I got my E last week from Kendall Honda in Eugene.
Heres my experience in a nutshell: They're a bunch of Rude, arrogant, lying
liars who lie and laugh at you when they are not busy laughing and lieing to you. Their word is meaningless. :twisted:

OK, but there has got to be a good story behind all this anger. Tell, tell...

yet you still acquired your Element from them?

:roll:

Ok, heres what happened:
I live in S.Or--I shopped everywhere from Portland to Klamath Falls. My needs were specific: GG EXS,no extras.
Kendall had the best deal. Now, I have to say, Ive been studying this and other sites for a year, and was hoping to get a year end deal under 19k.
Fuggedaboutit, to use the current vernacular.Not in Oregon.
Kendalls deal wasnt that great, but it was the best. Under MSRP. Plus, I had the HONDA 3.9% which ended Jan 1. I was under a time pressure.
So, they faxed me the price, and e-mailed it at my insistence, before I made the 3 hr drive up I-5. I LITERALLY HAD ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR
when the phone rang....
...It was Matt, the sales manager. He had "just found out" what his salesman had quoted (for 3 days over Christmas) and said it was a mistake. He said he couldnt sell it to me at that price. He had to have $500 more---In fact, he apologised-He said he didnt want to sell me the car at any price, because I would "have a bad taste in my mouth" and not a happy buying exp. I hung up. For various business,personal & financial reasons, I decided to buy it anyway. I called him back. I told him to split the diff. No way.I told him I wanted floormats or something--They were convieniantly out of stock. He tjrew in some cheap ass wax and chamois and a sponge. I wont even use them. So I went up, did the deal, and got out of there. In the short time I was there, they confirmned themselves to be slick uncaring patronizing back slapping bottom feeders. Yuk.

The UPSIDE is that I finally have my GG E...and dig it...I was out driving in the snow before dawn today....Yahoo!...but Stay away from Kendall Honda.
I'll be writing the CEO and Honda and the BBB....

Just because the Honda dealerships sell a good car, doesn't mean THEY are any good!

I live in Kirkland WA, about a mile from a Honda dealer. We have bought 3 cars now, including the Element, from A SINGLE Honda dealership. We drive by TWO Honda dealerships to shop at one in Renton, which is definitely NOT convenient, but I won't even walk onto the lots of the nearby dealerships, in fear of being contaminated by the slime. :D

You have to shop the dealership in addition to the car or else be REALLY careful in putting together a deal that YOU know is good, and not just because they tell you it is. Its worth it to us to lower the stress in a car purchase, dealing with a realtively honest and straight dealing dealership, even if it means some traveling. This is NOT to say that you should go in oblivious and not educate yourself BEFORE you go in....gotta keep the honest folks honest. :)

YMMV

[quote:93a8953756=" "]Ok, heres what happened:
I live in S.Or--I shopped everywhere from Portland to Klamath Falls. My needs were specific: GG EXS,no extras.
Kendall had the best deal. Now, I have to say, Ive been studying this and other sites for a year, and was hoping to get a year end deal under 19k.
Fuggedaboutit, to use the current vernacular.Not in Oregon.
Kendalls deal wasnt that great, but it was the best. Under MSRP. Plus, I had the HONDA 3.9% which ended Jan 1. I was under a time pressure.
So, they faxed me the price, and e-mailed it at my insistence, before I made the 3 hr drive up I-5. I LITERALLY HAD ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR
when the phone rang....
...It was Matt, the sales manager. He had "just found out" what his salesman had quoted (for 3 days over Christmas) and said it was a mistake. He said he couldnt sell it to me at that price. He had to have $500 more---In fact, he apologised-He said he didnt want to sell me the car at any price, because I would "have a bad taste in my mouth" and not a happy buying exp. I hung up. For various business,personal & financial reasons, I decided to buy it anyway. I called him back. I told him to split the diff. No way.I told him I wanted floormats or something--They were convieniantly out of stock. He tjrew in some cheap ass wax and chamois and a sponge. I wont even use them. So I went up, did the deal, and got out of there. In the short time I was there, they confirmned themselves to be slick uncaring patronizing back slapping bottom feeders. Yuk.

The UPSIDE is that I finally have my GG E...and dig it...I was out driving in the snow before dawn today....Yahoo!...but Stay away from Kendall Honda.
I'll be writing the CEO and Honda and the BBB....[/quote:93a8953756]

you said:"when the phone rang....
...It was Matt, the sales manager. He had "just found out" what his salesman had quoted (for 3 days over Christmas) and said it was a mistake. He said he couldnt sell it to me at that price. He had to have $500 more---In fact, he apologised-He said he didnt want to sell me the car at any price, because I would 'have a bad taste in my mouth'"

Therefore it is not their fault.

Last Fall, Kendall honda tried to tell my husband to put down $1000. with a credit card to hold an element for us. We had to do it just that day or he couldn't guarantee that there would be one in the state. I told my husband that anytime someone wants money now forget it. We live an hour south in Roseburg and purchased one from Horizon Honda.

i just bought my E from them, had nothing but a great experience with them. my salesmen was Bill. he went treated me really good. i went in and told them what i wanted my payments and an hour later i was on the road with my element EX. anyone else from the eugene area ?

I too had a great experience at Kendall. I'm in Veneta.

I ended up not having to do a damn thing but wait for my Magnesium Metallic EX to be brought down from another dealer. Didn't have to put money down or anything. Now, I hate dealing with car salesmen, but Jake was great. He flat out told me that buying new cars are not their biggest concerns and that they only make $100 on a new car. He simply asked me what I wanted to pay. Pretty painless. Just had my first 5000 mile oil change from them and the service was great. Just put on my EOC sticker last night! So you Eugene people be looking for me on the road!:cool:

I wouldn't have bought it from them, period. A verbal quote is as good as written as far as I'm concerned, and if you can't stick to it, you lose my business.

To the Moderators: I still think we need to have a specific forum Topic, (or at least a sticky) for bad experiences; call it http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gifThe Dark Sidehttp://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gif, or something similar. It may be that this was an isolated event, but if there were an entire topic for bad experiences, it could be searched by dealer. If more than a couple complaints come up, it may signify a place best avoided.

I wouldn't have bought it from them, period. A verbal quote is as good as written as far as I'm concerned, and if you can't stick to it, you lose my business.

To the Moderators: I still think we need to have a specific forum Topic, (or at least a sticky) for bad experiences; call it http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gifThe Dark Sidehttp://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gif, or something similar. It may be that this was an isolated event, but if there were an entire topic for bad experiences, it could be searched by dealer. If more than a couple complaints come up, it may signify a place best avoided.

We already have a few places where issues such as this one can and are currently discussed.

1. Ask the Dealer (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22)
2. Problems & Issues (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41)

I don't agree that those are appropriate categories for this topic, but I can see why you wouldn't want to add yet another one to the list. It's pretty long as it is.

I'm always amazed that anyone would still buy from a dealer who mistreated them?

I'm always amazed that anyone would still buy from a dealer who mistreated them?

If it's a six-hour round trip to the dealer, and the buyer is under time constraints, and the amount involved is $500, it's understandable.

Altho I would have made their $500. scam not worth it to them.

My claim to fame is getting the Honda dealer to buy back from me a new [repo] Accord that was damaged in an accident a few weeks after I bought it.

I guess for insurance purposes the dealer told the ins co it could be repaired; seemed to me it'd be unlikely they'd get it fixed right: the damage was mostly to the sheet metal: all but the hood were crinkled or worse from a strong rear-end hit.


After 3 tries, it still looked terrible and I refused to acccept it, keeping their loaner till I was satisfied.

I told them I was sending certified letters w/ pics to all the regulators, local, state, fed; and Honda's Zone, Regional and Home office; plus I would bring a small claims suit.

They bought it back for about $300 less than I paid without me having to do anything else.

I still deal w/ their mechanical shop...they'r ok.

I'm always amazed that anyone would still buy from a dealer who mistreated them?
Do you know a stealership that hasn't mistreated someone? I managed to extract a $200 credit from my stealer when there was a delay because they forgot (??) to put on the hitch. The head felon thought I should spend it on high-margin accessories but I wanted the credit taken out of the deal price and got it too. And these are the best guys around here!

It's like bobbing for apples - sometimes you just got to hold your nose and grab what you want...........

To the Moderators: I still think we need to have a specific forum Topic, (or at least a sticky) for bad experiences; call it http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gifThe Dark Sidehttp://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gif, or something similar. It may be that this was an isolated event, but if there were an entire topic for bad experiences, it could be searched by dealer. If more than a couple complaints come up, it may signify a place best avoided.
I CONCUR!
I suggested this once before also - these places should NOT get our business and people deserve to be warned - that place (I refuse to even call it a dealership) Kalinka AND another member both got treated bad and got lousy E's with problems is a good example. There are BAD dealers selling cars and BAD service depts fixing them and sometimes a place that is BOTH. We also have lots of GOOD dealers selling cars and GOOD service depts who should get the benefit of the good referrals. It should work both ways - dealers should WANT good reviews here and avoid bad ones.

To the Moderators: I still think we need to have a specific forum Topic, (or at least a sticky) for bad experiences; call it http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gifThe Dark Sidehttp://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/starwars/star-wars-smiley-013.gif, or something similar.The problem is these issues are rarely black and white. In this thread alone, I have read two good and two bad Kendall Honda experiences. So Kendall Honda a good place or a bad one to buy your E? This lets the reader decide for him/herself. If there was just a forum for evil dealers, all that would be posted are the horror stories and none of the offsetting ones. This way, doing it thread by thread, allows for more balance.

You can always use the search function to check if your prospective dealer has gotten skewered on the BBS. The posts don't need to be segregated.

The problem is these issues are rarely black and white. In this thread alone, I have read two good and two bad Kendall Honda experiences. So Kendall Honda a good place or a bad one to buy your E? This lets the reader decide for him/herself. If there was just a forum for evil dealers, all that would be posted are the horror stories and none of the offsetting ones. This way, doing it thread by thread, allows for more balance.

You can always use the search function to check if your prospective dealer has gotten skewered on the BBS. The posts don't need to be segregated. Sorry to disagree Outpost, but if you go back and re-read the 'good' posts, I have to say that one of them smells like troll to me....
Lets try to remember that this original post is almost 2 years old.....Sales people leave, management changes.....

Both good points. It is interesting that hotptato's first post was the one in defense of Kendall. I hadn't noticed that.

Thanks for pointing it out, Tim. :)

You are also right in that things do change with dealers. A good dealer today could, in cash strapped times, be a terrible one, and a once crummy dealer, when under new management, can become an excellent one. As always, YMMV.

I realize this is a very old thread but I feel so compelled to post after finding this comment on Google that I have created an account solely for this purpose.

I am a salesman at this dealership, and I doubt very much that I would be able or happy to sell cars somewhere else. I love Hondas and after much research into Lane County dealerships I found Kendall Auto Group to be almost revolutionary in their business practices. The degree of respect with which they treat their customers and their employees is unparalleled.

That being said I do understand how easy it is for a customer's experience to go horribly wrong. In this specific case it sounds as though an inexperienced salesman quoted a price for a similar Element and his manager set him straight a little too late. I think the dealership made an effort to clear up the confusion but it certainly seems half-hearted to hear this poster tell the story.

I can assure you that if I were in this exact circumstance I would have handled it differently. Not much coming from a car salesman I know, but keep in mind I've only been doing this for 2 months so I haven't quite had enough time to become a jaded and bitter liar. :) Maybe just a little jaded.

My point is that experiences at any business in the sales industry or otherwise depend on the specific person you deal with. In every job I've ever had (mostly in service/sales) I've worked with people who had absolutely no concept of how to treat their customers, or fellow human beings for that matter. But those people are generally the exception and not the rule. Granted in the car business you will find a slightly higher proportion of idiots, but I think Kendall has done a great job of keeping them out of their dealerships.

I'm hoping to reopen this conversation a little and provide what insight I can into the dark art of selling new Hondas.

Thanks for letting me into your community as a fellow Honda lover (if not necessarily an Element owner [gasp!]).

Tensai The Not Quite So Stinking/Filthy/Lying/Dirty/Evil Car Salesman

I'm from Eugene and got my brand new E from Kendall a month ago.. my experience was fine! Started out with a brand new salesman that didn't know anything about the car he was selling but I knew what I wanted. Ended up with Sean and he was great to us.

I bought my E the other day from Kendall and was treated superbly. They were professional, honest and went out of there way to make sure I was happy. They gave me a great price on my 08 SC and I could not be happier with them. This is my 3rd Honda through Kendall so far. I love my new E and I love their service department. Nothin but the best. Kendall ROCKS!!!!!!!!

Sincerly,
The Newbie:grin:

I used to get my previous car serviced at Kendall Honda. They treated me like crap.

I had a service performed under a recall. I called them to set up an appointment and made it clear that I would be driving over an hour and wanted to confirm that they would have the parts. Well I get there on the day of the appointment and, surprise, no parts. They wanted me to come in just to get the interior color code. So I had to make two trips for a total of 6 hours of driving and I still ended up with off colored parts.

In a separate instance I came out and found three sales guys leaning up against the side and back of my car like it was a park bench.

And the last straw was when I couldnt get a sales person to so much as give me the time of day. Apparently I looked to young to buy a car.

I ended up getting much better service at Sunwest Honda in Newport.

I agree with the arrogance of the sales people. I heard they make so much money off of you and if you don't do what they want for their money making satisfaction, they treat you like crap and talk bad behind your back. I had a bad experience driving all the way down from lincoln city, only to have the car not have what was guaranteed to me and the service department was conveniently closed, so I had no choice but to take the car even though I didn't get what was promised.

I feel the same way about Beaverton Honda salespeople. When I was buying my E (4 years ago), their salesperson was such a jerk--bragged to me all about himself during our test drive, knew nothing about the vehicle. Irrelevant useles mouth dribble. Then in the end he tried to MAJOR high-pressure me into buying an E loaded with a bunch of what I consider useless accessories for TWENTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Four years ago. Then he called his "manager" to try and pressure some more and refused to offer any other price unless I gave them my social security number so they could check financing etc. My credit score is over 800--I tell folks I have "excellent credit" and to me, that should suffice until we are actually signing papers. I don't need those games and don't hand out my social security number lightly. Esp to jerks.

Bottom line, after spending two hours there I walked out and bought my Element over the internet the very next day--EX for just a tad over $20,000. Never gave them the sale, and bad mouth Beaverton Honda every time I get an opportunity. It is what they and every dealer deserves for disrespecting their customers and taking them for stupid. Kendall should have put more effort into compromising w. the original poster or they wouldn't find their name being smeared here too.

On the flip side, I have been taking my car to Ron Tonkin for what little maintenance it needs for about a year or two now. Their customer service has been superb. Their prices were lower than Goodyear for the brake fluid change. I am willing to drive a little farther to get the assurance of Honda expertise, but only when folks are reasonable. No, I don't work for Tonkin, but I have been WAY impressed with their customer service.

Their maintenance department and policies are great though. They do make it convenient and their lots are classy. I wouldn't go anywhere else in Eugene to buy a car.

So far in my search for my E, I have seen Ron Tonkin's asking price for their inventory to be higher than most.

Ouch...an old thread, but the first google search that comes up when you type "Kendall Honda". I am not going to pretend...I am a salesman at Kendall Honda, and I sad to see that the OP had felt he was treated less than fairly, and in that situation I can understand why. I see the same thing at other dealerships, and will admit that even at ours, nothing is 100%. But, as I was not employed there during this time period, I can say that we are what I like to think, a very standup company. We have a different General manager than back then, and as an employee, I have to say that he is the best boss I have ever worked for. He is fair and he sticks by his promises. For further proof, I would have you look at more recent reviews of Kendall Honda. I, myself, both internally in the dealership, and 3rd party reviews have a perfect score among buyers. They always leave happy. If you are skeptical (I can't blame you...dealerships have an earned reputation) go here to view more current reviews of our practices. http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Kendall-Honda-review-7717/

Thanks for listening.

Please tell us about your Element, Juando290.