Howdy Honda

I don't get impressed often, especially when having to deal with the automotive industry. But Clint was amazing every step of the way. Helpful. Kind. Informative. He went out of his way to help me. I'll deal with the automotive industry. But Clint was amazing every step of the way. Helpful. Kind. Informative. He went out of his way to help me. I'll never take my car anywhere else. Thank you Clint . More

Howdy Honda's Service Dept. Simply Rocks My Howdy Honda's Service Dept. Simply Rocks My dealings w/ H. H. actually had to do w/ a car my mom had purchased from them back in 2003. It was an Howdy Honda's Service Dept. Simply Rocks My dealings w/ H. H. actually had to do w/ a car my mom had purchased from them back in 2003. It was an 04' Honda and her warranty had passed by over a yr . Her problem developed after having the car approx. 3 yrs. , it was the paint job and it started to flake badly and progressively worsened unfortunantly she allowed the warranty period to pass by with out resolving this issue. During a regular service maintenance visit I decided to go into the Service Dept. and see if we might still have some sort of recourse with our paint issue. This is when I first was introduced to Mr. Jeff Dahl ( Parts and Service Director ) . He came out and closely inspected the damaged paint ( knowing that the Warranty had by this time expired ) . Without hesitation expressed his concern and added his disire to escalate the issue , as something he felt that H.H. Regional Mgm should see. After this took place, they asked me to get an estimate for the repairs needed to correct the paint which we did. They got back to us and let us know that the Honda Corp. declined to assist us in this matter but that they ( Howdy Honda ) felt as though something should be done on their part to help us out and in a good faith gesture offered us $2000 towards a paint job. I happened to have a close friend here in austin whose in the autobody repair professional, and Honda had no problems with me allowing this friend to perform the work. I can't tell you how shocked I am that all of this played out like it did. I would definitely support and reccomend Howdy Honda's Service Dept. to anyone that might find them selves in need of honest work for their car, and fair pactices during negotiating a resolution for their problems they may encounter. More

We have had at least one Honda in our family for many years (and now have two...soon to be three!) and are always happy to give our business to Howdy Honda. No matter what the issue, it is dealt with pro years (and now have two...soon to be three!) and are always happy to give our business to Howdy Honda. No matter what the issue, it is dealt with professionally and in a courteous, friendly and timely manner. The Express Service is exactly that...express with no appointment necessary. I can usually get in and out in 45 minutes. Recently I had a bit of an emergency, however, and the time was going to be more like and hour and a half but I had to be out of there in an hour. I was going to just come back but the service representative got me in and got me out in less than an hour and saved my day! I was so impressed with his willingness to do that...no one seems to be that helpful and considerate these days and I just really appreciated it. From the Express Service to the regular service to the sales dept, every person at Howdy Honda makes you feel welcome. They are always willing to spend whatever time is necessary to explain what they are going to do or what they feel is the best course of action to take. As long as we drive Hondas, we'll be taking our cars to Howdy Honda! More

I took my S2000 to Howdy Honda for expert diagnosis of a check engine light (CEL). I was told it needed a new air pump and relay. Cost of parts about $900. Plus about $400 for labor. Total repair cost about check engine light (CEL). I was told it needed a new air pump and relay. Cost of parts about $900. Plus about $400 for labor. Total repair cost about $1300. (Plus $110 for the expert diagnosis.) Instead, I ordered the parts from a Honda dealer in California, saving $300. I had my neighborhood mechanic install them. He charged $80. Savings = over $500. Or so I thought. Replacing the parts did not cause the CEL to go off. Took the car back to my neighborhood mechanic who diagnosed the REAL problem as a vacuum leak. Cost to diagnose and repair air leak: $100. I brought the old air pump home, applied 12 volts to it, and it spun like a top. (The relay also must be working, because a failed relay burns up the pump motor.) I was left wondering if: (1) the Howdy Honda mechanic was incompetent (researching that question, I learned online that a vacuum leak is ALMOST ALWAYS the cause of my particular CEL, and that a trained ear can easily hear the pump running); or (2) the dealer was trying to up-sell me a costly repair the car did not need? After writing this review, I was contacted by Howdy Honda's service manager. He explained Honda had issued a technical service bulletin (TSB) which stated that if there was any sign of overheating, the air pump should be replaced. The service manager believed the mechanic must have seen some sign of overheating. (I don't see any, but he offered to look at the old pump if I brought it by.) He also stated that --- had the repair been performed at Howdy --- the CEL's coming on after the pump was replaced would have tipped off the mechanic that it didn't need an air pump after all, and so he would have put the old pump back on the car and started looking for the vacuum problem. To address my concerns, the service manager is refunding the $110 diagnosis charge and giving me a $150 credit against the cost of a future service visit. More

I bought my car from Howdy Honda about 10 years ago, and they've always been wonderful. When I take it in for service, they communicate constantly and accurately - you don't have to chase them down to find they've always been wonderful. When I take it in for service, they communicate constantly and accurately - you don't have to chase them down to find out what's going on with your car or how long it will take or how much it will cost. Having the 7am opening for dropoffs is very helpful, and they've got a great arrangement with the local enterprise rent-a-car that makes it easy to get a loaner car if your car has to stay for a while. Recently, I had the most amazing stellar experience there, far above and beyond the normal excellent service I expect from Howdy Honda. My S2000 was making a horrible screeching noise, and it sounded just like one that it had made about 18 months ago. I took the car in, and the mechanics found that a part in the rear wheel bushing/axel area was failing. This was the exact same area that they had been in about 18 months ago, but there's no way to tell if the new failure was just luck of the draw or actually had anything to do with the service 18 months prior. After all, I had driven some 8000 miles without any issues.... But the good folks at Howdy said, "Hey, it could have been our repair - or it could not have been - but we'll make the fix anyway for free." That's absolutely amazing! To top it off -- as if it could get any better! -- the mechanics also helped me out by making a simple fix to the front bumper, which I'd pulled out by catching it on a curb. I didn't have the leverage or the strength to push the bumper piece back into alignment - but they did, and they just took care of it without saying a word about it (or charging me anything for it either). If Honda still made S2000s, I'd buy another one from Howdy Honda in a heartbeat. In the meantime, I'll keep going to Howdy for service when needed. More

On Saturday, 6/9/2012, I purchased a new red 2012 Honda Civic EX. I chose Howdy Honda because it is across Ben White where I work and I wanted the convenience of being able to just drive over after work i Civic EX. I chose Howdy Honda because it is across Ben White where I work and I wanted the convenience of being able to just drive over after work if I had problems or needed anything done to my car. Steve was my salesperson. Nobody appeared to notice me as I initially walked the lot looking at cars. I wanted a white one, but I did not want the navigation. I went inside looking for Jeff because 5 years ago he was the salesperson who let me test drive two cars, an Accord and a Civic. He wasn't available so I just sat at one of the tables waiting for someone to help me. Finally, Steve saw me. He paused, stepped away as if he didn't have time, then he changed his mind and said "come on over". He was concerned about some other customers that were supposedly waiting. I didn't see anyone else there waiting for a salesperson. I told him I preferred a white one and he said that the sales manager, Jon, said that he would like to sell that red one to me. They had me thinking I was going to get a good deal. I had a 2011 Kawasaki Concours 14 to trade and I had sold my 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager the same day to Wood's Fun Center. Steve asked me how much I wanted for the bike. I told him that I wasn't sure. I immediately lost his attention and he gave me his card and told me to come see him when I found out. I started talking on the phone to the same buyer at Wood's Fun Center and he started talking about how "I work on commission" like I was wasting his time. He tried to be nice by retracting it. As I got a price and we began doing the paperwork, he told me that he has a place to be and how he had to get out of there. He said it more than once. That is when I should have run out of there. I tried getting him to throw in some wheel locks but his sales manager Jon Fitzpatrick refused. I did not realize what a bad deal I was getting either. After the deal was finalized, the only thing he helped me with on the car is the Bluetooth connection to my Android phone. That was it. I drove home not realizing how much wax was all over the vehicle and I found a small paint chip on the right fender when I was wiping it all off. Before buying the car, I found that it had a crooked glove box that stuck out on one side. He assured me it would be taken care of. A week later they touched up the paint chip area and made the glove box "better". It was more sunk in on the left side, but it did look better. Otherwise, the car was just okay. I did my research backwards on the Civic. Right now it is in the garage and I have not driven it in a week. They sold this car to me for $20,287. I found out that Round Rock Honda would have sold it to me for around $19,400. Edmund's True Market Value right now is $19,741. Texas Honda would have sold it to me somewhere between $19,400 and $19,741. My car has window tint and it wasn't the best job either. The $20,287 included the tint. It was my fault that I let my guard down. I did too much that day by selling/trading two motorcycles and purchasing a car in the same day. This was an expensive lesson well learned. Honda already gets 2% holdback money and you never see it in the MSRP. It isn't negotiable most of the time. I found out, after the fact, that Honda gives dealers $500 in "dealer cash". Texas Honda and Round Rock Honda pass that on to the buyer. Howdy Honda does not. When I brought this up to Jon in an email, he dodged the subject and said "You paid 6.25% sales tax, but I bet you're not emailing your congressman". This is when I realized what a mistake I had made in purchasing this vehicle from Howdy Honda. They sold me this car at a premium price. The MSRP when I bought it was $21,275. Honda raised it to $21,445 around the time I bought the car, but mine still had $21,275 on it. You should never pay MSRP for a car. Window tint is cheap. Even if you count the $299 they included in the $20,287 price, I paid AT LEAST $600 more for the car than I should have. Jon told me that I got a great deal on the car. Yeah, right. I found out later from another Howdy Honda employee that they lost 2 people recently. This person said that the new car sales department was short staffed. I found out that these two people now work for Round Rock Honda. He apologized to me for what they put me through. I never heard a word yet from my salesperson or the sales manager. I also emailed the general manager and he didn't reply either. A few days ago I called Honda in Los Angeles and told them the whole story. I did the survey from Honda via email. I also did the phone survey from the third party that Howdy uses for their surveys. I've asked for call backs but 3 weeks later, nothing. Someone at Round Rock Honda told me that Howdy Honda has lost 3 sales people in 18 months due to the management at Howdy Honda. In another email from Jon on 6/21/12, he had this to say about Edmunds: "I am truly sorry you have so many concerns about this new vehicle. Once again, I think you are putting way too much faith in what these third party companies like Edmunds.com are saying. The way their business is modeled throws actual selling prices out the window. If they consistently show the lowest prices, then they get more internet traffic. When they get more traffic, then they get more advertising dollars. Hondas have a total mark-up of about 9%. There is very little margin when buying or selling them. I don’t know first hand how your car purchase was arranged, but I seriously doubt you paid above what the manufacturer, Honda, suggests unless there were additional accessories involved. I will look into the matter further, and if I see anything out of the ordinary I will contact you. Thanks,Jon Fitzpatrick" More

I will not even consider this dealer when looking for a Honda. There are great dealers around Austin, TX and there is no point in wasting time visiting this dealer. I went in to buy a vehicle right on the Honda. There are great dealers around Austin, TX and there is no point in wasting time visiting this dealer. I went in to buy a vehicle right on the spot and they are not even willing to talk about the price. The Sales Manager was rude and un-friendly. Even if you get a price from this dealer, I am sure that price would be lot higher than other dealers in town. I have visited many dealers (Honda and others) but never had bad experience. But, Howdy Honda is a bad one. Finally, I went with a dealer in Houston who gave a great offer. More