Is it a good thing to take the car to the same dealer where it is bought? That dealer is now an hour far from where I live. There is an other dealer near to where I live. Can I expect the same kind of service from a different dealer. Will the treat people differently depending on where they bought the car?

 

>>Can I expect the same kind of service from a different dealer.

In general, I'd say NO. Don't count on it. Dealers are a very petty, small-minded specie no matter what car company.

My local dealer, whom I negotiated with but did NOT buy from, basically told me to fuck off --- BEFORE I even opened my mouth what I was there for --- when I brought my car in.

I filed a complaint against it with Acura Client Service.

Basically, you bought a new car, from someone else....you bring it back in to the LOCAL one,
they know you're local but didn't do biz with them....they are just human, what do you think they think of you ?

 

I certainly hope that's not the usual response from a dealer. I bought mine from a dealer 120 miles away and plan to service it at my local dealer.

 

If you did NOT negotiated with them in your shopping proces at alls...then you probably won't get the negative vibe from them.

Again these people are just humans, no saints, subject to the same emotions.

Guess who brushed me off ? the fucking OWNER. ("we can't give you service because you didn't buy car from us....") I started screaming & made a scene.

 

Isn't servicing cars where dealer's make most of their money?

I'm sure thats why I'm constantly getting service notificatiuon's by mail.

 

I completely disagree. I service my car at a dealership I shopped at (but didn't buy at) and they have bent over backwards to earn my service business. Over the life of a vehicle, doesn't a dealership stand to make much more money off of me from service than a one-time purchase? And, if I'm happy with this dealership's service and choose to buy another Acura, wouldn't they think there's a decent chance that I'll shop them first next time?

I have to imagine my experience isn't unusual.

Mike

 

Well I DID test drive the TSX at the local dealership but I didn't negotiate with them per se. The sales guy who gave me the test drive tried to sell it to me at MSRP and told me that the car was a hot seller and that I wouldn't get much of a discount from anyone. I didn't pursue the negotiation at that time. I e-mailed this local dealership along with a bunch of others when I was shopping. They never responded to my e-mail and I wound up buying elsewhere. I do get service coupons from them and I serviced my Integra (which I also bought elsewhere) there without problems.

Acura dealerships HAVE to service your car if there is warranty work. If its just regular maintenance then perhaps you can get your local Honda dealer to do it if you explain your situation. I'm sure the Honda dealer is just as competent, will welcome your business, and may even charge you less. Good Luck.

 

True, very true.

First,
I am convinced there is a tint of racism in that incident, no doubt....I am Asian.
I refuse to believe that the same treatment would be applied to an "All-american" guy. Impossible.

Apparently in my case the owner was thinking with his dick, testoterone over reasoning.
I did him a favor & pointed that out for him thou.
("...Acura is going to know about this.....I am gonna do my BEST to tell everyone I can about your
practice....I am in technology and I am gonna spread this story all over the Net....")
He was taken aback a bit.

 

Go for it then. Tell us which dealer did this to you.

 

This matches my previous experience with a Chrysler dealership up in Ontario several years ago. He flat out told that I was a lower priority than all of 'his' customers.

This is one reason I drive a Honda today after buying three Chryslers.

But it does also show a potential downside to shopping far afield. You miss the opportunity to start to build a relationship with the place where you are getting service done. This also gives you less ammo if you have a dispute later.

My two cents.

 

How when you call the service department to schedule service would they even know your buying history? I mean, I guess they could pretty easily know if you bought the car there or not. But there are so many extenuating circumstances there that I don't know how they could even determine what the justification was, and even if they could, hold it against you. Maybe you bought elsewhere because you lived somewhere else at the time. And the point has been made that they're only human, subject to the same emotions, then certainly they can understand having gone somewhere else to get a better deal. I guess all I'm thinking is, when you call for service out of the blue one day, do they put you on hold, huddle up with the sales department about whether to take your money, and then come back to you and tell you whether or not they can take you?

 

Look at it from the opposite angle.

When I go to my local Honda dealership, every detail is in the system. The fact that I bought it there, plus every service item, every cent I've spent there.

So if I have a big problem, it puts me in a more powerful position, because they know that they will be losing a repeat, steady customer.

Just last year I got a refund from Honda for a recurring problem. All I did was write a letter to my service manager (mentioning my dealership loyalty and my intention of buying another Honda soon), and he did all the legwork with Honda.

I got a $650 check in the mail.

 

I'll grant you that, but what I'm saying is that if you didn't buy there, do you think the system tells them whether or not you negotiated there, why you walked, etc? I agree that maybe the loyalty would help you out in some sort of on the fence situation, but I just can't imagine that a dealership would automatically blow you off just because you didn't buy that car there. Apparently some people have experienced that, but I can't imagine it is the norm. But I guess you should never overestimate the ethics or logic of a car dealership.

 

I bought 215 miles from where I live. Although the dealer is near the beach, so I plan to schedule service, drop it off, get a loaner and catch some sun. The two nearest dealers were either trying to rip me off or too busy being assholes after I said no to their "deal". "We want to earn your business good buddy 10-4, geterdone (a Sanford thing) ... that is only if you agree to pay our mis-aligned inflated prices."

..then again this was just the sales area. I've already been warned about one dealership by several people due to their shady nature. (service dept stuffing the bill)

Take it wherever you want and demand good service.

-r

 

Serious ? You did NOT buy from them, but they will give you a loaner while your car is in service with them ?

I say f**king A !

 

they will want your money in the future even if they didnt get it in the past.

 

Oh no. I DID buy from the dealer that's 215mi away. Its not really necessary to go back, but I get a free oil change (yeah, who cares with the cost of gas, hotel, etc.) but a quick break at the beach is always nice.

-r

 

Its hard to understand why that dealer would refuse you service. Its how the dealership makes most of its money.

I get the feeling your not telling us the whole story...Im going to go out on a limb and guess that you gave them a real hard time when trying to buy your car from them. Why else would the owner refuse you service?

And if "screaming & making a scene" is your MO, I guess I dont blame them...

 

Did you read my message up above starting with "True, very true....." ?

Dealers LOVE warranty work, we all know that...

It was dick over reasoning + RACISM. pure & simple....basically their thinking was like
"fuck off chinaman, don't care about your business..."

I was a perfect gent with them during the shopping process. they were nice too.
Actually not much negotiation with them at all ...they were very inflexible.
(guess how much they wouldn't bend ? $100 one hundred !)

In that incident, once I was pretty certain the owner's action was a retaliation for my not buying car from him AND that this shit can NOT be happening to any all-american guy....I was furious.

 

Wow...pretty harsh accusations. Of all dealers, why would an Acura dealer be racist to asian americans?? Seems like they are a good majority of their business.

Funny thing about racisim is that unless the guy actually said "F off chinaman" there isnt anyway to really know if thats the case. Being caucasian, I cant really comment on the feeling that you had.

So you didnt rant and rave when they wouldnt come down a $100?

Maybe you should try to let someone else bring in the car for you, perferabily another asian? See if they get the same response? You could as least prove or disprove your view of racisim.

 

Joe, you're looking at this from a "flat" black-and-white angle....the racism thing was, IMO, a "spur-of-the-moment" thing ! The owner was actually well-educated, NY Jewish but was thinking with his cock at that moment.

I'd totally agree he's NOT anti-asian and certainly not racist.....
But again at that moment he let emotion take charge.

It's like if he's in a black 'hood and his 745iL got jacked in like 15 mins and he just bursted out the "fucking n*** !" shit.

If I were caucasian, as you are, I'd write that off as the guy just being a "dumb asshole"
But I am not, and this happened in a VERY affluent suburb.

The price story:
Another dealer quoted 27150 so I called this one & offered sales the chance to come down a little (original quote was like 28200) , I told them I do NOT expect them to beat or match 27150...just come down. He offered 27600, I said 27500 and we got a deal....he refused.

 

I see what your saying now. I just get curious when people cry racism because I think many times people confuse racism with someone who just generally has a bad attitude. I dont care what color you are, if your an asshole, your an asshole. Just because this guy was an asshole to you dosent automatically make him a racist, imho.

But, I wasnt there so I guess I really wouldnt know...

 

I don't see why a different dealer wouldn't give you equally good service. When you walk in and go to the service department, you don't deal with the guys who sell the cars. Even if these sales guys still remember, you they're not the ones servicing your car. All they care about is selling. The service guys have their own job to do.

One difference is the loaner cars at my local dealership, I guess they look up your record to see if you bought your car there. I don't see that as "bad service" though, just a sales incentive that not every dealership offers.