I almost cooked a deal with them, and still would recommend them, since their sales manager seems to be very reasonable.

- Stevens Creek Honda (Santa Clara): The sales people here are idiots. I was shopping for one of the new Civics for a bud, and the guy just thought I was a punk again. After he saw me go back to my S2000, they all rushed over to help me....idiots. Sales manager there is very nice and willing to negotiate though. I got the price of the S2000 there down to $35K (when everyone else wanted $39K) without much effort. Too bad I wasn't ready to purchase at the time.

- Larry Hopkins Honda (Sunnyvale): I originally was on the initial waiting list here. Everything went pretty smooth with the deposit and everything else. They were very friendly and helpful getting me setup to purchase the Stook. It was too bad that they priced it at $42K when it finally came.

- Val Strough Honda (Seaside): I ended up purchasing my S2000 from them. My bank provides a free search to help me with car pricing and referred me to them with a no haggle $1K over MSRP with 5 year warranty (meaning it was MSRP essentially). Easiest transaction I've done yet, and the fleet manager there is very nice and helpful! I would highly recommend it. I forgot the fleet managers name, but just ask.

I usually check out Carsdirect.com to do some checking on current "market price" and then negotiate at the dealer from there. Good luck!