Brown’s Arlington Honda

I’ve used their service department for oil changes and other basic maintenance, always with an appointment on a weekday. They do fine. The wait time is reasonable and they don’t come up with extra stuff to try to sell me. Their prices are lower than gas station mechanics in the area and they send coupons.

My husband and I had horrible experience with this dealership. I bought 2015 CR-​V and I was told to wait for 2 to 3 weeks to receive my tags in the mail. On the purchase date, they could not get access to the second car key, so they promised to deliver a license plate and the second set of keys to my home address. I waited for a month, and as the temporary tag were about to expire the following day. My husband, baby and I went to the dealership to resolve these issues. The tag was issued to them over a week ago, but nobody notified me or sent it to my home address as promised. When we asked for the second set of key, the key was in a sales person’s locked drawer. They told us the sales person was off that day, so we have to wait until they mail it to us. When my husband communicated his frustration to a manager who refused to give his name, he started to show unbearable attitude. He said he could not talk to my husband because he felt threaten by my husband and that he had cursed him, which is not true. I was in the office with them. Instead of listening to what my husband had to say about our experience with the ordeal, he then threatened to call the police if we did not leave, when as what was the reason he said it doesn’t matter and to come back tomorrow to talk to the general manager. When ask what his name was he basically took offense and stood up off his chair to look my husband eye to eye. Not sure if he was having a bad day or what but throwing a couple with their baby out of their establishment is highly unprofessional and rude.

I recently moved back to Northern Virginia after many years away, and I came to Brown Honda for the required emissions and safety inspection needed to register my car in Virginia. Simple tasks that I thought would give me the chance to check out their service department without too much muss or fuss. Well, they had a bad reputation a decade ago, and they failed this test. I am still in the service waiting room as I write this review.
Here’s what has happened… I arrived 30 minutes before they opened, and I was first in line for service. I waited for them to open, told them why I was here when they opened, and I was told that it would take 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.
So after I waited the 1 hour and 10 minutes, I went to ask where my car was. The service agent (The name on the back of his computer monitor starts with a K and his nickname starts with an N) had the paperwork for my car in a pile on his desk. Who knows how long he had it, but apparently, he was supposed to sell me a brake job. A brake repair I know I don’t need because I had them replaced five months ago right before my cross country move, and I had them inspected right after I got back to the east coast.
Now I have been waiting 1 hour 25 and am finally getting my car back from what I thought would be a quick in and out inspection — 10 or 15 minutes. They will not be seeing me again, and I recommend that you stay away if you do not want to get bilked for services you do not need.

The service department is abysmal! On our recent visit we couldn’t get calls returned and once not even answered. I was left on hold for ten minutes before I finally hung up. When I eventually reached someone he said it was the «flow of business» and he didn’t apologize for the hold! (Driving by 10 minutes later showed no cars waiting and no one in the service greeting area.) They kept our car overnight without an explanation. As for the repair, it was done well, but they tried to get us to buy new tires, when they weren’t needed and get an alignment which wasn’t needed (this was confirmed by a tire store the next day). My wife and I both found them nasty, uncaring, dishonest and impolite. This is not a place to do business.
As for the new car sales area, we’ve bought one car over the years and looked at others. The deals offered have been terrible, even for a Honda dealer. The sales personnel are no better and perhaps a little worse than you find at any other dealer.
On the other hand, our experience at Bill Page Honda has been nothing but positive. Go there not here!

We visited several dealers and looked at several cars. Brown offered us the best deal. Ghazi patiently answered our questions and explained the features of our new car.
Good job.

Shortly after purchasing a new Accord there was an exhaust issue. When taking the car, which we had put less than 100 miles on after less than 2 months, to the service center the location did not honor the warranty and forced the issue as being maintenance. They merely added poured Techron, which can be bought for less than $ 8, into the fuel tank and charged over $ 100. They came up with a ton of additional so-​called problems that needed fixing, but I wouldn’t play that game.
NEVER ANYTHING AGAIN HERE!!!

Words cannot express how disappointed I am. Recently we moved to VA and because we are Honda people, it was only natural to get our car serviced at Honda. We have always trusted Honda and have come to expect a level of professionalism and knowledge when servicing their own cars. That is not what we experienced at Brown’s Honda in Arlington.
Our car’s dashboard lite up and the only problem we experienced was, that the car would not start unless jump started and all the dashboard lights were on when driving. We knew it was a problem, expected an alternator or something like that. We dropped the car off and several hours later heard from Service Rep. Paul and much to our dismay, he did not address the car not starting issue but said it needs a new transmission. «What??? Nothing about the car not starting??? THE COMPUTER SAID CODE blah, blah, blah … Is what I was told and nothing mentioned about why the car wouldn’t start. When questioned about the car not starting he confirmed the Service Tech stands by his original diagnosis and said, «THE COMPUTER CODE IS A DEATH SENTENCE FOR THE TRANSMISSION and needs to be replaced. Ok, he is the service tech, I’ll pick up the car and decide what to do.
An hour or so later, another call came from Honda saying he has more bad news, my car now needs an alternator and a transmission. ($ 5000, for trans and $ 760. for alternator plus $ 130 an hour labor. My only question to him was, does one have anything to do with the other and could the alternator have given a false read to the computer. I was told by service rep Paul absolutely not. Your car needs a transmission and an alternator. Needless to say, I picked up the car, got a second opinion and for $ 360., they replaced my alternator and my car is running like new.
The question now is why didn’t Brown’s Honda diagnosis the problem correctly.
No one should be better at servicing my Honda than a Honda Dealer.

Terrible service. I made an appointment online specifying the exact repair/​part needed with a note «please let me know if you do not have the needed parts.» I show up for the appointment and surprise, they turned me away saying they need to order the parts first.
The service rep admitted they don’t read the appointment notes. Waste of time, gas, and money.

Attention: Brown’s Owners.
I need to share my experience at your service center today. I’m a first time customer and I made an appointment to be there at 11.00am. I showed up promptly but there was no one to greet me. I went inside and stood there patiently for several minutes and still no acknowledgement from your counter attendants. There were four of them and not one person made eye contact or acknowledged me. I’m a Honda owner and first time customer at your service center. I finally asked two agents for a service center manager — was told to wait. I walked outside and waited patiently. The manager came out a few minutes later. I talked to him about the poor service and told him I would go elsewhere where they would be happy to accept my business. He was apologetic and asked that I reconsider. Despite this I let them service my vehicle. I hope Honda corporation takes some time to read these reviews. They make good cars but the after service is absolutely horrendous, and declining. Sadly I will not consider buying a Honda again. (I was considering the new crossover.) I agree with the low ratings for this place — I too would rather drive a few miles further for a friendlier and prompt service. I’ve lived in multiple cities in California, Florida and Ohio and always take my car to a Honda dealership for servicing. This is the worst one! Brown’s please send all your peeps for customer service training — teach them how to smile, welcome customers with open arms, and don’t make your clients wait too long! This place is way too busy and chaotic to give you decent service. Also tell your back office staff to tone down their private conversations. We can hear everything they say. After all we keep your business afloat!

My sales person, Justin, was super helpful. Smooth operator! I was looking for a new Honda Accord Sport in hematite metallic, which is a rare color. Justin and his manager, Algetta, were able to locate the desired vehicle and gave me an amazing price. The whole buying experience was pleasant and easy. Highly recommend this dealership for new car sales. These people can get you a deal you will not be able to get anywhere else. Guaranteed!

I made an appointment here to get a check engine light checked out. I suspected it was a sensor going bad, but wanted a mechanic to check the transmission fluid for me.
When I got to the service center, immediately the man at the desk told me that my car would have to stay overnight. He hadn’t even looked at the car yet! He told me I needed a bunch of work done without ever even looking at the car. I pushed back, saying I only wanted the transmission fluid checked, and he was very rude to me.
I would not go back here. It was clear they were just attempting to take advantage of me (probably because I am a girl, but maybe they treat all of their customers this way — either way, it’s bad). The man insisted I needed an oil change (I didn’t) and that my tires needed to be rotated (they didn’t, I’d recently had that done elsewhere). I will not be going back.
For the record, my transmission fluid, when I FINALLY got it checked, was just fine.

Advised to bring my car in here to have them fix a recall. Instead they wanna charge me 139 just to «look» at my car. This place is the worst Honda dealership I’ve ever been too!!! I advised to take your car somewhere else! I wish the I knew the name of the asshole to who walks around like he is big stuff. Stop ripping people off asshole!

Got time to waste? They can help.
Made an online appointment for an oil change. Arrived on time to be told it would be a couple hours. For an oil change? With an appointment?
Needed a warranty item replaced so I had to go back. This time…
Visit 1) They determined my car needed a part they didn’t have in stock. They would call when it came in.
No one called but when I contacted them they said it was in & I scheduled an appointment to have my car fixed.
Visit 2) I took my car in & 90 minutes later when it was supposed to be finished they told me they had ordered the wrong part. Mistakes happen but what have you been doing with my car the last hour & a half while I waited if you weren’t fixing it?
They said they’d reorder the correct part & call me when it was in but it would be a few days because of computer upgrades, flooding in the North East & truck driver limits. Okayyy…
No one called. But the part was there when I called to check a few days later.
Visit 3) Took 4 hours this time. But it was finally fixed.
Bottom line, customer service is not a priority here.

Just bought a Honda Fit EX-​L from the dealership last night. While the process was pretty painless, thanks to Alisha (who is great and took wonderful care of us) and AAA’s car buying service, but from start to finish, it was about 5 hours. Considering we barely haggled and there was no one else there on a Thursday night, we couldn’t understand why it took so long. The staff was great, but the dealership could definitely improve on the wait times while buying a car. I understand how the process an take awhile if there’s a long bargaining process, but that part was all of 10 minutes in our case. Tip: Bring snacks… you’ll need ‘em! And don’t believe them when they say just a «short wait».

I have really enjoyed working with Ghazi at Brown’s Arlington Honda and I recommend him to anyone who is looking to purchase a new Honda. I love my new Honda Fit EX-​L and working with Ghazi only made it a more positive experience.
Last year I purchased a Mercedes GLK from a Mercedes Dealership in California and was met with the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I really was expecting better from a company with such a great reputation. Luckily, this experience was MUCH better.
Before deciding on the Honda Fit at Brown’s Honda, I shopped around to many other dealerships and test drove a lot of other cars. It seemed like everywhere I went, the car salesmen were pushing me to buy immediately and were not looking out for my best intentions (or even trying to act like they were, quite frankly). Ghazi obviously cares about his customers and I really appreciate him making my experience so great!!!

When the door lock actuator on my 2011 CR-​V started to make a loud whining noise last week I looked up the problem online. It appears that this is a common fault, and one site mentioned a successful class-​action suit against Honda. I called Brown’s to ask if they would repair the actuator. The operator asked for the VIN, and confirmed that, yes, they would do the repair for free. Imagine my surprise when I received a call 90 minutes after dropping the car off and was told that the repair would be more than $ 240, and that my brakes (which passed VA inspection a month ago) are «in the red» and could be replaced for another $ 400+. The caller also mentioned that «some of my fluids were dirty.» I cut him off before he offered another quote for replacing fluids.
When I challenged the caller, asking why I had been told that the actuator repair was covered, he replied that «we outsource our phones and they don’t know what they are talking about.» The number I dialed was the number from the service section of Brown’s website.
This was a classic bait and switch. If the faulty actuator is not covered by any recall I should have been told when I made the appointment, not after dropping the car and heading to work. Poor service, and deceptive business practices. I will not use Brown’s again.

I feel bad for those who had awful experiences. Luckily I was not one of them.
Out of convenience I came to this location to get my recall airbag replaced. I called and they explained they would have to order the airbag and they would contact me within a few days and they did without me having to follow up myself. So we schedule a time for me to bring my car in and said it would take 2 – 3 hours. They offered me a free shuttle or rental car paid by Honda of America, Inc. (included for the recall). Dropping my car off was a breeze and I used their shuttle to get back to my home so I didn’t have to wait around. Two hours later they called me and said they were done and offered the shuttle to come pick me back up. So wonderful and convenient. They were there to pick me up in no time. They went over the free vehicle evaluation they did along with my recall airbag and here I think «oh boy they are going to tell me 100 things wrong with my car and want to charge me an arm and a leg.» Luckily, they said my car was just fine and told me what I already knew and were pretty honest and told me if I planned on keeping my car for a while they recommend getting fixing what needed to be fix otherwise I didn’t have to worry about it myself. Hah, let the next person deal with it, sneaky. Overall my experience and their follow up was great. I also had new set of keys made here some time ago and they still work just fine.

Never ever ever be rude to someone who’s business you are trying to earn over the phone because that person may go on Unilocal and write a bad review. This Honda dealership is horrible. I called to ask a quick financing question before I drove into the dealership to make the biggest purchase of my life so far (I haven’t purchased a home yet). Instead of getting someone who is nice and informative I got a rude person who basically shut me up and told me he was busy. I emailed back and I got no response from them. They don’t seem to be too into customer service. Not a fan and won’t come in. Always be nice to your customers because if you don’t you have no $$$.

I am adding an extra star only for the nice gentleman who was operating the shuttle to the metro and tried to step up and get me checked out when I demanded my car after waiting 6hrs. Otherwise, zero stars by all accounts.
My 1^st experience with Brown’s Honda was having the wrong part ordered and delivered– twice, to the Safelite Auto Glass I was getting work done at.
2 weekends ago, I even called one week ahead to make an «appointment» to have my car serviced. I waited OVER 6 HOURS. The only thing the dealership did was align and balance my tires in that time, and replace some fluid. I didn’t even get as much as the simple wash and vaccuum to my car, which I requested. I dropped by car off at 9am, and it was still being «worked on» at 2pm, and I had to basically lose all patience and demand to get my car back.
I originally wanted a detail and possibly new brakes installed. However, I was told by their serviceadvisor (Edwin), that I needed to leave my car overnight for at least 24 hours (and «preferably» on a weekday, when I had to go to work) if I wanted
that type of work done.
Brakes are a 2 hr job, as with detailing. And an alignment/​balancing should not take 6hrs WITH an appointment. I understand their dealership is extremely backed up. But if that is the case, their service team should not be taking in more vehicles than they can handle, and should actually honor their appointment system. It seems to be a management problem.
The worst part is they quoted me $ 289 per brake, and also insisted that I needed a 90k service which would cost nearly $ 600 by itself. I never came back to Browns. I took my money and drove the 30mi to Sport Honda in Maryland, where I only paid $ 250 per brake, and where the (honest) service advisor told me that
my 2007 CRV does not need a 90k inspection because newer cars have maintenance indictors (ie. the car alerts you when you need a new battery, oil change, etc). In addition, Sport Honda offered a shuttle service– they do home drop offs and to get food if you are waiting in store. They also gave me an appt the day before, and had me out in 3hrs. When I get my bumper replaced and my seat belts replaced (which is a several thousand dollar job) I will also be going back to Sport Honda and not Browns.

Are you cool with waiting 2 hours for an oil change? Even with an appointment? If so, come on down!
I went here a couple of weeks ago. Made an appointment the week before online. Got there told them I had an appointment, and proceeded to watch the two pretty girls who came in after me leave before me. Way before me. So don’t bother with the appointment if you are a pretty girl. After 2+ hours and some crappy coffee got to leave. They apparently rang me up wrong and were asking me to come back to fix their screw up.
Umm, how about no.