Winter Haven Honda

Not a fan of the unscrupulous sales tactics at Winter Haven Honda. I’ve owned Hondas my entire adult life, and after 25 years with my old Honda, it was finally time for a new one. I reached out to Winter Haven Honda, set up an appointment with Germaine, and met him at the agreed time. He told me, “I gotchu, mama” and said he’d get me the best deal. When I found the vehicle I wanted and said I’d be paying cash, I asked about negotiating the price. Germaine said that wasn’t possible for a cash deal. After some fast talking and confusion about "new" versus “pre‑owned” versus “used,” we decided to walk away. As we were leaving, another salesperson, Dino Contos, offered to help. He was willing to negotiate and mentioned a “financing discount” — if I financed the vehicle, I could pay it off by a certain date without interest. With excellent credit, I agreed and bought the same vehicle Germaine claimed couldn’t be negotiated. Honda said THE BANK 'MAY' charge me a $75 early pay off fee, it did not say WILL.... it said MAY. Stephen Petrocelli, Finance Manager, confirmed that if I paid off the loan before the given date, I wouldn’t owe any interest. I paid it off within 10 days. Later, when I called the bank, the payoff amount was higher than what we’d agreed on. Dino said it was “only” a small difference — but that’s not the point. I spoke with Kayla at the bank and she told me the bank does NOT charge a fee and that it is a Honda fee. xxxxxxxx! I financed solely based on the promise of no interest if paid early, yet the payoff didn’t match what was promised. This kind of misleading behavior is exactly why car dealers — and salespeople — so often have a bad reputation. That’s a classic dealership financing tactic. The key detail is exactly what Kayla at the bank pointed out: if the fee language was written into the dealer’s contract paperwork and not actually required by the lender, then Winter Haven Honda was presenting it in a very misleading way. In many cases, dealerships encourage financing because they receive compensation or incentives from the lender for originating the loan. Some dealers will say you’ll “get a better deal” if you finance, then hope you keep the loan open long enough for them to retain that incentive. Paying it off quickly can sometimes reduce or eliminate the dealer’s commission — which is why some salespeople discourage early payoff. UPDATE: The additional charges have been reversed. The manager at the bank said there will be a meeting regarding financing with dealerships. And... I will keep you posted with further experience should I need service/warranty things taken in the future.

Gash was amazing and very helpful i love the car he put me in so much

Mike Ash service supervisor took care of me and kept me informed all the way. I appreciate that more than you'll know. They also have a thing called Sunbit where you can finance your repairs without interest for three months if needed. I'll be back when needed.

I took my car for some potential warranty work. I told them at the service department to take their time and get it right. I picked it up yesterday after one week and it still wasn’t fixed. Also, one item was not covered under warranty but they quoted me $89.99 for an estimate. When I arrived they charged $126 to estimate the work. I was also shopping to replace a vehicle and requested a quote and their best price on a new Honda (Winter Haven Honda was the highest of five other dealerships). Do yourself a favor and stay away.

I bought my used Honda a month ago, and Laila was pretty good without pushing to sell a car. Everything was too good to be true; one of the rims was all beaded up, and I asked to have it fixed. Luis, give me his word that they will fix it with the third-party company. I've been calling them left and right and now nobody gives me an answer. LIKE ANY OTHER DEALERSHIP, ONCE YOU GET OUT OF THE PARKING LOT with the car, THEY FORGET ABOUT THE CUSTOMER. 😔

I found winter Haven Honda a very easy place to deal with. I bought a 2026 Honda CRV- Hybrid. My sales person Lalila answered all my questions and made sure I got deal that I wanted. All the people there were helpful and friendly.

I just bought a Honda 2026 HRV today Chris McLean was an excellent help . He was my sales representative, he was very patient and considerate . He gave me a very good deal . He deserved more than a five star!! Than you Christopher , you’re awesome!!! you took the stress out of buying a vehicle !! God bless!!

John Buck, service director, is excellent and knows how to take care of his customers. Had an oil change and the oil cap was left off and the car leaked oil and it splattered all over the engine. He sent someone to the home to replace the oil and clean the motor. They also took the car to the Honda shop to make sure everything was ok with the car. Really impressed with the customer service. They were great!!

I was there today for their big liquidation sale. I only need to find out that the advertisement I got in the mail was bogus. It said I won two thousand five hundred dollars, but come to find out that was a lie. I would urge anybody else not to shop at honda of winter haven

My new car buying experience was phenomenal at Winter Haven Honda. They didn't have the car I wanted on the lot but quickly acquired what I was looking for at another dealership. The negotiation process was smooth and didn't involve any high-pressure sales tactics or lengthy waiting games that other dealerships often engage in. This dealership sets the benchmark on what the car buying experience should be like. Kudos to George and Matt for their great customer service.