Toyota dealership vs. Honda dealership
 

In May of 2011, I bought my Base Honda Fit and it was a great experience. No nonsense.

My brother just went to buy a car and he used www.truecar.com. He chose their OEM security system and OEM remote starter system. I just looked at his new Toyota car and the dealership ripped him off. It appears they gave him a $50 cheap alarm system. So he paid $500 for a Toyota OEM system and got some "Crimestopper" alarm system along with two seperate key fobs. On top of that they sold him on vin etching and floor mats. He is pissed and going right down to the dealership in the morning where I believe they will probably give him a song&dance.

All of the Honda dealerships I dealt with seemed more honest in their dealings. Since Hondas come with all the options on-board unlike Toyotas where you have to choose the different options, I didnt have the same experience.

Corporate Honda has a lot of control over it's dealers. Toyota is a very strange business style. Toyota is brought into the US by importers. These importers order the cars based on how they can make the most money. So, most import them with important options missing and then charge a fortune for basic features/packages.

Some dealers buy the cars without those important features/options and instead install them themselves at huge profit margins.

That is just one of the many reasons why the last Toyota any member of my family purchased new was a 1987 Supra.

I don't think you can generalize Honda vs. Toyota based upon such a small sample size. Some dealers are reputable. Some are useless warts. Just depends upon who you get.

My family use to drive all Toyota cars but now we've switched to Honda. I think it just depends on each individual. Plus not all Toyota dealers are bad. I agree with smaglik, it just depends on who your sales rep is.

I've never had dealings with a dealership outside of the parts department (when I absolutely had no choice) that I didn't feel like they should have least given me a reach around and a kiss after sticking it to me....

It Depends....
 

I agree that it varies significantly, and that it is difficult to say from one make to another. My experience is that both Toyota and Honda are are at least far better than American makes, on average, based on my 30 years of car buying experience.

While my local (Seattle area) Honda dealer where I bought my Fit, is a generally agreeable place, the purchase of my car was a terrible experience there - quite ridiculous really.

I have had far better luck with Toyota. YMMV

Our local Honda dealer installs wheel locks all cars with alloy wheels. I think I read the Honda wheel locks should retail for around $50. Our local dealer had them priced at $200 several months ago. When they tried to sell me an extended warranty I told them no from the beginning. Had to listen to them giving me the sales pitch for about
20-30 minutes before they decided I wasn't going to purchase the warranty.

Based on my experience over many years it seems that recently they are all hard to
deal with. I cannot say the Honda is better, my last Toyota purchase was a 2004 Tacoma, it had very few add ons and no pressure to buy anything else.

My Mazda 3 was easier than the Fit, they asked if I wanted extended service, I said
no and we moved on with the closing. It had some add ons but in general they asked less than the Honda dealer.

Dealers differ quite a bit. When I bought an 07 Accord new (it was a V6 6MT sedan in late 07....not much choice left), the dealer had a ton of add ons, and I pretty much told them I refused to pay for them (I mean, come on, $300 for little plastic stickers under the door handles to reduce scratching???). Eventually they came around, I just had to stand my ground. I had to go through all the sales pitches as well, even for gap insurance, when I was putting 10k down.

When I bought my fit, I originally looked at new (was able to find an 09 with 8k on it used...this was August 09...and AZ is a no sales tax state for private party car sales), and first went to the same dealer I had bought the accord. Seeing all of the add-on crap just made my head spin, and we left without even talking to anyone. Went to another dealer across town, and was able to get one at a few hundred over invoice, and no add-ons, except tint, which I would have done anyway. Ended up cancelling, but if I were to buy new again, I would head there in a heartbeat.

Regarding the parts counter, I agree with the rubber hose comment made above. I have called the honda parts counter here in flagstaff, and it is laughable. $31 ea for a spark plug. $8 ea online. On the other hand, I have a good contact at a BMW dealer in Scottsdale. Respectful, helpful, and competitive pricing. Go figure. Just depends on the place.

The Honda dealership on the sales side treated me well, but on the service side has been a different story. Their routine service is way too expensive and the service is bad.

I have routinely taken my vehicle to the local Honda dealer, but I watch them like a hawk and make sure they tell me exactly what they are doing to my car before any work starts. I get it in writing. The trick to the service area is to tell them "look, I just want an oil change and tire rotation. nothing else...".

The only reason why I use the Honda dealership is because the service comes up on the Carfax. Everyone nowadays runs a carfax and if they see the car has been routinely taken to the dealer than the car is more salable. Would you trust a car whose Carfax comes up Honda dealership across the board or trust the receipts from the independent garage or no receipts/nothing at all...

BTW, the local Toyota dealership stated they would remove the "Crimestopper" aftermarket alarm from my brother's RAV4 and put in the OEM system that was originally ordered, but only for $200. My brother accepted their offer fearing he might just get stuck with the aftermarket system if he didnt accept.

When dealing with any car dealership, you have to watch them like hawks, make sure they "spell out" everything for you and go over the cars while you are at the dealership. Get everything in writing and know they might pull a few tricks.

I remember a long time ago I was at a dealership who refused to give me the keys to my car unless I made a deal with them. Finally, they gave me back the keys only when I became very verbal and obviously angry. I was there for 3 hours against my will. I gave them the keys because I used their free valet parking up front which I found out to be a sales trick.

I have heard about the keys trick, but the guise was trade in valuation.

I would trust the receipts from an indy more than any carfax. Living partially in the BMW world, no one uses a dealer, unless they have money to burn.

This is a legitimate reason if you sell your cars on the private market. On the other hand, I trade my vehicles in and have never had a single dealership bother to pull the Carfax. The same dealers that sell you on using their service for reporting purposes never, ever use the service themselves. A car is just a number to them. They look it up in the Black Book and it's worth what it's worth.

Not sure I buy this. Have you traded in a branded title before? I would expect that they do look it up, but if there is nothing of note on there, then why bring it up to you? All you would do is try to use it increase what you get on trade it, and they don't want to provide ammo for that! :)

I've been sitting in the office with a sales manager negotiating trade...never once have they looked at a computer screen to determine value. It is just the Black Book and an inspection of the vehicle to ensure that the condition is acceptable. In recent years I have traded in a 2003 Superduty, 2007 Ford Explorer, 1995 Honda Civic, and 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora.

Also, I used to be a new car salesman at a Ford dealer and my wife is the Internet Manager at one right now. We both know the ins/outs of car dealers very well. They don't give a rats a$$ about Carfax or Autocheck. The vast majority of their cars come from auction where they don't even have the chance to check histories. They just know if the VIN is clean/clear and get to see the car.

The one instance where a dealer will check history of a trade in is if they see evidence of a serious accident or the person trading in the car appears very un-trustworthy. They will do a check to make sure the vehicle has a clear un-rebuilt title and that it's not stolen.

This is good information to have. I don't have experience such as this. AZ is a no sales tax state for private party vehicles, so I do not shop at dealers. Thanks!

So is GA. I'm originally from FL, which is not that way, and haven't taken advantage of GA's tax break yet. It puts dealers at a disadvantage on the used market. Their one plus is that your trade goes against the new purchase price for calculating sales tax. So, if you trade a $4,000 vehicle in on a $10,000 one, you are only taxed on the $6,000 difference.