Dave Mungenast St. Louis Honda

I dread car shopping. I eschew the process until absolutely necessary. Memories of pushy sales persons and aggressive tactics give me the willies. Alas, I was faced with the need to replace my fourth Chrysler-made minivan. In preparation, I did oodles of research to decide on what I wanted, before actually needing to face the actual act of visiting the dealership(s). I settled on a Honda Odyssey EX-L as my first choice, followed by a Toyota Sienna with like features. I avoid purchasing new cars in preference of late model, pre-owned. I prefer to buy from a dealer, though paying a bit more, in order to get certified (warranty) coverage. My next step was to review the inventories at the nearest Honda and Toyota dealers, which I did by internet and by phone. Geographically, I arranged 2 weekend ventures into the nearest "big cities", to allow multiple dealers and multiple inventories. I learned in the research and search processes that the Odyssey is a vehicle that is in great demand. Any reference to this fact by a salesperson is indeed factual and not just a pressure move. I was prepared for a drawn-out process of car hunting. Our first car safari was to St. Louis. Inventories had completely turned over within the preceeding 2 days. I had telephoned all the dealers the day before to make certain my trip was at all worthwhile. Just before leaving for St. Louis, I chanced to review my e-mail. A salesperson at St. Louis Honda (see below) sent me a message regarding a trade-in received just that morning. This car represented the sole interest I may have had in visiting St. Louis Honda, so it was last on my priorities list. The other area dealers offered a greater selection of pre-owned, so we visited them first. The visits to the other dealerships, for various reasons ranging from poor inventory and poor selection to poor salesmanship, proved unfruitful. I was resolved to the likelihood that an ensuing trip to Kansas City would be in order, but we decided "while we were here" to stop by St. Louis Honda. At St. Louis Honda, we met with Mr. Rick Brennan, who showed us the Odyssey that we would end up purchasing. Rick was a knowledgeable, helpful and no-pressure salesman. We liked Rick's professionalism, we liked the car, and we were pleased with the deal offered. We decided to make the purchase, and this process, too, went pleasantly smoothly. While I had planned on a 2006 or 2007 model, we were fortunate to find a 2008 EX-L with very low mileage and all the features we wanted, at a very nice price. In short, I felt good about this car shopping trip, a pleasant surprise indeed, and great about our purchase.