The first time I dealt with Tameron in Hoover was to see about purchasing a used car I saw online; it was a typical car dealership/salesman experience that left me still searching for the car I wanted. Second time dealing with Tameron, I used the service center to have my CRV inspected and have the tires rotated. I dropped it off and it was "visually" inspected and I was told by the service advisor that everything checked out okay except for the oil pan (quoted over $300 for), radiator and outer tie rod ends (over $1000 for). It was a good experience, though I chose not to have all the services/repairs done there, for obviously way-too-expensive reasons. Even then, I wondered about something seriously being wrong with the oil pan. But what do I know? These are mechanics trained with the knowledge for these cars. Right? Huh.
This third [and maybe for the last] time I dropped my car off at the service center (on Saturday June 6, 2015), I got an oil change and tire rotation, along with the complimentary "visual inspection," with a service. Customer service was average. My car checked out on everything and I was good to go. No problems were found. When I cranked my car up to leave, the yellow Check Engine Light popped on and stayed on. Nope, that certainly wasn't on when I brought my car in and it had never been on while I owned the car. I went back to let the same service advisor from before know (he didn't recall which vehicle was mine initially) and he told me nothing would have happened for the check engine light to come on, with me having an oil change done. I get that. But the mechanics had to go under my car to rotate my tires, right?
It took three advisors to go out and diagnose why my Check Engine Light was on. It was the o2 sensor. They didn't give me a read of the numbers, the advisor just told me it had gone bad and that it wasn't a serious problem that would affect the drive or functioning of my vehicle. And he mentioned something about the Alabama green law with cars and emissions and pollution and how basically it wasn't anything for me to worry about. The service advisor tried "clearing" the code and said it might come back on and it was okay. I asked for a quote to have the o2 sensor replaced/repaired and it would've been $525 there at the dealership.
I found it VERY odd that my Check Engine Light suddenly came on after I had my CRV serviced at the Honda dealership. I found it VERY odd that if there was a problem for my Check Engine light to suddenly come on, the problem wasn't seen or found while getting serviced and "visually inspected." I found it VERY odd that once I took my car to a mechanic to get a code reading and have it looked at, I learned that the sensor had been unplugged. My Check Engine light is no longer on and hasn't come on after having it reconnected.
So after this experience, it makes me wonder about my past services done there and if my car had been tampered with before to make a profit. I don't trust their "inspections." I won't be dropping my vehicle off at Tameron service center anytime soon, if at all again.
EDIT: I was contacted by the service manager, Mr. [redacted], a while ago about my experience. I'd rather not deal with the business again after this.
And now I'm inclined to believe the experience with Tameron has given my vehicle an exhaust leak, that wasn't "inspected" or may have been a result of them repairing something else.
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!
I contacted Tameron about a specific car to get an e-quote. I got a great quote so I decided to go purchase the car. That was the last good thing I have to say about Tameron...
I get there and they don't have the car I had contacted them about (they told me via email that they had it on the lot)...then suddenly, the car is there....then POOF! it's gone.
Next, they quoted me nearly $2000 LESS than 2 other dealerships had quoted me (the same day) for that car.
To make things even worse, Tameron tried to sneak, yes sneak, in $2400 worth of "dealer accessories" that I could not opt out of.
Then, the icing on the whole experience, another salesman came over and argued with me about everything!! He claimed that all dealerships did this practice of "sneaking in dealer accessories." He argued with me for a good 10 min before I walked out.
The very next day I went to Brannon Honda and got the EXACT SAME CAR for the price that Brannon quoted me via email (cheaper than Tameron's quote even). Yes, this car had the mandatory dealer accessories but Brannon did not sneak their price in. The price that Brannon quoted me is the EXACT PRICE I paid to drive off their lot with my new car.
I will always recommend Brannon Honda to anyone!
I would never even send my worst enemies to Tameron...places like this are what make people anxious and hate dealing with new car dealerships.
UPDATE to last review (8-15-15): I appreciate the service manager reaching out to me after learning about my experience with the service center. He assured I could contact him for any help upon returning for a service. Well, a month later, my check engine light came on and began flashing, so I contacted him, explained my situation and he told me to bring my car on in and they would check it out.
I got there and he actually took me back to where work would be done and introduced me to shop foreman who was great. It was nice to know who would be working on my car. I gave them a rundown of what had been done to my car and troubles with the check engine light. They informed me of what the issues likely were and kept my car to resolve them. Mr. A. contacted me to give an update on the process and what to expect. A tune-up was the end result AND a courtesy oil change. Mr. A. had the bulk of the costs taken care of, with me only paying half for parts, which was pretty amazing considering the total cost for everything.
I was called when my car was good to go and everything had already been adjusted for check-out. Even my invoice seemed more detailed about what was done and who did what, which I like. I was able to keep my parts that were taken off and even take a test drive with the shop foreman who explained the issue behind my check engine light and general ride of my vehicle. My service advisor was nice about seeing me off and apologized for the last experience. Great experience with the service manager who was very friendly and personable, and clearly had customer satisfaction as his top priority. I appreciate what all was done this time around, mending the past situation.
The first time I dealt with Tameron in Hoover was to see about purchasing a used car I saw online; it was a typical car dealership/salesman experience that left me still searching for the car I wanted. Second time dealing with Tameron, I used the service center to have my CRV inspected and have the tires rotated. I dropped it off and it was "visually" inspected and I was told by the service advisor that everything checked out okay except for the oil pan (quoted over $300 for), radiator and outer tie rod ends (over $1000 for). It was a good experience, though I chose not to have all the services/repairs done there, for obviously way-too-expensive reasons. Even then, I wondered about something seriously being wrong with the oil pan. But what do I know? These are mechanics trained with the knowledge for these cars. Right? Huh.
This third [and maybe for the last] time I dropped my car off at the service center (on Saturday June 6, 2015), I got an oil change and tire rotation, along with the complimentary "visual inspection," with a service. Customer service was average. My car checked out on everything and I was good to go. No problems were found. When I cranked my car up to leave, the yellow Check Engine Light popped on and stayed on. Nope, that certainly wasn't on when I brought my car in and it had never been on while I owned the car. I went back to let the same service advisor from before know (he didn't recall which vehicle was mine initially) and he told me nothing would have happened for the check engine light to come on, with me having an oil change done. I get that. But the mechanics had to go under my car to rotate my tires, right?
It took three advisors to go out and diagnose why my Check Engine Light was on. It was the o2 sensor. They didn't give me a read of the numbers, the advisor just told me it had gone bad and that it wasn't a serious problem that would affect the drive or functioning of my vehicle. And he mentioned something about the Alabama green law with cars and emissions and pollution and how basically it wasn't anything for me to worry about. The service advisor tried "clearing" the code and said it might come back on and it was okay. I asked for a quote to have the o2 sensor replaced/repaired and it would've been $525 there at the dealership.
I found it VERY odd that my Check Engine Light suddenly came on after I had my CRV serviced at the Honda dealership. I found it VERY odd that if there was a problem for my Check Engine light to suddenly come on, the problem wasn't seen or found while getting serviced and "visually inspected." I found it VERY odd that once I took my car to a mechanic to get a code reading and have it looked at, I learned that the sensor had been unplugged. My Check Engine light is no longer on and hasn't come on after having it reconnected.
So after this experience, it makes me wonder about my past services done there and if my car had been tampered with before to make a profit. I don't trust their "inspections." I won't be dropping my vehicle off at Tameron service center anytime soon, if at all again.
EDIT: I was contacted by the service manager, Mr. [redacted], a while ago about my experience. I'd rather not deal with the business again after this.
And now I'm inclined to believe the experience with Tameron has given my vehicle an exhaust leak, that wasn't "inspected" or may have been a result of them repairing something else.
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!
I contacted Tameron about a specific car to get an e-quote. I got a great quote so I decided to go purchase the car. That was the last good thing I have to say about Tameron...
I get there and they don't have the car I had contacted them about (they told me via email that they had it on the lot)...then suddenly, the car is there....then POOF! it's gone.
Next, they quoted me nearly $2000 LESS than 2 other dealerships had quoted me (the same day) for that car.
To make things even worse, Tameron tried to sneak, yes sneak, in $2400 worth of "dealer accessories" that I could not opt out of.
Then, the icing on the whole experience, another salesman came over and argued with me about everything!! He claimed that all dealerships did this practice of "sneaking in dealer accessories." He argued with me for a good 10 min before I walked out.
The very next day I went to Brannon Honda and got the EXACT SAME CAR for the price that Brannon quoted me via email (cheaper than Tameron's quote even). Yes, this car had the mandatory dealer accessories but Brannon did not sneak their price in. The price that Brannon quoted me is the EXACT PRICE I paid to drive off their lot with my new car.
I will always recommend Brannon Honda to anyone!
I would never even send my worst enemies to Tameron...places like this are what make people anxious and hate dealing with new car dealerships.
UPDATE to last review (8-15-15): I appreciate the service manager reaching out to me after learning about my experience with the service center. He assured I could contact him for any help upon returning for a service. Well, a month later, my check engine light came on and began flashing, so I contacted him, explained my situation and he told me to bring my car on in and they would check it out.
I got there and he actually took me back to where work would be done and introduced me to shop foreman who was great. It was nice to know who would be working on my car. I gave them a rundown of what had been done to my car and troubles with the check engine light. They informed me of what the issues likely were and kept my car to resolve them. Mr. A. contacted me to give an update on the process and what to expect. A tune-up was the end result AND a courtesy oil change. Mr. A. had the bulk of the costs taken care of, with me only paying half for parts, which was pretty amazing considering the total cost for everything.
I was called when my car was good to go and everything had already been adjusted for check-out. Even my invoice seemed more detailed about what was done and who did what, which I like. I was able to keep my parts that were taken off and even take a test drive with the shop foreman who explained the issue behind my check engine light and general ride of my vehicle. My service advisor was nice about seeing me off and apologized for the last experience. Great experience with the service manager who was very friendly and personable, and clearly had customer satisfaction as his top priority. I appreciate what all was done this time around, mending the past situation.