Honda Dealership Experience

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

My GF's brother is the not so proud owner of a previous gen Civic.

A year or so back they had a major recall over the headlights just cutting off in the middle of a commute. (I don't remember seeing that one in the mainstream press)

He was a good lil sheep and took his car in for the needed repairs. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when he and his girlfriend are driving home from work one night and his headlights just randomly cut off.

He takes it into the dealership again and they say: 1) The recall was never performed on the car in the first place (Umm, what?) 2) Because the car is out of warranty they charge him $187 for the new switch. And 3) If he wants to get his money back for the recall, he can call the Honda number and talk to someone there about it.

*** Honestly, I really don't know why people are still so ignorant as to buy asian cars. ***

(Well, okay, I may be a little biased :AH-HA_wink:)

Edited January 22, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[siegen]

Dealerships from all makes vary greatly in customer service, they are privately owned after all. If he calls Honda directly he will be taken care of. My local GM dealership (and nonlocal dealership) are just as bad as you describe, although I'm sure there are good ones out there.

[vonVeezelsnider]

When I was working at the local B/P/GMC dealership we had to do free recalls on the cars that came in regardless of their warranty status. It was a liability thing I was told.

Yeah... we had recalls done on our Dustbuster and Cavalier WAAAY out of warranty. It's a government regulation... recalls are and always will be free of charge. Anyone who says otherwise needs to get off the pipe.

[ocnblu]

If the Honda dealership is refusing to fix it free of charge it must have been a Technical Service Bulletin, not an actual recall. Recalls are government mandated, and have to be done free to the owner. TSBs are simply engineering fixes developed by the manufacturer for frequent problems... no letter is sent, the TSB is performed only if the customer complains, and it is only free if it is done during the warranty period, along with any other covered defect.

Hondas are not infallible, no way no how, but it sounds like the dealership was following protocol.

[enzl]

My GF's brother is the not so proud owner of a previous gen Civic.

A year or so back they had a major recall over the headlights just cutting off in the middle of a commute. (I don't remember seeing that one in the mainstream press)

He was a good lil sheep and took his car in for the needed repairs. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when he and his girlfriend are driving home from work one night and his headlights just randomly cut off.

He takes it into the dealership again and they say: 1) The recall was never performed on the car in the first place (Umm, what?) 2) Because the car is out of warranty they charge him $187 for the new switch. And 3) If he wants to get his money back for the recall, he can call the Honda number and talk to someone there about it.

*** Honestly, I really don't know why people are still so ignorant as to buy asian cars. ***

(Well, okay, I may be a little biased :AH-HA_wink:)

I just don't get how silly you can be.

An independently owned and operated dealership does a half-ass job---yet Honda MC should be strung up?

Ignorance is rampant in this country. Just check out all the idiots in S. Carolina who think the Confederate....ah, on second thought, forget it.

Dealers are, almost without exception, owned independently of any factory. The service and sales experience varies so greatly from unit to unit that no true lesson can be drawn from any experience that would apply to the whole dealer body. That being said---find a good dealer in your town (regardless of shield) and stick with them--it'll always save you headaches, if not $ too.

[Camino LS6]

A few points:

- If it wasn't a recall, it should have been. Recalls are by definition safety issues and headlight failure certainly qualifies.

- Honda should have a record of the recall or TSB being performed, so someone is BSing

- The point about finding a good dealership and sticking with them is a valid one

[Intrepidation]

That reminds me to take the Prizm in, back in July when I spoke to GM customer services they advised me that a recalled had been issued for it. Does it have to be a Chevrolet dealer or can it be any GM dealer?

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I just don't get how silly you can be.

An independently owned and operated dealership does a half-ass job---yet Honda MC should be strung up?

Ignorance is rampant in this country. Just check out all the idiots in S. Carolina who think the Confederate....ah, on second thought, forget it.

Dealers are, almost without exception, owned independently of any factory. The service and sales experience varies so greatly from unit to unit that no true lesson can be drawn from any experience that would apply to the whole dealer body. That being said---find a good dealer in your town (regardless of shield) and stick with them--it'll always save you headaches, if not $ too.

Obviously, a lot of my post was said in jest.

Like I told Satty, you're wasting your time holding a personal grudge against me because it's not a battle you will win.

I'm sorry that you can't be open minded enough to *GASP* respect my freedom to display an avatar of my choice. But I'm really tired of your attacks based on that. If you have nothing better to say, then don't bother coming out from under your bridge in my threads

And that goes for everyone here in the "bash FOG" club. I appreciate the support and attention, but I'm trying to put my days of warfare on C&G behind me.

Edited January 22, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[enzl]

Completely not personal, my friend---and, as you so amply expressed, we all have the right to type whatever we want here---so long as it conforms to certain boundaries.

Pointing out that ignorant statements come from ignorant people by using an example of their ignorance strengthens my argument, no?

That is all, just a little Rhetoric 101, sir, no grudges, no personal issues, only business. Perhaps you should worry less about what I think--I'm certainly not wasting my time on you.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Completely not personal, my friend---and, as you so amply expressed, we all have the right to type whatever we want here---so long as it conforms to certain boundaries.

Pointing out that ignorant statements come from ignorant people by using an example of their ignorance strengthens my argument, no?

That is all, just a little Rhetoric 101, sir, no grudges, no personal issues, only business. Perhaps you should worry less about what I think--I'm certainly not wasting my time on you.

And posts like this point out the elitest bull$h! and effeminate political correctness that is destroying this country.

Time to grow up and face reality. People aren't homogeneous, especially on the internet. I would think if you're so much more intelligent than some 'example of ignorance' that you'd at least be able to step outside the box and accept diversity. What you obviously don't realize is that I'm more privy to your plight than you might think.

Your the kind of person that preaches one thing, then turns right around and commits the sin you whined about in the first place.

If I am in fact ignorant, then you're the definition of a hypocrite

Edited January 22, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[enzl]

And posts like this point out the elitest bull$h! and effeminate political correctness that is destroying this country.

Time to grow up and face reality. People aren't homogeneous, especially on the internet. I would think if you're so much more intelligent than some 'example of ignorance' that you'd at least be able to step outside the box and accept diversity. What you obviously don't realize is that I'm more privy to your plight than you might think.

Your the kind of person that preaches one thing, then turns right around and commits the sin you whined about in the first place.

If I am in fact ignorant, then you're the definition of a hypocrite

Please refrain from personal attacks...and, BTW, you couldn't be more wrong about me.

I welcome diversity of opinion, even when diametrically opposed to my own.

[Camino LS6]

Guys, please do me a favor and let this one ride.

[daves87rs]

Dealerships can be pretty $h!ty...it really doesn't make a difference in who...

[Screaming Trees]

Dealerships from all makes vary greatly in customer service, they are privately owned after all. If he calls Honda directly he will be taken care of. My local GM dealership (and nonlocal dealership) are just as bad as you describe, although I'm sure there are good ones out there.

Very true. The local Domestic dealers around here suck, mostly a bunch of asshole sales people and the management is even worse. We have a local Dodge dealership that was family owned, once the family sold it customer service went the way of the wind. Which is why when I bought my Dodge back in '02 I went about 30 miles south and I went about 35 miles north for both of my Chevy's. On the flip side to that when I accopmanied some friends to the various ricer dealers around here the expierence was quite pleasent, great people, great management. It makes a difference.

[CARBIZ]

There are so many angles to approach this from....

Since most of the domestic dealeships are older, they also tend to have an older salesforce. When I go to product training seminars, sometimes it looks like a retirment home. Some of these people have been in the business 30+ years and although they should know better, many of them are shell-shocked. At my old dealership, I saw a sales sheet from '91 for a contest and the #1 guy sold 31 cars in a month; the second sold 30. Let me tell you, in the 10 years I was there, nobody hit 20 - EVER. Lately, 10 was a reason to call the mayor. Can you imagine how some of those guys feel? Twenty years ago, they were 'order takers.' They made (comparable to today) 6 figures - and a lot of it was cash. All the business office (rustproofing, warranty, etc.) was paid at the end of the week (some places at the end of the day) in cash! Liquid lunches, sales contest trips to Vegas, Mexico, wherever, driving whatever car they wanted, banging the office hoes - such is the legend of the car business only a scant decade or so ago.

No more. The dealers are downsizing. In many cases the owners are waiting for a good bye check from the manufacturer, or the Sheriff to come and close the doors - take your pick. Some of the owners are counting their cash from their import dealers and don't give a flying f$#k about their Chevy/Ford/Dodge dealer. Some just want to cash in the chips and move to Scarsdale. The younger guys/gals can't make a go of it because there is no floor traffic. The older guys can barely turn on a computer, let alone surf the net.

Such is the mess that Detroit has ended up with. Couple that with every Bachelor of Arts of the Week graduate moving in and moving up, at Corporate, with their theories on this or their theories on that.....well, it doesn't look great for the dealer body in the near future.

Plus, I suspect that many of the guys/gals on this board would be every salesperson's worst nightmare anyway, so I doubt you would be getting a 'normal' reaction from the sales staff you encounter.

I'll bet the guys at the Alamo, or the OK Corral were not in a very good mood either......

[caddycruiser]

This seems VERY reminiscent of Edmunds.com experience with a transmission issue in their long-term '07 Fit.

Not a big issue, but the car is in warranty, and reading their posts...the dealer automatically was CHARGING them hundreds to examine the issue and repair it.

Still don't understand why, and it can happen with any brand and any dealer, but that's what I immediately just thought of. Not good, and I don't even think is following policy.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/categor...07HondaFitSport

[76ChevyTrucker]

Like everyone above has said, if it was a true recall, then it should be preformed for free, and if the dealer charges you, then call Honda themselves and you'll get paid back for it. If it was only a TSB, then unfortunately you're pretty much stuck with the bill. If you give me the VIN, I could probably do some research tonight when I get home from work and see exactly if it were a recall, or just a TSB. Oh yeah, for someone else's question about whether or not a recall service had to be done at only a Chevy dealership, or any GM dealership. The answer is any dealership, as long as they know of the recall, then they should be able to do the work. Kinda like me having to go to my Chevy dealership for the passenger's side mirror on my '99 GA when I had it.