Billion Honda in Iowa City

Billion Honda- I do not believe I have ever written a business review but hopefully this will save someone some time and money. My wife and I have been looking for a Honda Pilot. We found a color and trim package that she was interested in at this dealership last night and called to make sure it was available. It was priced appropriately online, little above the MSRP but comparable to what the majority of other dealers are charging for similarly optioned product in the tri-state area. Austin, the salesman informed us that they had just received this vehicle off of the truck that evening. We live around 2-3 hours from the Iowa city area and let him know that we would have a bit of a drive but we would be up first thing in the morning to look at this vehicle. The next morning, after a 2-hour and 15-minute drive, approximately 15 minutes before pulling into the dealership parking lot, my wife received a text on her phone stating that the the dealership was including a "protection package" on the vehicle that was valued at around $3850.... I was afraid this was an upcharge situation but we were close to arrival and drove the remaining 15 minutes to the dealership, parked, and we are met by the salesman pretty quickly. They had pulled the car to the front door already and we went for a test drive. During the test drive-I asked what the price of the vehicle was and was informed that it was indeed changed from the online price to include the additional $3850 plus charge. From what I could gather this charge includes some sort of warranty on the interior, the routine gimmick paint protectant program that many dealerships try to push as an add-on, and floor mats. I had not read any of the on-line Google or other site reviews on this company before going there but it seems this has been their common practice for the last several years. I told the Austin that they can keep the floor mats, that I had no interest in the leather protection program, and they had not applied the paint protectant so they could leave it off as well. They could either take my vehicle on trade or not. I would write a check for the full on-line listed price, though it is above the MSRP it is the current going rate. They had no interest in making that deal. They offered a lower-range trade-in value for my suburban. Then offered to increase this somewhat to make up the difference on their $3850 up charge package. Ultimately they came back with a "deal" that showed me an about-average trade-in price for my vehicle plus cash that equaled out to their online list price +$2350. I declined. We left the dealership and then received a call from the sales manager or general manager about 5 minutes later who basically said it is only $2350.... So with travel time and the salesman-let-me-talk-to-my-manager back-and-forth game I am out about 6 hours for the day but frankly that is well worth it to not reward a business that deals this underhandedly. Luckily I found a Pilot closer to home this evening. I would encourage people to keep looking, find somewhere other than Billion Honda to buy. Order the vehicle that you want elsewhere if necessary but quite rewarding businesses like this with unethical up charging above the listed price. If the protection package was such a great deal you would not be forced to take it and if customers pay it they are going to keep doing it. It looks like they have been getting away with this already for at least 3 years according to their Google reviews, despite many complaints and their "we will do better response posts". Hopefully potential customers wake up to their up charging tactics and Billion Honda will become Out-of-Business Honda before they fleece enough cash from folks to become Trillion Honda.

Very sad experience yesterday. My wife was looking for a new car. We have purchased 3 or 4 cars here over the years. She found the car she wanted. Going good until we were told of the Mandatory $4,000 ValPro Plan. We are moving out of state this year. So the 65% return of cost refund if traded into Billion. Not gonna happen Other parts of the coverage would take place thru a third party If we lived so many miles from a Billion location. Fine if you want to wait for a lengthy period of time. From what I have read. Just blows me away. “A mandatory Purchase” above and beyond Window Sticker. Very sad!

Austin took care of both me and my wife and it was a overall great experience. 10/10 billion is one stop shop.

I have bought many vehicles through Billion with Austin Heintz. He’s extremely knowledgeable and trustworthy. He makes the experience enjoyable.

Austin Heintz was amazing to work with we enjoyed buying our cars from him. He always has a smile on and great conversations always! Thank you Austin for always making our experience at billion amazing!

Austin Heintz is amazing, I have sent many people down to see only him, amazing He has the knowledge and his personality was infectious. I will continue to refer my friends to only him !!

Asked Austib to find a specific vehicle type. He quickly found a few options for me to choose from. A very pleasant experience.

Chip Vanderpol has been terrific to work with. He has assisted us on multiple occasions while making our experience seamless. Chip has gone above and beyond, even in partnership with other brand partners to make sure we have found the best solution for our needs. It has been awesome to meet someone who works to find a solution for us, while developing a relationship that will last a lifetime. Thank you Chip!

I am very pleased with my experience at Billion Honda. The service was excellent. Chip Vanderpol was an amazingly helpful salesman! The entire experience was top notch from start to finish!

We bought our vehicle from Chip VanderPol. Top notch customer service. We live in Colorado and will continue to go through Chip and the team at Billion Honda for all of our car deals.