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Howdy Honda
Austin, TX
858 Reviews
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Showing 858 reviews
July 04, 2012
On Saturday, 6/9/2012, I purchased a new red 2012 Honda Civic EX. I chose Howdy Honda because it is across Ben White where I work and I wanted the convenience of being able to just drive over after work i Civic EX. I chose Howdy Honda because it is across Ben White where I work and I wanted the convenience of being able to just drive over after work if I had problems or needed anything done to my car. Steve was my salesperson. Nobody appeared to notice me as I initially walked the lot looking at cars. I wanted a white one, but I did not want the navigation. I went inside looking for Jeff because 5 years ago he was the salesperson who let me test drive two cars, an Accord and a Civic. He wasn't available so I just sat at one of the tables waiting for someone to help me. Finally, Steve saw me. He paused, stepped away as if he didn't have time, then he changed his mind and said "come on over". He was concerned about some other customers that were supposedly waiting. I didn't see anyone else there waiting for a salesperson. I told him I preferred a white one and he said that the sales manager, Jon, said that he would like to sell that red one to me. They had me thinking I was going to get a good deal. I had a 2011 Kawasaki Concours 14 to trade and I had sold my 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager the same day to Wood's Fun Center. Steve asked me how much I wanted for the bike. I told him that I wasn't sure. I immediately lost his attention and he gave me his card and told me to come see him when I found out. I started talking on the phone to the same buyer at Wood's Fun Center and he started talking about how "I work on commission" like I was wasting his time. He tried to be nice by retracting it. As I got a price and we began doing the paperwork, he told me that he has a place to be and how he had to get out of there. He said it more than once. That is when I should have run out of there. I tried getting him to throw in some wheel locks but his sales manager Jon Fitzpatrick refused. I did not realize what a bad deal I was getting either. After the deal was finalized, the only thing he helped me with on the car is the Bluetooth connection to my Android phone. That was it. I drove home not realizing how much wax was all over the vehicle and I found a small paint chip on the right fender when I was wiping it all off. Before buying the car, I found that it had a crooked glove box that stuck out on one side. He assured me it would be taken care of. A week later they touched up the paint chip area and made the glove box "better". It was more sunk in on the left side, but it did look better. Otherwise, the car was just okay. I did my research backwards on the Civic. Right now it is in the garage and I have not driven it in a week. They sold this car to me for $20,287. I found out that Round Rock Honda would have sold it to me for around $19,400. Edmund's True Market Value right now is $19,741. Texas Honda would have sold it to me somewhere between $19,400 and $19,741. My car has window tint and it wasn't the best job either. The $20,287 included the tint. It was my fault that I let my guard down. I did too much that day by selling/trading two motorcycles and purchasing a car in the same day. This was an expensive lesson well learned. Honda already gets 2% holdback money and you never see it in the MSRP. It isn't negotiable most of the time. I found out, after the fact, that Honda gives dealers $500 in "dealer cash". Texas Honda and Round Rock Honda pass that on to the buyer. Howdy Honda does not. When I brought this up to Jon in an email, he dodged the subject and said "You paid 6.25% sales tax, but I bet you're not emailing your congressman". This is when I realized what a mistake I had made in purchasing this vehicle from Howdy Honda. They sold me this car at a premium price. The MSRP when I bought it was $21,275. Honda raised it to $21,445 around the time I bought the car, but mine still had $21,275 on it. You should never pay MSRP for a car. Window tint is cheap. Even if you count the $299 they included in the $20,287 price, I paid AT LEAST $600 more for the car than I should have. Jon told me that I got a great deal on the car. Yeah, right. I found out later from another Howdy Honda employee that they lost 2 people recently. This person said that the new car sales department was short staffed. I found out that these two people now work for Round Rock Honda. He apologized to me for what they put me through. I never heard a word yet from my salesperson or the sales manager. I also emailed the general manager and he didn't reply either. A few days ago I called Honda in Los Angeles and told them the whole story. I did the survey from Honda via email. I also did the phone survey from the third party that Howdy uses for their surveys. I've asked for call backs but 3 weeks later, nothing. Someone at Round Rock Honda told me that Howdy Honda has lost 3 sales people in 18 months due to the management at Howdy Honda. In another email from Jon on 6/21/12, he had this to say about Edmunds: "I am truly sorry you have so many concerns about this new vehicle. Once again, I think you are putting way too much faith in what these third party companies like Edmunds.com are saying. The way their business is modeled throws actual selling prices out the window. If they consistently show the lowest prices, then they get more internet traffic. When they get more traffic, then they get more advertising dollars. Hondas have a total mark-up of about 9%. There is very little margin when buying or selling them. I don’t know first hand how your car purchase was arranged, but I seriously doubt you paid above what the manufacturer, Honda, suggests unless there were additional accessories involved. I will look into the matter further, and if I see anything out of the ordinary I will contact you. Thanks,Jon Fitzpatrick" More
by Flipnotic
Employees Worked With
Steve Gonzales and Jon Fitzpatrick
December 16, 2011
At first Kevin was the first that I met with. I have a car that was as I call it possessed! Been in the shop 47 times with less than 60k on it. I went to Howdy basically for a second opinion and felt I car that was as I call it possessed! Been in the shop 47 times with less than 60k on it. I went to Howdy basically for a second opinion and felt I needed to do that! The problems were always different so lemon law didn't qualify! My dealership always took care of the problem, always gave me a loaner but went for second opinion and to get a repair done! 1st off they fix the strut b/c of knocking noise, called to tell me I needed to change the brake fluid, transmission service, brakes needed replaced and other stuff looking at almost $500.00 well... I did the brake fluid service, transmission, oil change , tire rotation and they repaired the strut. Mind you I arrived at the dealership at 645 am and the loaner car wasn't available that I was promised so I had to wait till after 8am in order to get a rental. But it was provided. There was an accident so I basically spent 4 hours trying to get out of Austin. Got all the way back to my work 70 miles away and the car was ready. Got off and back to get the car. Started driving out and roaring noise. They said it was the tires. Warranty doesn't cover tires only the part that was broken. Cupping was the problem with the tires. Went to discount and they warranty the tires for the amount of wear! (at least they can be count on) I bought brake pads and went to replace brakes to find they didn't even need to be replaced they were way over half way ! Funny how I passed a checkpoint a few weeks prior to this visit. Glad I didn't pay them the $300 to change them. Now I still had the problem with the knocking sound in the car. Emailed Jeff b/c he had spoken to me and promised he would help me get where I liked the car. I sent him service records and called and left messages with no return call. I started looking for new cars and a lady called me to talk to me about sales but if the service department won't respond to emails and calls I won't do business with a company that refuses to help me get the situation resolved!!!! I will never leave my dealership for a second opinion. After 10 years I should know they have my best interest and Howdy is exactly what the reviews say CROOKS, liars and only want the $$ from the customers they don't care about fixing issues or resolving anything! I thought it would be different but I was proven wrong! I don't expect much but a return email, phone call something is nice! I don't complain and would give the best reviews ever with a little consideration! Round Rock Auto Group has your Dealership beat hands down for customer service, loyalty , response, caring , being sensitive to customer needs EVERYTHING and sorry I doubted them EVER!! More
by mdeanplunk
Employees Worked With
Kevin Childers, Jeff Dahl
May 31, 2011
I will not even consider this dealer when looking for a Honda. There are great dealers around Austin, TX and there is no point in wasting time visiting this dealer. I went in to buy a vehicle right on the Honda. There are great dealers around Austin, TX and there is no point in wasting time visiting this dealer. I went in to buy a vehicle right on the spot and they are not even willing to talk about the price. The Sales Manager was rude and un-friendly. Even if you get a price from this dealer, I am sure that price would be lot higher than other dealers in town. I have visited many dealers (Honda and others) but never had bad experience. But, Howdy Honda is a bad one. Finally, I went with a dealer in Houston who gave a great offer. More
by yskreddy1979
Employees Worked With
TJ Nissen
January 09, 2011
I was trying to buy 2011 Honda Odyssey The internet I was trying to buy 2011 Honda Odyssey The internet manager (M.Z.) was trying to play "bait and switch" game. Initially, he gave me good quote. Then I was trying to buy 2011 Honda Odyssey The internet manager (M.Z.) was trying to play "bait and switch" game. Initially, he gave me good quote. Then when I wanted the offer, he said he could not honor and and said it was his mistake and that was the price of lower model. I knew this is just a very common tactic "bait & switch" of professional sale man. They should treat customers more respectfully by not playing such cheap tactic. Never deal with them again. Just wasted time More
by RightDeal
Employees Worked With
1
December 30, 2010
New car purchase - I obtained internet quotes from Honda dealerships in Austin, Round Rock, and even 1 in Houston, my family's hometown. Over the phone, I spoke with Howdy's internet sales manager Mark Zie dealerships in Austin, Round Rock, and even 1 in Houston, my family's hometown. Over the phone, I spoke with Howdy's internet sales manager Mark Ziehr. He provided me with great pricing and had a very nice selection of the colors for my vehicle. He emailed me the price before TTL and drive-out price so there would be no "funny business". I filled the credit check on their website and was pre-approved for my loan before the visit. Toby, the salesman, called beforehand and made sure the car I wanted had window tint installed prior to my arrival. On a personal note, I've been burned by dealerships before so I was waiting for the shoe to drop as to the extra charges that suddenly pop up. Upon arrival, we really appreciated Toby's friendliness and sincere approach. You can't help but trust & like the guy. Don, the finance guy, was matter of fact and discussed the extended warranty pros & cons just like my friends & I, straight forward and to the point. I enjoyed all three interactions at Howdy. Based on my past experiences with various dealerships, I kept on thinking somewhere along the process we were going to get screwed with an undisclosed cost. Needless to say, none of that happened. I am immensely pleased with my excellent experience at the dealership. The deal was exactly as promised. I am singing their praises and will definitely refer my friends. Percy Chang Perfectly satisfied customer of Howdy Honda More
by Percy C
Employees Worked With
Mark Ziehr, Toby, Don, Tina Fajardo, Toby Grace
May 11, 2010
I made a test drive appointment only to find out that the sales person refused to honor the appointment. When asked about the appointment, the person bluntly told me: "I didn't make the appointment with you sales person refused to honor the appointment. When asked about the appointment, the person bluntly told me: "I didn't make the appointment with you." Well, I made it with his manager so I called the manager and complained. The manager was apologetic but I bought my car from somewhere else. I will never set foot into this dealership. More
by paulqliang
Employees Worked With
Rick Rojo
June 13, 2008
Brought my van there for warranty service for the first time since buying the vehicle there ~ 10 months ago. First, the tech said that he knows the vehicle and no one else at there dealership knows it any time since buying the vehicle there ~ 10 months ago. First, the tech said that he knows the vehicle and no one else at there dealership knows it any better. When we started to discuss the problems, found out he doesn't and he asked me to train him. Moving on to other issues, his manager got involved. Initially denied there was a problem but then admitted that it was a common complaint. At one point I asked if they had any documentation on how to repair the problem- they said no- twice. I then showed them a Honda TSB that addresses the issue, then he acknowledeged that he was familiar with it. Finally, after leaving my vehicle there for 9 hours- no progress. Asked the salesman who sold us the car last year to provide an independant opinion and possibly help escalate the issue with the dealership. Is initial reluctance turned to rudeness/ insults. More
by Awstun
Employees Worked With
Mark, Matt, Andy
October 22, 2005
I have owned 3 Honda vehicles, and Howdy Honda tops the list in dealer ships. I recently purchased a new Honda Element from Howdy Honda, and the level of customer service was excellent! Our sales associa list in dealer ships. I recently purchased a new Honda Element from Howdy Honda, and the level of customer service was excellent! Our sales associate was knowledgeable and friendly, and I especially appreciated the no pressure sales (really!). Prior to this purchase, I had used Howdy's service department, and had nothing but good experiences. Now that I have purchased a vehicle from Howdy, I even plan to have oil changes at the dealership, in spite of the fact it is on the other side of town. Their prices are reasonable, and the service is great! More
by ssheppa
Employees Worked With
Jeff Ellis, Jeff Ellis
