Need Help Finding a Dealer - Austin to SA, TX

[road dog_imp]

I’d like to find a reputable Honda dealer in close proximity to me. I live almost equidistant between South Austin and downtown San Antonio, TX. I-35 Honda in New Braunfels would be the ideal location for me in logistical terms. However, I’ve determined from my own personal experience that their dealership is probably not being revered for it's outstanding reputation. IOW... I will not buy from I-35 Honda in New Braunfels for personal reasons.

So my next (3) closest Honda dealers would be as follows:
.. 1. Kent Powersports of SA – in Selma (@ 27.5 miles)
.. 2. Kent Powersports of Austin – in Kyle (@ 31 miles)
.. 3. Alamo Cycle-Plex – NW San Antonio (@ 39 miles)

I’d appreciate any and all related input… good, bad or indifferent. The last time I bought a new Honda was in 2001, so I’m pretty much out of the loop. I’m no longer familiar with who the “good dealers” are. Please share your recommendation or comments based on personal experience with any of the (3) dealers on my list. What I’ll want most... scratch that... need most, is “service after the sale”.

TIA,
-Phil

[Elipten_imp]

I have no personal experience with the service departments at any of these dealers at this time. But I will be interested in learning what you learn.


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[redbirds_imp]

Ride Texas magazine use to have a ten best dealers in Texas review every year. My subscription ran out a few years back but you might check to see if they have a searchable archive. I remember one of the top rated shops was in Kerrville but I don't remember if they were a Honda dealer. You live in the heart of America's best riding I think.

[road dog_imp]

@ Elipten - Apparently there isn't a Honda dealer I want to give my business to within a 75 miles radius of me. Looks like the closest dealer I would be buying from is 80 miles away (160 round trip). There are no less than 6 Honda dealerships that are closer, but don't pass the smell test.

@ redbirds - No Honda dealer in Kerrville. I'd settle for one decent, service oriented Honda dealer between 2 major cities.

It seems like the majority of Honda dealers are interested in nothing but their own bottom line... to them 'sales is king'. They can sell me the bike I want, but I'm not sure they give a crap about customer support after the sale. Frankly, I'm not too keen on buying a new bike with, IMO, such a poor dealer network. Probably be better off just buying a used bike.

[redbirds_imp]

I just look for the best price and do all service myself other than tire changes. Seems that it would easy to find a good servicing dealer in such a large metropolitan area like San Antonio or Austin.

[shdwghst457_imp]

I live a few miles from Elipten so we're all in the same boat here. I can't stand ACP and I'll never take another bike there for service. I didn't even want to buy my CB from them but price prevailed. They took 8 days to get my Shadow back to me for the initial service (600mi) and I had bought their Alamo Advantage Plan priority service membership. What turned you off from 35 N Honda? I went in there looking for a CB1100 one day but they were too busy trying to sell a CBR1000R to some kids who a) weren't going to qualify and b) didn't have MC licenses.
Also, loving the Gromit avatar.

[road dog_imp]

FYI: Last week I offered ACP 9 grand OTD for their left-over ’13 model, and didn't even receive a counteroffer. Even with it being the end of the month they told me they couldn’t sell for less than they paid. And Kent doesn't even bother returning emails.

So WTF is going on here fellas? Are Hondas so good that they actually sell their selves? Hmmm... I wonder if they can fix their selves too, whenever something breaks or goes haywire? If they do I'm good. If not, I'd still like to find a dealer with better than half-ass service before I'll buy ANY new Honda.

What turned me off 1-35 Honda? Most everything. Most of all I won't deal with such idiots. When I tried to buy a bike from them in the past, they refused to give me a price for my trade in, unless I told them what I owed. I said what I owed was irrelevant, got in my truck and drove away. The salesman comes running out and gives foot chase across the parking lot wanting me to come back in and he'd give me a trade-in value. Pfff.... I kept driving and never went back.

[cbfan_imp]

Here's my take on San Antonio Dealers:
Couple years ago I had 2010 Goldwing that needed Brake recall (15-20 minute inspection). I go to ACP and they told me they were busy and it would take 2 weeks before they could do it, so I said no worries make me an appointment and I will return in 2 weeks so they logged me in their computer. In 2 weeks I get there when the doors open and go to Service counter to get this done, they search their computer and I am not listed...............so I say no worries (I could see the mechanics in the shop eating tacos and I was the only customer there that early in the morn) I'll wait for them to get it at it.......wrong, they tell me I would have to leave the bike all day, for a 20 minute inspection. This confirmed the reputation ACP has. I recently bought an S50 for my wife, the bike had been sitting for awhile so the owner sent it to ACP for check out. After I bought it I was checking it out and found all kinds of hardware missing and idle rpm was several hundred high.
This same Goldwing (I bought new) burned about .5 quarts every 5K or so. So I contacted Kent Power Sports on this (they bought the dealer I bought the bike from so I thought they would treat me right). They didn't even want to go into details until I could provide paper work/proof for maintenance done and they just kept talking "around the bush". After finally getting someplace they tell me they are too busy and can't see it until September and this is in May. At least the Wing turned out ok, shortly after this something seated because it never burnt/missed a drop. San Antonio is a big city with well over a million and there isn't a decent dealer to be had.
I'm a retired aircraft tech and do my own work, the above examples were worthy of dealer due to being under warranty (new bike).
The good news is.................hey, these are Honda's they never break!

[shdwghst457_imp]

FYI: Last week I offered ACP 9 grand OTD for their left-over ’13 model, and didn't even receive a counteroffer. Even with it being the end of the month they told me they couldn’t sell for less than they paid. And Kent doesn't even bother returning emails.

So WTF is going on here fellas? Are Hondas so good that they actually sell their selves? Hmmm... I wonder if they can fix their selves too, whenever something breaks or goes haywire? If they do I'm good. If not, I'd still like to find a dealer with better than half-ass service before I'll buy ANY new Honda.

What turned me off 1-35 Honda? Most everything. Most of all I won't deal with such idiots. When I tried to buy a bike from them in the past, they refused to give me a price for my trade in, unless I told them what I owed. I said what I owed was irrelevant, got in my truck and drove away. The salesman comes running out and gives foot chase across the parking lot wanting me to come back in and he'd give me a trade-in value. Pfff.... I kept driving and never went back.

That's ridiculous. Kelly will play hardball with you all day and night. It took me months to get back the sales tax on an accessory I returned. They definitely operate under "the customer is always annoying" and eventually gave me the $40 I was fighting for.

I paid $8999 for my CB1100 new in February, $1000 below MSRP, the day the new model was announced on Honda's website (ACP didn't even know about the '14 yet, allegedly). The fact that they wouldn't come down a few hundred from that after the new model was released is unbelievable.

FYI: Last week I offered ACP 9 grand OTD for their left-over ’13 model, and didn't even receive a counteroffer. Even with it being the end of the month they told me they couldn’t sell for less than they paid. And Kent doesn't even bother returning emails.

So WTF is going on here fellas? Are Hondas so good that they actually sell their selves? Hmmm... I wonder if they can fix their selves too, whenever something breaks or goes haywire? If they do I'm good. If not, I'd still like to find a dealer with better than half-ass service before I'll buy ANY new Honda.

What turned me off 1-35 Honda? Most everything. Most of all I won't deal with such idiots. When I tried to buy a bike from them in the past, they refused to give me a price for my trade in, unless I told them what I owed. I said what I owed was irrelevant, got in my truck and drove away. The salesman comes running out and gives foot chase across the parking lot wanting me to come back in and he'd give me a trade-in value. Pfff.... I kept driving and never went back.

Yes, I posit that Hondas do in fact sell themselves. I bought both of my Hondas without test driving them because of their reputation for quality and reliability. It was the fault of no salesman that I'm a Honda owner. A salesman didn't talk me into my Acura RL either, or my first Tundra (and the first one sold me on my current one).

FYI: Last week I offered ACP 9 grand OTD for their left-over ’13 model, and didn't even receive a counteroffer. Even with it being the end of the month they told me they couldn’t sell for less than they paid. And Kent doesn't even bother returning emails.

So WTF is going on here fellas? Are Hondas so good that they actually sell their selves? Hmmm... I wonder if they can fix their selves too, whenever something breaks or goes haywire? If they do I'm good. If not, I'd still like to find a dealer with better than half-ass service before I'll buy ANY new Honda.

What turned me off 1-35 Honda? Most everything. Most of all I won't deal with such idiots. When I tried to buy a bike from them in the past, they refused to give me a price for my trade in, unless I told them what I owed. I said what I owed was irrelevant, got in my truck and drove away. The salesman comes running out and gives foot chase across the parking lot wanting me to come back in and he'd give me a trade-in value. Pfff.... I kept driving and never went back.

You're 100% right that amount owed is irrelevant. Any negative equity would need to be paid or rolled into the new loan (if the bike is being financed). They didn't do that to me, and that would have been around January of this year. They also offered me top dollar for my trade, i.e. the value for my bike in excellent condition. That said, there was nothing they could do about the Alamo Advantage Plan which got me a bit more for my trade at ACP, and most of all they (35N) wanted full MSRP ($9999) for the CB where I got it for 8999 at ACP.
On a side note, I have a Honda Rebel that I bought for my wife in Feb. '13 and it has about 40 miles on it. The carbs got gunked from the ethanol in the gas, and once I pulled it and did a basic cleaning to get it running, I took it to get tuned at Extreme Powersports on Judson Rd off 1604. They did a nice job and the bike doesn't seem to be missing any parts. It's a hole in the wall shop but I trusted them to do it a whole lot better than ACP would do. Plus they had it ready the next day. I suppose it's worth mentioning that the bike was only around 7 months old, well within warranty, and ACP refused to help with it without compensation.