Fun with dealership

J

jhaas_lsc

Registered
I know everyone likes a good dealership horror story, so here's one - although it relates to Hondas, not Lincolns, it's still pretty good and it's still going on.

Bought the CR-V in late September. Got it home and found a warp in the rear driver's side door the next day when I washed it (was near bottom of door, hard to see unless you were looking for it). If this were a "used car" I wouldn't have said anything - my fault for not finding it. But the fact that it was a Honda-certified used car - this bothered me, considering the Honda literature states that every body panel should be perfect, no dings, warps, bends, etc. Essentially a new car with 20k miles on it is what they should be.

So, when I brought it in for the recalls to be fixed (they sold it to me with outstanding safety recalls, a federal law violation, I've looked it up) - there were FOUR of them, gotta love first model year - I told the used car manager that they needed to fix the door. He looks at it, and says right away - "Well, I'm not going to re-skin that door." That bothered me. I told him to see if his PDR guys could get it out, and if not to give me a call and let me know what they'll be doing to fix it.

Three days later when I go pick my car up, the recalls are all fixed. In addition to the the two fixes for the shift cable and the throttle cable, I got two fixes which included new brake pads and rotors all the way around, so that's not too shabby. Anyhoo - as I'm ready to leave, the manager says to me that the PDR guys couldn't get it out, but that he'd be talking to his general manager and would get back to me that day or the next. I told him I was going to Iowa to get married and that I wouldn't be at work, just to leave me a voicemail. He said ok, he'd leave a VM.

A week goes by, no voicemail. So I call him, leave a message. Another week, no message or call. So I call Honda of America (corporate) customer service. The NEXT DAY I get a call from the used car manager I've been dealing with, the door is going to be re-skinned and repainted.

All well and good, right? Nope! I take the car in on Veteran's day (the 11th of Nov) and pick up my loaner (a baby-crap yellow/green civic - the redeeming quality is it's a 5-speed, fast and furious! woooo!!!) - anyway, I call Friday (14th) and ask if it's ready. They said yep, it's coming out of the body shop today, just got out of the bake box, they have to detail it and I could come pick it up that night. Great!

About 3 hours later, the guy who actually sold me the car calls. Says that they got my CR-V back to the lot, and that it would not meet my "exacting standards" and so they sent it back to be redone. So chances are I won't have my car for another three or four days.

Isn't this fun? I've had the thing for 2 months and it's been at the dealership for 2 weeks of that time getting stupid ##### fixed that should have all been fixed in the preparation stage, before it even hit the lot.

Not a big fan of that dealership - should I just let this one go and chalk it up to incompetence, or should I press Honda and get their certified program investigated? At the very least, there should have been no outstanding recalls, there is a verified LAW against that...

Anyway, thanks for reading - I know it's long. Wanted to share my story. Needless to say I won't be buying anything from them ever again.
 
RE: Fun with dealership

Okay, you are mad.
Mad, real mad, usually leads to court. So, lets go to court~

1. Regading the Safety defects that were on national recall. You are correct. These items are easily to detect. They MUST be fixed at a new-car dealership, and entered into the corporate national computer, so that any Honda dealer in the USA or Canada can check this information. They needed to do this prior to the car being offerred 4-Sale. The car should have had all recalls, either normal, or silent, fixed to perfection, entered into the computer, and a printout given to the potential buyer to show what was recalled, and proof them the Honda authorized recall had been performed, showing the dealership performaing the recall, the date(s) and the code # of the technician. This dealership fell down on this respocibility. A court of law would decide in your favor.

2. Creased (or dented door):-
This they do not have to fix. You purchased a used car. Only had you seen it prior to signing the order form, ***AND*** gotten it in writing from THE SALES MANAGER, bearing his/her signature stating exactly what & to what extent the repair would be .... would you now have grounds. Any car (well, except mine) at 20,000 miles will show wear & tear, and surface damage & blemishes, door dings, scratches, discolorization, flaws in upholstery, etc, etc.
The fact that you looked the car over, and did not see it, is your fault. The fact that you did not mention it, is your fault. Once she's titled to you and you drove over the curb and out of the dealership, she's your baby!

Now, that said, if if if if if they made enough money on you to be able to "eat" the cost(s) of the repair, and also care enough about YOU to bend over and fix it, then that decession is up to them.
The fact that they have made an effort, so far, to repair it speaks good of them. The fact that they think that the repair is not up to either their (or your) standards and they want to re-do what they did shows that they are making a valiant attemp to make things wrong.....right!
Give them the time they need to do it. You may not be #1 on their "Get It Done Today" list. Remember, they are either eating the cost of this repair from the profit maade, or dipping into the loss column. The fact that they TOLD you that they didn't feel the repair was up to standard, speaks well for them. Give them the time they want. They are trying, they gave you a loaner, they did the mechanical repairs, they admit the paintwork was not good enough, and will re-do.
I think that you are deep down mad at YOU, for missing the damage, but it sounds to me like they are certainly trying to make you completely satisfied. Relax and I think it will be okay, in the end.
On point #2, in court, you'd lose!
Sound to me like they are not a bad dealership. 35% of the dealers here in Jersey that are real rotten would throw you out, and tell you where to go in a jiffy! :( :( (Which is dead wrong, and they are the ones who give the good ones a bad name) ~ wrong or right, 35% here WOULD react that way. How to tell?? Look at the salesmen. If they are all young, fresh outta high school...BAD place. If some of the guys - even 1 or 2 or 3, are in their 40, 50s or 60s, you got a good place! We older guys want to keep OUR customers, and having service throw 'em out makes our living nearly impossible.

Good Luck, and relax & work with them. My 8th sence says that they are okay!
 
RE: Fun with dealership

You should call your self lucky, many dealers wouldnt go as far as fixing that door. Once you walk out of the dealership, its all yours. and having owned a lot of Mercurys and Lincolns, I would say thats far from a horror story. Your a lucky man.
 
RE: Fun with dealership

I agree, be happy they are doing as much as they are, alot more than most places would do !!
 
RE: Fun with dealership

All right...what happened to the "real" Sandy?????? Surely it can't be Sandy writing that. Why just the other week he was on a rampage wanting to get people fired, skinned alive, and have their heads delivered on a silver platter!! He then went out of his mind when some a hole referred to him as a "weenie". Geez...bring back the real Sandy..we all know you're an impostor...
 
RE: Fun with dealership

I read Sandy's response twice to see what you're talking about. To me Sandy is being very consistent to what he had to say in his thread about Greenkin.

What he wanted for Greenkin was what this dealer is doing for jhaas_lsc and made sure they did it. He then posted above that this dealer is going out of their way to take care of jhaas_lsc even if they take a loss.



http://members.tccoa.com/lastmrk/Images/lastmrk2.jpg
 
RE: Fun with dealership

See, I'm damnded if I do and damnded if I don't. Can't win here! :( PS/ Don't mind Ron, he's just testing my chain to see if it still works! HE'S the @-hole he refers to as the 1 that called me weenie! It's all good (Oops that's Buick's slogan!)
 
RE: Fun with dealership


All right...what happened to the "real" Sandy?????? Surely it can't be Sandy writing that. Why just the other week he was on a rampage wanting to get people fired, skinned alive, and have their heads delivered on a silver platter!! He then went out of his mind when some a hole referred to him as a "weenie". Geez...bring back the real Sandy..we all know you're an impostor...
[/quote]




Sady must have refilled his prozac :)




.
 
RE: Fun with dealership

I'm baaaaacccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk......................


And thats what you get for buying a Honda???
 
RE: Fun with dealership

In regard to the smart-ass comment of that's what I get for buying a Honda: at least with halogen headlights I can see at night.

Sandy, I appreciate your thoughtful response - the fact of the matter is, however, that on the Honda certification process it states that fit and finish of parts will be new car quality, or refurbished to be so. My main tiff is that it wasn't fixed before it was sold. If it was just a used car, not being sold at a premium for being "certified" and having the extra warranty and whatnot, it would have been my fault, I missed it prior to signing the contract. But that's not the case on this one.

All in all though, just wanted to share the fun I'm having. They know I've got them by the short ones about the selling a car with outstanding recalls, which is probably why my rental car is free.
 
RE: Fun with dealership

Post the outcome of this.
I'm interested.

If I were the owner of the dealership (you probably didn't get that far up the ladder, I'd sit you down, look you in the eye, and ask you, "what can I do, right now, to make you 100% satisfied? I don't mean satisfied (kinda) I mean satisfied enough that you'd reccommend "XYZ Honda" to friends, and you would continue to be a customer?" If you reply was this side of reasonable, I'd do it. You you acted like a smart donkey - wise donkey, and a jerk, I'd throw 'ya out, period & be done with cha! But, I'd first really try to make you a happy customer again.
People let their dislike of other people (some customers) get in the way. A mad customer is a bad thing. So, yes - I'd personally do all within my power to keep you in the family. On a personal note, I might not agree with you, I might think that you were wrong, but that is where ALL people go wrong! I might hate your guts, personally, but nonetheless, YOU are a CUSTOMER, and I'd try to right any wrongs that YOU feel were done to you. If I saw, from your reactions, that I was fighting a losing battle, and there was no way you were ever gonna be satisfied, then I'd show you to the door!
 
RE: Fun with dealership

jhaas_lsc,

I agree with Sandy 100% on all points. You didn't notice the warped panel and you were the one buying the car! What makes you mad that the dealership selling it didn't notice it or decided that it was so minor that most people wouldn't gripe about it? It was their decision or mistake to certify the vehicle good as-is.

They have made every effort to satisfy you even to the point of providing you with a loaner vehicle while they do the necessary repairs. They are the ones losing money daily by not returning your vehicle to you. I am sure that they have weighed that into their decision of placing you respectfully in the priority list.

Be patient. You aren't their only customer. I'm sure that someone else would be irritated if their repairs were delayed because you had to have your precious warped panel repaired first.

By what you've explained, I don't think that your attitude is justifiable; "Needless to say I won't be buying anything from them ever again."

They are humans too and reserve the right to make, (and correct), mistakes. Give them a break!
 
RE: Fun with dealership

Now now, it's not like I'm going to burn the place down or anything, I'm just miffed that I have to drive THIS! (No kidding, it's in the garage right now) Make sure you turn up your color on your monitor to get the beautiful baby diarrhea shine.

http://www.kylieandjustin.com/civICK.jpg

I will let you all know what happens. We've all got to admit, once you have owned a PERFECT Mark VIII, your perspective when getting a replacement vehicle is quite skewed.

And you bring up a valid point, Dr. Dave - once this is fixed to my satisfaction, I would buy another vehicle from them. The wife's car is due for a replacement in about 12 months, it's S2000 time.
 
RE: Fun with dealership

Wife doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission. S2000 only comes in a manual.

You do the math. :)
 
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