Bill Kay Honda

This review is for Bill Kay’s online parts department.
I do much of my own car maintenance, and I am a firm believer in using genuine Honda parts for all the work that I do. When I needed to order a specific electronic part for my Accord, I called several local Honda dealerships, who all quoted me around $ 400 for the part. I did some research online and saw that several Honda dealerships run online parts departments which sell genuine parts at a significant discount compared to the retail pricing you would pay if you walked into your local dealer. It turns out that Bill Kay also had the lowest price by far, coming in at around $ 250 with shipping included (other online Honda parts stores came in at around $ 300 for the same part). When I called Bill Kay Honda (BK Honda parts), I was transferred to a parts manager after a very short hold. He was friendly and advised me that the part # I found had been superseded, but that the updated part # was priced the same. I ordered the new part, expecting it to arrive in around a week, but it actually arrived in just 2 days! The part came packaged in a large box, and when I opened the package, I found that they had done a careful job of double-​boxing the part and using plenty of packing material to prevent damage. The inner box still had the shipping label from Honda Motor Co, indicating that the part came directly from Honda to their dealership. After getting through all of the packaging, I was happy to find that the part was indeed brand-​new and still in the original plastic wrap. It ended up being a very smooth installation, and I will definitely consider BK Honda when I need another part in the future.

I have read the reviews below and I am scratching my head. I am puzzled because my recent experience was 100% positive with this Honda Dealership.
I bought a 2015 Honda Odyessy van yesterday from Bill Kay Honda. The transaction was fast and easy. We live near Chicago and contacted all the dealers locally. Just for grins, we called a few out of town, Bill Kay was an extra 100 mile drive for us. I’m glad we did. Totally worth it.
They were no nonsense, gave us the best price and excellent value on our trade in. They offered the usual extras but weren’t pushy. Real professionals. Closing the deal took about 60 minutes.
We are happy and we would definitely use this dealer again. We recommend them without reservation.
Our Rating for Bill Kay Honda: AAA+++

I tried purchasing a 2011 CRV from them but they were not interested in selling me the vehicle. I contacted a sales rep and the internet sales manager directly, and both times was ignored. My reasonable offers (offering 2.9% less than asking — mind you this was simply a starting point for negotiations) were laughed at and I was politely told to go away and not come back. Avoid this place as their customer service is horrible. I wound up purchasing a comparable 2011 CRV the next day at Tyler Honda (amazing people).

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME! WHAT A NIGHTMARE! Took the 2 hour drive to BILL KAY HONDA. Upon our arrival around 12:30pm, we asked to test drive a 2012 Acura, which is the specific car we took the 2 hour drive from MI to see. When the salesman tried to start the car, IT DID NOT START!!! (Not a good look). He tried to jump start the car to no avail. After another 30 minutes of time wasted, he said they would put a new battery in the car and told us to come back in an hour, as they did not have the correct battery in stock and needed to have one delivered. My husband and I did what the salesman requested and returned. The car was running and we took it for a test drive. Less than ONE MILE into the drive a 2 foot piece of window trim detached from its fitting. My husband had to roll down the window and literally had to hold on to it. The salesman told us we should return the car to the dealership so we didn’t lose the piece. When we returned to the dealership, after our 5 minute test drive. I assumed they would fix the piece so we could take the car for a proper test drive. After 30 minutes had passed, no one had come out to assess the problem and our salesman had disappeared. The salesman finally reappeared and asked if we wanted to come inside? What for?, I thought… I drove 2 hours to get here and had now been at BILL KAY’S for a total of 3 hours and Ive only driven the car for 5 minutes!!! I told him I wanted to DRIVE THE CAR, WITHOUT IT FALLING APART! We took it for another test drive, upon returning to the dealership it was now 4pm. I told him my experience had been less than satisfactory and that we would need to discuss the price after all the things that had gone wrong. Negotiations were definitely in order. He gave me the usual BS «this car was priced to reflect the issues». I mentioned, that I was sure «the trim piece flying off, was not included in the price» OR «the gouge in one of the rims». He said he would go talk to the mgr, after I told him he was going to have to come off the price for me to even consider the vehicle. When he came back he told me that their asking price was the best they could do. At this point, I was DONE! THEY EXPECTED ME TO PAY THEIR ASKING PRICE, AFTER THE CAR DID NOT START, A TRIM PIECE BROKE OFF, AND I HAD WASTED 4 HOURS OF MY TIME WAITING FOR THEM TO GET THEIR CRAP TOGETHER! ABSOLUTELY ABSURD! I GOT UP, WALKED OUT AND TOOK THE CASHIERS CHECK MADE OUT TO BILL KAY HONDA WITH ME! WHAT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR BILL KAY HONDA! BUYER BEWARE! They also told me that they would rather take it to a dealer auction, than to negotiate a deal with a legit buyer. Hey BILL KAY, YOU BETTER SUPERGLUE THAT TRIM PIECE BACK ON AND MAKE SURE IT STARTS BEFORE HAULING IT OFF TO AUCTION!

Filled out a inquiry on Autotrader to inquire about a specific car. Of the dozen or so inquiries I made, Bill Kay was the only dealership to interpret that inquiry as implicit permission to add me to their marketing mailing list. A few days later we received a promotional email from them which was, comically, simply the image of their newspaper insert — coupons to print out, clip, and bring to the dealership.
This was after I had already traded emails with the agent telling him that we were no longer interested in the car. I wrote them back and told him that I didn’t appreciate being added to their mailing list (admittedly, more snarkily than necessary).
Great opportunity for the agent just to say, «Sorry about that. We’ll take you off the list.» Here’s what I got instead:
«Filling out an inquiry and providing us with your information gives us permission to send you emails dealing with all our services. Yes, this email is the same as our snail mail coupons, but cost a lot less. You can print this out and cut the coupons out. Getting coupons via email is what most consumers prefer nowadays. Also, if you wish to opt out of receiving our emails or any emails you receive in the future because you inquired about something else, always scroll to the bottom of the emails and read the instructions to Opt Out. We are sorry that you will not be coming down to Bourbonnais because we have some great offers all the time here. Good luck on your search for a pre-​owned vehicle.»
My wife, in her wisdom, convinced me to archive the thread and be done with it. Three days later, I got an automated email from the same agent saying:
«Just wanted to drop a quick line and find out if there are any more questions I can answer for you concerning the 2006 Honda CR-​V you inquired about?»
I was nicer this time. Just wrote back and said:
«You can take us off your list. We bought a car.»
Got this in reply:
«We don’t pay for your inquiry, like some companies pay for the phone numbers list. Your not on any list, when you inquiry about information on a new or preowned vehicle, you gave us permission to send you information, and will continue until you have opt out. We have already exchanged emails concerning your no longer interested and you made a point of stating your displeasure at receiving mail and emails that are the same. Hope you enjoy your new vehicle. Have a great day!»
I’m not sure why I persisted, but i wrote him back and pointed out that he wrote me three days after I told him that I wasn’t interested. He replied:
«I didn’t personally send you any more emails after Nov 4 but my system did. It doesn’t recognize your no longer in the market, it’s up to you to opt out, as you have. If you continue to send replies, I will continue to do the same. Have a wonderful day!»

Once upon a time I wanted a car– but not just a car, a Honda Civic. But being the smart consumer I am, I was not about to go into this without doing *lots* of research. I knew for sure I liked the 2012 and 2013 models, needed an automatic transmission, and had an infatuation with the color burgundy. I looked under DriveChicago and found a 2012 burgundy Civic. It was certified, had only 40,000 miles, and did I mention it was BURGUNDY?! I called the dealer to make sure this gem (maybe ruby?) was still available and IT WAS, the guy (Donny) seemed so nice! I couldn’t wait to give him my money! That weekend, we made the trip from Plainfield to Bourbonnais (about an hour). And immediately everything felt a little weird. They weren’t very welcoming and it was kind of awkward. We met the dealer I had spoke to on the phone and –plot twist– Donny was completely different in person. He kept mentioning how they run their business based on customer service, but I never really picked up on that vibe. The car smelled like cigarette smoke, which usually wouldn’t go for, except I was already head-​over-​heels with this car so «what smell?». Long story short, I ended up buying the car. On the way home (remember the hour long drive?) I almost ran out of gas, like literally I had a 20 mile range left when I was leaving the dealership. What happened to running your business based on customer service? I’m sure they have some nice salespeople, (like the trainee who was training with Donny; Kaitlyn, she was great) but I do not see myself buying a car from this odd dealership ever again.

Pretty much like your stereotypical dealer, nice till the deal is done, then onto the next customer. Bought a used truck from them. You definitely need to know what «as is» with Bill Kay. Truck was running on empty when they turned it over the keys. I filled the tank, then had the check engine light come on during the drive home. Called them the next day, got the «as is» phrase, and «bring it in, we’re competitive in our repair prices». Wouldn’t return to them, as I have no trust in them.

We were in and talked with the Internet Sales Manager, Brent about a car we had found on their website. Another dealer had the same model/​trim package with 10,000 less miles and a moon roof for the same price, they both had clean carfax’s and we even brought all the other dealers paperwork with us. When I asked why theirs was essentially more expensive, He basically told us to go and buy it there, he did not offer to show us any other cars, or even ask if there was any way to get us in that car… he had an «I already made my numbers and don’t need your business attitude»…because of this guy, I will now be a lifelong non-​Bill Kay customer.