Houdek Auto Center

Reviews 5

A

A Private User

I bought a brown Ford Windstar from these people for $2,500. I made the terrible mistake of not having my own personal mechanic look over it first. We had just had a baby so we wanted something safe and hopefully reliable. Anyway,I took the van out for a first trip out of town it was the third day I had owned it and it had a rear window that wouldnt close, so I packed up the baby and we drove to see a friend of mine who is a licensed mechanic. On the way to Iowa City it started to make a horrible noise and the engine began to die and I had to restart the car at every stop. By the time I reached my friends house I had the gas pushed all the way to the floor and it barely got me there. He told me it looked horrible and he wasnt even sure if It would make it back to Cedar Rapids. It smoked the whole way back and it conked out right near Zimmerman-Houdek. They refused to do anything to help me. They said they would find me another vehicle but they wanted to tack on the price of the van that had just died. These people are seriously crazy. I had spent the whole summer saving up for something dependable. At this point I just wanted my money back so I went to speak with Steve the manager and he said,and I quote,"well,sorry, you bought it as is,and if I didnt know where my next meal was coming from I wouldnt be out trying to purchase a vehicle." He ended up giving me $900.00 back which felt still like a slap in the face I had only put 76 miles on the van. It was really hard on our family in the long run because now we had a lot less money and no car again. This team of salesmen are indeed the worst people I have ever come across in my entire life. I ended up taking it one step further,since Steve Houdek had just crushed me I thought I would go and tell Mark Zimmerman,the other owner. He called me into his fancy office and made me feel very welcome and told me he would call over there and see if there was anything he could do. The following day Mark Zimmerman calls me back just to tell me no that its out of his hands. I dont understand why these people would just be so greedy just to take advantage of people the way they did to me. We finally ended up buying my mothers car two months later, but we really had a hard time with a newborn and no vehicle and very little in savings.

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Kaylynn Palechek

I went up to look at a car with my boyfriend because we needed a 4 door car for our newborn child. We ended up looking at a car that we didnt intend on or go up to look at specifically but we ended up liking it. We felt bad for being there past closing but said we would come back the next weekend (this last weekend) to make a deal and trade his car in. He called the salesman we delt with the previous weekend to tell him we were on our way to see the vehicle. Thinking the salesman would get it ready for us to look at again and make a deal. When we got there he let another couple test drive it and gave them all his attention. Completely blew us off when we got there. We waited for the car to come back from the test drive and the salesman didnt give us the time of day. He talked with the people who just test drove it and took them inside to make a deal with them even though we came up with family to look at the car and possibly purchase it that day. We waited 15 to 20 min. and then just left, after we told him we were coming and said we were interested. Ended up going to another dealership to find the same car and they were even willing to hold it till Monday because we needed to get our trade in ready. Thought it was rude and unprofessional for the salesman to not only let someone else test drive the car knowing we were coming up to buy after being there the previous weekend but also ignored us after telling us it was on a test drive. Wont be looking at a car at this dealership AGAIN after that experience.

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Zach Mccune

I will NEVER purchase from this dealership again!!! Thank God for warranties! I needed the U joints fixed, they fixed the rear not the front. I picked up the vehicle to drive it home (after being told its perfect now), didnt even make it home w/out the problem continuing. so....I brought it back. 4 days later I drove back up to get the vehicle I purchased. Friendly!?? I was hung up on after driving 800 miles to plate the vehicle I purchased. The title wasnt filled out correctly. I was told "oh well, not my problem" by Clint and HUNG UP ON. Needless to say, I was mad. I had to call back the following day, Tyler then spoke with me and said he would compensate my gas. I drive back, another 800 miles to pick up a check that i couldnt cash!!!!! because they didnt freaking sign it!!!!!!! They had the nerve to ask me to drive back up to the dealership for them to sign it! Yet my wife was told it was our Karhma to why they failed. Sad but I would recommend NEVER AND I REPEAT NEVER BUY A VEHICLE FROM THIS DEALERSHIP !!!!! What put the icing on the cake is that Tyler had the nerve to ask me to write a good review on google.....pffft. I have integrity!!! Up until the 3rd trip back to the dealership...i would have written the review better. Had they done their job right the first time, 2nd or 3rd time.....I wouldnt be so disgruntled. Is Marijuana legal in Iowa now or what!??? Cmon Man!!!!

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April Wiggins

These guys are ABSOLUTELY wonderful! After a horrible day of losing our main vehicle these guys were our knights in shining armor! They worked FOR us to get the best rates and vehicle all while showing us OUR happiness was their only concern! I even feel as though we may have made life long friends! We, for sure!, will continue going back here for all of our car buying needs! When I first read these reviews I thought they must be fakes, afterall how can a "used dealership" have that many good reviews?! Im here to tell you weve bought cars from big and small dealers and they just cant compare to these guys! They lived up to every review on here and then some! If I have anything to do with it my family and friends will be buying from these guys too! Andrew and Cory we cant wait to come back for Dans truck! You guys are truly a dying breed in the customer service & car buying world! It was honestly all of our pleasure for to the fullest! Thank you so much for being a HUGE positive in our series of VERY bad days!

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Teri 10000

I had the best car buying experience ever! I called and told them I didnt have a car, they made sure they could finance me on the phone before I went there. I didnt want to waste my time if they could not. I knew which cars i was interested in because their web site was so great. It had all their cars, prices, millage, and lots of pics! They sent some one to pick me up so I didnt have to pay a 40 dollar cab ride across town. I drove two cars picked one signed and done 1 hour 15 mins total! Ushualy at a dealership you sit for hours. I could not believe how fast it was. I realized after a day the heat didnt work and the car key worked but not its clicker. I called, they said bring it in. They fixed the heat and ordered another key right away no charge. And gave me a car to drive for a day while they fixed it. I am so happy with my SUV and I would recommend them to anyone and everyone. Ive told all my friends and they all love my car!

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