benbow

My spouse and I visited the two nearest Acura dealers recently. One dealer is in Southern Oregon (300 miles) and the other in Northern California (150 miles) and we were dismayed after traveling that distance to find both places looking a bit shabby or neglected compared to Lexus, BMW & Mercedes Benz dealers nearby. It certainly did not give my spouse a good first impression of my first choice new car (TL) when she saw the dusty Acuras lined up on a bleak parking lot behind an old facility that needed a paint job. At each dealership we were greeted by the single lonely and low-energy sales rep. I had not prepared her for the TL exterior design and she spontaneously complained about the beaks on the new Acuras. That reaction I had expected. She liked the test drive we took in the AWD TL Tech model. She preferred the RDX or MDX models for the usual practical reasons. I had just driven a BMW 330ix and thought the TL came close in drivability and road feel. BMW's run-flat tires rule out that brand.

Are there prosperous Acura dealers that can match the features of their nearest competitors? Something tells me these two Acura dealers may soon go out of business. That is so discouraging since my spouse now has a negative opinion of the Acura brand. We drove & liked a MB C300 and GLK and the dealer facility and sales person experience was much better. Lexus had an even more impressive facility and sales staff but she dismissed their models for good reasons. We still have Infinity on our list but their nearest dealer is 200 miles away.

I know the Acura reliability & quality argument is still a strong point but it may not counter the current beak grill issue and poor dealer impressions established so far. How would you handle this situation?

black label

I wouldn't let the facility itself deter me. If you are buying a car from a state of the art dealership with a huge showroom, you are helping to pay for that facility. Lower overhead can mean savings to you. There is an Acura dealer in my area that just built a new 14 million dollar facility, a lot of customers wonder if their car would have been less expensive if they had stayed in their old, not so state of the art building instead.

The people inside make the dealership experience, not the walls that hold the roof up.

chinolatte

Sounds to me like you know which car you want to buy, you just want to get your wife's approval.

I say this. If this car is going to be yours, as in, you'll be the one driving it instead of her the large majority of the time, buy what YOU want, not what someone else is telling you to get. If it'll be a common car shared 50-50 or thereabouts then its another matter, you have to come to a compromise then.

Again, if you're looking for a car for YOU, buy what YOU want.

Remember you're not buying the facility or the salespeople, you're buying a car. As long as the car is fine, the rest doesn't matter.

nj2pa2nc

wickie2000

This is interesting as several people (including some on this forum) were discussing your experience at this acura dealership to the one they would receive at a Hyundai when the Genesis came out.

The overall package is what we all pay for when we decide to purchase a luxury vehicle, that's why we all expect more and complain when we dont get it.

nj2pa2nc

the dealer I bought my acura from also sells hyundai's and honda-We have bought all 3 from them and received the same excellent service

stagefoursurvivor

There's a dealer on LI whose facility is one notch from being condemned! Honestly, I was stunned and figure Acura corporate hasn't ever done an onsite review. The staff is very friendly but, their prices don't reflect their low overhead.

TLNV

It is amazing to see and hear of the differences between dealerships. My Acura dealership is pristine. The owner is always walking the floor and if you run into him he remembers your name and is always willing to talk shop. Heck the place is kept so clean that you can eat off of the floor where the techs work.

This definitely helps with image and the customers perception of how you will be taken care of, which by the way is amazing.

Almost forgot the free plug for them... Acura of Reno

winstrolvtec

If the same facilities with the same staffs were selling another brand instead, you would also get a poor impression. I would focus on the product, not the store. It is the same car whether you buy it out of a mom and pop or more corporate looking store. Not saying that it's not a part of the whole experience but you buy a car there only once whithin a few to several years timeframe and can service it anywhere else you like, even a more state of the art Honda dealer that might be more local, it may even be cheaper there too.

nj2pa2nc

We do agree=very clean, staff is very friendly, they did a terrific job in detailing the car and buffed my painted pin stripes off in spots. They also changed the dealer plate I had on the car with theirs. My dealer in Pa repainted the pin stripes free and put their license plate frame back and put the reno one on in the front. I was given a tour of the dealership and was introduced to a lot of the staff.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I'm sorry, but an Acura dealership SHOULD be well maintained. They ARE competing with thos other brands (that look great when you walk in). So to me, if the front end of the dealership looks sloppy, lord know how the back end is (Service Department) !!!

Get your 4G and put a RonJon grill on it-then she won't complain about the beak.



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TLNV

Ouch

jazzpicker

Tallahassee is lucky to have Proctor Acura, It's clean friendly and a pleasure to visit to the point that my wife insists on taking her car in for service.

It's light years ahead of some of the other car dealerships of different brands of cars that I've owned in the past. No arguing, just professional pleasant service.

I can't imagine going back to some of the other dealerships so I just keep driving Acuras.

benbow

Malcolm Gladwell's book called BLINK describes how we usually size up other people and businesses by our first impressions. Our judgements may occur as quickly as a blink and match our later impressions based on more experience.

Two rows of dust covered Acuras on a lot that is three quarters empty and no sign of any other customers or service staff does not leave a good impression. By the way this Acura dealer is on a row of big dealerships that include Ford & Chevrolet next door and Toyota, Lexus and M-Benz & BMW within the next few blocks. Even the Chrysler dealership had a full lot of shiny cars and a modern facility plus a few customers on a Saturday.

The salesman at this dealership told me he had painted several 4G TL beaks and those TLs took a very long time to sell off the lot. I find that hard to believe. I do not think he had a clue why he was not selling his cars. A sad situation for Acura.

black label

I'll disagree here, while you aren't technically "buying" the salesperson, they should be a factor in your buying decision. I would rather pay a few hundred (not thousand) more to deal with a top notch sales person. They are usually there for you after the sale. They are good to have if you need help after the sale like if you drop your cell phone in the ocean, it's good to have dealt with a professional sales person who will help link a new phone for you.

The people in the dealership from sales to service to parts make the real experience.

chinolatte

A clean state of the art facility doesn't mean the salesmen will be helpful or good for that matter.
While true that you benefit from having a salesman you can rely on that will help you through the process, the same rundown facility can employ several both good and bad, its just a matter of who you deal with.

I've had a few pleasant buying experiences with no bs, laid back salesmen that wanted to be helpful but didn't pressure one bit. Some where at dealerships that didn't get many customers, others at high volume places.

my point is salesman does not equal facility

4G Express

Get over it. The reliability on all of their cars makes it so you will rarely be there anyway.