Comprehensive Chicago Car Dealer Listing & Recommendations
07-11-2002, 07:03 PM
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Comprehensive Chicago Car Dealer Listing & Recommendations
Okay, since the question constantly seems to come up "where in the midwest can I get a good deal and who can I talk to", let's do our out-of-state brethren a favor and provide some centralized feedback. According to the Tribune, we've got the following Honda dealers in Chicagoland:
Airway Honda 773.582.5000
Carr's Honda 773.274.7777
Castle Honda 847.965.7070
Community Honda of Orland Park 888.671.1056
Crystal Lake Honda 847.382.7400
Fletcher Jones Honda 312.944.0500
Highland Park Honda 847.831.4200
Honda of Joliet 815.439.2222 or 630.420.7200
Honda of Lisle 630.852.7200
Jacobs' Twin Honda 866.630.4062
Motorwerks Honda 866.668.6796
Napleton Honda 708.430.0011
Pauly Honda 847.362.4300
Planet Honda 708.720.2700
Schaumburg Honda Automobiles 847.88.HONDA
Valley Honda 630.851.5700
If you have had any experience with any of these (sales, service, whatever), how about posting it here?
Airway Honda 773.582.5000
Carr's Honda 773.274.7777
Castle Honda 847.965.7070
Community Honda of Orland Park 888.671.1056
Crystal Lake Honda 847.382.7400
Fletcher Jones Honda 312.944.0500
Highland Park Honda 847.831.4200
Honda of Joliet 815.439.2222 or 630.420.7200
Honda of Lisle 630.852.7200
Jacobs' Twin Honda 866.630.4062
Motorwerks Honda 866.668.6796
Napleton Honda 708.430.0011
Pauly Honda 847.362.4300
Planet Honda 708.720.2700
Schaumburg Honda Automobiles 847.88.HONDA
Valley Honda 630.851.5700
If you have had any experience with any of these (sales, service, whatever), how about posting it here?
07-11-2002, 07:08 PM
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Well, I got my '02 at Valley Honda. All in all it was a pleasant experience, no haggeling involved at all, I just went in and told them how much I was willing to pay and that was it. I did use an ad from Grand Honda as price benchmark, so they knew that there was not going to be much discussion.
My experience with Grand Honda was not so great. The salesman definitely was trained in the Art of The Pressure Sale, and he just struck me as an untrustworthy weasel. I came, saw and left.
No experience/recommendation in terms of service, yet. I'll take the car in next week Saturday for the spark plug TSB; let's see what I have to say after that...
My experience with Grand Honda was not so great. The salesman definitely was trained in the Art of The Pressure Sale, and he just struck me as an untrustworthy weasel. I came, saw and left.
No experience/recommendation in terms of service, yet. I'll take the car in next week Saturday for the spark plug TSB; let's see what I have to say after that...
07-12-2002, 07:47 AM
#3
I purchased my '02 at Community Honda of Orland Park. I put my deposit down 3/12/02. I took delivery first week of May.
I shopped around during the winter time and got some really favorable quotes. Most under MSRP. I did encounter a few dealerships that said...we don't go under MSRP. Well....I told them it was ridiculous because 'everyone' else was quoting under. They usually were able to at least knock off $1000 after I told them that.
Community Honda really wanted my business. They did match the lowest offer I had and I went with them because they had the color I wanted coming to their dealership. I dealt with John Gordon...but his sales manager Al Yamane made the deal happen! My final price with destination/tax/title/licenses = $32,773.38
The delivery process was great. I called up Al and told him I wanted to be involved in the whole process. They called me when I was at work and told me the car is parked in the service bay with all the tape and covering on it. I left work immediately, came down there and was viewing the whole delivery process...(gotta make sure those spacer springs are gone!). The dealership is very new and modern. The service area is the cleanest I've seen. I recently had an oil change there (my first) and I decided to go with them because they didn't fail my test. I called up numerous dealerships to see how much they charged for an oil change and what type of oil they used. Many dealerships said "5W 30" and Castrol oil or whatever. Community Honda verified with me they will use "10W 30" and Honda Oil (Mobil)..from the quart bottles.
I was extremely happy with MY experience at Community Honda Orland Park.
Hope this helps other buyers.
I shopped around during the winter time and got some really favorable quotes. Most under MSRP. I did encounter a few dealerships that said...we don't go under MSRP. Well....I told them it was ridiculous because 'everyone' else was quoting under. They usually were able to at least knock off $1000 after I told them that.
Community Honda really wanted my business. They did match the lowest offer I had and I went with them because they had the color I wanted coming to their dealership. I dealt with John Gordon...but his sales manager Al Yamane made the deal happen! My final price with destination/tax/title/licenses = $32,773.38
The delivery process was great. I called up Al and told him I wanted to be involved in the whole process. They called me when I was at work and told me the car is parked in the service bay with all the tape and covering on it. I left work immediately, came down there and was viewing the whole delivery process...(gotta make sure those spacer springs are gone!). The dealership is very new and modern. The service area is the cleanest I've seen. I recently had an oil change there (my first) and I decided to go with them because they didn't fail my test. I called up numerous dealerships to see how much they charged for an oil change and what type of oil they used. Many dealerships said "5W 30" and Castrol oil or whatever. Community Honda verified with me they will use "10W 30" and Honda Oil (Mobil)..from the quart bottles.
I was extremely happy with MY experience at Community Honda Orland Park.
Hope this helps other buyers.
07-15-2002, 04:30 AM
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07-16-2002, 07:40 AM
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Scumburg Honda....their customer service in sales just down right SUCKS big. If you must buy from there, there are only two guys you should talk to: Craig Hedem, or Fabian Wright. I've bought 3 new cars from there, and sold over 40 cars for them via family and friend referrals.
Their service department just sucks period. I'm giving their service department a big "STAY AWAY" rating. In the past, each and everytime I've had to get warranty work done, or a family member has had to have warranty work done, they have never done a satisfactory job. A car has always had to be brought back in to their service department for a follow up repair, or fix what they broke service......again, if you must get your car fixed their, make sure Chris Pumbus is the only mechanic that touches your Honda. Although, when I got the seatbelt recall done, he did scratch up the interior pretty good, and left a few screws loose under the window well tray...so they sway back and forth annoyingly when I take left and right turns at speed.
I just kept going back to Scumburg Honda because they were close to the house (at the time), and their service department was open until midnight on weekdays.
The last straw was when I needed to get some warranty work, and TSB's done. I didn't have the time to take the car in, so I wrote everything down and let the wife (fiance at the time) take it in. About an hour after she went in, she called me from home. Her voice was quivering. I asked what was wrong, and she told me exactly what they said to her....they actually called her, "Little Miss" which she found very condescending. I kind of believed her and kind of didn't believe her. So with her on the phone, I three-way called the service department. I let her do the talking.
I couldn't believe what I heard! They actually yelled at her and said they didn't have time to explain the issues again due to the fact that she was in the service department just over an hour ago. He took more time to bitch at her then he did answering the questions she had asked. Finally, I was fed up. I yelled back at the service manager. He noted the "setup" right away, and with a response of "Who is this? What's going on?" he then hung up.
Ronica and I called back right away and got the same service manager by chance. In the background at the service department, I hear his co-workers laughing about the situation, and commenting on if the second phone call was "that bitch calling back again?"
When I heard that, in conjunction with the hang-up, I went off on Omar...ooops, I was going to try to avoid using his name. I let him know right away who I was (the whole dealership there knew me from the frequent visits, my relationship with helping sell so many cars, and my visits with the modded Lude (which brought more admirers on their lot)). He then tried to ratoinalize to me what the answers that he gave Ronica were and how she misconstrued some of what he said. I reminded him that I was on the phone when he asnwered what he answered and then corrected his answers with what the proper fixes were [for what she brought the car in for].
He tried to deflect his wrong actions by asking me when he can take a look at the car again. No deal! I cannot forgive nor will I forget what he said about my wife, how he treated her, and his pompousness.
I complained to all at the dealership, the general manager, AHM, BBB, and even had a talk with Bob Rohrman himself. They sent me free set of car mats for the S2K, a set of the "upgraded" black chrome emblems, and a booklet of free service coupons.
I didn't use one thing, and gave everything away. I visit from time to time, only talking to Craig or Fabian...but that's all.
Their service department just sucks period. I'm giving their service department a big "STAY AWAY" rating. In the past, each and everytime I've had to get warranty work done, or a family member has had to have warranty work done, they have never done a satisfactory job. A car has always had to be brought back in to their service department for a follow up repair, or fix what they broke service......again, if you must get your car fixed their, make sure Chris Pumbus is the only mechanic that touches your Honda. Although, when I got the seatbelt recall done, he did scratch up the interior pretty good, and left a few screws loose under the window well tray...so they sway back and forth annoyingly when I take left and right turns at speed.
I just kept going back to Scumburg Honda because they were close to the house (at the time), and their service department was open until midnight on weekdays.
The last straw was when I needed to get some warranty work, and TSB's done. I didn't have the time to take the car in, so I wrote everything down and let the wife (fiance at the time) take it in. About an hour after she went in, she called me from home. Her voice was quivering. I asked what was wrong, and she told me exactly what they said to her....they actually called her, "Little Miss" which she found very condescending. I kind of believed her and kind of didn't believe her. So with her on the phone, I three-way called the service department. I let her do the talking.
I couldn't believe what I heard! They actually yelled at her and said they didn't have time to explain the issues again due to the fact that she was in the service department just over an hour ago. He took more time to bitch at her then he did answering the questions she had asked. Finally, I was fed up. I yelled back at the service manager. He noted the "setup" right away, and with a response of "Who is this? What's going on?" he then hung up.
Ronica and I called back right away and got the same service manager by chance. In the background at the service department, I hear his co-workers laughing about the situation, and commenting on if the second phone call was "that bitch calling back again?"
When I heard that, in conjunction with the hang-up, I went off on Omar...ooops, I was going to try to avoid using his name. I let him know right away who I was (the whole dealership there knew me from the frequent visits, my relationship with helping sell so many cars, and my visits with the modded Lude (which brought more admirers on their lot)). He then tried to ratoinalize to me what the answers that he gave Ronica were and how she misconstrued some of what he said. I reminded him that I was on the phone when he asnwered what he answered and then corrected his answers with what the proper fixes were [for what she brought the car in for].
He tried to deflect his wrong actions by asking me when he can take a look at the car again. No deal! I cannot forgive nor will I forget what he said about my wife, how he treated her, and his pompousness.
I complained to all at the dealership, the general manager, AHM, BBB, and even had a talk with Bob Rohrman himself. They sent me free set of car mats for the S2K, a set of the "upgraded" black chrome emblems, and a booklet of free service coupons.
I didn't use one thing, and gave everything away. I visit from time to time, only talking to Craig or Fabian...but that's all.
07-16-2002, 08:00 AM
#7
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Crystal Lake Honda....another "stay away".
Their sales department is ok. If you go into the dealership knowing the car you are looking for and its value, you'll be ok. If you don't know appropriate car values, they will try to swindle you! Salespeople to ask for there are Jason and Patrick. I think Jason is the more genuine person, where as Patrick is a salesguy at heart...so he will try to make his money if you don't know what you're talking about.
Their service department is pure EVIL! They are such con artists. I was waiting for some follow-up work to be done on a recently purchased CR-V (which Scumburg Honda would have had a sale from me). As I waited for my car, I heard the same "hook, line, and sinker" routine on 2 individuals. One was an elderly lady in her 70's, the other was a late teens, early 20's girl. The elderly lady had a NEW CR-V (2002), and the girl had a NEW Civic (2001). They both got the "brake pads" need to be replaced routine, and the elderly lady also got the "the rotors also need to be replaced due to warping" routine.
I sat and listened to both women get the sales pitch at separate times. The CRV got an estimate of $650, and the Civic got an estimate of $400!!! He walked away to give the women some time to think about it. When the coast was clear, I told the ladies exactly what was on my mind. When the service rep. came back, I brought him into the conversation. The elderly lady asked the service rep. to show me the brake pads to see how they've worn and how the rotors have warped. He "couldn't" let me back in the service area due to insurance reasons.
Then the younger girl spoke up and asked that they put her car back together so that I could look at the car outside of the service area. The service guy responded that he was going to have to charge her for the inspection fee: $60! I asked the girl whether or not she asked for the inspection and why she brought the car into service. She brought it in for an oil change and hadn't asked for any inspection. I just looked at the service guy with a look on my face that stated what I was thinking..."You've got to be kidding"
I asked to see her invoice and what she signed off on for work to be done on the car. In fact, it was only supposed to there for an oil change. Then the elderly lady showed me her invoice. She was supposed to only be there for a follow up car wash and detail!!
I promptly gave the name, phone number, and address of Ed Wong and Elliot Faulkner at Motor Werks Barrington and told both of them to go there for a second opinion on the brakes.
Later on, I got yelled at from the service manager (I think his name is Bob) because they didn't care for me driving away business. In a calm, rational voice I mentioned that if he didn't hire con artists, I wouldn't have butted in. He asked me to leave the premises after I got my vehicle.
When I got home, I wrote up a professional letter to the BBB and AHM reporting Crystal Lake Honda, cc'ing it to Motorwerks Honda. One week later, Motorwerks Honda forwarded me a copy of all complaints AND lawsuits pended against Crystal Lake Honda Service Department via fax.
Their sales department is ok. If you go into the dealership knowing the car you are looking for and its value, you'll be ok. If you don't know appropriate car values, they will try to swindle you! Salespeople to ask for there are Jason and Patrick. I think Jason is the more genuine person, where as Patrick is a salesguy at heart...so he will try to make his money if you don't know what you're talking about.
Their service department is pure EVIL! They are such con artists. I was waiting for some follow-up work to be done on a recently purchased CR-V (which Scumburg Honda would have had a sale from me). As I waited for my car, I heard the same "hook, line, and sinker" routine on 2 individuals. One was an elderly lady in her 70's, the other was a late teens, early 20's girl. The elderly lady had a NEW CR-V (2002), and the girl had a NEW Civic (2001). They both got the "brake pads" need to be replaced routine, and the elderly lady also got the "the rotors also need to be replaced due to warping" routine.
I sat and listened to both women get the sales pitch at separate times. The CRV got an estimate of $650, and the Civic got an estimate of $400!!! He walked away to give the women some time to think about it. When the coast was clear, I told the ladies exactly what was on my mind. When the service rep. came back, I brought him into the conversation. The elderly lady asked the service rep. to show me the brake pads to see how they've worn and how the rotors have warped. He "couldn't" let me back in the service area due to insurance reasons.
Then the younger girl spoke up and asked that they put her car back together so that I could look at the car outside of the service area. The service guy responded that he was going to have to charge her for the inspection fee: $60! I asked the girl whether or not she asked for the inspection and why she brought the car into service. She brought it in for an oil change and hadn't asked for any inspection. I just looked at the service guy with a look on my face that stated what I was thinking..."You've got to be kidding"
I asked to see her invoice and what she signed off on for work to be done on the car. In fact, it was only supposed to there for an oil change. Then the elderly lady showed me her invoice. She was supposed to only be there for a follow up car wash and detail!!
I promptly gave the name, phone number, and address of Ed Wong and Elliot Faulkner at Motor Werks Barrington and told both of them to go there for a second opinion on the brakes.
Later on, I got yelled at from the service manager (I think his name is Bob) because they didn't care for me driving away business. In a calm, rational voice I mentioned that if he didn't hire con artists, I wouldn't have butted in. He asked me to leave the premises after I got my vehicle.
When I got home, I wrote up a professional letter to the BBB and AHM reporting Crystal Lake Honda, cc'ing it to Motorwerks Honda. One week later, Motorwerks Honda forwarded me a copy of all complaints AND lawsuits pended against Crystal Lake Honda Service Department via fax.
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07-16-2002, 02:12 PM
#8
Wow...that's amazing. It makes me sick, thinking about how many people are getting swindled by service depts out there. 
Be careful....get second opinions of an expensive job...and always have them show you the defective part...and show you the new one!
Be careful....get second opinions of an expensive job...and always have them show you the defective part...and show you the new one!
07-19-2002, 09:34 PM
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Carrs Honda 
(A+ customer service, look for Joe Keating or sales manager Wayne, they're both really nice.)
Community Honda (Nice ppl. willing to negotiate on price, look for Taylor Goodson.)
Grand Honda 
(Big and nice looking dealership but I heard ppl. have had some bad experiences with them. ok sales ppl...)
Castle Honda (DO NOT GO HERE!!! Sales manager AJ Mundell, attempted to sell me used for new car price.....long story....this guy is full of crap! Makes me mad just thinking about it. 
)
Schaumburg Honda (MSRP+) ...enough said...
(A+ customer service, look for Joe Keating or sales manager Wayne, they're both really nice.)Community Honda
(Nice ppl. willing to negotiate on price, look for Taylor Goodson.)Grand Honda
(Big and nice looking dealership but I heard ppl. have had some bad experiences with them. ok sales ppl...) Castle Honda
(DO NOT GO HERE!!! Sales manager AJ Mundell, attempted to sell me used for new car price.....long story....this guy is full of crap! Makes me mad just thinking about it. )Schaumburg Honda (MSRP+) ...enough said...