*UPDATE: August of 2025, second new car purchase (2025 - nickbalogh
*UPDATE: August of 2025, second new car purchase (2025 Honda Civic). My prior review, below, implied I would come back, and, lo and behold, I have. I did check out the competition locally, but came back to Terry Scudieri again and the Costco Auto Program.
[This paragraph deals with other dealerships... At first I thought I might want a Toyota Prius from a local St. Louis dealership. Then they revealed that they had no Priuses on the lot that weren't loaded up with 'optional' add-ons that weren't so optional. (If you didn't want them, it was a dealbreaker, and you wouldn't be waiting 1-2 months for a defined Prius [that you couldn't test drive or look at] with a VIN, you'd be waiting for Toyota's factory in Japan to create a new one from scratch, so 3-6+ months, maybe more.) I put myself on the waiting list anyway, paid a $500 deposit, and waited. About a month later I was talking about the ridiculousness of the entire Toyota dealership situation to a coworker, and he said he came to the conclusion that the entire Toyota logistics process is rotten to the core. I concurred. No one else runs their car company in that way, where people are basically waiting 3 months and spending $500 deposits to take a test drive. Every other carmaker has cars on lots now... I mean, Toyota is good, but they aren't the only carmaker in town.]
Around this point I found an old business card of Terry Scudieri. He had a hybrid Honda Civic in my color on the lot. I made the 4.5 hour drive up to Chicago, took a test drive, and filled out the paperwork. Did it all through the Costco Auto Program, so I knew, no negotiation necessary, I would be getting a great price.
I could've bought the Honda in St. Louis, but I already had a good relationship with Terry and Gerald Honda (previously Continental Honda). I wasn't willing to roll the dice on a new local dealer; Terry was already known to be an excellent salesperson to me.
The sale went perfectly. I mentioned to Terry that I wasn't interested in extended warranties, and he must have let the finance manager know. Later the manager asked, "you're not interested in the extended warranties?" and I said, "no, thank you." That was it. No pressure, no argument. My choice was respected. That might not happen in the stereotypical dealership, but if you've read this far, you know, this is not that kind of dealership.
It's the stuff like that, respect for customers, that is the reason I expect to buy my third, fourth, fifth, and sixth cars in the years ahead from Terry and this dealership. The quality of Honda products over the years speaks for itself. The 4.5 hour drive back to St. Louis felt like a long test drive. The Civic is a dream. Thanks!
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April of 2013: First new car purchase (2013 Honda Fit, which is really a great car, but another story) and glad to say it was an excellent choice, at an excellent price, from an excellent dealership -- I know I used the word "excellent" too many times in that sentence, but it's true. Came in from out of state, buying through the Costco Auto Program, so add major savings off the sticker price as a bonus.
It was my first purchase but likely not my last, and I'm certainly planning on coming back. I can't speak to the quality of the service department for repairs (because I live out of state, didn't get the car serviced there, it was a new purchase, and it's thankfully been running great), so you'll have to read what other reviewers say about that, but I'd be surprised if a top notch dealership like this would have anything but a top notch service department.
Bottom line: You don't stay in business for 40+ years (like they have) unless you are doing something right, and, from my experience, they are doing a whole lot of "right," right here.
[This is an account of my own experience at the business. It is not a paid endorsement or advertisement as defined by 16 C.F.R. § 255.0 (74 F.R. § 53138, Oct. 15, 2009).]
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