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Fast and Easy w/Student Discounts
Midas always offers great services and decent prices. It is a good one-stop for busy people who...
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Midas always offers great services and decent prices. It is a good one-stop for busy people who wants to get their car detailed, change the oil and get a safety check at the same time. Their time quote is pretty accurate, so it will be done by the time you come back.
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Jackson Auto Group
Category:
Auto Repair & Service
2945 N Nimitz Hwy
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 836-2441
Bought two cars at Jackson
I have bought two cars at Jackson. On the first one, I really left feeling ripped off. The...
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I have bought two cars at Jackson. On the first one, I really left feeling ripped off. The salesmen are like sharks and the financial guy seemed very unfriendly. I ended up spending WAY too much for a cheap car. When I took the car in for service, they told me that they couldn't locate a problem even though a mechanic friend could. That is pretty shady to me.
However, I complained big time and I was pleased with the result. I ended up trading my car in for something bigger and better and I felt I got really good service from the Used Car Manager. He saved my opinion of this dealership.
Overall, I probably wouldn't go back here again unless I wanted a Mercury, in which case, you have no choice it is the only one on the island.
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Wasted time
This review is specifically about Cutter Chevrolet (formerly on Kapiolani Boulevard, it's relocated...
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This review is specifically about Cutter Chevrolet (formerly on Kapiolani Boulevard, it's relocated to Ala Moana Boulevard). I have not visited other Cutter dealerships, so it wouldn't be fair to lump them all together.
I am not a casual car shopper. When I stopped at Cutter Chevrolet, I knew exactly what I was looking for and wasn't about to waste my salesperson's time going through the full routine he learned in "Car Sales 101." Unfortunately, the feeling was not mutual.
After finding out that I knew more about the cars on the lot than the salesperson, we began the time-honored game of "let me talk to my manager."
One visit to "the manager" later, the salesperson cheerfully announced that he could meet my price and that we could start on the paperwork.
We filled out a couple of forms with general information. Then he got to the pricing section -- and wrote a number $5,000 higher (far exceeding the MSRP of the vehicle) than the price he supposedly had pitched to his manager.
"Just a formality," the salesman explained and he left to get his manager. At this point, I knew that this was all a ruse.
It got even better. The manager came out and expressed his opinion that we were wasting his time with our offer.
When asked why the salesman claimed we had a deal, the manager denied ever talking to the salesman.
Two hours after first stepping foot on the lot, we requested all the paperwork that had been filled out, ensured that it was shredded, and left.
An hour after leaving, we negotiated a fair price (matching my target) for the same vehicle at a competing Chevy dealership. As I stated earlier, my target price was fair -- I did not expect the dealer to take a loss or otherwise waste his time.
Unfortunately, a waste of time was all I got at Cutter Chevrolet.
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Scion Hawaii
Category:
Car Dealers
2850 Pukoloa St
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 564-2400
no pressure, fair price
I was looking for a small SUV (hahahha, I guess the xB would qualify) so I saw this cool new car...
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I was looking for a small SUV (hahahha, I guess the xB would qualify) so I saw this cool new car advertised and ran down to the Scion of Hawaii dealership. I had already test driven an Element, and knew the horsepower on the xB was about 50 less but wanted to drive it anyway. I told the salesperson I was only looking but he was still courteous and allowed me to test drive the car with he and a friend of mine loaded in. Like Honda Windward, no hassle, no pressure and a pleasant test drive. If you are curious, go to Scion Hawaii to test drive one.
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Toyota City
Category:
Car Dealers
2850 Pukoloa Street
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 564-1100
Purchased my 4Runner there, 7 years ago...
Yes, Toyota is the car manufacturer you love to hate. They make a great product that commands a...
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Yes, Toyota is the car manufacturer you love to hate. They make a great product that commands a premium price. What can you do about it? Nothing, why? because you don't have an alternative if you want reliability and performance.
The Servco business model is actually pretty fair, you can't get a Toyota at a better price from the mainland. I've tried calculating it out and it cannot be done. They offer reliable, great performing cars at a fair price with no haggling and no pressure what more could you ask for?
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Victims of their own success
Some people insist on servicing their own cars. Not me. I rather have the experts do it, even if it...
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Some people insist on servicing their own cars. Not me. I rather have the experts do it, even if it costs more.
I've used Toyota City Service in Mapunapuna for several years. Service is available Monday through Saturday, though Saturday is only a half day for them. I usually drop my car off during the work week and take advantage of their round-trip shuttle service.
Loaner cars are available for longer-term repairs. The Toyota Echos will make you appreciate your own vehicle even more (unless, of course, you actually drive an Echo).
One issue I've encountered lately is that they seem to be understaffed, overworked, or both. Even simple oil-change appointments have to be schedule a month in advance. The quality of the service work seems to have slipped a notch as well, almost as if they are rushing to complete each job. I had to bring my car back twice due to sloppy reassembling of the area that they "fixed."
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Infiniti of Honolulu
Category:
Automobile Dealer Services
2845 Kilihau St
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 836-0848
Luxury, but not on luxury car row
Inifiniti of Honolulu is located in Mapunapuna, near the Honolulu International Airport....
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Inifiniti of Honolulu is located in Mapunapuna, near the Honolulu International Airport. Interestingly, Infiniti is the one of the few premium auto makers not located on Kapiolani Boulevard, also known as "luxury car row" due to the Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes Benz dealers all in a couple of blocks.
I visited the dealership during a celebration of the launch of its new 2006 M35/M45 sedans. The dealership’s showroom is relatively small, with enough room for about five vehicles. My salesman was very friendly and was eager to demonstrate the many features of the new sedan. I was upfront that I was simply curious and not in the market for a new car, he didn’t care. He just seemed happy to talk about the lineup and the dealership. The lack of pressure was very refreshing.
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Let's make a deal
JN Chevrolet-Mazda is located on Nimitz Highway, near the airport. The dealership is very easy to...
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JN Chevrolet-Mazda is located on Nimitz Highway, near the airport. The dealership is very easy to spot – simply look for the salespeople sitting at the edge of the road, waiting for cars to turn into the driveway. I’ve heard that one salesman was known to throw loose change on the sidewalk to attract passer-bys.
When I visited JN, it was after an abysmal experience at Cutter Chevrolet (see my review for the details). During this weekend, JN was running its “slash-it” sale, where an emcee would bring cars and customers together under a tent. It’s more show than anything else; the spotlight (and pressure) is turned on would-be buyers, many of whom probably could have negotiated a better deal in private rather than the public spectacle under the tent.
Lesson learned? If you attend a "slash-it" sale, be sure to do your research and know what a fair price is. Don’t believe what’s posted on the windshields.
Instead of joining the masses outside, we sat down with a salesman inside the dealer. Within an hour, we had negotiated a great price on a new vehicle, ignoring the nonsense occurring outside.
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Swedish Motors
Category:
Auto Repair & Service
1130 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 735-0009
Volvo problems?
It's no wonder that this is called Swedish Motors...the only cars you'll ever see in the garage are...
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It's no wonder that this is called Swedish Motors...the only cars you'll ever see in the garage are volvos. It's easy to go to a general garage but it's much better to go with a mechanic who works almost exclusively with volvos to fix your problems. The owner knows all the ins and outs of the volvo and he's the only one we trust when it comes to fixing our cars. While there, you can also check out his parrots (good if you have your kids in tow--no pun intended).
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Aloha Petroleum
Category:
Automotive
1136 N. King St.
Honolulu,
Hawaii
(808) 842-1711
Cheap gas for car rentals!
Yes folks, you read that right. They probably have the cheapest gas on the island. Why? that's a...
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Yes folks, you read that right. They probably have the cheapest gas on the island. Why? that's a mystery, but do I use it in my car? Only if I can't make it to another gas station. However, the benefit of cheap gas is apparent to the business traveler. Fill up your rental cars at Aloha Gas, that's what I tell the folks that come from the mainland to visit us.
Look for the stylized blue/green "A" wave.
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