Rays Laks

Was out of town in Buffalo when the worst happened — car goes kaput on the NYS Thruway. Dashboard lit up like a xmas tree. I google-​mapped the nearest Honda dealer, found these guys, and they took me right in. Even though I had never been there, when I asked about a loaner to finish my business in Buffalo they didn’t even hesitate saying that it wouldn’t be a problem, but they had the car fixed (no charge!) in a couple of minutes, turned out it was some sort of software thing and they did it for me in ten minutes. If I lived here I would go here every time I had a problem! Thanks to Jeff and the whole crew!

I really didn’t want to rate this place lower than 3 stars but the outrageous markup on service parts just put it over the line for me. They were fairly polite (except the girl «carrie» in the service checkout window could use a lesson in general greeting & friendly manners). They extended a courtesy car loaner to us while we had some issues with our car checked out. The car fairly new and made it nicer and more convenient bringing our vehicle in for service.
However beyond the car loaner and friendly service staff there isn’t much to write home about. They changed my oil and diagnosed two issues I already told them I had. They didn’t need to take anything apart to tell me what I already knew — but they charged me $ 200 anyway in diagnostic fees to confirm it. Part of this is my fault — I should have just asked what the cost would have been to do repair issue «A» and «B.» Though I doubt they still would have given me an accurate estimate without going through their pricey diagnosis process.
After 4 hours of my car in their hands they phone me to say the two repairs will be $ 450 & $ 500 each. That’s darn near $ 1000! Okay, I’m fine with that so long as there’s something MAJOR you’re repairing. However they only need to replace an o2 sensor ($ 28 part) and a window regulator w/​motor ($ 70 part). The problem is they told me the o2 sensor part cost was $ 387 and the window regulator w/​motor part was $ 415. That’s some crazy friggin’ mark up! Especially considering replacing either of these two things is simple enough you could train a monkey to do it.
Replacing an o2 sensor is as easy as using a 3/​8″ socket wrench to remove the old sensor, unplugging the harness for it (a simple clip) and putting the new one back in it’s place. Replacing the window is a LITTLE more tricky, but only because Honda insists on creatively hiding where all the screws to remove the door panel are. Beyond finding the access screws and removing them, it’s a cakewalk and can be done in less than 20 minutes.
I don’t care if you’re a complete beginner or never even touched a car component before. Anyone can turn a socket wrench and I say ANYONE would be dumb to pay 600% markup in parts (not counting the labor costs) instead of simply replacing these items themselves. If you can change a light bulb, you are physically capable of changing an o2 sensor.
I’m angry at myself for not trusting my intelligence enough to skip taking my car into them and paying $ 200 to have them tell me what I already knew. It’s as if I was afraid I may be wrong and needed to have someone confirm it. But if your window won’t roll down and it’s powered, it can only be the motor. If you have a friend hook up an OBDII scanner and tell you the code for your service light being on is an o2 sensor, it’s only one of two sensors that need to be replaced (both of which are under $ 30 in cost — even if you replaced both you’re still ahead of the dealer’s costs!)
I won’t be going here any longer — not even for oil changes. I can’t trust a place that has the incentive to charge me that kind of markup on parts.
It is this last statement that is the reason I dropped my review from 3 stars to just 2. If you have hundreds of dollars (or thousands in my case) to throw out the window for trivial repairs you could do yourself in minutes but care not to anyway, then by all means this is the place to go. They were very friendly and HAPPY to take my money. However if you’re like most people in the Buffalo area and are a little more aware of your spending, think twice about bringing your car here (or to any actual «DEALER» for that matter). If you really just don’t want to hold a simple tool between your hands and loosen a nut because you fear screwing something up and you MUST take it to a mechanic… choose an independent auto mechanic. They’re more likely to give you a straight and fair assessment and honest pricing of parts.
**Notice at no point in my review did I complain about the cost of labor. This is because labor is the single most expensive cost in ANY business and you just cannot get around it. This is something I’m fine with paying, so long as the person I’m paying is knowledgeable in their field.