Dealer Alternative

Part 1: I usually don’t leave reviews but I just feel so stupid and am mostly upset with myself so I just have to leave one. I go to school in the downtown area and I have a Honda so when I started having random car issues I figured this would be the perfect place to bring my car. Around this time last year I took an extremely short drive from my apartment to the nearby McDonald’s. As soon as I got into my car and started it I noticed something was off. My car had to try very hard to start up and when it did it was shaking a bit. Idling is what they call it for cars but obviously I’m no expert on the matter as you’ll soon learn lol. So I start driving and the shaking continues. I also notice that it’s hard to brake. It feels like there’s pressure behind the brake when I attempt braking. I could still brake it was just different. I also noticed a light would pop up when I did brake. A light indicating I had low oil pressure. Because it was like 10 PM at this time I planned on taking my car in hopefully that next day. So I messaged my grandpa about the issues I was having and started googling. He told me it sounded like my oil pump. So the next day I call this place and tell them all of the symptoms my car is having and asked if they could check my oil pump and they told me sure you can bring it by whenever you can. So the day after that I take my car in. I’ve had my car for about 3 years at this point and haven’t ever had to take my car in to get looked at I’ve only really ever gotten oil changes so I was a bit nervous as I’m sure you can imagine. The drive from my apartment to the shop was about 13 minutes so not far. I start driving and I notice my car seems fine? I make a mental note and head to the shop. When I get there I inform the man at the front that I had called yesterday and was wondering if they could check my oil pump because of (previously mentioned symptoms) he says yes. So I’m there for a bit guy comes out and tells me everything is fine my oil was just low and needed to be topped off so they did that for me and I should be on my merry way. They even showed me how to do it because I know nothing of course. No charge for anything. Now I should’ve known better but I didn’t and in retrospect I feel like a complete idiot and I know it’s on me but I just can’t help but feel that they should’ve done what I asked. They should’ve checked. But I take this as great news and am really happy my car didn’t need to be worked on and that I don’t have to pay anything! I should’ve been more skeptical because I had just gotten my oil changed a few weeks ago and it shouldn’t have been low but it was. But because I didn’t know ANYTHING about cars and stupidly assumed they had checked what I asked them to check I was ecstatic. You car isn’t just low on oil 🤦‍♀️ if it’s low on oil there is a reason. I don’t know why they didn’t do further investigation. I had like 115k miles on my car and according to the research I’ve done oil pumps start failing around 150k so maybe that’s why they didn’t feel like it was necessary. However, I came in and laid out all of my symptoms and then asked one thing to be checked. The one thing that could explain all prior symptoms and they didn’t do it? Did they not take me seriously? I really don’t understand because if there’s one thing I know about mechanics it’s that they want to make money so I really don’t know why at the very least they wouldn’t have ran a diagnostic on my car and charged me for that? But again it’s on me as well I should’ve known better I should have pressed harder but I didn’t think I’d have anything to press because my car having issues would only benefit them so in what world would they not check something they could potentially profit off of? So I carried on my merry way.

We took our car in for an oil change and general maintenance. They were affordable, fast, and friendly. Will definitely return.

I can’t say enough good things about Dealer Alternative. They are very professional and know what they are doing. I had an appointment and dropped my car off a day early. They got to the car a day early and had it repaired within the day. Their prices are fair and reasonable. I will take any Honda I own to Dealer Alternative for work I cannot do myself. Keep up the good work!

After spending almost two months trying to remedy an engine misfire myself, I took my Honda to Dealer Alternative on 20-January. Other than a misfire it needed some ball joints replaced. Two hours later I get some news, no compression in cylinder 1. They will adjust the lash to see if it has any effect. 21-January I get the confirmation, no changes in cylinder 1 other cylinders pretty low as well. Would likely need a rebuild. Its going to be priceyyy. The engine lasted 280,000+ miles, you could say I got my monies worth. I give up on the repairs and inform them i'll be by to pick up the car. 22-January I have a change of heart, I talk to Tammy again who went over what to expect, my options and some recommendations. 24-January I bring them a JDM engine to swap in. 30-January work has already begun, I'm informed about a broken motor mount. 03-February I pick up the broken engine and misc part, talk to Steve for a while about race cars, H22's and Type R's. Really cool guy. 07-February the day finally arrives, I get to pick up the car. It feels new again,very pleased with all the work they put into it. This was an extensive job, that required allot of parts. I'velooked high and low and cannot find a single thing out of place. I plan on driving this car for a very long time. I'm confident the work they did will be trouble free down the road. Huge shout out to Tammy, thanks for always keeping me in the loop and being honest and friendly. Ya'll probably think i'm crazy for spending a small fortune on a 20 year old Prelude. I will surely be bringing my wifes TSX and my Prelude to ya'll in the future.

Excellent service with very well executed up selling. They told me what they saw but unlike at the Acura dealer, they didn't push for any work to be done other than safety issues. Only one of those with the brakes and a normal wear item. Highly recommend them for Honda/Acura products.