Paintballny

I am currently car hunting and came across an RL I want to check out over at Paragon Acura. Anyone buy their car from them? How is their service? Comments? Complaints?

Ruserious

iTrader: (2)

https://acurazine.com/forums/ny-nj-320/08-red-tsx-paragon-acura-741166/

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

They r the worste...
When My girl was shopping for a TL there was a nice white 07 on there website for a GREAT price, so we called B4 we went to look at it and prob buy it. The sales person said it was available and to come down so after driving a hour and a half and looking for a parking for 45 min we got there and they said they sold it a few days B4 and tried shoving us into some other cars that costed alot more and had more mile..
If the price seeems really good then that car is there BAIT car just to get u there and then they will try to sell u somthing for more money !!

tinad2004

they are horrible. they will sell you a acura certified car with problems and then take forever to fix something that should have been fixed even before handing over the keys. they are unprofessional and service sucks. def dont do business with them. imo

Shawn24A

iTrader: (1)

I bought the last new 08 TL from them in march of this year (NBP). I have never come across people that were so unprofessional as paragon were. I don't plan on going there to buy another car. I had no choice but to buy that last new TL. I got the price down after various arguments. You just have to keep fighting back fire with fire with them.

Paintballny

wow... went by today to take a look at this

http://www.paragonacura.com/certifie...seHistory=true

I wish I checked this thread before leaving..


Worst Dealership I have ever come across.

Ok.. so I call ahead and ask about the car. I told the girl that I was coming from Rockland and didn't want to waste anyone's time so I asked if there were any blemishes on the car and if the wheels were curbed at all as both of those things would be deal breakers for me. She replied, "There are no blemishes on this vehicle feel free to come down and check it out."

So I head down there and accidentally went to their satellite office up the street. Some young sales person tells us the car is actually at their other location and offers to take us for a ride. Guy seemed nice enough and I figured I'd atleast get to ride in one of the new TSXs which I had admired. Well.. the ride was interesting the say the least. The sales guy treated the accelerator pedal as an on/off switch and was driving like an idiot.

So we get to the other dealership and I find the RL.. well it took me a second because it no longer has the front a-spec lip... I get closer and see the paint is in HORRIBLE shape with insane rotory holograms which were most likely put their by their detailing crew.. along with the polish/wax caked into EVERY bodyseam. There was a sad looking red TL with the same holograms parked right next to it. I guess thats a no-charge dealer option at Paragon. So, back to the RL.. every wheel was severely curbed and along with the swirls/holograms there were numerous scratches and gouges in the paint/trim. So as the sales guy is coming back with the key for it I tell him not even to bother opening the car as I am no longer interested and confused as to how that could qualify as a CPO vehicle.

They had another RL that I took a look at but quickly got out of because it stunk of mildew....


Basically what I am trying to say here is... STAY AWAY FROM PARAGON. They are unprofessional and their cars are misrepresented on their site. I am actually considering calling or writing Acura's corporate office to complain about my experiences not only at Paragon but at another dealership in the area that I didn't have the best experience with. In fact I am heavily leaning towards an Infiniti M35x after my experiences. Its a shame too as the RL is a very nice car.

Zigma

I have come to the conclusion that most acura dealerships in NYC are trash. I have never gone to Acura of Manhattan. I've been to Valley Stream Acura and they're professional but could service customer better...

Shawn24A

iTrader: (1)

Paragon is trash. Nothing beats Curry Acura in Scarsdale. There goal is customer satisfaction, as I have gotten it every time. Well Recommended.

el.profe

iTrader: (2)

Paragon sux., although they gave me aggod deal on my aspec kit..235 each, that was their way of competing with curry.. Acura of manhattan is great.. Ask for Jacky

canitolindo

iTrader: (1)

I effing hate those guys at paragon so much theres service is by far the worst I had ever dealt with they never return ,y calls I been waiting for my damn rear deck spoiler for more than a month...so I go over there everyonce in a while and break balls since he dont wanna return my calls lol they hate me but I dont care if im paying top dollar for a car

TRIUMPHT

iTrader: (1)

I am def not going to go on another rant about paragon .

Look into acura of westchester or curry acura .

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

Paragon's service center is pretty crappy but the dealer I worked with, Peter has been awesome. He remembers me and gets things done that needs to be done asap. All in all not the best car buying experience but after some horror stories of what other people have said about Paragon I guess I got off pretty good.

Yvuru

I would like to share my experience with Valley Stream Acura with everybody here. I have went there multiple times for "warranty" service as every other service they provide is not free. They have always treated me with respect and made sure all my problems were taken care of. Their lobby area is also very nice and clean and there are free refreshments.

I have been to Rallye acura for warranty service and they straightup refused to work on my car because of a certain aftermarket part. This part had nothing to do with the thing I was trying to get fixed. The service advisor did not even want to approach me to tell me that they can't work on my car, instead they had the lady secretary come over and kindly tell me that they can't work on my car. I went to Valley Stream Acura and they fixed it with no complaints at all.

I have not been Paragon Acura so I have no experience with their service.

If you guys don't mind taking the drive out there I would definitely suggest you guys take a look at it.

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

If I have a service sheet that says I get a detailing to take off some black specks from Paragon, could I take that to any other Acura dealership to have them do it? I don't feel like going through the hassle of scheduling with Paragon only to have them shit on my appt the day of. Anyone know if this is okay? I'd much rather go to a more respected and reliable Acura service dealership. May try out Valley Stream. Yvuru, was there anyone in particular you talked to that helped you out?

canitolindo

iTrader: (1)

Peter pazmino is cool ppls helps out as much as he can but he's just the salesman im talking about service department which is a big FAIL

nj2pa2nc

check out their reviews on the dealerrater website.

Yvuru

Last time I went to Valley Stream Acura I spoke to Norman. He is the service advisor/manager person. If you bought your car from Paragon I suggest getting the black specks in your paint taken care of at Paragon because they sold you the car. I am not sure if Valley Stream will take care of this problem for you. Basically get it done at Paragon since they did sell you your car.

If you really want to go to Valley Stream here is their phone number 5165615677 and I would suggest talking to Norman about your particular issue.

TSX69

How Paragon Honda & Acura Became #1

It is extremely difficult to increase market share ranking among the top 20 Honda and Acura dealers in the country. Paragon, however, has managed to move up in market share for both brands, from #17 to #1 in Honda New and Used and #36 to #1 for Acura New and Used, and became the #1 Certified Pre-Owned Dealer of the Year in 2010 by selling over 4,000 Certified Pre-Owned. Paragon continues to break records, selling 338 in CPO last month—an all-time Honda CPO record. How did they do it?

Paragon was spending a lot of money on mass marketing and was attracting a lot of customers, but not always the right customers. By casting a broad net with mass advertising they were attracting customers that were not profitable and had a low probability of returning for service and repeat sales. These customers cost more to attract, but generated less revenue, so in the end Paragon was spending too much money per sale, trying to reach the 15 plus million people across the New York City area. An unhealthy gross and a slim chance of customers returning for service or buying another car from them, meant ultimately the lifetime value of these customers was negative.

“We used to pride ourselves on selling customers from across the entire city and state, but after analyzing our numbers we learned those customers are usually not profitable and not loyal, because it’s difficult to retain them for service and repeat sales,” says Brian Benstock, VP and general manager of Paragon Honda and Acura.

Another problem that Paragon faced was working with multiple vendors that had different messages and often competing strategies that were not integrated and confused not only the customers, but also the employees.

Paragon’s goal was to create one strategy, work with one company, and develop an integrated marketing platform across multiple mediums that included research, targeted marketing, traditional, digital, public relations, social, niche marketing, and merchandising, so the message that the customer receives is the same whether it’s seen on television, heard on the radio, viewed online, or on the showroom floor.

While there is no one answer to how Paragon has achieved great success, there is one key approach—they aggressively seize opportunities to implement integrated marketing strategies to attract in-market consumers to buy and service their vehicles with their dealership and they deliver a world-class customer experience that not only ensures customer satisfaction, but also customer loyalty.

In 2009 Paragon seized a big opportunity with the Cash for Clunkers program. When most dealerships were trying to figure out what to do, Paragon quickly seized the opportunity by creating a comprehensive strategy that included a dedicated clunker website, targeted marketing to people who qualified for the program and a publicity strategy that landed Benstock on Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, and on the home page of MSN.com 2 days in a row for selling the 1st clunker customer in the country. Paragon became #1 selling Honda dealer in country for Cash for Clunkers.

More recently, Paragon Honda aggressively capitalized on the ninth generation release of the Honda Civic. The launch of the 2012 Civic is the biggest new vehicle launch in American Honda history and is projected to pull a record number of consumers into the market. The manufacturer is spending a substantial amount of money to drive Civic customers into the market, and the most successful dealerships, like Paragon, are leveraging this launch to attract those consumers into their showroom.

Paragon has implemented an aggressive strategy to attract as many Civic customers into their showroom as possible. Their Honda Civic campaign, like all their marketing strategies, is a comprehensive integrated campaign across multiple tiers including targeted mail, search engine marketing, digital, social media, publicity, and merchandising.

1st, Paragon performed in-depth market research to identify perfect prospects for the Honda Civic campaign: current Civic owners and consumers driving models that have a high statistical probability of crossing over into a civic, like the Toyota Corolla.

Next, Paragon sought to contact these consumers to notify them about the Honda Civic Upgrade Program via direct mail, email, and text. The campaign message offered buyers additional trade value for their current vehicle and the same or lower monthly payment to upgrade to a brand new 2012 Honda Civic. The campaign drove customers to a campaign website that provided an upgrade calculator that compared their current car to the new Civic, and displayed all the upgrades and improvements of the new Civic compared to their current vehicle, as well as, how much money they would save in gas with the new Civic monthly, annually, and over a 5 year period. A typical consumer can trade-up from a 2007 to a 2012 with over a hundred new vehicle feature enhancements while saving thousands of dollars in gas—a fact based value proposition that is hard to resist and as a result Paragon got more than its fair share of customers with this hard-hitting campaign.

Paragon also implemented a social media component that was centered around a viral video, the 2012 Honda Civic “Heritage” Video, the centerpiece of the Tell Your Story campaign that is aimed to create a visual experience that best represents the theme: “1 Car. A Million Stories.” The video provides Paragon with a custom viral video to inspire traffic and consumer engagement, both on and offline.

The video brings a human element that promotes a generational feel, and connects the Civic with its far-reaching fan-base. “Capturing the Civic’s evolution in correlation with the various people featured in the video was key in attaining the correct tone,” says Sean Wolfington, owner of www.Tier10Marketing.com, the agency that Paragon uses for all its marketing campaigns. Over 50,000 people have viewed the video.

Consumer engagement is paramount to any social strategy, and to further the social media element of their campaign, Paragon launched the Tell Your Story contest that has been implemented to drive user interaction. To enter, contestants visit www.facebook.com/NewCivicand enter their Civic-story as a comment on the “wall.” The story with the greatest number of “likes” wins an iPod Touch at the end of every month during the promotion. This interactive incentive incorporates a viral component to the contest. Organic campaign promotion and positive word-of-mouth branding are just 2 by-products to benefit Paragon Honda.

While Paragon has executed the basics better than their competitors by targeting and marketing consumers with integrated campaigns that are consistent and credible they have also blazed trails and innovated in ways other dealerships have not, including an aggressive Latino marketing strategy, over half the customers in Queens are Latino, and a concerted effort to sell cars to customers in their service department that has resulted in an additional 75-100 vehicles sold every month out of their service lanes.

Paragon has also delved into the future with digital signage that reveals what the dealership of the future will look like with video walls showcasing new products, plasma presentations that emphasize the unique advantages of doing business with Paragon in both sales and service, and even broadcasting a closed-circuit television station that customers watch while waiting for their vehicles to be serviced. These televised broadcasts feature positive programming and videos about Paragon’s vehicles, like their Certified Pre-Owned Program, as well as, educational videos on how to better maintain your vehicle, as opposed to what many dealerships offer: traditional television featuring Jerry Springer, interrupted by ads from their local competitors. Paragon’s digital signage is also complimented by Apple computers on every desk and iPads for all sales staff to engage and help educate the customer on the value of doing business with Paragon and the products and services they offer.

Paragon is successful, because of their unique and aggressive style to capture the moment and seize opportunity. They perform diligent research of in-market consumers, they reach out to consumers with integrated campaigns, and they innovate where other dealerships do not, like through Latin marketing or selling cars out of their service lanes, as well as, leveraging technology throughout all of their departments to create a better customer experience and increase their profitability. Paragon has one strategy and one message integrated throughout multiple tiers. They identify opportunities in the market place where the demand has increased and they are better than their competitors in bringing that new demand to their dealership like they did with Cash for Clunkers and the 2012 Honda Civic—and they will continue to do so.

John Zeiglar is a performance consultant from Performance Company. For more information, please email Jzeiglar0@gmail.com .

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Lies.

rhafikjaan

all BS

Lazee

avoid at all costs. will cheat you in many different ways including not fixing various parts of the car, using aftermarket parts, etc etc

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

I guess I will be the outlier in this thread. I've had good experience with the service dept. at this dealer maybe its because I have a good rapport with those guys there and I take care of them and so they take care of me. Overall whenever I need warranty work done, I just shoot a text to my advisor and he will text me back when he has a loaner for me and get the warranty work done .. no hassles.

Its all in the relationships you develop with the service dept. imo. As far as the sales dept. can't say or comment much. Have had alot of work done at this dealer under warranty... but I did shell out a little to take care of the guys ... but still much cheaper than having to have it done on my own.

T-jay

Major world sells a lot of cars doesnt mean its a good place to buy from. Same goes for paragon. I bought my rl there and will never deal with them again. I was gonna buy a tsx from joe at curry but their finance guy started screw balling around and screwed up the whole transaction. I ended up buying.my tsx from rallye acura. 123 no problems and all their cars were minty.

Deerole

I went here 2 saturdays ago to look at a 08 tl...they charged my credit card $3000 after i told em im paying cash. luckily i had the credit avail on my car. the sales manager told me dont worry itll be back on ur card in 3 business days. its been 2 weeks still no refund. called several times n keep being told someone will call me back. soo my next step is filing a complaint with DCA if that doesnt help which it probably will file a suite with the U.S. district attorney. never again will i go there.

MyWhiteGirl

PARAGON ACURA IS THE WORST. Bought my 09`TSX Tech from Acura of Brooklyn. Their customer service is amazing and they will work with you until your ready to sign papers.

Deerole

I went to acura of bk b/c i needed to cut and program a key fob for my 08 tl...waited 3 hrs...so tight

PyroDave

if your buying/leasing a car, never go to paragon. if your close enough to jersey, my guy at ramsey acura gives some of the best deals around, i trust the sales department well enough. feel free to shoot me a PM and i'll hook you up with his info

Aretardedorange

iTrader: (2)

Paragon sucks. Only Acura I like, Island Acura, Acura of Westchester and Ramsey Acura. DCH Heart Acura in wappinger falls is somewhat good....depends on their mood haha.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I like Scarsdale/Curry Acura service department, very professional and resolve whatever issue I have.

MoaarLow

Same here, they called me 1000 times pre sale, were amazing, could talk you into buying a car. All great up until the sale. spoke #'s. i wanted to put x,xxx down. they wanted more to get me where i wanted. FINE. put up the x,xxx and went into the "box" and somehow managed to come up with another $1000 in fees. Made a scene. Made them eat the additional fees etc along with first month payment. Great. But everything POST SALE is horrible. Its like pulling teeth to speak wl someone or get help. Last time i go there!!

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Get your service done at curry, it's close to us and hardly any traffic for us to get there.

aspecallday

Peter the sales rep is a real cool guy he helped me out almost every time i called him which is cool considering how bz they are.Over at service kevin is the guy you wanna deal with ive bn dealing with paragon for my last three cars '06,'08, and now my '12.Im not gonna lie and say my experience has bn the best but trust me ive heard worst.throw those guys a couple of bucks and you will see that all of your problems get taken care of extremely quick.you have to remember everything in a dealership is a hustle...jus sayin

Deerole

^ thats how i did it when i had my maxima...a few $ here n there n all of a sudden theres butter on the pan

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Gratuity is for good/great/outstanding service, not for bums to do their jobs right to begin with.

rhafikjaan

Worst place ever.. The parts department doesn't even match prices. Not that they are required to do it, but still lol

aspecallday

hatepotholez

+1 they take good care of my TL. Also their parts are discounted pretty well.