Gillman Ramsey

We were looking to purchase a CR-V Touring SUV, and arrived at the showroom sometime around mid-day. There were several customers milling around, but no salespeople. We were advised that they were "in a meeting," but that someone would be with us shortly. About five minutes later, a young lady arrived and brought up an appropriate vehicle. We asked if it was equipped with navigation. The salesperson replied, "No, but we can add it." As it turned out, the feature is standard on the CR-V Touring, as is Homelink (garage door opener), which she also said was not on the car. During the test drive, she had difficulty getting a couple of features to work, but we wrote all of it off to inexperience ... we've been there.



When it came time to discuss money, she left us alone for quite some time, ostensibly to arrange for our trade-in to be appraised. When she finally returned, she apologized, stating that she had no idea how the shift lever worked (it's a 2014 Prius, and operates electronically), and it took her forever to get it over to the appraiser.



When the initial offer arrived (after an inordinately long waiting period), our first inclination was to leave immediately ... full list price for the Honda (not to mention a bunch of dealer add-ons, including $300 to inflate the tires with nitrogen). Adding insult to injury, the trade-in offer was a shocking $5,000 under value for the Prius. We've bought and sold dozens of automobiles over the years, and fully understand the "car game." But with those numbers, we immediately surmised that we'd be unable to reach a deal, and requested the keys to the Prius, so that we could be on our way. A nearby colleague heard us, and tried to intervene on the young lady's behalf ... but despite his explanation for the lowball trade offer (emphasizing that Gillman is not a Toyota dealer, and that hybrids have lost value because of $2 gas), and the fact that Honda was offering no incentives on the CR-V, our immediate objective was to leave.



In order to get one step closer to retrieving the keys to our own vehicle, we had to endure the sales manager's condescending canned spiel about how KBB, Edmunds and the other online sites don't take various factors into account. Still, since there would be no making up anywhere near the $5,000, we once again asked to terminate the conversation and be gone.



We had to walk the virtual length of the showroom, but they finally surrendered the fob. When asked where the car was parked, someone pointed to an area halfway across the parking lot ... and given that my wife was wearing a boot to correct an orthopedic condition, the least anyone could have done was to bring the vehicle closer. One salesperson actually came out to apologize.



We had planned to take a look at the Subaru Forester at the Gillman dealership next door ... but given that it almost took an act of Congress to get our keys back, coupled with the rationalization as to why we'd be screwed out of $5,000 in addition to being charged top dollar for the CR-V, we decided to look elsewhere.



It should have been simple ... we couldn't come to terms (hardly unusual for an automobile transaction), so we say thanks and exit. Not so here ... we literally had to raise our voices to let those folks know that we had no intention of doing business with them, and that all we'd like is to get our keys back. Apparently, it's too much to ask for at Gillman.



We're sympathetic to people trying to earn a living in such a cutthroat industry ... but before they come on the floor, they need to be trained. Our salesperson might as well have been on the job a day. Incidentally, we did get full value for our trade (and not from a Toyota dealer), as well as a nice discount on our new SUV ... and there were no incentives either. Unless you have the patience of a saint, know next to nothing about buying a car, and are willing to pay full retail (and more), avoid this dealership at all costs.

Emailed Gillman Honda on a Wednesday about bringing in my car to their body shop for repair, also informing them i needed a rental car. No email response until Saturday, where they informed me that Enterprise Rent-A-Car closes at 11AM. I also called Gillman Honda Thursday asking if i needed to schedule an appointment to bring in my car while informing them i needed a rental car. They told me as long as i bring it in before 1PM i will be fine, Was never informed Enterprise would be closing at 11AM. Extremely poor customer service. Three days to answer a simple email and customer service agents not cognoscente enough to inform me of the conflict of interest. Their mistake, gave them an opportunity to fix it and they told me to bring it to John Eagle Honda. What a joke.