Balboa Auto Group

Seems I was first to review this place, 4 and a half years ago. Just thought I’d update my 5-​star review to note that, 4 and a half years later, the Honda CR-​V that we bought is still running sweet as a nut. My daughter just loves it. It was a great purchase. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to this place if I were looking for another used car.

The sold me a car with a faulty moonroof. They were very sneaky about it. He mentioned about 5 times that the moonroof was not included in the warranty because it used to be a sunroof but it is not currently hooked up for it. Well, that’s because it leaks! We bought the car in the summer and when winter came we noticed water dripping in the car from the moonroof. When you drive the car on the freeway and go over 75 it also starts to whistle. I have contacted them several times and all I get is an «Oh Well». They don’t care about scamming people. They are just two selfish arabics.

I bought a 2007 Honda accord 3+years ago. Sean and Mark are the guys we met that day. My wife had lost her car due to business problems, so I got her this 2007 from these guys. They are very good people, just talk to them.
I am a Honda accord guy, I know the cars as I have been driving the accord for 25 years. They did us well. I still have my accord hybrid 2005 I bought new.
Oh, about the 2007 we bought from them. Its been a great car, for the price. It was $ 14,500 I believe, and looks like new today.

I’ve bought 2 cars from them, the first was in 2009 it was a 2007 Camry and then went back last year (2011) for a 2009 RAV4. Both Mark and Sean are really nice guys, and they check all the cars out. I would be hard pressed to buy a used car from a small dealer, but these guys are fair and I’m really comfortable working with them. I still own both cars, and they work great.
Bottom line if your looking for a used Toyota or Honda, they have good cars at fair prices, and are totally cool to deal with. Hey I went back twice and if I’m in the market i’ll go back again. These guys are legit and very fair.

This place is the worst car dealership I’ve ever been to. They literally assaulted my friend and called him a dirty Mexican. That is simply unbelievable. We had to call the cops and we’re filing a lawsuit against them. I would go to any other dealership in the area other than this tiny piece of crap!

Stopped by last night to check out the cars they had, we absolutely fell in love with a Honda Hybrid, we were in and out with a brand new car within an hour! Totally painless. I would definitely recommend them to my friends and family.

My husband and I purchased a car for me last year — in March 2010. Honda Accord V6 2007 with 29K miles run. It was in perfect condition, and I have no problems so far. We checked every singe car through AutoCheck and CarFax — they all were in declared condition. No pushy sale pitch was a plus. I always recommend this place to all friends who are looking for a used car.

I don’t normally post reviews on Unilocal,but buying a car can impact someone’s life far deeper than any silly meal at a restaurant. It’s been some time since my daughter purchased from Balboa Auto Group, so I feel there is enough hindsight to review this place. So here we go:
Pros:
1. They are willing to work on your side when getting financing on the car.
2. I don’t think these guys pay close attention to the cars they are selling. They sold me the limited edition version for $ 3500 less than KBB used dealer price!
Cons:
1. They have an auto shop annexed to the dealership. This may seem like a Pro (for their «quality» inspections), but read on:
2. The Toyota dealership says that the car was messed with. Some of the clamps and hoses were replaced with cheap third party ones.
3. One of the VIN numbers is missing under the hood. It’s safe to assume that the quarter panel section was removed/​replaced/​repaired/​repainted.
4. The coolant reservoir was bone dry empty when purchased. How many test drives were done with this car in this state?!
5. They treat the Car Fax like some god-​like foolproof documentation on the vehicle’s history. Definitely not the case. Especially if you get your accident repaired from a private auto shop that doesn’t like to file paperwork.
6. Lastly, these guys are a bit rude. It’s hard not to stereotype when these guys are as rude as the «typical» West Asian/​Middle Eastern labels. Trust me, I’m Lebanese, I know it and live with it everyday.
7. I lied, this is the last one. It’s pretty obvious that most of the 4 – 5 star ratings are astroturf! If you’re going to have employees, friends, or family review your own business, at least make them sound like actual customers!
All in all, the deal that she got do not outweigh the overall cost to fix this dealership’s shady tampering. If you’re a first time buyer and do not know much about cars, do not go here. Or, better yet, bring someone more experienced with you.

Sean and Mark made buying my used Honda an absolute pleasure. Their business should be the model on how buying a used car should be. I looked for weeks on Craigslist and after a handful of disappointing visits I decided to look at a few dealers. I did what any smart used car buyer should do and read reviews on several of San Diego’s used Honda dealers. Balboa Auto Group was one of the first I noticed because of their high satisfaction rating on Unilocal (which I have found to be correct about 90% of the time).
In my experience, I arrived at the lot to look at their very clean and low priced inventory. I will add right now they have the best prices on used imports I have seen in San Diego because of their low overhead costs, you don’t need to haggle the price because it’s already so low. I had time to look around on my own and found a beautiful 2007 Honda Accord EX-​L, which is the top of the line model. It was priced about $ 3,500 below blue book value. I knew this because this was the exact model I had been searching for. I was able to purchase the car with a very low interest rate on my loan, also 2 years newer than I previously thought I could afford with the low cost. I would like to add I test drove the car on Saturday and was not pressured at all when I wanted to «sleep on it». I called first thing Monday morning and said I was ready to buy. I don’t think they have to worry about cars staying on the lot too long with the prices they offer. I did not have to haggle with them about the price because it was already right, I got a free 6 month extended warranty, and Sean even offered to repaint the entire trunk lid to fix some very minor scratches I was a little unhappy about (I would have taken the car with the scratches and been happy regardless).
I plan on recommending Balboa Auto Group to any person I know looking for a great price on a used car. Keep up the good work and don’t change a thing.
Thanks!
p. s. I hope the sign guy finished his work so you don’t have to rearrange the lot everyday

I bought my 07 Honda Civic EX with the navigation system from them a few months ago and got the best deal in town. It was spotless, mint condition and they were only asking $ 14,500. I mean this this was loaded with features and only had 30k miles.
Sean and Mark did good on helping me out. If your looking for a used Honda, this is the place.

I just got my 2008 Honda Accord from here yesterday and I would highly highly recommend them to any one who is out looking for a car. They pre-​approved me for a loan with a better rate than my credit union.
They definitely have the BEST deals in town, so you don’t have to worry about haggling. The cars are in pristine condition with a free CARFAX report. The car I bought is still under the 3 year 36 000 miles warranty. They also helped me get a great insurance rate, Mark went out of his way to get me a discount from them.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Went there today and had a huge disappointment. The two guys were really tacky and rude. I wanted to test drive/​start the car I was interested in but I was told that since I didn’t plan on purchasing tonight I would have to come back next week. WTF? Why couldn’t I test drive the car; who cares what day??? I was so angry I stormed off the lot. I called them back a couple minutes later to express my dissatisfaction with their horrible customer service and he told me to «Go F*** Myself». Customer service at its best!
I would strongly urge anyone to look elsewhere before trying this place. The prices seemed good but I am not willing to spend a dime at a horrible place like this. Please BE CAREFUL.

In the typical used car salesman fashion, Parvez «Mark» Attail of Balboa Auto Group lied about a car. He stated that a car that I was interested in had not been in any accidents. However, when I had a mechanic inspect it, he said that it most definitely had been in an accident, and showed me the signs. When I told Mark about this, he said that of course there had been some «small repairs» done. Make sure that you have a car checked out before you buy from these guys (or anyone).