I-79 Honda

Had a great experience yesterday buying a Honda Fit from I-​79 Honda/​Mazda. I told them ahead of time that I wanted it to be a fast, efficient experience, and they delivered perfectly.
Dan Parker was my salesperson. He was friendly, helpful, and understanding that we didn’t want to spend much time there.
We signed the paperwork with Loretta Baldwin. She’s fast and knows her stuff.
Overall very pleasant experience.

I had a wonderful experience with purchasing my new Mazda here! Everyone was friendly and helpful and went above and beyond to make sure I got the car I wanted. Eric, John, and Randall were all great salesmen and were not pushy when I was trying to decide on a car and during the negotiation process. My situation required extra paperwork and they never once complained about the extra steps. After buying the car Eric and Randall walked me through all of the cars features and made sure I was comfortable. I highly recommend giving this dealership a try.

I don’t know where these other people had their auto shopping experience. The I– 79 Honda — Mazda I and my wife dealt with were great!
From Marty the salesman to the business manager and the lady who did all the paperwork, all were professional and very friendly. We were in the market for a second car for almost a year. Marty let us take any car we were interested in. We would also go up on Sunday and Butch, the man on duty, would talk to us and get keys to any car so we could check the car out and even drive it around the lot. (no salesmen)
Marty was not pushy anyway. We finally zeroed in on a used Mazda CX 5. My wife did not like the feel of the passenger seat but we really liked the Mazda. So we moved up to the leather of a new one and it fit her very well.(This was our idea, not Marty’s) I could even tell the difference. Long story short we bought the 2015 Mazda CX-​5 GT and could not be more satisfied. Five years ago we also bought a Honda from them. Another great experience, that is why we went back. We still have the Honda, Accord coupe with a V6 and manual 6 speed. We know cars and dealerships. The pushy ones we walk away from.

I’m disgusted. we bought a used 2015 Subaru from this outfit with 2000 miles on it. I just loved the car, the salesman was nice and the service is open on Saturday. we paid Blue book but it was the car I wanted. last week David noticed the tires were worn in the back — badly on the outside. we called. and then brought it in and they were horrible. They never even put it up on a lift. The only thing they offered was an alignment that was covered by the warranty telling us there was nothing wrong with the car. So I am up here in Monroeville at Cochran Subaru and they quickly discovered the reason for the tires– there’s a bent rod underneath. It’s a big deal. $ 400 for new tires on a car that has 6000 miles on it another 250 for the part and alignment. This whole thing just stinks and I feel like an idiot. I would suggest avoiding this place at all possible costs and head right get to Bortz Subaru. I wish I had. They have no concept of customer service and obviously no morals.

This week, I went with my sister to the I-​79 Honda Mazda dealership («I-​79,» aka Joe Romeo I-​79 Honda Mazda), for moral support and to review any paperwork. She’d test-​driven a car, negotiated, and was essentially ready to buy. The first day I went, she signed everything she needed to, to buy the car. The second day, unprofessionalism ran rampant — and ruined this business for me.
My sister did not ultimately buy the car — see below for why — but that didn’t cause this review. What did, is that the «business manager» we dealt with on day two — Loretta Baldwin, per her card — was unprofessional and then some. Instead of addressing our concerns, she went from indifferent to awful. [That’s the gist of the complaint, if the length of the review puts you off.]
For balance, though, the positive bits: the showroom was well-​kept; the cars were pretty; no one objected to my nephew toddling around, exploring; the salesman we dealt with was nice (a little pushy, but that’s the job?); and most of the other personnel seemed friendly.
One issue arose when I-​79 denied a likely problem with the car, then begrudgingly agreed to a limited warranty which would cover the denied problem — THEN decided not to sell her the car, a day AFTER she’d already signed everything (and paid $ 300 for the warranty), saying that the car might have that problem after all. (The only thing left was for her significant other to sign a smidge more paperwork the next day, right before actually taking the car.)
But, fine. If the dealership legitimately decided a serious mechanical problem existed, I can understand not wanting to have to deal with it, particularly if it’s under warranty. (Yay for insisting on warranties, yes?) It all just seems a little hinky.
Another perhaps-​odd bit is that the salesman had acted surprised that we wanted the warranty in writing, but he did scrawl it out. However, beyond this written-​out bit, there was no mention of the warranty in the pretty, official-​looking paperwork: we had to point out the box that indicates whether or not a warranty is part of the sale.
Additionally, they wanted her to simply sign — not fill out — a _​blank_​bank credit application. The woman seemed surprised when my sister objected, but did fill it out. I don’t know: that might even be standard practice, to speed up the process, but it just seemed a little weird.
On to the issue at hand. The salesman, apparently trying to rectify the failed deal, tried to get the ball rolling on another car. Phone tag ensued, with I-​79 calling, saying my sister was «approved» for another car — but it was one she’d literally not even seen. (This was probably honest miscommunication, particularly given the perpetual perils of phone tag. No biggie.)
So we went back to I-​79, to see what exactly was going on about this other car, and to retrieve the now-​moot documents regarding the prior car. (I-​79 had indicated it would mail them, and refund the $ 300, but hadn’t yet done so.)
When we went back, our salesman was out, so we spoke with the woman he’d had do the paperwork — Loretta. When my sister explained that she was not, in fact, interested in this car, Loretta went from aloof and indifferent-​seeming to cranky.
And when my sister indicated her other concerns, Loretta progressed to haughty and rude. Specifically, my sister wanted to know whether I-​79 had reapplied for credit on her behalf, for THIS car (because added credit applications can negatively impact credit scores, and because they’d not had any sort of authorization to do). These seem like legitimate concerns to me, but Loretta was outright dismissive about them, and worse. In our interaction, Loretta managed a few choice bits (that I can remember; it seems like there were more).
~“Well, I don’t understand why you’d be upset. We were just trying to get you into a vehicle you could AFFORD.” Given her tone, this read like, «Well, that car didn’t pan out because you were too picky, asked too many questions, and demanded a warranty. And you should be grateful we’re even trying, since you’re poor … .» (Apparently questions are bad, and concerns about overpaying are silly.)
Also, ~“I’m not sure what you’re bothered about, but if you have any complaints, I’M not the person to complain to, I’m just the paperwork girl.” Loretta utterly missed the point: if she would have actually discussed our concerns, there wouldn’t be any complaints.
On that first day, we’d dealt with another «paperwork girl,» whose name I didn’t catch. Loretta was briefly involved, when she had a couple questions. Then, too, Loretta was perfunctory and rude — though whether it was aimed at the other woman, at us, or whether it’s Loretta’s general attitude, I couldn’t say.
We won’t be back. I wouldn’t go if I were you, either, unless you like to drop thousands of dollars without asking any questions or expecting any follow-​through.