Honest car dealerships in NH?

Submitted by deadpeasant2 t3_yliyqn in newhampshire

I am in the market for a midsize pickup. After reading some of the comments in a recent post about businesses people avoid, I was surprised by some of the experiences people spoke to regarding dealerships throughout NH. For those of you who HAVE had a positive experience at a dealership, where did you go? For context, I grew up on the seacoast but currently live in the Manchester area for work.

Also feel free to comment on best midsize pickups!

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Veebearz t1_iuyvw2z wrote

Grappone in Concord all the way. Bought a Hyundai from them in 2019 will never go anywhere else. Was stress free and not rushed.

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stevo2882 t1_iuz53lq wrote

+1 for Grappone bought a used Jeep Cherokee in 2018 and had a good experience. It’s a no haggle dealership so the price you see online is what you pay as long as you don’t add warranties and what not.

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pewterpetunia t1_iuz80es wrote

While I like the ‘no haggle’ philosophy, their prices are higher than you can find elsewhere (if you are willing to negotiate). On a positive note, I know the owner does a lot for the community.

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Apprehensive-Ad6466 t1_iv0omif wrote

Bought my wife's explorer from grappone. It was my first 'upfront pricing' experience and I didn't believe it so I shopped around and price checked it alot. After wasting a ton of time grappone was spot on with their price and saved me the bs of others let me talk with my manager game so I went with grappone. A few years later I ordered my f150 with them and had a similar very positive experience. Mind you this was all pre covid so who knows now.

Service is what you would expect from a dealership. Big prices, mostly fair assessment of needs and occasional argument about warranty work.

Overall I'll continue to use them.

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Dukes159 t1_iv15i0z wrote

I'll second grappone. Bought my and my wife's cars from there. They can be a bit pushy at the end for the add ons but if you stand firm on a no you'll get a good price and pretty good service.

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1-800-94Jenny t1_iv2f0wa wrote

Third for grappone here, ill probably buy next vehicle from grappone or dover honda. I dont like dover honda as much, everytime i bring it in for service i have a new ding or scratch on my paint

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Apprehensive-Ad6466 t1_iv1zdio wrote

Very true for the add-ons. Both purchases I said "I'm not buying add ons, lets skip that part" after we settled on the price. Both times I should have recorded myself saying "no thank you" for an hour while declining every one individually because "they have to do it".

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TiedinHistory t1_iv2xpdi wrote

I’ll echo Grappone. The other dealers I went to ranged from pretty good to disasters but the only iffy parts of Grappone were the trade in value for me and add on run through and neither were that bad. I’d go back.

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EquusMaximus t1_iuzb6cx wrote

Grappone. Former employee (Honda Technician) and I couldn't say enough about how amazing, knowledgeable, honest and helpful the people who work there are.

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PoorInCT t1_iuzw1qf wrote

Grappone are absolute Crooks. The service manager insisted that I needed new brakes and pads all around. I didn't believe him. This was during covid and my car was out of inspection. He started to act like a cop. On my next oil Change I brought my Corolla to IRA. 15,000 miles later they stated I needed new pads and rotors when the thickness went into the red.

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beardmat87 t1_iv0all7 wrote

I’ve bought my last 2 trucks at Banks in concord and they were great to work with both times. I’ve also used their service department for a warranty claim and for a few of the free oil changes that came with the trucks and they were also good to deal with, although I went on a Saturday once for and oil change and they were slammed and slow but that isn’t too surprising.

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NickTz20 t1_iv0xs76 wrote

Honest car dealership is the same thing as a healthy fried foods.

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FreezingRobot t1_iv0z3x9 wrote

Not New Hampshire, but I bought my last car at Acton Toyota down in Mass. I shopped around and they gave me the best price, and I got in and out with minimal amount of dealership bullshit. Also you don't pay MA sales tax if you register the car in NH.

I don't know much about trucks, but my father has a Honda Ridgeline and he's been very happy with it.

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asphynctersayswhat t1_iuz4ctq wrote

Franchise dealers (sell new cars) especially larger groups tend to be more modern and less shady. But it can also come down to a lousy salesperson or finance guy. Do your research on pricing, your credit rating (secure your own ahead to keep them honest) and the history report (all of which van be found on shopping sites like Cargurus or auto trader) and above all, don’t fall in love with the car. Be prepared to walk if something doesn’t seem right

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movdqa t1_iv0lb7c wrote

I've purchased my last three cars at Toyota of Nashua and have been happy with the dealership and the cars. The problem right now is that they can't get cars.

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raxnbury t1_iuyon38 wrote

Tacomas are always good in the smaller segment, can be pricey though. As far as dealerships I’ve never found a “bad” one for just purchasing. A lot of that has been being Pre-approved by my bank / credit union before even stepping foot on the lot.

If you can get financing ahead of time the dealership really shouldn’t be an issue, you already know how much you’re going to spend going into it makes it easier to negotiate. “I’m willing to lay X amount, take it or leave it”

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mellowMangos t1_iuyskqe wrote

All I’ll say is that the more north you’re willing to drive, the better deal you may get. Like Berlin.

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gravitybongresin t1_iuz230e wrote

Portsmouth Ford was good. No dealer fees at all, you actually pay the advertised price and they were very low pressure

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pewterpetunia t1_iuz82u5 wrote

I purchased a car here a few years ago and I’d agree with this.

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fdexclpl t1_iv2auxr wrote

Portsmouth Ford is great to deal with. I've been buying there for over 20 years.

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Time_Cup4527 t1_iv2f4r5 wrote

My family has bought 18 cars from Mike at Portsmouth and won’t go anywhere else. Actually waiting on my new truck that should be here in 2 weeks.

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AlyssaB89 t1_iuz9duv wrote

I have had nothing but good experiences at Toyota of Nashua

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Auntienursey t1_iv07aqp wrote

I bought my car at Grappone, and got an ok deal, but, I take my car to Meineke for any work as I can't afford the dealership prices. Never had any issues with Meineke's charges for work.

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Smalls8705 t1_iv3one8 wrote

As someone in the automotive business but not working for a dealership (unbiased), you cannot go wrong with a larger automotive group like Grappone, McGovern, McGee, Autofair, group1, etc. any of those stores focus on volume to maintain market share, not profit per unit. They will give you the best price and will stand by any used purchase to maintain reputation.

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pbsolaris t1_iv5mb7c wrote

Places like this make money on their services not the individual cars themselves. While representing the company.

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NewPhoenix77 t1_iuz3kre wrote

Got my pandemic GMC 2500 Sierra Denali at Quirk in Manchester under MSRP even though the truck wasn’t on the lot yet. They were easy to deal with. Don’t know about the chain in general, but the GMC sales folks were good.

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gmcgath t1_iv1grwc wrote

I did OK recently with Dover Honda. The car I was initially looking at was sold, and they called me while I was en rouge to let me know in case I didn't want to make the trip. I went anyway. The second car I looked at wasn't for me, and they didn't pressure me. Then they found a car that was a near-twin of the 2019 model I'd first looked at, and that was what I ended up with.

One downside though: They made me wait for hours to talk to the financing person.

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Impossible-Bear-8953 t1_iuymedt wrote

I've had really good experiences with Contemporary Dodge in Milford.

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rahnster_wright t1_iuyrg4p wrote

I had a great experience at Somersworth Nissan!

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nightmares06 t1_iuyzh7c wrote

State Motors in Manchester was great, didn't mind my mechanic taking a look at the car first at all

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Dollhousefurniture t1_iuzrqxt wrote

I bought 2 SUV’s from Price Auto in Concord. And several of my coworkers have gotten cars there. I had a really good experience and they helped me with financing a ton. Not sure what type of pickup you’re interested in but Price Auto has lots of Tacoma’s on the lot.

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smartest_kobold t1_iv0j7ir wrote

I don't know what it's called, but Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny work there.

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bridgetlabrie t1_iv2kmel wrote

I just purchased from McGee in Claremont and it was a good experience.

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pbsolaris t1_iv5k6kf wrote

The new Honda Ridgelines are the most versatile vehicles on the roads. Fight me.

I wasn't going to spend an ungodly amount on a car with over 100,000 miles on it that was 10 years old. That being said I bit the bullet and bought new. I feel like as far as car shopping goes if dealerships know you're not hell-bent on buying a car, they know you've done your research, and you understand how sales works there's a significantly less amount of BS to deal with.

I showed up to Auto Fair Honda in Manchester and they gave me the "oh market adjustment BS." To which I replied " oh cool because I can get the next package up at Peters Honda in Nashua for that price and they immediately folded on that BS. For whatever model you end up going with, find what nearby dealers are offering it for and be ready to throw that in their face. If you can get MSRP in this market it's a win.

Try to buy at the end of the month, try to buy on a Sunday, Monday or Friday. Or try to buy at the beginning of the year. Don't let them know that you NEED a vehicle if you do. Don't pay extra for the undercoating spray as most companies already do that. Be wary of added insurance as most manufacturers cover a good deal of the added warranty already. Don't ever even consider added warranty at a used car dealership is there likely BS.

Ultimately you are buying a vehicle at the worst time possible. The used car market has improved slightly but it is still pretty terrible.

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humint47 t1_iuyyylp wrote

AutoFair Honda and look at the Honda Ridgeline. I have one and it is an incredibly daily driver truck. Ask for Tae Kang and tell him Chad M sent you

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B1ggestsport t1_iuz242y wrote

Agreed had a good experience with them on a used car with the same guy

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Massive-Instance-579 t1_iuz88r1 wrote

My family bought all of our cars (used if you’re considering that), from Second Car Center in Derry. Great mechanic shop and they’re good to their word.

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Emsoha t1_iv0ifob wrote

Dover Honda

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petrified_eel4615 t1_iv0od0i wrote

Just got my truck at McGovern's in Nashua - best deal I've seen in a long time, willing to work with me on my trade-in, really friendly and responsive. It was also the cleanest truck I've ever seen - like it looked right off the showroom even though it was 2 years old.

I'll probably go back there when I trade this one in for an upgrade in a couple of years.

EDIT: I've got a 2019 Nissan Frontier - its on the smaller side for pickups, but I love it. Its the perfect size for 99% of what I need to do, gets decent gas mileage, and rides wicked easy.

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Cantide756 t1_iv1p529 wrote

Unique Ford in Goffstown treated me great both times I went there.

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f2000sa t1_iuz8xw5 wrote

⁷⁷⁷⁷no 7

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HPenguinB t1_iv2p5x2 wrote

Extreme Machines in Bow, if you are looking for a subaru.

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Sylvio_ t1_iv0abpb wrote

Seacoast Volkswagen is the best. Everyone there is so kind and they went above and beyond to get me the lowest possible interest rate when financing my car. One of the guys drove from bank to bank to find me a better interest rate than what VW corporate was sending over.

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