T0L8

It has been a few weeks since purchasing the ZDX. I am curious about others’ buying experience at Acura dealers.

I purchased the coupe at a large dealership in Southern California. I negotiated by phone and email for a cash purchase, having secured financing through my own bank. Though my banker told me not to let the dealership runs my credit, the dealership insisted that my credit needs to be checked before I can drive the vehicle off the lot. My sale associate showed me my credit report and score, but refused to give me a copy, citing that the credit bureaus forbid them to give customers copies of their own credit reports.

It took about an hour of preliminary paperwork in the lobby, then off to the office of the finance manager in the back. Here, the finance manager tried to sell me extended service contract that costs about $4000, alarm system, gap insurance, paint protection insurance, etc. He wants to attach all of the above to the monthly payments and also charge interest at the rate of the loan for the entire loan term. The most irritating aspect of it was the sleazy manner with which he talked about them and that he didn't want you to read anything. I declined all offers.

As far as the vehicle is concerned, there are a few things that were not disclosed by my sale associate. I found them afterward. I am not too worried about them as I don’t think they will affect the performance of the vehicle. However, it certainly reflects very badly on Acura as a brand and its dealer network. I feel that it is fair to expect a pleasant and non-pressured buying experience at an Acura dealer. It’s the reason why negotiation was done through email/phone.

Any comments? Thoughts? Your own personal experience?

123456SPEED

hmm. I know I don't like to be lured into their domain for too long. They always see me as a sucker cause they know I'm not cross-shopping brands and if you are shopping the Z, they know your choices are limited.
Not sure why all that happened if you had cash ready. gap ins makes me think lease. and payments you mention make me think financing. so I'm unclear on the deal.
You'd think if you had cash and financing set up somewhere else the finance part would be simple. as far as the add-ons- it's a nightmare once you are in their clutches.
Overall I am wary of dealers once you are in their offices, you're at their mercy, esp for rare cars like I like, the CLS and the Z...

ZZZZZDX_White

TOL8,
I love Acura (Honda) brand for a long time; some of my closed friends I even refer to them and loving the cars as well.

However, I must say that 90% of the time, the experience inside their dealership left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even after being a repeat customers.
After a while, I truly wonder: why do I keep coming back? Because I love their cars?
Gosh, not that much that they can treat me like dirt!
So I brought my money somewhere else.

Here in Dallas is just horrible (Goodson and Vandergriff... well, David McDavid's not that great either). They're condescending, rude and just not willing to work a good deal with you.

Back in '08, my lease of TL is done and I wanted to buy/finance the TL Type S.
Instead of realizing that we are returning customers, Goodson was so rude and trying to 'jacked-up' the price of the Type S.
When I declined and returned to the car (the leased TL!), the manager ran out to us in the parking lot, threatening: "If you leave, you are not going to be able to get this deal again!" and made us signed that in their piece of paper.

I gladly signed that WHILE sitting inside the car ALREADY running!
And we never came back again.

So foolish of me getting another Acura (the Z - through Vandergriff).
I can't help it, I like the car... ;-) until another horror story came again
(another long story, don't feel like typing it...)

So, yeah,
I hate to say this... but Acura will never be able to beat the rest (Infiniti, Lexus, German trio).
Especially with their customer service.
Acura's cars may be good, but heck, it takes more than that to sell 'em to customers.

So far, my wife is loving her 328i (she wanted a TL Advance - so long Vandegriff...)
And I love my E350.
And both have been very reliable for the past year.

And good grief, their services have been impeccable to us.
No rude condescending personnel in their dealership, always pleasant and full of courtesy. Not even Acura's service personnel can do that.
I truly wonder why...

So yeah, Acuras have fell out of our consideration in buying future cars.
Sadly, not because of their automobiles,
But because of poor (fill in the blanks here yourself...)

That's just ironic.

mY sLOW UA6

Though I have never dealt with an Acura dealer I have dealt with Honda dealers multiple times. When I brought my 2 gen there to get it repaired everything went well until I went to leave and noticed the power seat wasn't working, mind you this is after I was without the car for more than the expected time. So I went back inside and was told that they had nothing to do with it. I said that I can't even drive the car because the seat was all the way back and I'm only about 5'10''. I kept being told that it was not their fault and I would have to pay. This is when I lost it and started arguing with them saying that they were the worst dealership. They finally decided to have a tech look at the seat, and the cables connecting the seat to the power had come undone due to Gumby or whoever drove my car to push the seat all the way back. With Audi so far I have had much better luck.

T0L8

To clarify for 6Speed, the car is financed. The gap insurance was through the alarm company policy. The policy supposedly stipulates that if the vehicle is loss, it will pay up to $20,000. Then the gap policy would kick in to pay for the rest afterward. The kicker was that it was not clear to me how they determined the value of the vehicle at the time of loss, even after I asked out of curiosity.

My wife and I had another unpleasant experience with another finance manager at a local dealer. We were made to feel as if he was being charitable to us by even replying to our offer of purchasing the 2012 ZDX on his lot. We purchase the ZDX one week after at the other dealer. We are adding accessories to the coupe using the services of another Acura dealer that is 45 min drive from our home vs. the 10 min drive to the local dealer.

Just a few days ago, I was listening to the radio. People were discussing sport sedans. I heard BMW, Infinity, MB, Lexus, Audi mentioned in the same breath and their vehicles listed in direct comparison to each other. I wonder if Acura dealers' customer service is a reason for the brand missing from that short list.

Sadly, we are considering other brands for the next vehicle.

ZZZZZDX_White

"Just a few days ago, I was listening to the radio. People were discussing sport sedans. I heard BMW, Infinity, MB, Lexus, Audi mentioned in the same breath and their vehicles listed in direct comparison to each other. I wonder if Acura dealers' customer service is a reason for the brand missing from that short list.
Sadly, we are considering other brands for the next vehicle."

Acura's attitude is just odd, eh?
They just seem to don't get it...
We'll see if the new NSX can change all that (the current RLX seemed to be yet another letdown for the company)

Same for us; as long as those 5 other companies are still around, we will never buy another Acura...

123456SPEED

Luckily all my 4 Acuras had needed little dealer attention. so at least it's not like BMW and Audi used to be always in the shops.
but the buying experience should be a happy one, not sure why the dealers are not aware of how important that is to buyers. Bad experiences ruin the love of the cars and brand.
you'd think now in the lean years for Acura they'd kiss the ground when you walk in...ha.

terdonal

Sad to hear stories like this. It happens in all businesses unfortunately and the companies wonder why they just can't gain ground on their competition. Some companies just don't understand what customer service really is.

I was in Customer service for 30 years and the manager for the last 20 of those years. I made it our mission to be the best in service and we were. It was our department that was a major force in putting us ahead of our competition and the owners of the company and our sales people used this a major selling tool when bidding on jobs.

T0L8

"you'd think now in the lean years for Acura they'd kiss the ground when you walk in...ha."

Actually, I don't expect such treatment. In fact, I would feel very uncomfortable if that is the case.

I don't mind if the dealer staff informs me of additional items, services, and insurance that they think would benefit me. I don't claim to know everything, though I think I am an informed consumer. But if I decline such offers, then just leave them be instead of pushing them on me repeatedly.

Also, I expect honesty and full disclosure. In my case, I would still purchase the vehicle. It would have made a lasting positive impression. As it is now, they have lost future business, at least from me and my family.

I received an email from the general manager (a "3rd generation car guy" per their website) a few days after the buy date. The email speaks of "trust" and "world class service." I know it is a generic, copy-and-paste email that everyone receives after purchase, but I still find its content ironic. I reply to it to express my disappointment. So far, there isn't any reply. I don't expect any.

I am considering writing to Acura customer care/corporate to inform them. I am almost certain it will make no difference, but if enough customers write to them with such experiences they might improve in the positive direction. There is always hope!

SeismicGuy

Here's a thought that would benefit others. When I have had good/bad experiences with auto dealers or other consumer outlets, I usually try to follow up on forums like this by NOT hiding the identity. After buying our 2012 TL in 2012 which entailed a trip from southern California to northern California, I wrote several times about the great treatment I received from Hansel Acura and in particular Victor Love.

As it turns out I was treated well at all of the Acura dealers I visited but Hansel was the only dealer with the color I wanted.

I don't see what good it does to post a complaint about some dealer while referring to some vague "large dealership in Southern California". Specificity would be of use to others.

Just sayin'

terdonal

I would hae to agree.

4dr4bangrAccord

Which large dealership in Southern California is this?