Brandon Honda

MUST READ - I know this is a long review, but trust me, it's worth reading it: Whenever I get mistreated or feel that service hasn’t been acceptable to fair standards, I take the time to write a review or complaint about that business or vendor. However, I must admit that I usually don’t do the same when I think that a service was satisfactory, as I feel that’s the way it should be as a standard. In the case of Brandon Honda, I feel compelled to sit down and take the time to write a review. We all have heard the stories about how painful and unpleasant an experience could be when buying a car. The stigma of car sales men trying to get you to buy the most expensive vehicle possible, over promising to get you excited about a new car, and at the end of the day there’s so much anxiety built up and forced down your throat that you don’t know exactly what you signed and have no comprehension of how big of a financial commitment you’ve taken. My credit history is not ideal, so I know that to purchase this car I’m going to need some help and advise. I searched for a particular car online and found 2 dealerships in the area that had it in stock. I called each one of them and explained what I wanted and my financial situation, but noticed that the sales staff was willing to say and promise anything in order to get me in the dealership. It was the last day of the month and I’m sure all they cared about was meeting their quota. (I must mention that these 2 dealerships are very big and known in the Tampa Bay area.) I continued searching and found that Brandon Honda had the car at a more than fair price and the model was a slightly better than the version I was looking for. I called the main number and spoke with a salesman by the name of Jim K., who was very knowledgeable, friendly, seemed sincere and straight forward, and did not sound desperate for a sale. I explained my financial limitations to him and he suggested that I come in and speak with Sharaz, their Finance Expert. Brandon Honda is about 1 hour drive from our home, not my particular preference when it comes to car shopping, but the difference I felt over the phone was enough for my wife and I to be willing to make the drive. We arrive and spoke with Jim who was extremely personable, not cheesy or ready to say whatever the customer wants to hear, and at no point pushed us to do anything. He was not eager to get me to drive the car as salesmen usually do to get the customer excited, but rather sat down with us and wanted to listen to what we were looking for and needed. Everybody at Brandon Honda is friendly in a sincere way, we did not get that “fake” feeling you usually experience when meeting a carsalesman, they are actually eager to help and get to know you. Jim introduced us to every person that came by as if we were friends. This, to us, was surprising. Very much so. Jim explained to Sharaz what our situation was so he could get to work and find out which options we had. In the meantime, Jim went to get the car we were interested in and parked it under a roof so we could inspect it without getting wet with the rain. He left us to it, no talking to keep you excited or distracted, no obnoxious comments about the car or “how great we’d look in it”, as it's usually the case in these situations, none of that. We took our time and went back inside to meet with the finance guy. Sharaz is a straight to the point, “no BS” kind of guy. He told us exactly what our options were and that most bank were willing to give us a loan with high interest, due to our financial situation and credit history. He asked us a few questions and I could tell he was trying to get a feel for who we were. He asked for a few more minutes and we went for a cup of tea in the lobby. That’s when John T., a Sales Manager, came to say “hi” and asked us some questions, gathering more information to work with Shiraz and come up with a deal that would fit our needs and budget. He was also extremely friendly and personable, knowledgeable and reassuring that they were working hard for us. In our past experience, with all the car purchases we made through the years and OTHER dealerships, buying a car meant sitting down with the finance person and start this back and forth dance of what my maximum payment could be, trying to get us to max out on everything, and we felt that instead of “helping”, they were “handing” our finances. We did not feel that once at Brandon Honda. It was exactly the opposite. A few minutes later, we were called back in and Sharaz presented an opportunity to us that was BEYOND what we were expecting, which was a little too hopeful to begin with. We could not believe how he was able to bring the interest rate down considerably to save us money, and hooked us up with a loan that we can afford and feel comfortable paying. We walked our of Brandon Honda happy, without that odd feeling of “did I make the right choice?”, or wondering if there was some fine print or hidden gimmick that we were missing and would come back to bite us in the butt later on. These guys made sure that we felt welcome, guided through the process and happy with our purchase. John T. even followed up the next day to make sure everything was OK. A couple of days after, John T. called me to let me know that there was a problem with the paperwork. It seemed that I had accidentally given them the wrong information on a technicality and the paperwork needed to be corrected and signed again. He even offered to DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO BRADENTON himself and bring the papers to us, so we didn’t have to spend our afternoon correcting our mistake. It wasn’t necessary, we happily drove to Brandon Honda and took care of it. These people are professionals. They under-promise and over-deliver. They take pride on their work and do everything possible to ensure that customers leave with a smile on their face. We will definitely buy our future cars at Brandon Honda and will recommend them to all our friends and family. The Francos