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It’s not just Acura, it’s pretty much every brand. With my BMW, one dealer didn’t give me a loaner, another gave me a Jeep Compass, and another gave me a BMW loaner. All those jobs required numerous days (fuel pump, new transmission, oil leaks).
Yep I'm aware and I think that it's a gaping hole within the industry and why the current model could use an overhaul.
But on the same token I'm not sure why, "Everyone else does it," is the usual excuse and this could be an area where Acura sets itself apart. I didn't buy a BMW, I bought an Acura, so I'm more concerned with what they are doing.
Yep I'm aware and I think that it's a gaping hole within the industry and why the current model could use an overhaul.
But on the same token I'm not sure why, "Everyone else does it," is the usual excuse and this could be an area where Acura sets itself apart. I didn't buy a BMW, I bought an Acura, so I'm more concerned with what they are doing.
I’m not using the “others do it, so it’s okay” excuse. You specifically mentioned you’re not sure why Acura does it. I was not sure if you knew that it was not a brand specific issue but an industrial one.
One has to find a good dealer near you and ask the right questions prior to purchasing a car there to ensure expectations will be met. Made sure that my dealer offers loaners for any time-lengthy services. I learned the hard way.
I’m not using the “others do it, so it’s okay” excuse. You specifically mentioned you’re not sure why Acura does it. I was not sure if you knew that it was not a brand specific issue but an industrial one.
One has to find a good dealer near you and ask the right questions prior to purchasing a car there to ensure expectations will be met. Made sure that my dealer offers loaners for any time-lengthy services. I learned the hard way.
Yep I did all of this, and my Acura dealership did offer loaners and then one day stopped the practice. They also offered free state inspections when you purchased a new vehicle from them but one day stopped the practice. Other Acura dealerships in my area stopped the loaner program too. However, the Mercedes, BMW and Audi dealerships near me still do it. My area has a lot of money and it's very competitive and Acura wants to be up a level yet behaving no better than my local Honda dealership and I see common complaints like this across the U.S., they should really work on this.
I don’t think there’s anything really wrong with the current Acura physical space (though definitely not as classy as the Germans), but it’s the rest of the customer experience they need to shore up. Not having a formal loaner car program is criminal if they want to be a serious player, and at least around here the after sales experience leaves a lot to be desired. Customer retention seems to be an afterthought, and it’s almost as if they’re resigned to losing customers to the Germans and Lexus as they level up.
My Acura Dealership has always had a loaner program, but then again, perhaps you can explain the use of "formal" in this context..
My Acura Dealership has always had a loaner program, but then again, perhaps you can explain the use of "formal" in this context..
What I mean is that Acura corporate does not have a formal or official program to support dealerships to offer loaners. Your dealership (a franchise) is offering and operating this program all on their own. That’s why some dealerships don’t offer one and others even charge for loaners.
This looks good. But my experience with Acura dealership in Canada is at par with Germans and other Japanese brands. If I am not mistaken, there is one Audi dealer that looks really good in MTL. But I have no issue with the current setup. If they improve and upgrade, why not
Yeah dealers in mtl are usually very classy and professional. The Acura dealer in Ottawa is one of the newer designs but the people there are probably on par with Dodge lol. Camco Acura has no business being on the same playing field as Lexus, bmw etc. Brossard and Laval Acura are probably the standard to follow. What Acura dealer are you talking about?
Yeah dealers in mtl are usually very classy and professional. The Acura dealer in Ottawa is one of the newer designs but the people there are probably on par with Dodge lol. Camco Acura has no business being on the same playing field as Lexus, bmw etc. Brossard and Laval Acura are probably the standard to follow. What Acura dealer are you talking about?
I go to Laval one for the past many years. I used to go there with my dad and then I have being buying Acuras. The staff is super nice and the dealer is top notch. They always go above and beyond to help me if I need something. I live in Westisalnd. The dealer is good and I have no issue with them. But I can't leave Laval one as they have been too good to my family and friends. If I am not mistaken, my family and friends have bought at least 10 Acuras from Laval one.
I'm in Ottawa and I go to Camco Acura. They're not the greatest in terms of customer service, very rude and unprofessional. Unfortunately, they're the only Acura dealer in Ottawa. The next closest one is in Gatineau. At the end of the day, you're spending more time in your car than sitting at the dealership.
I've been saying this for a while now and Honda/Acura will want to keep inventory low and prices high. Yes, we may see this across the industry but on the flipside this may be a great time for the others to undercut some of their competitors by doing the opposite; it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out:
Why Honda, Acura dealer showrooms may shrink
Honda and Acura dealers have been coping with sales lots that have just single digits of days’ supply.
“I joined American Honda in May of 2020, and between our Honda and Acura brands, we had roughly 400,000 vehicles in dealer inventory,” Gardner said. “Today we’re sitting with about 25,000.”
The dealer networks have become more disciplined about selling into their pipelines to keep business moving forward, he said, and that means communicating production dates and estimated arrival times to their customers.
“These are things that in a 400,000-unit inventory environment we were not worried about, because every combination we built was somewhere sitting in a dealer’s inventory,” he said. But now, he said, having a robust 60- to 75-day supply is “a completely inefficient way to run our business.”
“We’re trying to be very cognizant of the dealer’s fixed costs as we move forward and not overburden them, perhaps as we historically may have done so,” Gardner said.
Also, there are benefits to running the business with a 30-day supply, or even 20. “Certainly we’re going to try to run the business with much lower inventory than we had,” he said.
I've been saying this for a while now and Honda/Acura will want to keep inventory low and prices high. Yes, we may see this across the industry but on the flipside this may be a great time for the others to undercut some of their competitors by doing the opposite; it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out:
Why Honda, Acura dealer showrooms may shrink
Honda and Acura dealers have been coping with sales lots that have just single digits of days’ supply.
“I joined American Honda in May of 2020, and between our Honda and Acura brands, we had roughly 400,000 vehicles in dealer inventory,” Gardner said. “Today we’re sitting with about 25,000.”
The dealer networks have become more disciplined about selling into their pipelines to keep business moving forward, he said, and that means communicating production dates and estimated arrival times to their customers.
“These are things that in a 400,000-unit inventory environment we were not worried about, because every combination we built was somewhere sitting in a dealer’s inventory,” he said. But now, he said, having a robust 60- to 75-day supply is “a completely inefficient way to run our business.”
“We’re trying to be very cognizant of the dealer’s fixed costs as we move forward and not overburden them, perhaps as we historically may have done so,” Gardner said.
Also, there are benefits to running the business with a 30-day supply, or even 20. “Certainly we’re going to try to run the business with much lower inventory than we had,” he said.
Tough times for buyers in any market really with inflation and shortages. From housing availability to baby formula, the shortage overall of vehicles across all brands give dealers leverage for setting the prices. Same thing with the mortgages with people happily paying over appraisal in cash. Didn’t really think the market could get any worse with the pandemic nearly gone.
Tough times for buyers in any market really with inflation and shortages. From housing availability to baby formula, the shortage overall of vehicles across all brands give dealers leverage for setting the prices. Same thing with the mortgages with people happily paying over appraisal in cash. Didn’t really think the market could get any worse with the pandemic nearly gone.
You are not wrong.
I offered a certain amount of money as my top end but my offer stated I’d pay $10K over appraisal. While my high end was significantly lower than the appraisal + 10K it was still ridiculous I had to do that. The market is very bad for buyers but it’s beneficial for sellers. I am awaiting new windows due to these being builder grade cheap windows that leak from bending and I decided to replace my AC/Heat as it’s all original and 20 years old. But in this market you don’t let those things stop you.
Acura’s New Dealership. I’m surprised they didn’t debut the new look in a bigger market. All the dealership down here in S.FL has the old look, even Miami Acura just remodel their store and it’s still the old dealer design. Orr Acura also has the new look in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The only thing that distinguishes my Acura dealership from a Honda one is Acura signage. Very no frills. Customer service and service department are excellent, and my sales experience was also very smooth. Their inventory was always better than average too, prior to the chip shortage. McGrath Acura, Morton Grove, IL
The only thing that distinguishes my Acura dealership from a Honda one is Acura signage. Very no frills. Customer service and service department are excellent, and my sales experience was also very smooth. Their inventory was always better than average too, prior to the chip shortage. McGrath Acura, Morton Grove, IL
I think I can do you one better: the only thing that distinguishes my local Acura dealership from a Honda one is...well, nothing. It's literally the same building, with the same showroom, same staff, and same service dept. Even the email address for all the employees says "@sfhonda.com"; they couldn't even spring for an "@sfacura.com" alias....
But that's not the most bizarre thing: the inside doesn't even look like a Honda dealership. It actually looks like an older Infiniti dealership because it used to be an older Infiniti dealership, and they didn't do any remodeling other than changing the sign.
That said, I don't necessarily mind shared facilities, but it's not like Honda customers are getting an Acura experience there. Instead, Acura customers are getting a Honda experience. And you guessed it, no loaners, just a shuttle with a 5-mile radius.
I think I can do you one better: the only thing that distinguishes my local Acura dealership from a Honda one is...well, nothing. It's literally the same building, with the same showroom, same staff, and same service dept. Even the email address for all the employees says "@sfhonda.com"; they couldn't even spring for an "@sfacura.com" alias....
But that's not the most bizarre thing: the inside doesn't even look like a Honda dealership. It actually looks like an older Infiniti dealership because it used to be an older Infiniti dealership, and they didn't do any remodeling other than changing the sign.
That said, I don't necessarily mind shared facilities, but it's not like Honda customers are getting an Acura experience there. Instead, Acura customers are getting a Honda experience. And you guessed it, no loaners, just a shuttle with a 5-mile radius.
Mine does at least provide loaners, at least they did last year, when I had my front grill replaced after a rock put a hole in it. They gave me a 2019 A-Spec V6 TLX loaner.
I think I can do you one better: the only thing that distinguishes my local Acura dealership from a Honda one is...well, nothing. It's literally the same building, with the same showroom, same staff, and same service dept. Even the email address for all the employees says "@sfhonda.com"; they couldn't even spring for an "@sfacura.com" alias....
But that's not the most bizarre thing: the inside doesn't even look like a Honda dealership. It actually looks like an older Infiniti dealership because it used to be an older Infiniti dealership, and they didn't do any remodeling other than changing the sign.
That said, I don't necessarily mind shared facilities, but it's not like Honda customers are getting an Acura experience there. Instead, Acura customers are getting a Honda experience. And you guessed it, no loaners, just a shuttle with a 5-mile radius.
For a dying brand Infiniti dealer are well designed. The design is consistent across majority of their dealers and the service is amazing.
The closest Infiniti dealer to me is Warren Henry Infiniti Land Rover Jaguar. They moved into a new building a few years back. Out of the three Japanese luxury brands, Acura has the worst dealerships.
To be fair, most Acura dealers in Montréal looks like this. I cannot complain. I haven't been to an Acura dealer where it would feel non Luxury or very old. On the contrary, I have been to Lexus Gabriel (those who are familiar) is far from Luxury and classy! I legit laughed at their coffee machine! It's 10 years old and almost non-functional! BTW, this is Acura de Laval....my family dealer for decades!
"The company is shaking up its leadership roster and creating a new division to handle sales, marketing, and communications for its budding EV business. And it is positioning its luxury and performance brand Acura as the “tip of the spear” in its shift to EVs, which includes improved software services and, most notably, e-commerce."
WOW! This looks awesome! We will have our first dealer with this look in summer here. Looking forward to seeing all Acura dealers change to this design.
They said there are only 2 of this new Acura dealer design built so far - Here in Plano, Tx. and the other on the east coast - can't remember think said one of the Carolinas?
Thanks! I would say all Acura dealers in Montreal are similar to the one I posted, at par with Germans and better than some Infiniti and Lexus ones. However, some dealers look a bit outdated from outside. Now we are getting the first "New Design" of Acura dealers this summer (see my posts from Jan 25 - post 60 & 61). Post 61 is this dealer from outside.
Looks very familiar - Libertyville, IL correct? McGrath needs to upgrade their dealership in Morton Grove to that level ASAP. Currently it's pretty much a drab barn of a place by comparison.
03-19-2022, 06:13 PM
