We need a better Honda dealership (NoVA)

March 12, 2009 6:39 PM

My wife and I are ready to switch Honda dealerships in northern VA. Please hope us?

We bought our CR-V from Koon's Honda several years ago, and have been repeatedly underwhelmed by our interactions with them. Does anyone have any recommendations for dealerships on the VA side of the river that we should consider? Recommendations on who to avoid are also welcome...

posted by Irontom to Travel & Transportation around Virginia (11 answers total)

I had a wonderful experience at Pohanka Acura, I should hope their Honda Dealership is as nice.
posted by bensherman at 7:47 PM on March 12, 2009

I used to take my Civic to Landmark Honda in Alexandria when I lived in VA. I was thrilled when they started their express oil changes (in and out in 30 minutes). I never had a problem with them but I only ever got my oil changed there. They used to have coupons on their website for various things. I haven't been there in over a year though (moved to the other side of the river) so of course, YMMV.
posted by Nolechick11 at 8:43 PM on March 12, 2009

I've had no trouble with either Browns in Arlington or Landmark in Alexandria.
posted by exogenous at 6:06 AM on March 13, 2009

I've never had any problems with Sheehy Honda in Alexandria, though they did correctly identify me as being vulnerable to the "use the cute girl to sell him the aftermarket stereo" ploy...
posted by Lord Widebottom at 6:16 AM on March 13, 2009

Browns is overpriced and incompetent, in my experience. I remember sitting in the waiting room on one trip there and overhearing another customer being quoted a $125 price on a replacement tire (this was in 1997 dollars). She nearly fell out of her chair. And they're not really the best diagnosticians of what might be wrong with your Honda. E.g., my 1992 Honda Civic had the annoying tendency of only intermittently starting, depending on whether it had been sitting in the sun or not. Browns couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, and ended up doing a full unscheduled tune-up, replacing all spark plugs ($500+). The problem didn't go away, so I ended up Googling it (which is what I should have done the first time). The cause was a faulty main relay, an extremely common problem which Honda actually had a recall out for and not surprisingly, a cheap $100 repair.

The best Honda mechanic in NoVA that I've had experience with is Backlick Road Service Station, which I found using the Car Talk Mechanic search engine. Quick, solid, fairly-priced repairs and they treated me with respect, which I really appreciate as a female customer. They also didn't try to push unnecessary repairs, which I've found is something that dealers tend to do.
posted by longdaysjourney at 7:26 AM on March 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bleagh - here's the right link for the main relay problem. Sorry about that.
posted by longdaysjourney at 7:28 AM on March 13, 2009

Response by poster: I should have been more specific - we're looking to buy a new Honda Pilot.

Longdaysjourney - i believe that's true of any dealership, we've got a good, non-dealership mechanic already
posted by Irontom at 7:54 AM on March 13, 2009

I've had good experiences with separate Honda and Volvo dealerships in my home town in Ohio, so I was surprised to get such shoddy service from Browns, but YMMV.
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:45 AM on March 13, 2009

Edmunds.com has a section about local dealers, where people can put in and read reviews. It was how I picked the dealer where I just bought my new Mazda yesterday.

It's worth checking your area to see what other people have reported about other dealers, and if you have the time, it would be helpful for you to add your experiences with the dealer that made you less than happy.
posted by dejah420 at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2009

I would avoid Rosenthal Honda of Tyson's corner. It was probably just our bad experience, but we had literally the worst salesman imaginable when we went in to test drive a Fit last summer. While chatting with him, I mentioned that I owned a 2000 CRV. He said that the only good thing about that car was the picnic table it came with. He proceeded to bad-mouth just about every car in the Honda lineup, including the car we were test driving. Then again, maybe you'd want to go there because they wouldn't put the hard sell on you.
posted by bluloo at 3:20 PM on March 13, 2009

Response by poster: We wound up going to Rosenthal Fairfax Honda, because that was the dealership the Costco buying program recommended.

They were friendly and courteous, and their service department was especially helpful.
posted by Irontom at 6:59 AM on April 13, 2009