University Honda

Location

4343 Chiles Road

Service Hours

Mon-Fri 7am-6pm

Sat 7:30am-6pm

Sales Hours

Mon-Fri 9am-9pm

Sat 9am-9pm

Sun 10am-7pm

Phone

tel: (530)758-8770

fax: (530)756-5427

toll free: (800)585-8648

Email

<uh AT universityhonda DOT com>

Website

universityhonda.com

University Honda is one of the car dealerships in town; Joe Clementi is the General Manager.

Their slogan is, "Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Anywhere Else".

Voted Yolo County's Best Car Dealership for 9 Straight Years! per The Davis Enterprise Readers.

There is a nice lounge for patrons to wait, with soft chairs and table space, a free coffee machine, and a good selection of magazines. There is also a desktop computer and a high-speed wireless connection.

There is a mini-fridge with complimentary bottled water. You can take one when you come in, and they offer you one as you leave.

What's been your experience with University Honda?

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2005-09-15 22:53:33   I get my oil changed here, and they've been pretty good about being routine. They even replaced a broken brake light without charging a service fee. That said, the car dealers didn't seem any better or worse than any other dealers I've dealt with. After taking a test drive, they put on the hard sell and told me to go see the manager. I told him I wanted my mechanic to see the car first, and he said "Ohh.. we have a mechanic here. Y'know, I'd trust my mechanic a lot more than any of these guys in town." To which I replied, "yes, you would trust your mechanic more than these guys. The problem is I don't trust your mechanic." Needless to say, I didn't purchase my car there. —CraigBrozinsky

2006-05-04 19:33:54   Unfortunately, I didn't buy my car there either. I shopped there three time. Once for research, then to test drive (all out of the car I wanted) and then to get a price quote. I recommend going there for research purposes since it is local and convenient. However, before negociating a price get some internet quotes first and bring them with you to help you get a price lower than MSRP. They were the only Honda dealership between Sacramento and Fairfield that refused to give me a quote below MSRP on a Honda Civic without proof that other dealers did it first. If you are looking for convenience shop there, if you want a deal, I highly recommend trying other dealers in the surrounding area. —JenCam

2006-05-24 14:22:18   They charged me $80 to check my car for why my gauges were off... it turned out to be the fuse... which costs like 1.40 ANYWHERE... WTF? I will not go here EVER again. yech. (rip off) —JuliaNiazov

2006-08-15 12:00:17   I enjoy going here. As far as courtesy goes, they don't seem to differentiate between someone buying a $2 light bulb and a $40,000 car. —ChristopherMckenzie

2006-11-22 15:26:27   I like this place- the staff is friendly and when we have taken our Civic there for service they have always been prompt. They even call when they say they will. —MyaBrn

2007-03-08 16:26:56   I have purchased two cars from University Honda, all my maintenance has been done here (except for a couple oil changes when I was out of the area), and every aspect of doing business with this company has been exceptionally enjoyable. —KyleWecker

2007-07-28 04:35:29   If you are shopping for a car, do NOT give these people your phone number. They will call many times. —JohnWong

2007-07-28 17:32:19   The Caucasian service rep in his 40s was very nice to my girlfriend. He fixed the car enough so she can drive it again and changed the outside hub for free (it was scratched really bad due to the car hitting the curb). (+) Service and explaining the charges —atwong

2007-08-31 19:00   I just had a really bad experience there today. I just bought a new honda pilot in another dealer. I want to sell my old honda civic so I called University Honda and I told them that I had an old vehicle to sell and I was not going to buy a new car there and asked them whether they were interested. The representative said he was interested and asked me to bring the car in. After I arrived, the manager first said he would only buy car the next Tuesday (Today is Friday). After I insisted that he just gave me an estimate, he walked out with me and took a look. They he asked me how much I wanted. I said maybe $300. He said the car was worth that much. Then he asked me why I was selling the car and I told him I just bought a new honda pilot somewhere else. He then basically demanded me why I didn't buy at his dealership. I explained to him that they didn't have the model I wanted (I'm only interested in a 2007 model, the only one they have in stock is not the model I want). Suddenly he got pissed off and said he will not buy the car and asked me to sell to the dealer where I bought the pilot. Then I said don't get mad just because I didn't buy the car at your place. Then we had a few unpleasant exchanges which I'm not going to type it here. Really, really bad experience there. —wikier

2007-09-03 23:05:22   Looked at pre-owned vehicles here. The staff was very nice, but they definitely put the pressure on. Be ready to say no to them MANY times—it took a while to convey that I was there to LOOK, not BUY. They said they had CarFax reports on all used cars. I asked for two reports. They kept accidentally bringing two copies of one report and never did get me the second one. I test drove the car that there was a report for and found an aerosol can which had fallen under the hood. Granted, this could happen anywhere but it still made me a bit nervous. Then, it came time to drive the car I did not have the report for. The engine sounded awful just turning it on—I don't know, but something tells me they didn't give me the report on purpose. This stuff could happen everywhere, and like I said, they were very nice. If I were in the market for a new car I may consider it. Keep in mind if you are looking at cars that just because one is certified does not mean it is in good condition, and always be sure to look under the hood, both above and below the engine. —sweetMeliss

2007-09-24 15:40:51   I looked at new cars there, and told them I planned to sell my old one myself. I made the mistake of giving them the keys to my car "just for a trade-in estimate." They would not return my car keys to me even though I asked 3 times, in a louder voice each time. I finally took out my cell phone and threatened to call the police, and finally got my keys back. Way too high-pressure. However, I have used their service department a number of times and always had a good experience with it. I just wouldn't buy my cars there. —AngelBug

2007-11-15 13:01:10   Don't ever give these people your phone number. They do computerized junk phone calls. If you contact them and are put on hold they pound you with advertisements while you are on hold. My wife and I bought a car there and I wanted to go get something to eat down the road and talk to my wife and they were just short of trying to physically keep us from leaving. My impression is that they are just another untrustworthy car dealer. —ron@hgtitle.com

2007-11-26 10:11:13   I don't doubt that horrible car salespeople work at University Honda, but I was fortunate to purchase a 1996 Accord from a guy who used to be a psychologist and hadn't yet developed a chain smoker, commission hungry demeanor. My comment, however, is really about the service department. I find that department to be professional and courteous, and more importantly knowledgeable and experienced. I'm sure that one will pay somewhat more for service here, but the peace of mind may be worth it. —BryceHathaway

2008-02-19 20:27:50   I recently purchased a car at University Honda and my sales person made it a great buying experience for me and I love my Honda. His name is Dave Gibbons. He has been there many years and knows the Honda cars very well. If you ever read this Dave Gibbons, Thank You. —anneowens

2008-03-18 07:34:31   I purchased a new 2008 Accord from University Honda. I am very satisfied with the purchase, and had a generally good experience purchasing the vehicle. Although of course it's not exactly difficult to choose a Honda. I recommend the salesman TJ, as he was exceptionally polite and did everything possible to cater to my needs as a customer. I also feel that he and the University Honda team are highly trustworthy and knowledgeable. The purchasing process was very efficient and prompt and I did not feel pressured in any way to buy any particular vehicle or add-on feature. I did receive a resident discount even though I did not negotiate the price or ask for a discount, but I did manage to talk them into giving me a couple free oil changes, complements of Joe who is exceptionally nice and highly competent. It is also nice to be able to buy from a dealership that is part of a great community such as Davis. Buying a new or used car can be quite stressful, but I think that University Honda is a very good way to go. —ByronDelaney

2008-03-18 17:46:49   I have taken my older Honda Accord here for repairs, the first time to get my a/c fixed, the second time because my car didn't pass its smog test. They may charge a bit more than some of the smaller garages in town, but as the description above notes, they offer some comforts and conveniences. I appreciate that they have a shuttle van with a friendly driver who drops you at your doorstep after you drop off your car and picks you up when your car is done — all complimentary. I have also been happy with their work and with the customer service people at the desk — when I went back to pick up my car, Jennifer actually remembered me when I walked in the door. —AmandaSmith

2008-03-24 20:28:31   I really didn't plan on buying my car here. I met Paul a week ago and he was very straightforward and friendly. I was just test driving cars that day and all the other sales people I met that day all seemed untrustworthy. Paul was very friendly, though. My process of dealing with univeristy Honda wasn't very smooth, though. I was going through the Internet to get pricing quotes, and every time I came in, they wanted me to bring my quote. It wasn't like "We can or can't beat the price", it was just "Come in and we'll see". I came in once on Thursday and was told that they couldn't meet my price and that the dealer who was giving me the price may go out of business, etc. etc. I could have easily let them know what price i wanted and if it could be met or not over the phone - but it seems like they don't work that way.

I was also mildly offended when it got almost confrontational when I wanted to leave the place to go buy in Stockton since the salesperson in Stockton was always up front with me and didn't play these games. I got a line "Don't you care about your firemen and police?" when I mentioned I would rather buy the car in Stockton. Despite this, they did lower the price to keep me as a customer. The General manager also tried a guilt tactic as if I had wasted the salesperson's time. Once we had come to an agreement on price, though, the rest of the process was pleasant. They got the exact model and color I wanted and were very helpful showing me all features about the car, etc.

I guess if you know what you want, you may come to loggerheads with the people there, but they are willing to compromise, which is good. I have to reiterate again that it really was great working with Paul on this deal and I'm definitely happy with the car, too. —RohiniJasavala

2008-05-28 13:09:50   We were having major problems with our 02 Civic that has 90,000 miles. When my husband went to start it one day it sounded awful and wouldn't go into reverse. He somehow got it to University Honda and come to find out it needed a completely new transmission! After we got over our shock, Honda said they were going to try to contact the factory and have them pay for a nnew transmission. It ended up that the factory paid 75%...we were very diappointed that a young car had such a serious problem, but the guy who helped us was great, his name is Jose. I agree with the phone call spamming:For a week after the repair we got 2 calls a night from Honda asking us to do a survey. We just screened calls if we happened to be home. —MyaBrn

2008-09-03 11:28:47   I've had two Hondas, both CRVs. The first my wife and I bought via carsdirect.com, because I hate heavy sales pressure and like the spirit of that web site. When that car was crunched in an accident (not our fault!), I returned to the web but also got some email quotes from other dealerships. I visited University Honda just to check out the car, and University Honda beat all the other deals. It was not a hard sale. However, you can expect them to try to sell you on peripherals such as extended service agreements, "Xylon" coatings, etc. Our service experiences with them have been great. I'm quite happy with them. —BarryRice

2008-11-28 13:01:47   I just bought my ridgeline from University Honda, it was a fantastic expereince. Everyone was very friendly and easy to talk to. HTey got me the exact truck i wanted and with a very fair price. I recommend going there to anyone who wnats to buy a car. —sman54

2009-05-11 17:36:58   I just bought a new Fit from UH and had a generally great experience. Dave D was my salesperson; he struck a fine balance between his investment both in making the sale and in making me happy — i.e., he wasn't too pushy, had helpful information, kept in communication with me, &c. They gave me an excellent deal even though the Fit isn't eligible for many dealer or buyer incentives, since it's cheap and very popular (low mpg!). Their price, even with a few extras, was below other quotes I received from Sac-area dealers and below MSRP. They also gave me a decent interest rate, considering I have sub-700 credit. Paul in Financing pushed the Lo-Jack and the extended warranty pretty hard, but he also gave me time to consider so I can't complain too much! —Kay