Tony Honda Kona — Attraction in Hawaii

I had an extremely disappointing experience here while considering purchasing one of their used cars and want to warn any future used cars shoppers the type of dealership this really is. I didn’t put much thought into being a single female looking to buy a car until after my horrifying experience with Will and Cameron at the Tony Honda dealership. To say I was treated with disrespect because I was a woman is an understatement! Will had a harsh tone with me right off the bat and when I expressed concern around the selling price of the car I was looking at (given there were quite a few issues with the vehicle), he immediately told me there was no room to negotiate price - his tone was not only harsh but he also spoke in short to the point statements towards me making it hard to feel like I was being heard. Every concern I brought up, he seemed annoyed with answering. I asked multiple times to see the inspection they said was done by their mechanic and finally after HOURS, Will informed me he couldn’t get it because the mechanic went home for the day but they would have it the next day. I was then passed off to Cameron who proceeded to mansplain to me how the car buying process works and that the price they set was the only price they could give and if I didn’t take it someone else would. After three hours of waiting around in the back office while Will would leave for 20 mins+ to get an answer for each simple question, tired and frustrated at the very little amount of information I was actually getting, I called my grandfather for advice. Will came back in the room when he was on speaker phone and my Grandfather asked a few questions to Will directly, Will’s entire demeanor immediately changed, he because much nicer and was answering his questions with respect and kindness. My Grandfather then said “What is the issue with lowering the price on this car” and Will’s response was “Oh there is no issue at all, that is definitely something we can work on”. I was absolutely shocked that his willingness to negotiate was determined by the sex of who he was negotiating with. Will also made multiple rude comments to my friend (who was my ride to the dealership) about being on her phone such as “You better not be Tik Tok-ing!”, as well as expressing extreme annoyance when she would chime in to ask a question about the car saying “Are you done yet?”. Sadly the poor experience doesn’t stop there…Will told me to come back the next day to see their inspection report and also agreed it was ok if there was a 3rd party inspection done as well on the vehicle (he only agreed to this after trying to convince me that their in-house 125 point inspection was better than any 3rd party one I would pay for). The 3rd party inspection found a leak in the oil pan. I was obviously immediately concerned that this 3rd party inspection found something that the dealership should have found before listing the vehicle for sale. Upon returning to the dealership the next afternoon (24 hours since last being there) I was told they would have their mechanic look at it again to confirm these new findings. I then waited in the back room for another 2 hours…waiting for a report that they said was already done before the car was listed. So just be warned, not only is this dealership discriminatory towards women buyers but their in-house used car inspections should not be trusted. It's sad that in today's world women are still treated differently but the silver lining is out of the 3 other dealerships I have had experiences with while on my car shopping journey, this is the only one that I was disrespected at. If you still plan to work with Tony Honda Kona, I highly suggest asking for Brittney. She helped me the 2nd day I was there, she was kind and very easy to talk to and work with...a complete 180 of working with Will...

Easy To Work With, Seem To Care, A Good Memory Even Over A Month Later… You can tell the folks at Tony Honda are well groomed to make you feel at home. We were not really expecting to go home with as nice a vehicle as we ended up with. The staff knows how to be creative in financing, they work with numerous institutions & bring you their best offer after doing the research. It can be a lengthly process, but in the end we came away with a vehicle practically new — as if a considerate relative had driven it a few years & passed it down to us in prime condition. I don’t think you’ll find another place in this vicinity that will treat you any better. You can drop your fears of dealing with a car dealer because these folks have multiple sales staff & sufficient support staff they can dedicate a team to you to address your needs. They spend the time to ask you enough questions to try to match what they have — but sometimes options are beyond what we can see — they can pull info on vehicles at other locations, vehicles being processed, etc. No concerns you have or questions are unimportant & they are proactive in finding out information without trying to filter it to trick you or manipulate you. They aren’t going to do a bad business deal either way — they will try to give you the best deal for your situation & needs. Bottom line, is you can go in, not feel overwhelmed, be treated like you wish everyone else in business would treat you — with respect & great consideration.

We got our vehicle after a driver ahead of us lost control & dumped a bunch of trash all over the highway. Next morning we go to one dealership which had advertised a car but it was not on their lot. They took our names & numbers — but they have yet to call us now going on 5 weeks! The contrast is we drove into Tony Honda, after about 10 minutes of getting our bearings, Eric Cunningham meandered in our vicinity. We had a price range & other specs, he consistently tried to find our match. He was like a friend reaching out, not trying to reframe things we had said to fit their inventory, actually he was open to matching our needs no matter whether at his place or elsewhere. We had peculiar financing needs & thought we could not qualify. They were able to open up credit we’ve not had for over 15 years. Folks thinking about looking for a vehicle, new or used, these folks want you to go away with a vehicle that best suits you. They won’t try to just make a quick sale. They want you to come back, they want to earn your loyalty. Cudos to Eric Cunningham, who has since still reached out to make sure everything is well with our car experience. Cudos to Melissa who helped find us good financing so we could get a better car than just our cash on hand. Cudos to over 6 other people who talked with us & said hello on that day, even tho we were not their direct customer. Give Tony Honda a try, you might save yourself some time & frustration & might also come away with a well matched vehicle...

This was my first time at a dealership and it was NOT a good experience. Took 30 min looking at cars in the lot till I had to go in and approach a sales associate myself for some help. After selecting a vehicle there was no negotiating on price. Due to my situation, I had to accept what they were offering. After signing some papers to seal the deal, the sales associate made my wife input information to their computer because he could not type fast. He then told us to come back Monday to do the financing portion. The “senior sales associate” told us to come in at 3:30pm on Monday. Luckily my wife and I were free that day and came in to the dealership at 3:30pm like he asked. They then told us that we would have to wait until 4:45pm because they said they were “busy helping people that came in that day.” Mind you, my wife and I drove from Waimea and I already chose to buy the car on Saturday and signed papers finalizing the price. They wasted over an hour of our time. While waiting I could over hear the associates talking stink about other customers and while waiting in a room I could see other customers personal information left on the desk. They also said they would “detail” my car while I was waiting but when I entered the car it was obvious they didn’t even try. Crumbs in cup holders and sticky brown stuff on steering wheel. This is my first review of an establishment. I’m only sharing my experience to let other consumers know that Tony Honda prioritize money instead of customer service. I wish my first experience buying a car was a good one but I left never wanting to deal with...