McGrath Honda of Elgin

Have used this dealership for 3 years after buying my new van there. Everytime I bring the car in for service they forget some detail. Typically to reset the oil status so that it starts flashing at you van there. Everytime I bring the car in for service they forget some detail. Typically to reset the oil status so that it starts flashing at you in a couple weeks. Buying experience was not positive. New sales guy was great, friendly and helpful. When I finished up the deal with the sales manager I felt like I needed a shower. Buying a new car shouldn't feel like you're buying a car from "billy-jo bob" at the corner dealership. Yesterday I dropped my van off for more service, this time it was the AC and a bad tire. They asked if I'd like to wait because it shouldn't take long, I said no. 4 hours later they had not called me to give me an estimate. I called them, they knew what was wrong, but hadn't called. I told them to do the work but specified that I wanted the car back that night. "No problem" No call. I call this moring to see if its done. "All I can tell you is its in the garage, I'll call you back when i know more" I speicified that I needed the car today. Its been 2 hours, no call back yet. They have had the car for 20 hours at this point, all they are doing is recharging the AC. More

All This is just an interesting story, if you care to All This is just an interesting story, if you care to read. I just wanted to make sure I wrote about the liars at the McGrath Honda Dealership in E All This is just an interesting story, if you care to read. I just wanted to make sure I wrote about the liars at the McGrath Honda Dealership in Elgin, IL I was in the market hunting for a 2008 Honda Pilot during Nov 07. Just like everyone else I was looking for a dealer who would offer me the lowest price for the car. I called a bunch of dealers about Thanksgiving specials and I was getting quotes, of which 3 dealers offered me very competitive prices (of which 1 of them was Honda on Grand where I eventually bought the car). The dealership, McGrath Honda of Elgin offered me a price $1100 lesser than the best deal that I had. I talked to the sales manager, a guy by name Chris (Chris Houlis, I think). I asked him to send this quote over to me by email and he refused. It was around 11am. I continued talking to other dealers. I called again at 3pm to confirm and this time I talked to another guy, Jack. I was almost convinced that this was the cheapest price. I called at 7pm to make an appointment for the next day. The next day a Joseph Barsalona contacted me and told me he will be working with me until we are done with the sale. I was OK with that. I reached the dealership (40 miles from my house in Chicago loop) in the evening. I walked in and I wanted to talk numbers right away. He filled out the worksheet and gave me a quote that was $1300 more than what I was promised over the phone ($200 more than what some of the other dealerships were willing to offer). I asked him to talk to Chris/Jack. He came back and told me that they gave me a quote over the phone for a 2007 Pilot. I had done my research and in September 2007, none of the dealerships had any 2007 Pilots left. I asked him if he could show me a 07 Pilot and he said he was sold out. I was in no mood to bargain with the cheat and I walked out of the place. Beware of these liars!!! More

I purchased my accord from this dealership. You should be a moron to buy a car from this dealership after you’ve read this message board. They promise too many things and deliver none. Once the sale is compl a moron to buy a car from this dealership after you’ve read this message board. They promise too many things and deliver none. Once the sale is complete, they would not want to talk to you anymore. The car they sold me had worn out brakes, missing floor mats and torn seats. They said the service center was closed for day, asked me to complete the deal. I paid the Sticker price, coz I liked the car. Called back on Monday, and they said I have to make an appointment and I could get one after a month. I missed to appointment due to an emergency, and called back to reschedule, and they tell me that they will not fix the car, and said I should have gotten it fixed before the sale. You will find shady managers and sales people here... do not go More

They are liars. They tried to get you there with a low quote. After you arrived, they would tell you that was a misunderstanding and the one in the color you liked was just sold. We bought the car there f quote. After you arrived, they would tell you that was a misunderstanding and the one in the color you liked was just sold. We bought the car there finally by spending more than we would get from other dealers because it was closer and we did not want to spend too much time again at another dealer. But that was not the end of the story. One day after we got back home, we found two grab handles and a screw were missing. It seemed ridiculous to us because it was a brand new car. We called both the dealer and Honda to figure out what might be wrong. Honda suggested us to get a new car from McGrath Honda in Elgin. But McGrath Honda in Elgin refused to do so. They argued it was Honda’s responsibility. They told us they could not locate the handles either. We never know what happened before. Two days later, we came back to see if we could get handle installed. But they still did not have them and had to order from Honda. As it took about one hour for us driving there, we asked for compensation. They just filled about a quarter of our tank. The second time we drove there, they installed the handles. But the sales manager, Joe, who claimed he was also the general manager, did not tell us upfront that they would not do anything to compensate this time. Instead, he intentionally let us waited outside for about an hour. We came up to him several times. He always asked us to wait for a couple of minutes. Then finally when we were trying to talk with him to see how long we still needed to wait, he suddenly became very rude and shouted to us. He said he was very busy, we were no longer his customers and he did not care anything about customers’ satisfaction. He even threatened us if we did not leave, he would call the police. He actually did. All of these happened within just two minutes. However, he could let us know early if he did not want to do the compensation. What would you expect from a dealer with such a rude manager? When we went there, they even lied to us that they fired the person who sold us the car. That person is still showing on their website. So, I would strongly suggest you to stay way from McGrath Honda in Elgin if you want to get a peace of your mind. They just care about how to get money from you. They never apologized for the missing handles and any inconvenience it caused to us. We thought we would save time while spending more money, but ended up with more time investment and very unpleasant experience. More

Its a BIG NO from myside and I never recommend anybody atleast to talk to these guys. They are very big game players. They talk talk and talk and never keep up the words. I walked in to buy a new Honda Ci atleast to talk to these guys. They are very big game players. They talk talk and talk and never keep up the words. I walked in to buy a new Honda Civic and I was very particular about the color. First I approached these guys and they promised me a quote and also said they got the color I was looking for. Later when I was there to buy, the quote changed to a higher price. Even though Honda of Lisle offered a lower price they confessed that they dont have the color I was looking for. So I dont have any other option except to approach these guys again. They took the deposit from me and said they dont have the car and made me to wait more than 2 weeks. Every day they tell you a new story. And finally I was pissed off with them and dropped the deal. And the other bad part of these guys is they complain about the other dealers also and just make stories out of that. They dont know how to deal with the customers and they all know is to blame their competitors. GUYS, NEVER APPRACH THEm More

Dealer promised a price on the phone, then increased it when I travelled 4 hrs to his dealership. Said it was a mistake on the phone. Next dealer did not disclose the vehicle I was buying as a prior renta when I travelled 4 hrs to his dealership. Said it was a mistake on the phone. Next dealer did not disclose the vehicle I was buying as a prior rental lease vehicle. Ralph Correa as he calls himself printed out pages 1,4 thru 10 of carfax report and left out pages 2 and 3 which stated that this was a prior rental vehicle. Unfortunately I found this out after I purchased the vehicle and returned home. He made the deal and disappeared home. I didnot even get the second set of keys for the vehicle nor a full tank of gas as promised. He will not return my calls anymore. Do not got to this dealership. They r the biggest scam artists you can find in chicago. More

The sales guy quoted $17888 for a certified honda over the phone. After taking the test drive trying to negotiate, he said that he had quoted a wrong price and the price is $18,888 and that too not includ the phone. After taking the test drive trying to negotiate, he said that he had quoted a wrong price and the price is $18,888 and that too not including a $1245 for Honda Certification. The sales guy Tod Tiff's manager behaved like owning the entire car showroom with no respect to the customer at all. PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME visiting there.. More

I went to McGrath in Elgin and it was an excellent buying experience! Very friendly and low pressure, I didn't get the typical salesman tactics at all. Jerry was the salesperson I dealt with, and he was grea experience! Very friendly and low pressure, I didn't get the typical salesman tactics at all. Jerry was the salesperson I dealt with, and he was great along with everyone else there that I dealt with. Even the finance part of the transaction was very friendly and pleasant, and they gave me a good price without any haggling at all. I felt like I was dealing with friends, it was great! My friends referred me to this dealership, and I'm so glad they did! If you want to be treated well and get a good deal, try this dealership. More

Be very careful about what they tell you up front. Mike the sales manager is a fast talker and tells you what you want to hear to make the deal. He is the stereotypical car salesman. Don't trust him! We the sales manager is a fast talker and tells you what you want to hear to make the deal. He is the stereotypical car salesman. Don't trust him! We contacted the dealer before we even went in to ask if they had the color and features of the car we wanted (black ridgeline with factory installed navi system). They told us that they could get us what we wanted and asked us to come in and talk. When we got there they told us they didn't have the color ridgeline we wanted and they didn't have any with a navi system. Our second color choice was the steel blue, which they had and they told us they could install a pioneer navi with six disc changer and backup camera just like the factory installed. Well, when we got the truck back after installs, the six disc changer was installed under the driver seat (we were told it would be in the dash). We complained, they talked good game and told us they would do what ever they could to make us happy - including taking the truck back if we didn't like it. Well, that was a lie. The next day, Frank, the general manager couldn't even remember who we were, then told us he could only take the truck back if we paid the sales tax on it ($2,100). Then, the day after that he told us he couldn't take the truck back at all. Now he is telling us that we keep the truck or pay a $5,000 penalty. We also found out that they didn't even install the correct navi system that they said they would install. So, now we have to go back to the dealer again and listen to their crap and excuses. A BIG WARNING - DO NOT TRUST THESE GUYS. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting. They hide behind a couple of decent ratings here and there. But, deep down they are liars. More

I bought a new Honda Civic (2005) here and they gave me a great deal. Considering it was the clearance event, I got the car at a price lower than invoice (including the destination & handling fees). Also, th great deal. Considering it was the clearance event, I got the car at a price lower than invoice (including the destination & handling fees). Also, there were no additional fees that I had read about on the Internet. It was a clean deal and I even got a better financing option at the dealership that online banks and my local bank (ie. lower rates). Their options for extended warranty on the car was also cheaper than what online warranty websites provide. All in all, it was a good experience. The salespeople were helpful and friendly. More