Big Island Honda – Hilo

Had the best car buying experience ever! Jun was very helpful and answered all our questions. His customer service skills are excellent! We really appreciated his patience with us and his extensive knowledge of their vehicles. Mahalo Jun! We will certainly recommend Big Island Honda to our ‘ohana and friends. PS: Love my new Honda!

Josh is the man! See him! Super nice straight forward! No pressure sales man. Bought my van from him and was super excited to get it on Oahu. Once it was here it ended up with a scratch from shipping it on young brothers. Since the dealership doesn’t cover it Josh took care of it for me. Paying for Capones on Oahu to take care of me and making sure it would come out. And it sure did. I can’t wait to buy my next vehicle from josh with Honda hilo.

I had an appointment yesterday at «Big Island Honda» to service my Honda at 1:00PM. I was greeted as soon as I arrived unfortunately, after that I was kept waiting over 45 min. after my appointed time. Before anyone did anything more. I ask why must one make an appointment if it means nothing to anyone that works there anyway. Absurdly unprofessional…
They took my car back at 1:45 PM, which is 45 min. after my appointed time, which is not a good way to run a business. I asked the service writer how long it would take to have them change the oil, he told me about an hour. As the clock ticked by 60 min later came and went, it still was not done, in fact the Honda was not even up on a rack to start the work…I asked them to call me when it was finished, I never received a call and I went back three (3) hours later and they were just finishing up…Absurdly unprofessional, after having me make an appointment and then NOT being true to their word to take care of the service at the appointed time…
If frustration and dealing with people that lie to you about what they can and will do for you then this is your place! As they will do everything, they can to not offer good customer service nor will they treat you as the person that pays their wages, as they should, since that is what you do for them.

In July 2015 I paid $ 12,000 dollars for a used 2004 Honda Element from Big Island Honda. I bought «as is» with the assumption that it was an older car and things would break down as time went on but that it was a working car at the time of sale. Nope. It was only the illusion of a working car.
Apparently what «as is» means to Big Island Honda is that within the first eight months that the transmission will fail ($ 4, 750), that there will be an abnormal draw from the electric system ($ 1,200), that the AC will go out, that it will need a new battery, that the parking brake will fail and finally that the rear door gate warning light will come on and stay on.
This was my fourth Honda but my first from Big Island Honda. I’ve always had amazing cars and amazing service. I guess the dealer makes the difference. I went to Big Island Honda and they unloaded this piece of junk and then didn’t back it up at all.
Save yourself and buy somewhere else.

0 stars if I could! They sold us a broken car! Then they tried to give the BS that it was our fault for not adding the extended warranty that was offered at the time of sale. WHYYYYY would we pay extra for extended warranty when their mechanics say they «couldn’t» even find the fricken problem? But then we take the car to the actual brand dealership & they say have to take the whole motor apart. Never EVER buying a car from them AGAIN & I recommend you don’t either unless it’s a brand new Honda. They sell used cars of other brands & they don’t know how to fix them. We’ve had this car for less than a month & now have to pay thousands to pay it off and thousands to FIX it. Very cool.

Great service! Lori and the team here always provides me with exceptional service, free car wash and service with a smile.

I had an appointment yesterday morning to service my daily driver at 7:30. Got greeted as soon as I got there which is a plus especially if you’re trying to start your day off on a positive note.
They took my car in at 7:30 am which is what time they open the dealership then started working on it at 7:45. Yay haha! I asked the dude how long it’ll take them to service and he told me about a hour half. I was okay cool, so I began to time it. Time passed by and I got a call at 9 am saying my car is done and ready for pick up. I was like whoah… awesome!
This review is based on the Service department. Staff is accommodating and friendly. 4 stars for that and for having my daily driver serviced up and ready to roll!

I have to say, Joe Starr is an awesome salesperson. Very knowledgable and professional, but still has that relatable personality. He guided us to our perfect vehicle in a very non-​pushy way (obviously good at his job — we bought the car!). Overall we had a great experience with everyone we worked with — Donovan, Chelsea, & Joe. When it came down to the nitty-​gritty, Chelsea & Joe were sooooo time efficient with taking turns on the orientation and financing. Joe even worked overtime to make sure we were squared away. They have their system down! Very happy with our purchase, and look forward to working with Big Island Honda!

So I received another recall notice in the mail. Another airbag is faulty… awesome! This time its not the driver’s side its the passenger side airbag. As I read on about how they recommend that no one sit in the front passenger’s seat until the recall repair has been done. Did I mention this is the 3^rd recall for this car! Shows how good Hondas are made… Anyway I call the number provided on the notice about 9am. The female representative states that someone from your local (Hilo) Honda dealer service department will contact you as soon as they open. I also inquired on a loaner, because of the safety of my children. She said they could set me up with a enterprise car rental.
Ok awesome right… WRONG! No one calls me its already 12pm. So I call my Hilo Honda dealer service department. A gentleman answers, I have to give him the information again. Says he will have someone call me back right away… NOT!
4:30pm call the Hilo Honda dealer service department… all I want is someone to confirm my part has been ordered for the recall and if a loaner is available. I’m put on hold… told I would be transferred to the General/​Service manager… No again!
Transferred to a sales man which didn’t answer anyway and was told to leave a message. That really felt like they were avoiding me! Called again! Another gentleman answered, explained the situation again, transferred again!
Finally a miracle… the service advisor answers. Again had to let him know of the situation. Said my part has been ordered… Wahoo! (That’s all I wanted to know) but the part might take 2 to 3 months to come in. Ok, so I can either drive my car till the part comes in or use their loaner which is smaller than my car. Mind you I have a family now! And the recalled vehicle is the only vehicle I have. I decline the loaner and will just chance it!
Doesn’t seem like the company even cares. Or at least the service department! Their communication sucks! And I know they all have family’s too. But, of course their not in my situation. Whoever has a Honda and has to deal with the service department… Good Luck!
At this point I am pissed and want to report what crappy customer service to a higher up, higher than the general manager!
I receive a phone call shortly after my convo with the service advisor, someone from Honda sales.
This person didn’t try to sell me anything, instead she offered to help me, listened to my concerns, understood how I felt and reassured me that Honda is working on the situation!
Thank you Katie! For your professionalism and great customer service! If I ever buy another Honda it will be from you!

Came here to get my Bluetooth connected to the car and guess what??? The service dept. didn’t know how to do it and then referred me to the owners manual per manager in this dept. Helloo… of course I could’ve done it myself if I didn’t have problems. Manager of service dept. was not helpful at all. I go to Cali and automatically the service dept, knows how to get this done. How can this be that the service dept. here doesn’t not know how to do this? I wonder what corporate would have to say about this?

I Will never recommend Honda to anyone and I refuse to buy another lemon.
This was our very first car we bought all on our own and we should have been more cautious when they were asking if we wanted all the perks. By the time we got all the extra warranties the car was well over what we wanted to spend but the extra warranty made us feel more comfortable.
When all of a sudden the window was acting up and would roll down then stop all together I called it in, they said to bring it in to check it out.
Of course when we brought it in it was working again. The guy wouldn’t even take it apart to test and see what was the problem.
Mean time our warranty was almost up in a few days. When the car was brought in a second time they said it’s two parts that need to be replaced and our warranty was expired so we have to pay for it. Of course I argued and took it all the way to the head national office, I can’t believe it they were still trying to negotiate to pay only half.
Forget it we are getting a Toyota next time which, yes honey we should have bought that 4G under the first time.

Josh was the agent that helped me with my purchase. He actually made the process of buying a car an enjoyable experience. I would send any of my friends to BI Honda Hilo.

I love Big Island Honda! I purchased my Civic from the Kona location and the staff was fantastic. Five years later I continue to take my Civic to the Hilo location. The customer service and mechanical service are bar none the best dealership services on the East side of the island. I enjoy their waiting area and accoutrements offered, as well as their excellent shuttle service, and car wash/​vacuum service. I will continue to take my car there as well as encourage my friends and family to have their vehicles serviced there. A big shout out to Tyrone, Lori, Oscar, Elvin and the rest of the staff there!

They have the best service department, bar none! Always awesome and never wasted my time. Customer relations skills are superb. They do make suggestions to up-​sell, but what business doesn’t? Not the cheapest, but I’ve serviced my car here for over two years and will continue to do so as long as I have a Honda. No complaints.
The sales department is different. As a salesman with my own business, we have to make ourselves as profitable as possible but we have to do it the right way. Now, I believe that the Accord I test drove was of excellent quality. Compared to the Fusion, Mazda 6, Mazda 3, Corolla, Camry, Cruze, Sonata, Optima, Forte, Altima, and Civic, the Accord is in my top 3 in terms of quality and feel.
When I got into the back room, I didn’t appreciate being turned over to a sales manager to «work the numbers.» I liked the first guy. If he’s not trusted to complete the sales process (minus financing), then he wasn’t trained correctly. Over the last 16 years, I’ve bought 2 cars from mainland Fords, 1 car at a Nissan, 2 cars at Honda (1 mainland, 1 Oahu), 1 car from Kia (Oahu), and 1 car at De Luz Toyota. Not once was I turned over to someone else to «work the numbers.» At most, my salesperson would bring in the manager and all three of us would talk. There doesn’t seem to be a standard transition other than, «This person will take care of you now.» I liked the first guy. I had to start over with this other guy. Thanks a lot.
I know they have to profit so I accepted an offer for my trade-​in, KNOWING it was $ 750 below what I SHOULD be getting. They will use the «Honda Certified» label and mark it up more than its true value making about $ 4500 profit! «Honda Certified» is the same as my cousin mechanic, checking out my car, detailing it, and charging me market value for his services. Honda does nothing extra. $ 300, one day of work, and my trade-​in is ready to sell. «Honda Certified» just means it was done at Honda (not an opinion). Plus, there is a waiting list for my car here, new and used. It is in excellent condition with low miles. Full warranty. It WILL sell (also not an opinion).
For the new car, I had a good guess of the dealer’s actual cost. Manufacturers also have averaged shipping costs for all dealers. This means there is almost no cost difference between shipping a car to New York, Texas, Hawaii, etc. Fact.
I wanted to focus on price. They wanted to focus on monthly payment. The first set of numbers was too high. He left and came back with the second numbers. The first numbers were gone. Know that they don’t want you to compare the first, second, and subsequent numbers because it causes «paralysis by analysis.» If you’re presented with too much information, you’ll want to «think about it.» Also, if you compare numbers, all the total prices are almost the same. They’ll try not to bring down the total price, so they show you a smaller monthly payment but write a larger down-​payment with small-​sized numbers. No change in price. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s a common tactic.
The «deal» I was offered, MSRP, would have made them a profit of about $ 2900 BEFORE their secret $ 500 manufacturer to dealer cash incentive, and their 2% holdback, totaling $ 3800 in profit. The service dept. covers the overhead, so this is PURE profit. Add the $ 4500 trade-​in profit and that’s $ 8300 in profit. This is a good deal for me how?
My counteroffer gave them $ 4600 total profit. Then he said to me, «to tell you the truth, we don’t make anything when we sell at MSRP.» Really? «Yeah, we make nothing,» he said. This is a lie. Who’s «we?» The dealership’s real revenue is from used car sales and the service dept. so even if they sold to me below dealer cost, salesmen make a «flat» of $ 50 — $ 100 plus «spiffs» (bounses). The sales manager is on salary. I’m offering a $ 4600 profit to the dealer so «we» DO get paid, but not enough I guess. This is not the way to build goodwill. You don’t earn my business by lying, not in Hilo or anywhere. I left.

I’m sure everyone isn’t bad, but this guy was being misleading and dishonest. This is a problem from the top down so management cannot deny it. Some of their salespeople also get yelled at by the bosses (not an opinion). It’s no surprise that they have the highest turnover of salespeople in Hilo. I’ve been to other dealers here and BI Honda has the worst pressure sales atmosphere. Toyota /​Chevy are next. Kia, Ford, Mazda, and especially Nissan have no pressure. I have a Honda, Ford and Kia. My in-​laws just bought a Toyota. I bought my Honda in Oahu which is what I recommend if you want a Honda.
Future customers have to watch out for Honda’s dishonest profit-​maximizing schemes. I’m not against profit, big or small, but I AM against lying to get those profits.
Only their superb service dept. saved them from a zero star rating.

After a bad experience at Big Island Toyota, i decided, last minute, to go to Honda. I was bummed with the way Toyota treated me, i didnt want to experience that again, but i took that chance because i really wanted to get my car. Right when me & my boyfriend arrived, Joe starr came out with a smile, and greeted us and shook our hands. He asked me what i was looking for and if i wanted to see any specific car. I told him the car i wanted to see and immediately went to get it. he offered us water as well, during times we haf to wait. when we brought the car out, he let us look at it. he opened the doors for us and started from the outside of the car. he had me sit in driver seat and had me press buttons while explaining what they were for. he made me feel welcomed. i felt comfortable to ask all the questions i needed to ask. when it came down to the paperwork, i explained about what hAppened with toyota, before signing any papers. Joe helped through this process, and help me look for options to make this work for me. we kept in touch, he cOntacted me as soon and he heard from the banks. he respected my decisions and did not forcd me in any situation. he made it happen for me to be able to drive the car off the lot for my bday! i was very please with the service and i will continue to reccomend Honda! Thank you Joe Starr!!!

I took my Honda Element into Big Island Honda for some repair work. When I picked up my car, there was a new dent in the hood and severe scratches on the front bumper. Big Island Honda promptly acknowedged responsibility for the damage. The next week, they had the hood repaired and replaced the bumper in its entirety; they gave us a new loaner car to use while the work was done. Fast, honest response to a problem they had caused.

Yes, we too heard many stories about how sleazy Big Island Honda Hilo sales and service people are and what crappy service they provide (or don’t). But we didn’t think they could be that bad, so, thought we’d give them a chance. HUGE mistake. Whatever horror stories you hear about B.I. Honda Hilo — believe them and save yourself the grief.
We have done our research, know exactly what we want and have the money to purchase out right. Since we’re not rich and we work hard for our money, we’re going to try to work out the best deal possible.
Got a good quote from O‘ahu, but thought we’d like to stimulate the local economy and buy from Hilo, and were willing to spend up to a $ 1,000 more than what O‘ahu quoted us. But I’m not about to give my hard earned kala to people who are either ignorant or sleazy and tell you something just to get you down to the dealership, only to give you what appears to be the «bait and switch».
We are now total believers or all the horrible things we’ve heard about B.I. Honda Hilo and do not want anything to do with them. Feel bad for Pflueger Honda cuz they were cool, but we’re not about to buy and ship a car from O‘ahu to Hilo and have to deal with B.I. Honda Hilo and all their sleazy/​crappy service we hear about.
I guess we should be grateful to B.I. Honda Hilo. We were debating on buying the Honda Fit or the Toyota Prius… TOYOTA PRIUS IT IS!
NOTE: «Kiko M» gave Hilo Honda 5 stars. Funny… there’s a Kiko Martinez that works at Big Island Honda Hilo.

Avoid! Don’t waste your time at this dealership. The salespeople are incompetent and completely sleazy. My experience was awful. Go to Oahu for a Honda.

I was looking for a sensible used car for my son who is graduating high school next month. I had gone to 5 other car dealerships over the course of a week and found myself at Big Island Honda on a Saturday. Just so happened they were having a one day sale and I saw a very clean, low mileage Mazda that was marked down $ 2200 from the list price.
I test drove the car and was pleased with it. (compared to a lot of junker used cars I saw at other dealerships in the same price range)
Still, I wanted to show my wife the car and we still had a neighbors car we were interested in. I left the dealership still very interested in the Mazda.
The next day Sunday, Big Island Honda is closed but I show my wife the car anyway. She also liked it… (better then the neighbor’s car.)
The very next day Monday, I go back to Big Island Honda and see that the one day sale was indeed over. HOWEVER, the sales person remembered me and working with his manager, agreed to honor the sale price I was quoted two days before. We started negotiating from that Sale price.
Long story long, I drove out with a beautiful Mazda MX-​3 at an exceptional price.
The dealership itself was the classiest most professional one I had been to on the east side of the island. I felt I was treated with respect during the very mild price negotiations (I love to haggle) and I truly felt they wanted and appreciated my business.
Well, they have it. I will steer my entire family to this dealership when they look for a new or used vehicle.
Easily a 5 Star rating.