Business ProfileforHonda World

On July 3, 2021, I contacted Honda World to inquire about a vehicle that was shown on their website. I was connected to a salesman for the dealership and he stated that the vehicle had not arrived and that he would contact me when it arrived at the dealership. On July 6th, the salesman contacted me and said that the vehicle had arrived at the dealership. We agreed to meet at 6:00 P.M. I made a cash offer on the vehicle which was presented to the sales manager. A counter offer was made, subject to the dealership's final inspection of the vehicle, and I agreed to the price with the understanding that the price could increase as a result of required repairs/maintenance that may be identified in connection with the final inspection. I was agreeable to this conditional acceptance of my offer. It was approximately 7:00 P.M. and the dealership was closing so the offer and acceptance was verbal and on a "handshake". Because my offer was cash a cash offer, I would have been glad to give the dealership a check for any amount up to the agreed upon price of the vehicle to hold the vehicle but this was not required. I assumed that their word was good because that's how I conduct business. The next communication that I received from the salesman was a text "...I just wanted to let you know that the vehicle was sold yesterday and it was my day off apologies for that sir". My reply: "That's not right. Can't believe that you guys do business that way".

The customer came in to look at this vehicle and offered a price below asking price, we declined this offer. Honda World did ask if the customer wanted to put a deposit down on the vehicle to hold it. The customer declined this offer. The customer stated he would look at it later when the vehicle came out of the shop. Many people were interested in this vehicle, the next customer that looked at it purchased it.
We tried to let the customer know this was a sought after vehicle, but he chose not to purchase and we understand that.

If you would reach out to *** ******** General Manager, we would love the opportunity to help you out. We have multiple stores with cars coming in daily. We will do our best to help out. 501-327-2777.

Wow! About the only items accurate in the dealership's response are the first 16 words before the comma. With the exception of it being a high demand vehicle and another person buying it, the remainder of the response is false. I'll be glad to provide the actual numbers that we agreed to and the name of the salesman if that information is meaningful to the review of this matter. I feel fairly confident that the number they agreed to with me is lower than the actual price paid. My initial comments were 100% accurate. I had been looking for approximately two months and this was the exact vehicle that I was looking to purchase for my daughter's 16th birthday. I am an informed and knowledgeable consumer so not getting it in writing on the evening of the verbal acceptance was my fault. The business was closing and everybody was heading home. I honestly thought that everything was good subject to the dealership's inspection. I understand that it is a seller's market and that a purchaser in this market has little to no negotiating capacity. With my daughter's birthday a few days off, I knew that I would likely have to pay the asking price or more and that would have been fine too. What's more amazing to me now is the fabricated response. I was confident that the only thing that this business could do is acknowledge that a mistake was made in this instance. Isn't that what any other business or person would do in a similar circumstance? I now know the answer to this question. Do they really believe that I would provide the opportunity to try again?

Thank you for your review. I'm sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience, but I really appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention. In the current market with high demand and low supply of cars we are trying to perfect our processes. It sounds like there was a mis communication somewhere along the way. We are committed to customer satisfaction, if you will give me a call I would love to visit with you. We apologize for any frustration this has caused.

-Wes Atkinson
General Manager
501-327-2777