Smart Honda

by Chris on 11/21/2023

They're free 150 point inspection will leave you with a broken car

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by Mary on 09/16/2022

I went to my dealer to get an oil change. After 3,000 miles my oil light came on. When checking the oil that was not a single drop on the dip stick and the stick looked as though it had been burned. My husband added 4 qts and we contacted the dealer. We were told to come back in and get another $83 oil change at my expense and then monitor it every 500 miles and let them know if I am loosing any oil. I explained that was no oil in my garage or on the engine showing there was a leak. I called my dealer every 500 miles as recommended and even after speaking with the service manager I was told there was nothing they would do. I am looking to sell my Honda and will no longer visit or recommend Smart Honda of Des Moines to family and friends.

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by npranger on 05/14/2016

Have purchased both new and used Hondas from Clay Olson at Smart Honda over the last ten years. He's not a "salesman". He's a gentleman who has displayed honesty, integrity and efficiency many times over. Our last purchase of a new CRV EXL AWD was done online with the exception of signing the paperwork and picking up the vehicle. I do my due diligence in looking at comparable vehicles, pricing at dealerships, and researching TMV with Edmunds and the like. Clay's initial price was well below his competitors' pricing and TMV. With the trust he has developed with me over the years I felt no need to "negotiate" any further. Smart Honda provided the means for us to submit paperwork to complete the loan app online. We were approved before we arrived at the lot. Our finance man was helpful, prepared and a pleasure to perform the sometimes dreaded task of financing. We were in and out of the lot within an hour. The 1.9% loan rate will allow her to apply additional funds to her much higher rate school loans. We have also been pleased with the service department's routine maintenance on our Hondas. Can't speak to more extensive service issues as with most Hondas, the need has not arisen. If you're outside of the Des Moines area, reach out to Clay. It may be well worth the drive.

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by reedone on 03/04/2016

The dealership itself is fairly nice and the staff are more than accommodating. I used to have my '02 Civic maintained here (years ago) and thought it was an okay/less than average at times experience. As for buying cars, I looked at the following cars: Cherokee, CRV, Rav4, Outback and some others to a lesser extent. Now I ended up going w/ the Cherokee but I shopped around and got my best numbers on all of them and Smart Honda stands out. The vehicle MSRP I was looking at was ~30k and advertised at about 28.5k by most dealers. I wouldn't usually write a review on a car I didn't buy, but I was seriously insulted by how this dealership treated me, I couldn't help but notice at all the older people and soccer moms who have little/outdated know-how in the dealership. So, as I said I was treated very well for the everything up until we talked numbers (including a great test drive). While I wasn't sold on the car I did want to know what the local Honda dealership was at w/ the car (I had found prices elsewhere and simply wanted to test drive the vehicle at this point and see how it matched up with the rest). They offered me $500 off MSRP. I was stunned, they then acted as if it was a done deal and started to work on monthly payments and taxes etc. This may work w/ senoir citizens, but I wasn't very happy w/ that. Now, this car is advertised at almost $2k off MSRP on the websites of most dealers. So, I told them I've shopping around and can see the vehicle is advertised at substantially cheaper than what they're selling it for. Now, I told them ahead of time I was test driving these multiple vehicles. They started to tell me about how great the Honda CRV is and how horrible the other brands are. I was in shock, it's as if they didn't even register what I had said. So, while I was offended I'm a mild mannered guy and figured I might as well see what they're best price is just to know. I pulled it up on the phone and then told them the best price I had and where. They didn't bother to respond and at this point honestly moved on from insulting the Rav4 to Cherokee. The salesperson was a nice guy, throughout (mostly stepped aside) but wow the finance people had some unrealistic expectations. I told them I found this unbecoming and left. If you come here shop around and consider the Honda dealership in Ames, IA (It's the closest alternative) as well. You can still have it serviced here even if you buy elsewhere. Just something to keep in mind. Regardless, I found my expirence to be unique and can't believe it. If you simply don't want to sell your cars beneath MSRP (always aim for below invoice guys) then simply say so, no reason to behave this way. I would not have written my review if they had simply said they did not want to come down on their profit margins.

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by lori38 on 02/11/2011

I had done a lot of research before going to Smart Honda. This included Chevy, GM, Ford and Kia, for a total of 5 dealerships before coming to Smart Honda. Clay (Olson) treated me with the most respect of any of the dealers in any dealership. He answered every question I had. He was not insulted that I had researched ahead of time. He went out of his way to communicate by e-mail before my visit and went out of his way while I was at the dealership. The time I spent whith him was comfortable, informative and without any pressure what-so-ever. Another thing that impressed me was that when we went to the service center, an elderly lady was reading the paper and waiting for her car and he called her by her first name! I could go on and on about the wonderful experience I had at Smart Honda. I was very impressed!

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