We had a salesman who seemed a bit out of it and a bit slow, and he tried telling us a few things that clearly weren't true, but when I subtly made an observation that showed that I'd done my homework and knew he was full of it, he seemed pretty honest from that point. He showed us a couple of cars, took us for a test drive, and finally sat down to talk numbers. As I mentioned, I had done my research, and whipped out a calculator to run the numbers he was giving me. Things seemed to be going well, and we were on pace to a good deal below MSRP, but I wasn't prepared to commit just yet. Then this much younger sales manager charged in and took over the conversation. He treated me like an idiot, and when I showed him numbers that contradicted him, he tried to tell me they were wrong. He was simply loudmouthed, rude, and it really seemed like he was just trying to shout me down. Despite having three quotes and a handful of newspaper ads, he insisted that all Honda dealers sold for the same price, and that there was no way I was getting below MSRP. I told him that I wasn't paying MSRP and he basically said that I would either pay MSRP or I could leave. So I stood up and walked out.
One other thing I should mention..on every sticker, there was a charge for $969 and one for $199. The $969 fee was for something called the "Auto Butler Initial Application" (it was called something else on some stickers, but I didn't write that down--the price was still $969) and the $199 fee was for something called the "Appearance Package." In short, they're trying to charge you over a thousand dollars to take the plastic off the seats and give you a clean car. We finally bought our new car at Arrowhead Honda, and they had none of these ridiculous fees.
I would never buy from Bell Honda, and I strongly encourage none of you to, either. I had a good experience at Arrowhead Honda, so try there.
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