Honda of Concord

I am one of those highly skeptical, frugal, nit-picking, let me see every detail, indecisive kind of car shoppers. The salesmen, managers and finance guys usually get pretty irritated when selling me a car. Heck, I get irritated with it too! It's a big purchase and it's hard not to feel like you're getting the short end of the stick. The wife and I were in need of a new car after a total loss on our existing one. We decided on a Honda and new Honda Cars of Concord was the largest dealership within 50 miles of our home. I sent in a query about a used car from their website while couch surfing one night. The next day Shane Watson contacted me via text about my inquiry. I also received emails from Chip Olin. I went in to see Shane that evening, but he had already left for the day. I remembered the email from Chip so asked to speak with him. Chip told me about lease options and was very understanding about my total loss situation. I really enjoyed speaking with Chip. He was calm, cool and collected. I could tell he wasn't there to swindle me into a car, but rather there to help me make a informed decision. He introduced me to John Troxler who showed me several of the used Civics on the lot. We took one for a test drive. I wasn't ready to buy at all that first evening. I was impressed. No one tried to push me into anything. They understood I wasn't ready to buy that night and didn't hassle me about it. John gave me all the info and helped me to sort some things out about what we needed vs wanted. Over the course of several days I kept texting with Shane about various options on the new and used civics, residual value, reliabilty, maintenance, financing options, and everything else associated with buying a car. I absolutely LOVED doing all this by text! I have a demanding work schedule and Shane made things convenient! I was able to find what I thought was free time on a Saturday, so the wife and I took a trip to the dealership to see Shane. Shane and I had been talking about leases all week and I was pretty sure that's the route I wanted to go. The wife was afraid of a lease because of all the horror stories we've heard. Immediately Shane sat down and helped to dismiss her fears and helped me to get a better understanding of the lease option. The wreck came at an interesting time. The 2012 Civics were not quite out yet, but incentives on the 2011 Civics were outstanding. We has ruled out used civics because new civics weren't much more and they hold their value quite well. Just as we were pulling out of the lot for a test drive, I get a call from work. I asked Shane about wireless access at the dealership and he said it was available and free. I grabbed my laptop and found a free desk. Shane and the wife went for the test drive while I worked. I ended up working the entire day from the dealership while he and the wife decided on what car she wanted. What a horrible way to buy a car! As I said in the beginning, I'm a nit-picking, skeptical kind of car shopper. I was stuck on the phone while trying to dicuss finance terms. This was very frustrating for me. I know I stressed Shane out because it was hard for me to concentrate on what he was offering, but he stuck with it and made sure I was comfortable. Not a single moment was he ever rude, pushy or did I feel like he was lying to me. I must've hit him 20 times from every different angle on the price, terms, options, etc; all while on a conference call and typing away at my laptop. We ended up settling on terms I could live with. Come to find out, he stayed well after his shift was over. He had reservations for dinner with his wife and had to leave, but he turned my deal over another person to finish the final paperwork and get me into finance. I apologized to Shane for taking up his entire day. Once back in finance things were relaxed with work. I could finally focus on this car purchase! I was ready to stick to my guns and hit the finance guy hard and fast with negotiations and rebuttals. Then the funniest thing happened...Everything I dicussed with Shane was what was on paper. I wasn't hasseled about extended warranties, rate and/or payment changes, or any nonsense. Shane had previously told me about about an oil change/general maintenance service they offered that was a great deal. The finance guy also told me about this and I purchased it. I paid cash for it rather than rolling it into my loan. I was pretty impressed I didn't have to do any more fighting and I was out of finance in less than 15 minutes. John Troxler picked back up with me to deliver the car to me. Wouldn't ya know, I got ANOTHER call from work just as I was getting ready to go over the delivery with John. That was okay, because John already knew this car was for the wife. He picked right up and started explaining the features to her. It was also a pleasure working with John both the first day and went taking delivery of the care. The next day I looked over the car and noticed some dings and scratches in the hood. I sent Shane a text about them and he said he would take care of it. I haven't yet gotten the car back to him, but I have no worries about it being handled appropriately. Overall, this was a fantastic car buying experience. I highly recommend Honda Cars of Concord, Shane Watson and John Troxler to anyone who is in the market for a Honda. This was my second car-buying experience for 2011 and both have gone smoothly. It seems the car sales industry is changing. I can't wait until we no longer have to haggle on prices and financing options!