Find Honda Dealers in Albany, Oklahoma

OK, I put a deposit down on a '05 SE Pewter Pearl today. I think I got this deal right.... I chose dealerships from the Honda website and requested price quotes on the SE model, in Pewter Pearl only. One site let me put in an offer (Brewster Honda), which was $23,500 inc. destination. They accepted the offer and I called the internet sales rep. Nice guy. I explained to him that I needed a good positive Honda experience after the ordeal I went through with Lia Honda in Albany. I would definitely purchase the CR-V at 23,500, but could we discuss an options package? I had chosen several options before calling the salesman and priced them out on the internet. Armed with the lowest internet price I could find (www.autowebaccessories.com), I told the salesman that I am going to be buying these items, and I would GIVE HIM the first rights to selling them to me. I explained that I had put together an options package, and if he would meet the price, I would buy all the accessories from him, otherwise, I would just pay $23500 and buy them on my own (a little reverse sales, eh?? ;) ) In the end, it all worked to my favor. I had to come up like $85.00 from my offer, which I think was more than fair because this guy took everything I had to throw at him and he never acted like he minded one bit!! I am still wary about the delivery, though... the dealership is 3 hours away.... but, if the salesman delivers on his promise to put me in an 05 Pewter Pearl CR-V with only 5 miles on it, I'd say I won this battle!! By the way, I also told the salesman that I intended to send American Honda a letter telling my horror story with Lia Honda and mention how Brewster Honda helped it to have a happy ending! I think it might have helped him to work with me! And I intend to do it.... Here's the breakdown: Price incl dest (no options) -- $23,375 Options Package: $1310.00 Fog Lights Black Side Steps Moonroof Visor Splash Guards Front Grill Trim Cargo Tray Cargo Cover (Options MSRP = $1637) Tire Fee: $12.50 Dealer Processing Fee and Tags/title reg $145.00 Taxes (8.25%) 2036.50 Out the door price: $26,879 All in all I will be very happy to drive home my new CR-V on Friday. None of the options are installed, but my car loving husband will be very happy to have a new toy to play with and have parts to stick onto it!! :P I think I did pretty good.... and now I will shop for a DVD player on my own!! What do you think of the idea of driving my new pewter pearl SE to the Lia Honda dealership and walking in and telling them I wanted to buy a keychain, at a discount, and then say fugettaboutit and walk away..... that would be soooooo much fun... if even a little bit evil..... How do you think I did this time??? One other thing: is it bribery to offer the salesman a tip (pure profit for him) if he was to include something like installation in the deal?? Is that uncouth to do -- I mean, I tip people who give me good service (like waitresses) all the time... is it appropriate to do the same with salesman??? just wondering.... gr8smile

OK, now I'm pissed.... I went to pick up my "new" CR-V on Monday night. The minute we walked out of the door to do the inspection, it was obvious that Lia Honda replaced the defective paint cr-v with one that was scratched!! Of course, it was spotlessly clean this time so that we could identify the scratches. I'm not talking polish swirls, but the bumper had a 3 inch gouge and several fine straight scratches down the sides (almost like it was polished with a piece of fine sand paper. We immediately declined delivery. The sales manager was just plain rude to us and told us that they couldn't deliver a new cr-v to us at the price we agreed upon and would refund our money. He wouldn't even discuss other options (like a different color on the lot). My husband and I are flabbergasted, and ask to see the general manager, who wasn't in. The next day all the general manager had to say was come pick up your refund. There was no discussion or explanation. Basically, the sales manager had indicated that there was no way that we would get to choose the vehicle we wanted to buy for that price. Apparently the problem was because they had to install a dvd player on the car. What gets me is that the dealership wouldn't allow me to choose the vehicle BEFORE installing the dvd player, they chose the vehicle, and my guess is that they picked ones with known problems (the 2nd vehicle scratches were painfully obvious within seconds!). The reason for the dealerships decision? My guess is low profit margin. I didn't pay enough for them to consider me a customer who deserves to get a "new" flaw free vehicle. Plus, the "FREE DVD Player with any CR-V purchase" apparently meant "DVD player price is negotiable if you negotiate a car price before talking about the FREE DVD player". Also, I found the "$1495 value" dvd player online for $500, so I know that, while their profit wasn't a windfall from us, we certainly weren't denying them a profit. I really don' t know because I wasn't afforded a decent explanation from the dealership. Another dealership told us that there was a factory dealer incentive during April (when we signed the agreement) that ended on May 1 (we were to pick up the 2nd vehicle on May 3) which might have given Lia Honda more of an attitude towards us, as they got credit for the sale in April and earned their incentive, but didn't see any value in given us an acceptable vehicle now that it wasn't April anymore. American Honda didn't have much to say either, although they were apologetic that Lia Honda had provided me such bad customer service, but that they couldn't make a dealership honor the contract. And all this from a dealership that I had bought 2 previous Hondas from!! Needless to say, my opinion is that, with so many choices out there, avoid Lia Honda in Albany New York like the plague. They lie, cheat, and try to take advantage of people who just want to buy a NEW car at a fair AGREED upon price. Customer service is dependent upon the price you pay. I'm chalking this up to a really good lesson learned--CAVEAT EMPTOR!! Don't trust any car dealer to be honest, even if you have bought from them before. Inspect your new car thoroughly BEFORE signing any paperwork, and don't take delivery if there is anything even minor wrong with it. Make sure you choose the exact vehicle you wish to purchase (NOTE the VIN number on the dealer paperwork!) I am still looking for a new cr-v, but I have to admit that my excitement over the new car buying experience has been severely tainted, as well as my opinion about Honda customer service in general. I'm just happy that I was able to get out of the deal. I guess that's a really good thing. Thanks for listening!! gr8smile