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I own a 2004 Element that was still under warranty when I took it to Yonkers Honda for service the first week in January 2007 because the interior heat did not work.  It is now February 14th and I am still without my car.

During the first 2 weeks in January I was in and out of Yonkers Honda until they finally figured out the problem.  Apparently it was an issue that Corporate Honda was well aware of.  The radiator, thermostat and heater element had to be replaced.  This was a very extensive repair since the entire dashboard had to be removed in order to get to the heater element.

When I went to pickup my vehicle I could not believe what they had done.  There were scratches all over the dashboard.  It seemed that a screw driver was wedged in between various areas of the dash and then when removed placed down on cement.   In addition it did not sit correctly; it was loose to the touch and was buckled at the seams.  Everything on the inside was embedded with motor oil, from the seats to the doors and dash.  The damage continued to the exterior as well.  The hood and grill was all scratched, again motor oil was everywhere.  When I opened the hood I found screws missing and some parts loose by the radiator.

Upon bringing this to the Service Manager’s attention he seemed aggravated that I complained.  He then offered to have the vehicle detailed and assured that it would fix all the problems.   I was then told to make a decision quickly because the vehicle had to be moved.  So I agreed.

Since then I have repeatedly been called back to pickup my car (approximately 5 times, lost count).  Each time the vehicle was not right and remained at the dealer.  On one occasion nobody could even close the hood.  The workmanship by the technicians at Yonkers Honda is extremely poor.  There is no care or concern for the property being worked on.  I feel that they are just trying to wear me down so I would just accept the condition of the vehicle.

This same attitude continues with Bob Feinberg the general manger/owner of Yonkers Honda.  I spoke with him this past Saturday after another attempt to pick up my car.  His first question was did I buy the car there.  I told him I did not and his response was why not.  He went on to say that he really takes care of the people that purchased their vehicles from him.  He then mentioned that I have not provided him with the opportunity to make money off me, only now when I need service.  He then said if it was him, he would not have the nerve to bring his car for service to a dealer he didn’t purchase the car from.

During all this time I have repeatedly reached out to Honda’s customer service and tried to speak to Betty McDonald the assigned customer representative for Yonkers Honda.  When she does return my call it seems her only goal is to make sure I am aware that the dealer is privately owned and that my vehicle can only be repaired by Yonkers Honda.  She also stated that no other dealer could do the repair in their place.  This has bothered me very much since the technicians at Yonkers Honda have clearly shown how incompetent they are.  Therefore I have asked that someone from Honda inspect the mechanical condition of my vehicle, since I just do not feel comfortable putting my family in that car after seeing what was done to it.  I expressed how extremely uneasy I feel about the condition of the vehicle pertaining to the parts I can not see especially the after the way things in plain sight were left.  Unfortunately Ms. McDonald has repeatedly told me that she could not have this done.  I also have asked a numerous times to speak to a supervisor or manager but was very sternly told by everyone at Honda customer service that Ms. McDonald was it and there was nobody else I could talk to.

I really hope I have good news some time soon but I urge you all to reconsider buying a Honda especially after what I been through.  I for one will never buy one again.  If you must purchase a Honda do not go to

Yonkers Honda
2000 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, New York 10710  

I bought a car at Yonkers honda.  I purchased a 2007 Fit and paid the list price.  They had a $100 off coupon on their website so I used that.  The car was available that day and needed to have an accessory installed.  I signed the contract arranged financing and left.

When I got home the internet sales manager called me to tell me the price was "wrong" -- that he could get 1,000 over list for that car and there needed to  be an adjustment.  He said he had to add $200 to the price of the car.  By then I had already traded in my other car (which was having trouble) and needed a car for work, so I was stuck.  So essentially the $100 coupon was gone and I paid an additional $100 over list.  It seemed petty since I am sure a profit was built into the list price.

Since that's how they handle sales I won't be using their service.  The accessory they installed ( a Honda music link for ipod for an additional $300) stopped working a couple of months after the purchase.

Obviously I won't be buying a car there again.  

Augh, as if it's not hard enough to be dealing with car dealerships already..  

I would threaten them with a big time lawsuit.
Hopefully you have documented every single thing that has occured at Yonkers and present that at the time you sue there butts.  

Joanne ,
You say that you signed a contract and then later  were told that the dealership had made a mistake . Why would you agree to pay another dollar . You had a choice at that point to demand they honor the sales agreement or to request a refund and have your trade returned . Yonkers Honda sounds as though it is a less than desirable dealership with which to do business . You , however , need to direct some of your angst towards yourself for allowing yourself to be so easily manipulated .  

I agree. To title this post "Please read before you buy a Honda" is grossly mis-leading. The title should read "Please read before you buy anything from Yonkers Honda" or something similar. I am a manager at a Honda store in MI and I sell pre-owned cars around the world, sight-unseen. I could not do that if I ran my business like Yonkers runs theirs. As to the issue Joanne ran into, the differnec between MSRP and invoice on Fits is about $400 and there are no incentives. That does NOT excuse how you were treated when you bought your Fit. However, I also agree with the previous poster, you need to watch out for you. By the way, we sell Fits for MSRP, not a penny over (or under). We're owned by Roger Penske and that's the way we run his dealership.  

We bought two Honda's from Pohanka Honda of Fredericksburg,Va. and had no such issues.

If Yonkers is this bad maybe the regional Honda Rep needs to yank their Honda certfication to sell Honda vehicles and send the customers to a better vendor of their products.  

Hammatime ,

The franchise agreement is not an easy contract to break . It is not as simple as you suggest .  

Honda can readily diffuse a situation like this.

It is easy for Honda to do things within the scope of the contract to convince the owner of the Yonkers dealership that Honda takes fraud very seriously.

They could make that dealership owner so uncomfortable he sell the franchise back to them at a bargain.

Also,an investigation of the Yonkers dealership MAY turn up warranty fraud perpetrated by the dealership against Honda as well.

Honda COULD do alot of things.  

My family and I have been purchasing Honda’s (over 9 cars so far) and servicing our cars at Yonkers Honda for many years. We have always been very satisfied with the service and feel confident to highly recommend this dealer to all our friends. The pricing on cars has always been very competitive, and the sales people are very straight forward. We find Bob Feinberg, the GM, to be very much a gentleman to work with, very honest, and always available for advice. We have always had and continue to have very positive experiences with Yonkers Honda. Vincent Saladino  

My friend used to always buy GM products, but wanted to see what was so special about Hondas, so she got an Accord as her next car. When she went for the 30,000 mile checkup, the bill was $500! And all they essentially did was a tire rotation and an oil change. So what cranked the bill up to $500? They checked the interior lights, they checked the horn to see if it worked, they checked the exterior lights, and they check lots of other stupid ***

She said she'd never buy another Honda, and just stick to GM.  

I purchased a Pilot and was not happy with the whole transaction, stay away they are dishonet and pushy  

I purchased a Pilot and was not happy with the whole transaction, but proceeded with it because they refused to refund my money. Then after being upset the GM comes out to help me ( so hes said)

He ended up screwing me with 72 month finance and what I wanted and discussed was 60 months.

He did that because my scheduled payments would be lower, but I end up paying more interest.

very pushy and agressive,

Try Curry Honda , Thats was I dealt with the first time, I was too lazy to drive up to yorktown  

You paid over list for a Fit? Ouch. You couldn't pay me to own one.

Test drove one in California and it was too slow to handle even the most basic freeway driving. The salesman even made a joke about it. By far the most unenjoyable test-drive I've ever had and I test A LOT of cars. And my gods, the cheap, plasticy interior. Was like a Fisher-Price toy. I guess you could tear out all the cheap plastics to help with weight but I don't think the Fit would have much more hope.

A lot peppier car that didn't look like a squished minivan was the Scion xD. Now THAT wasn't bad for a little econocar and you don't get the McHonda sheep buzzing around in them. Gear interior - highly recommend one.

If you're unhappy with the Honda (I would be) trade it in while you can. There's some great non-generic brands out there.  

I wonder why you keep bashing the Fit all over the place. My wife has a Fit Sport 5 speed manual which I love to drive. Sure, it does not have the torque of my Audi V6 twin turbo but it still is a very peppy car if you shift at the right time. My only gripe about the interior is the carpet being too thin.

Personally, I find that all Toyota cars have horrible interior and lack any driver involvement. The Fit is fun on twisty roads and offers excellent steering feeling. A Toyota has never been a driver's car (light and numb steering), it is bottom of the shelf basic transportation.

The xD you rave about  has crappy gas mileage (26/32) and lacks the Fit's Magic Seats benefits. BTW, if you want a Fisher-Price car you need to buy the FJ Cruiser.