Karmic Konsumer

This review of Weir Canyon Honda is comprised of my own personal experience with Weir Canyon Honda in Anaheim, CA. I can’t attest to anyone else’s experience but I can say that this is exactly what happened to us. As you know, buying a car is a pretty big investment. If you’re going to give someone over 10 grand of your money, be sure you’re giving it to the right people. If you’re in the market for a Honda, I wouldn’t give that money to Weir Canyon Honda.

Last year, I bought a new 06 Honda Civic (I did NOT buy it at Weir Canyon Honda). I had such an amazing experience and my car is so awesome, of course, that Ryan recently decided to follow suit and buy an 07 Honda Civic Si. BECAUSE we had such an amazing experience with our last sales person (I don’t want to marr her name, so I will call her Mrs Wonderful Sales Gal in this post) (er… foreshadowing of doom, anyone?) she was the first person we called. Unfortunately she was no longer at the dealership… SO WE TRACKED HER DOWN. Because WE, the CARRIE FAMILY, do NOT take no for an answer and we will STALK YOU… erm… anyhoo. So we found her.

She was now at Weir Canyon Honda in Anaheim. Anaheim is over an hour from our place so it was quite a hike. But hey, Mrs. Wonderful Sales Gal is SO worth the drive that we drove. We got there just before the dealership closed.

I guess I was a wee bit disappointed. The dealership was dingy looking. The showroom was kinda small and sparsely ‘decorated’, if you could call it decorated. The lights washed everything out and the secretary stared at us like we were going to stuff one in our pocket and walk out. She most certainly did NOT like the idea that we were just waiting for someone.

Most of all, it’s salespeople were slimy. At Weir Canyon Honda, when the salespeople said hi, what they REALLY meant was “Exactly HOW sure are you that you want to buy a car today because I don’t want to waste my time with you otherwise.” And when they said “Sure.. I’ll be happy to go get Mrs. Wonderful Sales Gal for you”, what they really meant was “You’re a waste of my precious smoking time.” It was one of THOSE dealerships. This was a far cry from the dealership I bought my Honda at.

But finally, we got to work with Mrs Wonderful Sales Gal. She had the exact color coming in that he wanted at an excellent price and it was to be delivered in a week and there was much rejoicing. She didn’t even flinch when he test drove the one on the lot and squealed the tires pulling into the parking lot. So we stayed there till well after closing while he added all kinds of customizations to his new car that would be installed by the service department when the car arrived.

Once he was done and everything was agreed to, Ryan signed a contract for the blue Honda Civic Si and was granted what the dealership called ‘Right of First Refusal’ - meaning, we were told, that when the car came in, it was his. Unless he refused it, in which case, it would be up for sale again. He left the Weir Canyon Honda that night owning that car.

He and Mrs Wonderful Sales Gal dutifully tracked said car in it’s journey across the country. Several times a day. The dealership got the parts in just before the car arrived and called Ryan to verify that they got the right ones. Everything was lined up perfectly and finally, it arrived in the dealership. Right on time.

The very next day, bright and early, some jackass their alarm guy broke the front driver side small triangle window while installing the dealer’s alarm. Yes. Broke the window. Of the brand new Honda Civic Si. 2 miles on the speedometer. Broke the window. Installing the alarm. Remember this alarm… cuz we’re gonna scream it’s name later.

Then, to add insult to injury, for some reason, this car wasn’t top of their list to work on though, broken window and all, (remember all of the customizations he wanted?) so the car (the car that Ryan has been moping over for a week now), with it’s broken window, sat in the service department for ANOTHER week. Meanwhile the service department tried to convince Mrs Wonderful Sales Gal to lie to Ryan and tell him they got the wrong parts and that was why it was delayed. Alas… they can’t even lie well. Remember, somebody had already called Ryan just before the car arrived and verified over the phone with him that they had the right parts.

Ryan made another trip to Anaheim a few days later to drop a check off for the car. Meanwhile, literally as he was driving there to hand them the check for the car, another sales person was trying to sell his car. The car that he signed the paperwork for, remember? His car. Some jackass Some slimeball sales guy was trying to SELL IT. He was set straight just before Ryan got there by a vigilant Mrs Wonderful Sales Gal … and then the same slimeball salesman greeted Ryan upon his arrival with this (paraphrased) :

Slimy Salesman : “Hi… what can I do for you?”
Ryan : “I’m here for a Honda Si.”
Slimy Salesman : “Oh great! We just got a blue one in!”
Ryan : “Yeah… that would be mine.”
Slimy Salesman : “Oh.”

Fast forward past all the steaming and fuming to a few days (yes… MORE DAYS) later. Ryan finally gets his car. He even had to take it back to get it washed because lord knows they couldnt fit that into their cramped ONE WEEK schedule. Bygones, right? He’s got the car… everything is wonderful, right? Lets just be grateful for what we have, yeah? He brings it home and sits in the driveway for a second. I come out and he starts it back up to take me around the block in it. We come home and celebration commences. If you’re bright you will have noticed that there is more text after this paragraph though.

The next morning, we shuffle the kids out the door, say our goodbyes and he hops into his new car, turns the key and …. nothing. Turns the key… and nothing. Nothing. Nothing happens when he turns the key! His brand new Honda Civic Si from Weir Canyon Honda DIED the day after he got it home with less than 100 miles on the speedometer! He calls Weir Canyon Honda. They are CLUELESS. They tell him he will have to have it towed to a Honda dealership. On a fluke, Ryan happens to call back a few minutes later and catches a different guy who says that low and behold, this happened once to the car while it was still at the dealership and the alarm guy walked by and did something to it that made it start. Hm.

Armed with that info, Ryan gets the alarm company’s info and calls them. As soon as he tells them what’s going on, they know what has happened. The dealership forgot to put the chip into the dealer alarm that alows the car to work. Remember the dealer alarm that they broke the window whilst installing? The dealer alarm that Ryan didn’t even want on the car. Apparently, not only did they break the window putting it on but they ‘forgot’ to complete the job. The alarm company volunteers to come out and fix it. They show up, rip the dealer alarm out altogether and low and behold, the car works without a problem. But the dealership couldnt have extended that same service? The dealership that Ryan just paid a few thousand dollars to and went through hell to get his car from? Instead RYAN had to track down the alarm company and THE ALARM COMPANY (who owes Ryan NOTHING) volunteered to fix it.

Weir Canyon Honda, you have been found severely lacking. Our experience buying a car from you was horrible. Your customer service blows. Your service department is incompetent. Your salespeople (other than Mrs. Wonderful Sales Gal) are creeps. Your facility is shabby at best. I would not recommend buying a car from this dealership, at all.

In the immortal words of Mrs. Wonderful Sales Gal, ‘You got me straight trippin’, Boo.’