Honda of Ames

Reviews 4

AN

Anthony Brokens

Short story: Excellent Service Department, highly recommend. Backstory: I take a lot of pride in my vehicles and do as much work on them myself as possible (some oil changes, filters, break pads, rotors, suspension, bolt-on type things, etc, with the electronics as they are now garage repairs are getting harder and harder) and I am very cautious as to who I allow to work on my vehicles. After some horrible experiences with European Motor Cars Service Dept. (Des Moines BMW) I sought out the best independent auto shop in Des Moines/Iowa (Beckley Automotive). I have extremely high expectations for professionalism and knowledge and have never been disappointed in the 7 years I have been taking my cars there. While Beckley’s primarily handles higher-end European models they will work on anything so we have been taking our Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans there as well. I have a high level of trust for them, and am extremely leery of taking my vehicles anywhere else, this leads to: Honda of Ames: On a Friday before a 3 day holiday weekend the first warning light ever on our Honda showed up, it was running as if nothing was wrong so I stopped by Autozone to get the code checked for free, did some extensive research online and some troubleshooting, found there was a service bulletin issued for that error code and in a majority of cases the problem was solved by a simple software update on the vehicle. I called Beckley’s, discussed, they agreed and as I suspected advised that only a Honda Service Center could do the upgrade. Since I live in Des Moines I called Smart Honda of Des Moines, Saturday was booked full and had to schedule after the holiday, and was quoted a price for the software upgrade. The price seemed too high for not actually doing anything besides hooking it up and downloading the software, plus we were going to be needing the vehicle for some travel that holiday weekend with all the kids and really wanted it fixed asap. For a second opinion I gave Honda of Ames a call, and not only were they able to get me in on Saturday at the time I wanted, they also quoted half the price of Smart. Definitely worth the drive from Des Moines. I showed up on time, got right in, explained the problem to the initial service tech who seemed hesitant but immediately got me with the maintenance manager who was very knowledgeable and helpful. They did exactly what I asked for at a fair price and got me out the door in the time they projected. No issues since. Also, they did a full vehicle inspection and were 100% accurate on their assessment and didn’t try to push any unnecessary service. I wanted to test them without revealing too many cards and they passed. As I am in Ames quite often, I will be taking our Honda there in the future whenever feasible.

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Kevin Lang

I purchased my car here about two and a half years ago and looking back now, I wish I wouldve never done so. I was a first time buyer and they talked me into getting the extended warranty. I didnt think that was such a bad idea but turned out otherwise. I started having issues with my car, 05 chrysler 300, so I took it in to have it looked at. The first time they said they couldnt find anything, even though a gentleman that drove my car in said he heard noises it shouldnt be making. At first I didnt think much of it but some time passed and decided to go back because it was getting really annoying. My car kept making rattling noises like something was lose and it got to the point where driving wasnt as smooth anymore compared to when I test drove the car the first time. I took my car back and picked it up on my lunch break. Immediately I noticed my breakes were now also making noises and it felt like one of my tires was rubbing on something when taking a turn. As soon as I got to a stop I called them back and had totake it back. They said they would take another look and that night after picking it up a second time it still did the same thing. I let it play out for a couple days to see if it would get better and it did but my initial problem still was present. I ended up calling in requesting to speak to whoever was in charge of this dealership and they again just took me back to the service department and at that point they recommended me to go see if dodge and jeep could see if they can find anything wrong with my car. I was beyond frustrated!!!! I have the extended warranty through this dealership and for whatever reason they thought it was okay to send me somewhere else for service when I paid $3000 for this extended warranty. If I had the option of rating this dealership 0 out of 5 stars I would. Completely wasted my time and money. I was a isu college student at the time and didnt have time or money to waste. I would NEVER recommend anyone EVER going here. This place is horrible! Sorry but Im completely frustrated and had to share this horrifying experience.

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BR

Brad Steffen

My wife and I went to Honda of Ames (we live in Des Moines) to test drive a new 2015 Fit a few weeks ago. Adolfo was our sales rep.....we took the car out for a spin, and also test drove the Nissan Versa while we were there. Adolfo answered all of our questions completely. We told Adolfo up front that we werent buying that day. No problem at all, no pressure at all. Upon leaving, I told him wed talk it over and be in touch. After we decided we liked the Fit, I then emailed around to several other dealerships to try and find the best price. After we got the best one, we gave Honda of Ames the chance to match it or beat it. For this part, we worked with Jim Meadows, Sales Manager. He was able to match the best price, so we ended up purchasing from them. He got all the paperwork ready ahead of time, emailed it to me for review, and we went up the following day and made the purchase. When we got up there, they went through the manuals with us and asked if we wanted any of the optional add-ons. We didnt, and they didnt press the issue. A quick trip into financing where the paperwork was already done, a little help from them setting up the Bluetooth with our phones, and we were out the door. In short, just a great experience all around. Almost everything was handled via email which is a huge plus for me, nice guys all around, no high pressure sales tactics, and Im 99% positive I couldnt have beat the deal we got anywhere in Iowa or the Omaha area. I wouldnt hesitate to buy from this dealership again, or recommend them to anyone who asks.

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MI

Miriam Vakulskas

After extremely poor interactions with two local Honda dealerships (both rated 2 stars on google reviews), I was forced to look outside my area. That is why we ended up with Honda of Ames. I am so glad we did! The first place I tried, wouldnt give me any pricing info without my social security number, and the second place convinced me to add in $3000 worth of service and protection plans, wrote them on the negotiation sheet, and then took them OUT of the deal during negotiations without telling me. They acted like they came down to my price, the manager shook my hand on the deal, but I only caught it after they were running my credit while I was chatting with the salesman and asked him "Is there anything special I should know about the lease or service plans?" Thats when he shared that theyd all been taken OUT by his manager. Out of principle I was pretty upset about that. They refused to add ANY of it back. They werent even willing to cover my oil changes for 3 years. I asked for my credit app back from them, left, and called Honda of Ames. They were able to get it to the monthly payment I needed. We drove two hours and Peter had everything ready to go when we got there! The follow up as been fantastic and I plan on purchasing a second vehicle from him shortly. Everyone we know, sees the dealer temp plate and asks us why we ended up going all the way to Ames and after hearing our story, Im sure they will be making the drive if they decide on Honda too.

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