Venice Honda

My opinion has changed and it's due to the service dept Service department has explained now to me that if I don't put enough miles on my car the car won't charge up. Doesn't matter that I drive it around t Service department has explained now to me that if I don't put enough miles on my car the car won't charge up. Doesn't matter that I drive it around town often, if I am not putting an x factor of miles on the car a day (which they define as needing to not be in town but on the interstate but no exact amount of miles) then my car will kill a battery and have issues of not starting. I do drive the car often I just buzz here and there and it doesn't give me a lot of mileage. He said it was due to having a lift on the back of my car. I explained I had another honda crv for 3.5 years with the lift on it, and then this honda crv with the lift on it for 2 years and never had this issue before. But the service department is adamant that regardless this has never happened before and old car vs new car (there's a 5 year difference between the honda crv's I have) that this is the reason my car is killing the battery and not starting up. His only solution is to keep a charger on the car at all times. Uh.. So apparently I should be buying a different brand of car? Something other than Honda if this is going to be a problem that has never happened before? There are so many things bothering me about this. Same exact way of life, nothing changed in the last near 6 years. Nothing was ever a problem until now. And now our life style is why our car is draining the battery. And their solution is to get a charger for it to keep it plugged in day and night? And their reason is no voltage regulator to help the car? I mean, what? I have bought 3 cars through the Venice dealership and I think Tim Platt is awesome there and had planned next year to buy another car through them. I'd buy from Tim again no problem and be happy to be in there. But unless the service department finds and fixes what is wrong with my car and not give me some story about how suddenly I have to drive my car for an hour of non-stop to get the car to recharge for the first time in over 2 years... then I will have no choice but to go elsewhere. Since we buy a car every 3 years... that's a shame. More

A most excellent experience! Thanks to the "salesman of the decade", Jim Timpson, my new lease was a snap. Jim was knowledgeable, professional and went the extra mile. I will reco Thanks to the "salesman of the decade", Jim Timpson, my new lease was a snap. Jim was knowledgeable, professional and went the extra mile. I will recommend Jim & the dealership to all. Everyone at Venice Honda takes great pride in their work and it is evident. If I could, I would give everyone a 20 rating! More

Having fun in my Honda Kevin, Mike and Tom were very professional and made my purchase a pleasant experience. I would and do recommend this dealership to all of my friends. Kevin, Mike and Tom were very professional and made my purchase a pleasant experience. I would and do recommend this dealership to all of my friends. More

Excellent customer service This is the 3rd Honda we have purchased from Venice Honda. We have dealt with Michael Rodrigues all 3 times and have found him to be very knowledgeab This is the 3rd Honda we have purchased from Venice Honda. We have dealt with Michael Rodrigues all 3 times and have found him to be very knowledgeable and helpful. It is a friendly atmosphere and he wanted to make sure we were happy with our purchase. We have referred a good friend to him and he also was happy with Michael. He purchased a new Honda Pilot. If we are every in a need for another new vehicle we wouldn't hesitate to see Michael again. More

Horrible experience My dad and I were looking for a car for my sister who is a first time driver not only were there three sales associates outside , two sales associate My dad and I were looking for a car for my sister who is a first time driver not only were there three sales associates outside , two sales associate literally ran alway from us. We went over to the guy who "looked like he wanted to help us " we were ready to make an offer and buy a car that very moment we asked what good offers he had ,he didn't even give us options or take us to look at cars he said "go on craiglist we don't sell $2000 cars here" this was honestly the worst experience we've had at a car dealership we've bought a car from Honda before but after this experience I will never do business with them again ,so disgusted with there customer service. I myself was looking in to trade in my 2007 Hyundai Elantra for a Honda Civic but they just lost two car sells! More

Best dealership experience! The guys at Venice Honda are the best, especially JIM TIMPSON. I called the dealer on a used mustang that was advertised on the web. Jim answered my c The guys at Venice Honda are the best, especially JIM TIMPSON. I called the dealer on a used mustang that was advertised on the web. Jim answered my call. I told him that I was interested in the Mustang and that I live 3 HOURS away. Jim went above and beyond. He took extra pictures and videos of the vehicle and emailed them to me so that I can have a better idea of the condition of the vehicle. I liked what I saw and asked him to provide me with some figures. He e-mailed me pricing on the vehicle. I told him that I would be driving up to see him to purchase this vehicle. When my family and I arrived Jim greeted us promptly and began the paper work on the purchase. We were done in less than an hour and driving back home. I would definitely recommended Jim and Venice Honda to anyone looking for a new or used car. We also dealt with Dan and Paul in finance, both great as well. Go here you won't be disappointed. More

Unethical Practices 3-13-17 talked to the finance person about buying a used 2016 toyota highlander. He said my credit score was not good enough for lowest used car inte 3-13-17 talked to the finance person about buying a used 2016 toyota highlander. He said my credit score was not good enough for lowest used car interest rate. (credit score is near 800) He said if I purchased a service warranty I could get the lowest used car interest rate and I could cancel it at any time and the refund would be applied to the loan. So I purchased the warranty for $2076. On 3-16-17, I returned to cancel the warranty. I dealt with the same finance person. He said it would take at least 3 months for the refund. I filled out the cancellation form and left. 7-13-17 called the sales manager to find out about my refund. Found out that I should have had my refund in 4-6 weeks. The sales manager agreed with me that the finance person lied about the interest being lower if I bought the warranty. The sales manager checked and cancellation form was never submitted. The sales manager submitted the cancellation form but never followed up with a courtesy call as promised. More

Fabulous Experience! Jim Timpson was an absolutely wonderful salesman. He really cares about his customers. He really fought for me, found the car in the color of my choi Jim Timpson was an absolutely wonderful salesman. He really cares about his customers. He really fought for me, found the car in the color of my choice when no other salesman or dealership would, and delivered the car to me with a full tank of gas. He stayed with me and showed me how to use all the features on the car until I was comfortable, A very nice purchase experience. More

Extremely helpful I drove an hour to meet up with Jim and he made the whole experience just wonderful. Him and Tim were there by me the whole time helping me with anyth I drove an hour to meet up with Jim and he made the whole experience just wonderful. Him and Tim were there by me the whole time helping me with anything and everything and I left with the car I wanted and extremely satisfied. Awesome place for your car buying More

Scam "come on" prices, disreputable sales tactics After my APPALLING visit to this dealership, to my severe SHOCK, I got a follow up voice mail from the sales rep, about another vehicle. I replied t After my APPALLING visit to this dealership, to my severe SHOCK, I got a follow up voice mail from the sales rep, about another vehicle. I replied that I wanted to be REMOVED from their contact list. In response, I got an e-mail request from the General Sales Manager, asking if I'd be willing to share the details of my bad experience. Yet, despite having invested a significant amount of time detailing my EXTREMELY unsatisfactory experience there, I never even received so much as an acknowledgement of my reply. At least from where I stand, this dealership gives not a hoot about dealing with potential buyers in a reputable manner. And, IF such potential buyer were unhappy with their experience, so what? Their abject indifference to customer satisfaction is appalling. While, at the time, I was looking at a used Honda Fit, I am now looking at a NEW Honda Civic. Guess where I am NOT going to go, to look for this car? I am so very glad that I happen to live between 2 Honda dealerships! As flabbergasted as I was by my bad treatment when looking at a used 2015 Honda Fit, I am even more "blown away" by the fact that, having provided all of the details about my dissatisfaction with that potential purchase, I have not even received the courtesy of an acknowledgment from their General Sales Manager! WHY did I even waste my time? Clearly, they don't give a xxxx. But, here is my reply to that General Sales Manager: Probably the biggest was distrust. The figures for the 2015 Fit that I was looking at included a $950 add-on charge. Jim said that was for 4 new tires. A two year old car with 11,000 miles that needed new tires? My Jeep has about that mileage and all 4 of its tires STILL look new! SOMETHING was VERY WRONG with that picture! Since Jim SAID it had never been in an accident, there would be only 2 other explanations. The previous owner drove that car VERY HARSHLY, or, Honda puts real JUNK tires on its new Fits. Of course, Jim stated that this is something your dealership does automatically. First off, I find that VERY HARD to believe. Secondly, if I may make a business suggestion, your dealership would do better if you left the original tires on two year old cars with only 11,000 mileage. Even if the originals were cheap tires to begin with, they probably would have had another 10,000 miles on them before they came even close to needing replacement. Not to mention that the front tires would wear down well before the rear ones. And, a buyer could surely handle that for significantly less than $950, even with balancing, etc., etc.. Of course, the other strong possibility with this whole "new tire" thing was that, since its tires should still look new, it was just an add-on charge. But, beyond the tire issue, I felt like I was back in the eighties. Back when it was fairly commonplace for car dealers to use all kinds of slick tricks & high pressure tactics. It has been DECADES since I've seen that, so I really thought they were a real thing of the past. I was appalled that I was expected to conclude the sale without knowing what the interest rate on the loan would be. Instead, I was given a monthly payment. So, I guess, based on the interest rate, the length & duration of those payments would vary. Jim was quick to point out that it stated on the website that the $11,000 price was dependent on financing through YOUR banks, or the price would be $1000 higher. Again, having become unaccustomed to these types of tricks in recent decades, I had not seen that. When I got home, I did look and, sure enough, if I scrolled down well below where I had looked at the vehicle & its price, there it was. I just hadn't been expecting that kind of trickery. But, clearly, your dealership gets some kind of "kick back" from the bank in return for you sending them business their way. And the buyer gets an interest rate higher than what they'd normally qualify for. I had also told Jim from the start, that I really wanted an automatic. However, I figured that stick shifts are in low demand in this day and age, so if I could get a really good price, I would definitely consider it. With all those extra charges and the interest situation, that was clearly not going to be the case. And then there was the "hard sell." When I indicated that I would not buy the car, I got pressured. So much that, even when I stood up to leave, I was still being pressured. And, to cap it all off, Jim even followed me out into the parking lot to try to sell me a different car! I had actually rather surprised that I was asked to take the vehicle out even before we had talked figures, but I felt that if you were willing to waste your time, why not? I would not have asked for a test drive until I was happy with the numbers. Just a few days before I was at your dealership, I had visited a local Ford dealership. In the event that I go back to considering a Ford, I would go back to that dealership. I had no such experience there! And, when I bought my new Jeep at Douglas Jeep in 2014, I had an entirely different experience. I had thoroughly researched prices and had come up with a figure I was willing to pay that I also thought was fair to the dealership. I had expected there to be a little bit of back and forth, but there wasn't even any of that! No games, no tricks, no high pressure tactics. I had told them, up front, that I would finance it through my own bank, as I'd done a lot of research and gotten a good interest rate from them. I'd even had their draft in hand! They had no problem whatsoever with that, but told me that they thought they could do better. They did some checking and came up with an even better rate than I'd gotten on my own. That rate is very low, well under 2%. What had prompted me to look for a new car was difficulties I've been having with my 2002 Hyundai. It is now up & running again, but I plan to continue searching for a replacement so that I won't be caught in the lurch when the time comes. Now that I have time to look around, I'm considering a number of different hatchbacks or cross-overs. Fortunately, if I decide on a Honda, there's a dealership in Port Charlotte. I've devoted a lot of thought, time & effort describing in great detail exactly why I won't do business with your dealership. My guess is that you could improve your sales numbers by "getting with the program" of car sales in this century. I really thought that the kind of tactics you use had gone the way of the horse and buggy. More