Stevenson Honda Wilmington

This is a customer service oriented dealership. I went in to browse a car that I had done a little homework on. They brought in a car from their overload lot that met my request, and Bill Ivey was a delight to work with. He went above and beyond to deliver great customer service and a great price. The dealership has a couple of no fee add on warranties that are not offered at other dealers. Great experience! I will return

I cannot say enough about the stellar experience I had with the Service Department. I made it a point to remember each person’s name along the way so that I could make sure to thank them. Chad was my first point of contact, and he gave me honest advice about what services I truly needed and which ones I could wait on. He gave me a fair price and prompt service. I didn’t have an appointment but really needed to get in, and he made it happen! Mike, the courtesy van driver is a character, very entertaining, and you’ll feel so safe with his defensive driving skills. Austin, Andy, and Sean all went above and beyond to ensure that my service was prompt and professional. Kenny will make sure that any problems you have are addressed and fixed without issue. Most of all, Aubree and Ansleigh will ensure that any warranty claims you may have are processed quickly and correctly, and will communicate with you along the way, keeping you updated and informed. The coffee is hot, the staff is courteous, and the waiting area is spotless. I will never make the mistake of taking my vehicle elsewhere to get serviced. Stevenson Honda is the best!

I actually really like the folks in the service department (they are pleasant and helpful) it’s Stevenson that I absolutely despise. Every time I take my car in there I am contacted incessantly about selling my car. Every time I pull into the lot I’m targeted by their sales team to be called/​spoken to about selling me a new car/​selling them mine. My car wasn’t there an hour today and I’ve already received a phone call about taking an assessment for the vehicle. I just came in for an oil change!!! WTH??? If I didn’t have a tire pressure light flashing that no one else could figure out, I wouldn’t even step foot on the property. I’ve dealt with Honda in other states & have not had anything even close to this experience. I’d rather deal with anyone but them. I’d almost rather pay double.

I don’t know why this place is getting such bad reviews. I recently came here and brought a 2013 used Acura ILX. By whole experience here from start to finish was great. The car salesmen who worked with me was Josh Rodriguez, he was such a down to earth salesman who made the car looking and buying process easy, pain free and fun. He did not pressure me into liking a certain car and when it was time to talk numbers he was more than willing to talk to his manager about working numbers on the car to make sure i could get it on my budget. Josh made sure the whole time I was there that I was taking care of. The dealership worked with me to make sure I could take my car off the lot as soon as I could because I was waiting for my paperwork to get signed from my dad who was out of state. I would highly recommend going here and if you are looking for a salesmen who will make your car buying or looking fun I would ask for josh.

My response to Stevenson’s last comment:
Why would I accept the opportunity to drive after the fact that the dealership broke it’s trust during the first year of ownership? It’s quite pathetic to put the blame on the customer when the dealership did not follow up on the the original purchase agreement. By doing so, Stevenson further shows its lack of responsibility and disregard for customer trust and good will. Not once did I decline a call to drive during the first year. It’s hardly my fault that Stevenson neglected to keep me on the driver list on each frequent dispatcher turnover. In fact, in one instance, after I specifically gave my name and number to one of the managers, and seeing him on numerous visits to the dealership, he rudely said, «I’ve never seen you.» I will, however, credit Doug Allen for his acknowledgement and efforts to help.

I live near Charlotte, my adult son lives in Wrightsville Beach — here’s your laugh for the week. Seriously, read to the end…
We shopped several Wilmington dealers yesterday to see what the options might be for a trade-​in on a car we own that has some negative equity due to high mileage and non-​critical repair needs (control arms, tires). Our last stop was at Stevenson Honda to get the final information on whether adding the negative equity to their advertised lease on a Civic or Accord was affordable and sensible. Let’s skip the part where what they advertise in writing for the cost of a lease and the actual cost to the lessee are two very different things — after all, it’s the car business, but they were doing a lot more old school bait and switch, let me check with the manager, scribble scribble, «give me two minutes» but then make you wait ten minutes stuff than we had seen anywhere in quite some time (same thing at their Kia dealership).
The real fun was when the «manager,» Dave, came to «seal the deal» after we had thanked the nice sales rep for his time but said we just couldn’t accept their offer. Dave catches us heading toward the door, says «Just five minutes!!» It’s after 5 pm and we tell him I have to drive back to Charlotte tonight. «Just five minutes!!» Navy blazer, sprayed hair, tan, showy watch, BIG super white smile — you know the type. He jumps into the salesman’s chair, flashes the big grin, pen, and scratch pad and says «what’s the number we can do business on today?» We had already told the salesman that the better and affordable choice seemed to be for us to get the repairs done, bring the car to my house near Charlotte (where there is a much bigger resale market than Wilmington), sell privately, then buy another car. Or just keep the one we fixed. Less loss, more choices. We re-​tell this to Dave and say thank you, we really need to go.
He says, «Listen to me! Up until three and a half months ago, I was a litigation attorney. Here’s the problem — If you sell your car yourself and anything goes wrong (doesn’t mention anything about selling as-​is and full disclosure) the buyer can sue you for all damages. I saw it happen all the time. That could add up to $ 100’s of 1,000’s. That could devastate you! Because we a multi-​million dollar business we can absorb a risk like that more readily. It’s really very dangerous for you to sell your car yourself!!»
He almost kept a straight face while he said this, but couldn’t quite control his B.S. grin and the twinkle in his eye. Think he had a couple of rubes on the hook, he jumped up to go «get his best numbers — give me two more minutes!» and I told my son that the only reason I didn’t call Dave on his bull in the middle of it is because I didn’t want to embarrass my son. Son says, «I felt the same way!» So we booked for the door and our car. And yes, before we could swiftly clear the parking lot Dave call my son’s phone and left the «c’mon! let’s make a deal» call with desk and cell phone numbers.
I think we now know why Dave is no longer an attorney, if in fact he ever was one.
(Yes, you could potentially get sued over a car you sell someone IF you mis-​lead them, LIE to them, or FAIL TO DISCLOSE past damage done greater than 25% value of the car. Use Carfax, tell the truth, tell your buyer to get an inspection — as I have done numerous times in the past on other sales. But suits do NOT «happen all the time.» In fact, they are very rare. Case closed. Bye, Dave. Oh, PS — we already have, after full disclosure, an offer of the car that is double what Stevenson offered on trade. Thanks, Dave!!)

The warrant that came with the car is the only positive thing I can think of. In retrospect, it will probably be a bunch of BS when I need to use it. If I had to be nice, I would say I also appreciate the Finance person, Scott Crocker, and the Administrative Assistance, Peggy Roberts who were most helpful. They assisted me a great deal more than the actual sales people. Ms. Roberts attempted to «rectify» the situation with «goodwill» funds but it was nowhere near what I was promised. That is the ONLY reason the experience score is what it is; otherwise it would have been ¹⁄₅. I would not recommend at all.

My wife and I have been loyal customers of Stevenson Honda for 23 years. We have always gotten fair treatment and excellent service. Until now! Our last purchase of a 2009 Honda Fit has been a nightmare. The deal was made on a promise from salesmanager John Sandlin, who agreed that I could pay for the vehicle through dealer trade drives. He stated that dealer trade drivers make between $ 800 and $ 1,000 per month. Taking his word on it, I felt that with that income, I could pay off the loan in less than 2 years. Based on our previous favorable experiences with Stevenson Honda, we believed Mr. Sandlin. The fact of the matter is that months passed without a call to drive. The best month was May when I almost made enough to make the monthly payment.
After checking Blue Book and Edmunds value for my car, I learned that we overpaid by at least $ 2,000. Upon writing my letter of discontent to general manager, Patrick Koballa, my wife and I were approached by Ms. Peggy Roberts, director of business development. Ms Roberts assured us that we could lease a car for under the monthly payments of our purchased Fit. We even took a test drive in a new Honda Civic while she worked out the details of the exchange. We were delighted that Stevenson would atone for Mr. Sandlln’s false statements. Two hours later, Ms Roberts informed us that Stevenson could not make the deal (strange that it took so long for people who make these deals every day). Her solution was that I drive dealer trades for other local Stevenson dealerships. This was unacceptable because based on previous expectations, there was no solid basis for her solution. Waiting around all day for a dealer trade call resulted in postponed doctor appointments, family events and daily errands. Upon informing Ms Roberts that her solution was unacceptable, I wrote a letter to Mr. Koballa offering two solutions either of which would be a fair settlement for both parties. I received no response from a man who pitches, «if it has our name on it, you have our word on it.» My wife and I are senior citizens in our 70’s. Perhaps Mr. Kuballa’s word does not apply to older loyal customers who trusted his word. My message here is a warning that Stevenson Honda– Acura of Wilmington does not abide by fair business standards. Prepare yourself well if you do decide to step into its showroom.

Matthew Harbour offered very professional salesmanship without a lot of pressure and there was a similar vehicle in stock for me to drive. He did a great job explaining features on the Odyssey. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, answering all questions we had.

I couldn’t have had a better experience with Craig at Honda. First of all, it’s the least amount of time the car turn-​in/​rebuying has ever taken — I was used to it taking 5 – 7 hours some years and this time I was in and out in less than 3, from test drive to driving off the lot with my new car! Secondly, Craig was very respectful of my having had done my homework on the car specs and pricing; some sellers resent when you come in armed with information. Craig actually appreciated it, I think, and also never treated me like an «easy mark» for a bad deal because I’m a woman (I’ve had that happen, too. They didn’t live to tell about it). I got a great deal on the exact car I’d wanted, after having first reached out through their website (which I’d recommend doing — it allows you and your salesperson to get a feel for what you want, and for him or her to confirm the dealer HAS what you want!). Friendly, efficient, pressure-​free and thorough… the whole process rocked. Ask for Craig if you can (and no, he hasn’t paid me to write this — I’m just *that* happy with the experience that I wanted you all to possibly have it, too!).

What a disappointing experience yesterday (⁵⁄₈) afternoon with Stevenson Honda & Acura… After spending time there Thurs (⁵⁄₇) and then spending over an hour driving around w/​the salesman «Scott» to multiple storage lots in rush-​hour traffic to look for a specific vehicle that is still advertised on this dealership’s website and being assured it was in their inventory, no one could ever «find» it; the salesman offered to get us an «identical» one (which turned out to have a higher starting price, of course). Then the dealership wouldn’t honor another advertised offer ($ 0 down, 0% financing) unless we agreed to a further increased purchase price (which was never mentioned in the offer, of course, which is also advertised on their website). Cheesy tactics such as being required to keep signing the salesman’s handwritten statements saying we’d buy if the price & terms were agreeable to «show the Business Manager we’re really serious» were a major turn-​off (and legally don’t mean anything anyway). Plus, as a former Wall-​Streeter and Harvard Law School grad, you can guess how much I appreciated having basic finance & business concepts explained to me by men who don’t seem to expect a woman to be able to understand them… I can’t tell you how much I disliked being dealt with this way; it’s really sad these and other similar gimmicks are so common in car buying. My hubby and I know NC A.G. Roy Cooper and NH Co. D.A. Ben David personally; I’m so annoyed, my next communication may be to their offices.

Update: After Ms. Roberts left her message below, I feel the need to add just a bit more information. I don’t know what her General Manager, Mr. Sandlin, told her, but either he or she is lying. I was not contacted by anyone at Stevenson Honda. No one left me or anyone in my family a message. So there’s that bit of information if you are still thinking about dealing with them.
Something I left out in my previous review, which you can still find below, my sales representative claimed that there was only a $ 300 mark-​up on the CR-​V, which he clarified to say that the dealership was only making $ 300 off the sale. Well I would respond by saying Parker Honda in Morehead City undercut their price by over $ 1500. So there’s another time Stevenson Honda lied during the sales process. Even without going to Parker Honda, you can find better purchase prices on True Car and Stevenson was presented with this information. They commented to the effect, «well if you don’t buy it from us someone will, and they’ll pay the price we want.» So, as Ms. Roberts said they appreciate my previous business, but not enough to be fair and work with me on the price and they’ll lie to me while doing it.
Finally why I’ll recommend you go to Parker Honda in Morehead City. Stevenson said all add-​ons, which are sold with marked-​up prices, were dealer added and could not be removed. Parker Honda removed the add-​ons (already on the vehicle) that I didn’t want. They did this, as they said, in order to serve me as a customer and in order to honestly represent prices they advertised on True Car. They even went further reducing pricing in order to match advertised pricing to include taxes on an extended warranty I wanted.
Parker Honda in Morehead City went above and beyond to help me as a first time buyer with them, than Stevenson did as a returning customer. Please give Parker Honda your business… you’ll be happier that you did.
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Original Post: So my family has bought two vehicles from Stevenson Honda, a 2010 Civic in 2010 and a used 2005 CR-​V in 2013. Well we needed to get a new vehicle so after being treated decently the first two times, we went back to look at a 2015 CR-​V. Rather than this being the easy experience that the first two were, it turned into an all day affair.
When everything was said and done, they wouldn’t budge off a price over MSRP. It was only the use of a military discount that got it back close to MSRP. So despite knowing that I was a returning customer and a military member they refused to work with me on a fair price. Claiming they knocked $ 2000+ off already, which was from their inflated list price which included $ 1500 prep and promotion. Uhh sorry, prep and promotion sounds like your expenses not mine.
So everything said and done, I’m now shopping at a Honda dealership in Morehead City, who is going to honor a price $ 1500 below MSRP and what Stevenson was going to charge on the exact same vehicle. You’ve just lost what was turning into a lifelong customer Stevenson Honda and I’ll be doing my best to keep other people away from you now.

Scheduled an appointment to purchase a car that they had on the lot. We knew we wanted it and made it clear that we were driving 2.5hrs one way to get it. Showed up 2hrs early for the appointment, just in time for them to sell it to someone else.
That was the only one in the state until a date TBD. We were promised they could get one in a week, then quoted a price $ 2K higher than the other dealership we spoke with for the same model. Suspicious that that was just to get us to leave. But hey, it worked and we are never going back.

Went in for an express service oil change. I live in NJ and have a house in Hampstead. Since I was down here and needed the service I decided to try them out. Their price for the oil change was $ 44.95. In NJ I pay $ 19.95 for the same service at my local Honda dealer. After showing them the price difference they did give me a discount to bring the price more in line. They seemed surprised that I could get it so low from another Honda dealer. The service was fine and they got me the car back in the time promised but I guess I will be using my dealer up north for all my service since their prices are so off compared with my dealer NJ.

Went here to get a free-​of-​charge airbag replacement (it was recalled in my Honda Civic). I made an appointment on a Thursday at 10:30am. When I arrived, I was surprised how crowded it was!
It was pretty cramped in there. Servicemen have high-​rise desks that are very close to each other to get paperwork done. I told them what I needed and signed the paperwork. Very impersonal, and I wasn’t even sure they knew what I needed done (they did not look at the letter I got in the mail or anything).
I sat in the waiting area with my laptop and used the wifi. It was OK — a little weak and internet gave out a few times. Very cramped. The lady next to me smelled strongly of smoke. Felt very DMV-​ish. And we all know it is never fun there.
They told me to allow 2 hours — it was done in 1.5. Free-​of-​charge as promised. The man who gave me my paperwork asked me to complete the survey online, «Anything that’s not a perfect score is a failure!» …And how am I supposed to rate you? (we had a 1 minute conversation).
I’m happy it was free. I will only return if I get another free service…