Carr’s Honda

What a shame always got good service here,
Kaley Carr was always available when I would bring in my 2003 to them.
Would not set foot on the property now that Grossinger has the place.
Got screwed over with 1998 Buick bought new from them kept burning fuel injectors and ABS systems and never assisted with GM to get discount or replacement vehicle basically said
Quote from service manager «We got your money what more do you really want»
Yes he did say that right after it (Buick) did not even make it out the door from being repaired
Grossinger called once after I junked the POS Buick about service told them I junked that POS and they had audacity to ask if I bought another GM — asked if she heard a word I said she stumbled mumbled and hung up on me.

Mystery solved … Grossinger bought out this dealership from Carr’s. Here now trading in a lease and being treated very well!
Just spoke with them on the phone to get hours for this weekend and it seems they are open — not sure why this says perm. closed?

:start rant: A lot of people seem to have bad experiences with either buying a used car here or getting repair work done. Just like I said it my last review of a car dealership 2 years ago (has it been that long already?), if you are buying a used car, for the love of god, get an independent mechanic to inspect it before purchasing, whether the car is «certified» or not. You’d be an idiot to not to your own due diligence. And if you’re car needs servicing, unless it is under warranty, take it to an experienced, independent mechanic. Otherwise you are just asking for trouble. :end rant:
Any who… I had a very good experience with this dealership earlier this week. I ended up purchasing a Honda Accord EX-​L V6 on Monday from Kevin at the dealership.
As a little background, I tend to have pretty good experiences at dealerships because I make it immediately clear I will not be taking any shit. I bring in all their quotes in writing, have a laptop with a self-​calculating spreadsheet for payments including all fees, know the appx. invoice cost, etc. When a dealer understands you are ready to buy from them if they treat you with respect and decency, you tend to get pretty good treatment.
I started the process by emailing with Marcy, their internet manager. I was originally looking to lease, and she quickly provided me with all the figures I requested. When dealing with getting a car, I ask for very detailed, specific things and she didn’t balk about answering my questions directly, like a lot of dealers did.
Because of her promptness I decided to make a visit to the dealership, along with a few others I had been communicating with.
Kevin, the salesman, was very easy to deal with, and was about up front and honest as a car dealer can be (no offense, Kevin). They honored everything they quoted me online and also agreed to include some flex cash, as that was also included in the email conversation.
The manager (you know, the guy that comes over once you make it clear you’re ready to buy) couldn’t resist asking me a few sneaky questions, trying to get info like what I was previously quoted for the trade-​in, and what I wanted my monthly payment to be (two questions you should never, ever answer). I rebuffed the questions and told him exactly what I wanted, and he quickly got with the program.
They also offered me a very competitive trade in value for my current vehicle, significantly higher than CarMax, which helped defray some downpayment cost.
After visiting several other local dealers and none of them being able to (willing to?) even come close to Carr’s quote, I went back and finalized the deal that evening.
Even more refreshing was once I got into the F&I manager’s office to sign all the paperwork, and he didn’t try to sell me a single BS add-​on. No gap coverage, no special additional warranty, nothing. He simply presented me with all the paperwork, let me review everything for as long as I wanted, answered all my questions, made a few corrections we both agreed to, an processed everything ver quickly. Maybe I was just lucky because I was there at the end of the day and everyone just wanted to go home, but nobody ever tried to play any games with me.
I’m sure if you come in here unprepared, with a naïve, doe-​eyed look, you may not have the same experience I did. But if you do your research, email Marcy, and then come in and ask for Kevin, I bet you’ll be satisfied with the results.
Hell, send me a private message and I’ll come with you! Going toe to toe with a sales manager gets my blood pumping first thing in the morning…

Another awesome experience with the Crew @ Carr’s Honda!
My sister in law just bought a new Civic there last month! So smooth, and how car buying should be! Thanks Guys! :-)

These people waste your time, they send you quote for one car under the name of other. I’ve asked for quotes for accord LX automatic yesterday and she send me accord LX manual under the name of automatic. Once you reach there then they says something is wrong and then they show you actual price. i wasted my time going there.
Just make sure before going there, check the price 10 times.

If every car salesperson was like Kevin O’Connor at Carr’s, consumers would enjoy car buying a whole lot more. Kevin was extremely helpful, kind, and patient, even staying at the dealership with us well after they had closed, and offering to operate on our watch — i.e., no pressure at all. It’s funny, but *not* having pressure enticed us to come back to him when we were ready to purchase. I also appreciated that he wasn’t involved in the haggling — that was left to the biz manager, who gave us a very fair price and didn’t push unnecessary crap (he did offer the standard warranties, but didn’t flinch when we declined). Long story short, I’ll come back to Kevin in a heartbeat the next time I buy a Honda!

This is definitely the best place I’ve ever gotten work done on my car. The first time I went in because I’d gotten an airbag recall letter from Honda saying I needed to get my car inspected. The service I received was stellar from the time I contacted them for an appointment until the time I paid. Everyone I came in contact with was friendly, helpful and sincere. I thought it was pretty cool they hired an older man named Sid as «VP of Sales» whose sole job was to redirect people heading towards the waiting room and into the dealership. Also, someone came into the waiting area and asked if we wanted him to change the TV channel. Totally unnecessary, and yet it made me feel like they cared. On that initial visit I signed up for their rewards program which gives you points on purchases and services to use in the future.
The next time I went in to replace a flat tire. They were actually able to repair the hole, saving me a ton of moola. With the points I’d accumulated previously my total bill ended up being about 4 bucks. Score!

Watch out for the repair department, then tried to over charge my mother in law with a term called core charge 50 dollars a part. Please beware of your repair bill look it over and ask question about the work they did or didn’t do. The over charge came to over 100.00 plus tax.

My 2004 Honda CRV hadn’t been serviced in a very long time. I was given a monetary gift from my dad to get the car completely inspected and serviced. I went to the Carr’s Honda website to get an appointment set up. I chatted with a robot for a awhile, marked the boxes for all the updates that I wanted, and was told that someone would get back to me within 12 hours. I didn’t hear anything.
I did the entire process again 2+ days later. I still didn’t hear anything.
Finally, on attempt 3, someone called me and requested that I call THEM back to make an appointment. Really? That’s why I have requesting appointment times online.
ANYWYAY… despite all of that, Robert Johnson is great. He’s the service guy that I eventually spoke to over the phone, he checked in my vehicle, was friendly, explained everything, and called me during the day, throughout the process.
I was frustrated with the appointment-​making process, but happy with Robert Johnson, and the services that my car received.

So this is now my second review of Carr’s Honda and I’m going from 2 stars to 1, and here’s why…
So I continued coming here for oil changes like I always have. It’s not that much more than going to any other place, and I like having Honda mechanics work on my car and I have a decent understanding of cars myself.
On my last review I mentioned how someone at the cashier was angry because they installed parts without clearing it with them first, and then surprised them with a higher bill. Well, this last visit it happened again! But wait… there’s more.
I decided on this visit I would spend the extra $ 30 or so for the «Minor Maintenance Package» since I needed a tire rotation as well as an oil change. While my car was there they call to tell me my third break light is out, and if I want them to change it for like $ 48. Of course doing all minor work on the car myself I said no. So he said it should be ready soon so I headed up that way. When I arrive I pay my bill (after sitting behind that person told one price, and then another when done) and go about my way.
Over the next two days I hear a sort of grinding noise, but faint and mostly when going at slower speeds. Me being the car guy that am I check out the tire and notice it’s a bit low… and that’s because it was at 15psi!!! So I check the paperwork and they wrote my tires were set to 36psi… Honda recommends 32. Did they even check the tires? Did they even change the oil!!!
I’m DONE with this place… DONE.

I bought a used Civic Hybrid here last month, and let me say I love the car.
However, I have had nothing but terrible experiences since I drove the car off the lot.
A few days after I purchased the car, I got a call that I had to come back THAT DAY to sign a new contract becuase there was some issue with the financing.(they ended up dropping the price of the car even more so this wasn’t a big deal).
When I purchased the car, they threw in a free keyless remote system. A few days later the sales guy called my husband (becuase for some reason no one there had my number) and set up an appointment for me to take the car in to have the keyless remote added. We were told this would take 45 minutes. It took over three hours of me sitting up there with my two toddlers until the car was finally finished. The whole time we were waiting, they kept telling me it would be only fifteen more minutes until the car was finished. Of course, it was also my husband’s birthday and we spent a good portion of our day sitting at the car dealer (we were on time for our «appointment».)
When I purchased my car, I also purchased a five year extended warranty (up to 100,000 miles, no deductible). I was hesitant to purchase the warranty, but AJ, who did my initial financing talked me into it becuase hybrids can be expensive to repair.
Three weeks later, I get a warranty package in the mail from Honda for my ONE year 12 000 mile warranty with a $ 100 deductible. I paid $ 1300 for this warranty and NO ONE from the dealership called to tell me the terms would change so drastically.
When I called to find out why it had changed, I talked to Mark in finance.
For over a week, I would call to find out what was going on with the warranty. Mark promised he was looking into it and would call me back. Four separate times. He NEVER called me back. Each time I would call him, he was conveniently «just about to call me».
Finally after a week he told me that Honda wouldn’t certify my car and they couldn’t offer me the initial warranty. I told him I never agreed to purchase a one year warranty.
The next day, my husband called to talk to the owner (I had terrible layngitis, I can make my own phone calls). He was instead directed to AJ who is now apparently the sales manager who said that since I said I didn’t want the one year warranty they had already cancelled it so they couldn’t honor the original contract.
Oh, and did I mention that when I called Mark to tell him I didn’t want the one year warranty, he had no idea how the $ 1300 I had financed to pay for the warranty would be given back to me because «their internet was down».
Apparently just because you have a written contract for something that you paid for, they still don’t have to honor it.
Stay far away from this place!

I can’t help but brag about my negotiation skills.
I got a wicked deal on a car here — FAR better than I expected.
I bought a new 2012 Odyssey (yes, very sexy, I know…) for an unbelievable price. They weren’t able to make too much of a deal on the sticker price but they gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse on my trade in (2006 4Runner).
Toyota had offered me $ 9500 but Honda gave me $ 13,500.
I told them exactly where my budget was. Sure we had to play a few games going back and forth but they eventually came down to my price.
Tips:
Walk in to buy a car at 5:30pm on New Year’s Eve.
Be ready with paperwork in hand to close the deal.
From the moment we agreed to take the car, the closing took about 50 mins. it was fast and efficient. I am very happy with the purchase. they even threw in free OEM weather mats for the car which is a few hundred dollars.
Can’t say anything about the car service as I have not taken my car there. we live pretty far from Carr’s. Funny thing is, we actually drove out this way to buy a Used Toyota but ended up not liking the one we saw but decided to just drive by and check out what used Honda’s we could get. We NEVER thought we’d get away with paying what we did for a NEW van. (it was the price of a used!)

After eight years driving my faithful, but dying, 1996 Honda Accord, I finally purchased a brand-​new 2012 Accord. It is a pleasure, and I love it. However, I purchased the car in Indianapolis, so I had to seek out a Honda Repair Center in the city for routine checkups.
Luckily, I work out in Skokie, so this Honda location was not too much of a schlep for me. I made an appointment with the ever-​so-​friendly phone staff and came in one weekend. They have times ranging from morning till night, so you can pretty much make the appointment at your convenience. The waiting room is very nice with TV, comfortable seating, and a surprisingly delicious coffee/​cappuccino maker. There are also drink and food vending machines if you are stuck there for an ungodly amount of time.
I worked with an older gentleman (sorry I have forgotten your name!) who explained what the letters and numbers meant that had recently popped up on my dashboard (a novelty for me since before the only way I could tell if I needed service was by some terrible sound or smell). Unfortunately, I ended up paying for a more expensive package than I intended, but for once in my life I felt that I was not being swindled by a car repair business. It was explained that rotating the tires and checking a variety of other components of the car would keep me out of this service center for 6 months rather than 3, so I was content.
The car was completed in a very timely manner, and I was informed on everything they were doing every step of the way. I will definitely return here for the rest of my car service needs.

Ok so I just experienced the sales department so far and have yet to esperience the service department which is why I gave it only 3 stars.
NIKO.
Me and my family were ont he hunt for the Honda Fit. I did all my research and seen this car was the best as far as reliablitiy. The first dealer we went to was just trash and I will never again go there. At that point my next option was Toyota because I’ve had a toyota and my brother got a toyota and no problems. My boyfriend knew how much I wanted the fit and decided to check another place. He called Carr’s and got Niko.
He said to come in. We met with Niko and from the minute we walked in he took care of us and never left us. He explained everything I asked in detail. Let me test drive and everything. He was the most straight forward guy I met at a dealer. He came with a price and explained it then took us to financing.
Dave was in financing. Dave came off a little rough but after time he grew on me. He gave us the best (I felt) than what was offered to us anywhere else. He knew of the tragedy I went through with the previous Honda dealer and the previous care and tried to make everything as painless and easy as possible.
Needless to say I walked out with a Honda fit of my choice.
Now we shall see on service…

Even though I haven’t purchased a car here since 1995, I have to say that I LUV LUV LUV LUV this joint!!! I haven’t been steered wrong in anything. I take my car in for the oil changes like I always have. I am crazy about the service dept people and the mechanics!!! I bring my own oil/​oil filter, they just charge me for the labor, taxes etc.
I always wait for my car, so while I do (and it can take an hour or two but WHO CARES??) I make a hot drink, bring my lunch, look at magazines, go out in the lot and look at cars. Makes for a kewl Saturday afternoon.
They never try to upsale you on anything. And they will fix what you ask them to fix.
They will tell you what they think you need done and there is NEVER any pressure to accept their offer. You either do or don’t!!! I even asked to have my rims cleaned; they did it for FREE. The door handle on the driver’s side broke. My guy Chip ordered it and it was installed for free!!! HOW’S THAT FOR HONDA LOYALTY?
They do a pretty good car wash too. When I get some more money I’m going to take my car to their body shop.
I would highly… HIGHLY recommend Carr’s Honda to anyone who needs service, or looking to get a Honda.
I have no complaints… yay!

Sales department is a-​okay.
Parts department is good.
Service is shit. Back in 2007 they couldn’t diagnose correctly a transmission problem I had with the car after bringing it in several times. It happens when you’re on the highway at speeds of 50 – 60 mph. My guess is they never brought it onto the highway at all.
End up having all of my gears die on me while on a trip back to Chicago from New York in the middle of assfuck Pennsylvania. Dealer in Pennsylvania was very helpful and competent. They replaced my transmission under warranty and even picked me up from the greyhound station both ways.
Carrs Honda sucks balls.

My wife has been having chronic problems with her Honda Civic Hybrid, and we’ve been taking it to Carr’s Honda over the last few years for a bit of regular maintenance. On our most recent trip, Steve the service advisor took a look at our maintenance history (showing many hundreds of dollars spent at his shop) and phoned Honda to see if they could permanently fix the problem, so we could stop coming in every 8 months for this same little temporary fix.
Anyway he got ‘em on the phone and really went to bat for us. The permanent fix involved removing the transmission and replacing a part … not cheap at all. Steve’s persistence resulted in Honda offering a goodwill repair for us and only charging us a flat fee of $ 200. I was really, really impressed with this dedication on Steve’s part, and this also reflects well on Honda as a corporation for going the extra mile for us as customers.
So — 4 stars for Carr’s Honda and 4 stars for Honda Motors.

I’ve been looking for a 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring for a few months. The dealerships who carried it didn’t want to budge on pricing and basically treated me like I was wasting their time if I wasn’t willing to pay anything close to MSRP (namely Castle Honda).
Then, I received an online price quote from Ludovic Perruffel at Carr’s Honda. At first I was skeptical and thought that the price had hidden costs and was just a lure to get me into the dealership. Once I got there, Lodovic had me test drive the car, provided more than enough information on the vehicle and then we discussed pricing. All my assumptions were wrong and Ludovic turned out to be the best dealer I’ve dealt with to date. His pricing was very fair and what surprised me was that he went slightly below the
TMV price. Because he was easy to talk to, didn’t give me the high pressure sales, was fair on pricing, I knew that purchasing the vehicle that same day I was given the best price.
After picking up the vehicle and going thru all the features, I was impressed with his follow-​up the next day since he was not working and just wanted to see if I had any add’l questions.
When it came to financing and extended warranties, I dealt with Marc Keenan at Carr’s and was also very happy with his services. He made sure there were no issues for me getting the 0.9% financing, and provided me a great deal on the extended warranty. He knew my time was precious since I have 2 small kids, so he made the process quick and painless.
I haven’t used their Service Department so I’m unaware of how would they rate. Overall, I’m impressed by Loudovic and Marc. I not only plan on recommending them, but would definitely return when I’m in the market for another Honda.

Yes, this is a five star review for a car dealership. Shocking, I know.
So I was about as reluctant a new car buyer as you’d ever find. My beloved Mazda Protege5 was totaled out by my insurance company after what I thought was a very minor low speed accident. (Rear-​ended in a four car collision at a red light started by a teenager in a BMW SUV. Don’t text and drive, kids.) I was grieving, I was angry, I did NOT want to deal with buying a new car. I had horrible memories of sleazy car sales tactics I endured when buying the Pro5, so I decided to do most of my shopping/​negotiating through the internet sales departments of local dealerships. I did all my test drives at various dealers and settled on the Honda Civic.
Enter Ludovic Perruffel, the internet sales manager at Carr’s. After comparison shopping/​negotiating with about 15 local dealers Ludovic managed to match a very competitive offer placed by a dealer in Aurora. After agreeing to a price over email purchasing the car was as easy as picking the color, showing up at Carr’s on a Friday night, and taking a final test drive in the car I was actually going to purchase. I showed up at Carr’s armed for a fight — I’d printed every email exchange and was all ready for new charges to magically be added to my total. Except they weren’t, at all. Ludovic had quoted me an out-​the-​door price over email (my actual total — tax, title, fees, etc.) and that was the price I was giving when I sat down to sign the contract. Ludovic legitimately strikes me as incredibly honest and straightforward. I’d signed on the dotted line and was done in 20 minutes.
But then I had to speak to the finance manager Mark to wrap up the deal. AHA! I thought, he’s where I’ll get the hard sell and slimy tactics. Except none were to be found here, either — Mark definitely did try to sell me the extended warranty, but I’d done research and found I could buy one online. I asked Mark if he could match the online dealer’s price and he was very straightforward that he could not. He didn’t try to scare me off buying the warranty elsewhere or apply hard sell tactics. All told, I was out of the dealership in under an hour.
I returned the next day to pick up my new Civic and Ludovic spent time going through the car’s features with me, which was a really nice touch. Carr’s even agreed to let me leave my Enterprise rental car with them (there’s an Enterprise down the street that has a relationship with Carr’s — very convenient!) After that I was done and the car was mine!
I can’t speak to their service department (and I’ll most likely go to Muller in Highland Park for that because it’s just more convenient to my job), but from a sales standpoint I highly recommend Ludovic. Seriously. I never thought a car buying experience could be so… dare I say it? Pleasant. Will wonders never cease?

Don’t EVER buy a «Certified Honda» from Carr’s Honda… or anything else for that matter.
I purchased a certified Honda Element in 07 and had its first issue within a couple months time. Apparently for a Honda to be considered «Certified» it must pass a 150-​point mechanical and appearance inspection by trained Honda technicians – Yeah Right! No Chance!
Here is the list of items that have been fixed and or replaced over the last 2+ years. (Half of the items on the list have had to be fixed twice or more because they didn’t get it right the first time)
–LR Trim and RR Trim (missing seat parts) (Aug 07)
–Replaced tie rod (Jan/​08)
–Shock absorbers/​rear struts — both (Jan 08)
–Break backing plate adjustment (Sep 09)
–SRS air bag light due to seat belt malfunction
(Sep 09 & Dec 09 – they had to do this twice cause they couldn’t get it right the first time)
–Horn plate/​spring/​reel assy
(Sept 09 & Dec 09 – they had to do this twice cause they couldn’t get it right the first time)
–Rear sway bar links — both (Dec 09)
–Front & rear break pads (¹²⁄₀₉)
–Cleaned and lubricated calipers and slides/​resurfaced routers (¹²⁄₀₉)
So now they tell me that my caliper seized and therefore my breaks that I just purchased 1 year ago will need to be replaced as well as my shock absorbers that I just had completely replaced two years ago and my SRS air bag light is on again due to my seat belt that has malfunctioned for the third time.
And to think that this Honda was «certified»??? C’mon Carr’s Honda, get it together!
So over 40% of my car issues have had to be dealt with 2 times or more by Carr’s Honda.