Hillside Honda
Customer Reviews of Hillside Honda
Review type:
Happy Car Owner
by Gabrielle Sarmiento on 02/20/2025
Amazing Car Buying Experience at Hillside Honda!
I had been searching for over two months for my dream car—the 2025 Honda Civic Sport Hybrid Touring in Meteorite Gray Metallic—but every dealership I visited told me it would take 3–4 weeks… or longer to arrive, which would have pushed my timeline back to the end of March.
That all changed when my husband took me to Hillside Honda, where we met General Manager Peter Petito. From the moment we walked in, Peter was absolutely marvelous. After hearing what I was looking for, he checked his inventory and, to my surprise, told me they had the exact car I wanted right at the dealership! I was beyond thrilled—I couldn’t believe my luck!
Peter then introduced us to Sales Manager Mario Polanco, who made sure we got the best deal possible. Mario was incredibly helpful, walking us through every step of the process with patience and professionalism. Since it was getting late, I decided to pick up my car the next morning so it could be washed and fully prepared for me.
The next day, I arrived to find my beautiful new car waiting for me, spotless and ready to go. I can’t express how happy I am!
If you want a marvelous car-buying experience, I highly recommend Hillside Honda. The team is fantastic, they truly care about their customers, and they will make sure you leave with the perfect car at a great deal.
Many thanks to Peter Petito and Mario Polanco for making this such a smooth and joyful experience!
319 reviews
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This dealer advertises cars they have sold weeks previous
by freewheel307 on 10/24/2009As I live out of the dealers area I relied on the internet for my initial shopping. I made contact with the dealer via email and was told to check out the used inventory on-line. I was in the market for a used Honda Pilot and they had 12 in… stock. I emailed back asking for confirmation of which of the vehicles was still in stock. I was told "Our inventory has been updated and we do have pre-owned vehicles available right now....So if you do take a look at our website if you see anything that you like please let me know.... " I found a vehicle I was interested in with low mileage and a reasonable price. When I ran a carfax on the car I found it had been sold 6 weeks prior. I emailed my findings and the reply came: "I do apologize for the inconvience, sometimes human errors can be made, we did not mean to mislead you in any way" So I went back to the inventory and I find a couple of other possibilities, and ran carfaxes on them, sure enough they were sold 3 and 7 weeks ago. Not surprisingly these were the best priced, lowest mileage Pilots in their inventory. Some others in inventory were still available, but all had higher mileage and many had been in accidents. Oh and even after I pointed out that the cars had been sold, they are still in the on-line inventory. Beware this dealer and check other review sites, treat positive reviews as suspect.Rip off sales managers
by poun on 09/16/2009I don't know how they can live with themselves ! The Internet price on the car was $18000 and one of the managers by phone promised that I would only pay the Internet price. When I got there, they ask me to $400 documentation fees, $1000… for car certification and $500 for I don't what. total rip off. Don't trust what they tell you by phone and if you can avoid them. NOT RECOMMENDED.[violative content deleted]
by poun on 09/15/2009worst experience, Major hidden fees, [violative content deleted] sales people (managers) Prices are not accurate don't trust themCompletely dissatisfied and resentful customer
by learningcritic on 04/25/2009I'm a first-time auto consumer. I'm mostly responsible for my dissatisfaction because I didn't conduct a thorough research and didn't bother visiting other Honda dealers. Lesson learned: research as much as you can about buying a car so… that you're equipped to negotiate and maybe even develop your own schemes. Edmunds.com has some good tips and advice. They also provide other useful links. I read a review below saying that the schemes and tactics of the salesperson at this dealer were obvious and I'd agree. But what makes it difficult is that Hondas are in such high demand that it seems these salesmen are "arrogant", so to speak, in their sales pitch. Anyway, if a salesperson's tactics are obvious, that indicates to me a lack of skill. In addition, the entire process of purchasing the car took so long. I'm not sure if that's normal at this dealership or if this was another one of their schemes to exhaust the consumer. Nonetheless, it's so important to be alert throughout the ENTIRE process. They really try to get you towards the end of the deal. I was so tired at the end and just signed the contract. But when I got home and started doing the calculations, I felt like they added some "seemingly insignificant" costs and of course, I became furious and leading me to write this review. I particularly didn't like the manager at this dealership. He was very argumentative and he apparently FAILS in his customer service performance. Sales schemes and tactics seem unavoidable because salesmen want to rake in as much $$$ as they can. If you CAN, try going to another dealer where they have better customer service.My New 09 Honda Civic
by wartheory on 04/14/2009I have been looking to get a new 09 Honda Civic so I have been doing research from dealership to dealership. I got my first Honda civic from Paragon Honda and it was the worst experience ever. I had to fight about the color the price the… down payment pretty much everything the only reason why I stood there was because my friend just started working there. My lease was up and I saw how Hillside Honda had such great reviews so I gave them a chance and I was so pleased with the outcome. From the second I walked in I was greeted nicely and I was asked by salesman Ray Cruz if I needed help I stated "no just looking" He then stated "ok if you need anything I will be here for you." To me that was good because there was no pushiness. At Paragon Honda I had to tell the salesman 4 times no thanks. Couldn't help it but I really liked the way the 09 Civic looked so I asked Ray for more information and he was truly knowledgeable about the civic he was the first salesman to point out how the 09 Honda civic has a more aggressive front bumper. The environment was truly friendly and I walked away with the Civic I wanted at a great price. I just walked in and was treated a lot better there than I was at Paragon Honda were my friend works......Idle salespeople must write postive reviews about Hillside.
by 1carbuyer on 04/03/2009If you would like to experience everything negative you have ever heard about car dealerships go to Hillside Honda. I am in the market for a Pilot and have numerous quotes from local dealerships. I contacted Hillside Honda and was told… come in and they would definitely match or beat the quotes I had. I told the salesperson on the phone that I didn't want any dealer games and intended to make a deal that day. He assured me I would get the best price at Hillside and confirmed with his 'manager' who was in the background. When I visited the dealership, the salesperson consulted with the manager to get us the best price (Why do they always to that??? If salespeople don't have the authority to make a deal, just get rid of them and have us deal directly with the managers. Save us paying their salaries in the price of the 'deal'.) Anyway, the salesperson came back with a price $4,000 higher than a price I had on paper from another dealer - the price they assured me they would beat. I asked to speak with the manager. The manager with me and suggested theeason I was at his dealership was that I coudn't get a deal anywhere else (great sales technique!!!), and said he only told the salesperson to get me in so he would 'work with me'. How is adding $4,000 to a quote I already have on paper working with me? Needless to say, I left and immediately reported them to Honda. I will also report to consumer affairs and anyone else that will listen. Bottom line salespeople are [violative content deleted] - only on display, incapable of closing a deal without manager. Manager displayed the worst people skills I have ever experienced. Dishonest 'sales techniques', Extremely rude and arrogant. Dishonest practices and sales methods. In this economy, consumers have the ability to decide who deserves their business and Hillside Honda do not deserve my business.Completely Untrustworthy, Tried a Blatant Bait and Switch!
by jratcliffe on 04/01/2009Hillside Honda attempted to commit a blatant bait and switch when I was attempting to lease a new Honda. When I went into the dealership, (a) the price was sharply higher than I had been quoted, and (b) the vehicle I was told was in stock… was not actually available. Bottom line, they outright lied to me, knew they were lying, and just didn't care. I wouldn't buy chewing gum from these guys. On 3/31/09, I emailed Hillside Honda for a quote on a lease of a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L Sedan V6 with Navigation, in Black with Ivory interior. I got a call from Tom Patanio at Hillside, who confirmed the exact model and color, and said he'd call me back. He called me back to inform me that they had that vehicle in stock, and that the lease would be $388.02/month, including all taxes and fees, for 3 years/12k miles/yr, with only the first payment and DMV fees due at signing. I asked him to email me the deal, so I would have it on paper, but he said he couldn't, as the dealership was concerned that I would "shop" the offer to other dealers. As a result, I went through and confirmed the exact model, color and lease terms with him verbally, and then left to come into Hillside and sign the paperwork. When I arrived at the dealer, I met Tom briefly, and was then handed off to Dennison, a salesman, to complete the transaction. He took my information, and I informed him of the deal that had been reached. He went off to talk to a manager, and came back saying there must have been a mistake, that the quote I had was for a car WITHOUT navigation. I told him there was no mistake, I had been very explicit, and Joe had been explicit, the offer was for a car with navigation. He brought his manager (Mohammed Chowdry) over, who continued to refuse to complete the committed-to deal. I offered to compromise by splitting the difference between the $388 and the $422 he said I "should" have been offered, but he refused, offering only a slight concession ($405/month, with an extra $600 upfront). In addition, he said that the color I was explicitly told was in stock was not in fact available, and I would have to take a different color to get that price. At that point it was clear that there was no honest "mistake," and that the quote offered was simply the fraudulent "bait" designed to lure me in, so I left.Great experience at the dealership
by sunshine03 on 02/25/2009I first heard about hillside honda from a friend who had bought a car. So when I started looking for my vehicle about two months ago I decided to stop in. I thought I was just looking but to my surprise I ended up purchasing the car that… same day. The sales managers as well as my sale person where on point. They walked me threw the pricess. I really love hillside honda's way of doing business. I will be back for my next car, and I will be recommend others to go there.Honda Civic 2009
by albajrodriguez on 02/16/2009I had a unusually great expirience at a car dealership on Valentines day. I upgrade my 2003 Toyota Martix to a Honda Civic EX. They found me a great deal and helped me out big time in financing, in these tough time to get a great car at a… great rate of interest is hard thing to do. Thank you to all that where involved for your help.hillside honda
by ssanchez1 on 02/06/2009I was looking to purchase a used vehicle for the first time at a good rate. One of my friends recommended the hillside honda dealership to me. I went to browse and compare prices with the other dealerships I'd been to and decided that… hillside had the best prices. I recieved good customer service and would recommend this dealership to anyone attempting to purchase their first car or a new car.Hillside Honda
by chichicity on 02/06/2009I love the excellent prices and customer service that they provide.....top notch buisness manager made me save a good amount of money compared to the price i received from Paragon. I would definately recommend anyone who is looking to save… money and also looking for that hassle free dealership, to give Hillside Honda a shot.Very professional dealership
by beachbum2009 on 02/04/2009There is not enough places like Hllside Honda. They worked with my budget and got me a great deal. The poeple are very friendly and made sure I understood everything. I would recommend this dealership to anyone. As I have been to several… other places and didn't have a good experience.There is NO Recession at Hillside Honda!!!
by sandrazel on 02/05/2009I went to Hillside Honda afraid that I wouldn't get approved because my credit was shaky. I delt with the internet department for a while undecided on what to do. They assured me that if I just went in they would do there best to help me… out. When I finally wen't in I wish I would have got there sooner. In the couple hours I was there I saw 6 people purchasing cars. Thay got me approved for the exact vehicle I wanted. There is no recession at Hillside Honda. I have recommended my friends and family to go there.great expeirence at hillside honda
by darock2 on 02/03/2009i recently purchased a vehicle from hillside honda.it couldn't have went any better than it did.i search for the right car and price in this ruff economic times and hillside Honda was the best price around.the staff was great as well as the… finance managers they made the hole process as smooth as possible.all i have to say i'm am very happy with my new car and of course my payment.HILLSIDE HONDA IS THE BEST DEALERSHIP AROUND
by berverlyc on 02/03/2009There is no other place like Hillside Honda. I got these best deal from the most professional staff around. I went in to buy a new car not really knowing to expect. Although I was nerves about getting a new car Hillside Honda made sure I… was comfortable and explained everything step by step. I would recommend anyone looking to get a car to look no further.. Thanks Hillside hondaHillside Honda Is the Best
by NYNY1FAN on 12/27/2008I read some of these reviews and have to totally disagree with them. These people do not know what they are talking to. My brother and I were both in the market to buy new cars. I did the typical on line research and submitted exactly what… I wanted. I got a bunch of useless emails from many dealerships. Hilside Honda sent me a detailed email with the specials they had and what to do next. It impressed me so much and when I got a phone call from Stephanie in their internet department I was pleased to speak to her. She is a very pleasent and informative woman. She set an appointment for me and my brother to test drive two cars. When we got there the place was so lively, not anything like the other dealerships we've been to. They were very busy and I was surprised cause I thought it would be empty due to the economy and all. I guess all the bad stuff you hear is not all that true cause there were at least 70 people there buying cars through out the day. It did take us a while to get some help because they were so busy. We did not mind we had a cup of coffee and walked around the showroom a bit. Stephanie introduced us to a salesman named Ray Cruz. What a sweetheart! Within minutes he had a Pilot for my brother to test drive and an Accord for me. When we came back we sat down with Ray and met his manager Mike who was more than happy to answer all our questions. We both agreed on a price and then met Carolyn who showed us many different ways of financing. Everything from the first email to putting my keys into my first brand new car was amazing thanks to everyone at Hillside Honda. My brother also loves his new Pilot and thanks to Ray he knows how to work the navigation. I already recommended my mother, my best friend and a few co - workers to Hillside and I will honestly say that they really do take care of all your automotive needs. I look forward to servicing my car there and buying my next car in a few years.Hillside Service
by ekwhite on 12/24/2008I bought my vehicle at Hillside Honda. It was time for my service an I did not have an appt. but my sales person introduced me to Vinnie and he told me to bring the vehicle right in an he would try to accommodate me. Its took 30mins, I was… in an out. Service at Hillside Honda is very friendly.Hillside Honda is a Credit to Honda as a Company
by wcp0926 on 12/16/2008I bought my 2005 Honda CRV SE from Hillside Honda in April 2005. Since I bought the vehicle I have never had it serviced any place other than the dealer. To begin, the staff is always very courteous. When I phone for an appointment, they… are always aware of the services that have been done, as well as the service required at the present time. When I have questions, they answer with patience and clarity. Vinnie is a credit to the company! I usually drop the car off and go to work. Vinnie phones me on my job if any issues come up that were not discussed previously, and also gives me a time when the service will be completed. I have always been completely satisfied with Hillside Honda from the initial sale (Thanks Dennison) to the maintenance. I don't know when I'll be ready to purchase a new car because I'm so happy with my 2005 CRV SE. One thing I know for sure, when I'm ready, I'll be shopping at Hillside Honda. You guys have an exemplary team!Service at Hillside Honda
by ghis on 12/17/2008I have been a customer at Hillside Honda since 1982. Four cars and twenty six years later, I can say I feel like family. The service is excellent, consistent and staff could not be more helpful. Any questions I have are answered until I am… satisfied. I have never had a problem with work done and when things have cropped up, I am taken right away or as soon as possible. So many people I know have horror stories about service. I can only recommend them to HH if they have a Honda or tell them to buy a Honda so they can experience carefree driving and pleasant experiences. I would not go anywhere else to buy or service my car.Thank you so much for taking the time to post a review about your pleasant experience at Hillside Honda! It is always a pleasure to read about happy customers that drive away in the vehicle they were looking for! Safe driving! Regards, Hillside Honda
Quality service at a reasonable price......
by hotrod70 on 12/11/2008I had recently purchased my used vehicle from a private owner, a 2004 honda accord. What i did not realize is that the vehicle had so many problems with the starter and the engine. I was then advised by one of my co workers who had… recently serviced her vehicle to bring my car in to hillside honda because she had recently had some vehicle issues of her own. She had enjoyed the service quality that she received from hillside honda, so i said to myself why not let me give it a shot. I was very impressed by the quality of work and the price of service. I would definately recommend anyone to come in and service your vehicle at hillside honda if you are looking for a good price and quality service........sachind
by kennethd on 12/02/2008This was my first time visit at HIllside Honda and i must say it was a wonderful experience for me . Prompt service, efficent staff and great atmosphere. You can sit in the waiting area have a cup of coffee and read the newspaper will… waiting for your vehilce.
About our dealership
We have a skilled and knowledgeable sales staff with many years of experience satisfying our customers’ needs. Located in Jamaica, New York and serving NYC, Queens and Brooklyn, the staff at Hillside Honda will help you find the Honda vehicle you want. At Hillside Honda we offer a searchable online inventory on our website of new Honda cars in Jamaica, along with well-maintained pre-owned cars by today’s top manufacturers. Come on in and take a test drive! Our sales staff will help you find that new Honda or quality used car that you have been searching for.
What sets us apart
Challenging credit is only a speed bump for Hillside Honda! We have one of the highest credit approval ratings in the tri-state area.
A Pre-Owned location with a wide selection of certified Honda and non-Honda vehicles.
Hillside Honda is a very cultured establishment with 10 different languages spoken on location.
Hillside Honda is family owned and operated Honda dealership since 1972, making you feel right at home.
Amenities
- Complimentary Drinks
- Instant Financing
- Complimentary Coffee
- Cable Television
- Television
Languages Spoken (10)
- Bengali
- English
- Russian
- French
Thank you so much for taking the time to post a review about your pleasant experience at Hillside Honda! It is always a pleasure to read about happy customers that drive away in the vehicle they were looking for! Safe driving! Regards, Hillside Honda
by hillsidehonda on 12/06/2010