Fabvsix

Don't get me wrong either thinking I'm a cry baby, I just don't like to KISS ASS ! I can agree with OOwinnoo, as I too drive up to Acura of Pleasanton, wait, wait, wait, then realize that I too have to get out of the car, walk over and wait in line for an arrogant a$$wipe who tries to gouge me in the first place (my most recent experience there). Luxuary line cars have nothing to do with TOP NOTCH CUSTOMER SERVICE !!!!

P.S. I too LOVE my CLS !!!!

acuraboy_RENAMED

there are more and more manufacturers who offer no cost scheduled service with the purchase of their vehicles...lincoln and saab to name a couple...and i don't consider these our top dollar competitors. i'd betchya that if service was included dealers wouldn't lean so damn heavily on the "severe" service schedule to the point of not offering a "normal" service schedule

Tom2

When are you people gonna wake up and realize that there's no such thing as "free" service????

YOU PAY FOR IT EITHER WAY!!!

Caddy©

1) No loaner cars

True, I got a Dodge Neon rental ! Exciting huh

2) Honda buttons/switches all over the Acura cars

I like all my Buttons, Confused me here !

3) Lackluster showrooms

I'd call them Average

4) Paying for maintenance

High Mainteance Intervals ! True


5) Very poor "concierge" service

Hmmm, I would NOT expect this save VERY HIGH END CARS
Never had it, so I don't miss it.


6) No food when I try to service my car over lunch (Mercedes and Lexus does this).

Your asking for the Moon here !

7) Poor service hours

I'd call them Normal Service Hours.

8) A general condescending attitude towards the buyers.

Very True ! I was Treated like 2nd Class Citizen. Seems
Buying a Car at PYE Acura in Chattanooga is akin to getting
preferred treatment. Woa to those who don't !

10) A lack of going the extra mile for their customers

True: They do just enought to get by, and they don't seem
to realize that this affects future purchase decisions.

11) Slow adoption of higher end features... ie dual zone climate control, large sunroofs, awd, adaptive cruise control, adjustable suspension, a real computer interface, auto up and down, a working cd player.

No real Compliants here

12) Slow response to problems: I've had my cd changer changed twice now and it still doesn't work. (Doesn't eject/play my discs) So what do they say? "It's just that some of your cd's causes the player to bind up and stop working, so you should stop playing them."

I've had "ISSUES" WIth my CD player too, but I did get it working again.




Its sad, considering the engine, transmission, and suspension setups are competitive with everyone else's.


Just had My Tranny Replaced @ 31K Miles, but NOW that My ECU was reprogrammed, my Viper 550 won't start the car anymore !

I don't think they'll fix it either !


I love my Cl-s MT because of its rarity, its sleek look, and its engine/transmission, but Acura can be sure I won't ever buy a car from them or Honda again. [/B][/QUOTE]

I love mine too !

pluto_1969

Um, I used to drive a VW Jetta and I got 2 years of free scheduled maintenance... and the last time I checked, VW was hardly a "luxury" nameplate.

I just bought my 03 CL-S and I LOVE the car, can't say enough good things about how it drives. My co-workers are tired of hearing me praise the damn thing.

BUT, the car itself is only the starting point. Service is what keeps people happy for the long haul and creates repeat sales. I hope I get better service than many of you have had... if I don't, I can tell you that my regional Acura rep is going to know my name by heart

Time will tell, but I agree with the general sentiment that for Acura to maintain it's prestige in a market glutted with "luxury" cars, the service has GOT to be there.... Period.

EDIT: One more point... I have to say my buying experience was pleasant, probably because I used the internet sales guys who are usually better to deal with anyway... no complaints from me on that front. Heck, he even threw in a slip for a free spoiler whever I want it installed.

BlueSunset

I'm buying a Jetta next time. Even Acura Corp blew me off when I had a problem with my dealer. At least if the Jetta is not good (my friends Bug has many fewer problems than my fancy Acura), I won't have blown $35K on it. I get a loaner from my Acura dealer but I wish I didn't need it so often.

FastEddie

95LegendCoupe

I bought my 'Certified Acura' from the dealer. It was nothing but aggravation but I wanted this car. Finding the last Legend Coupe with only 40k miles was too good to pass up. Unprofessional sales, mgmt and service. Took me 3 months to get my 'warranty' in writing' and then it was only scribbled on a window sticker for me.
Tricked me into the window etching which I told the rep early on I did not want, $300! Then I get home and see it wasn't even done, called the used car mgr and he hung up on me. As for "certified Acura', no one even looked at the car before they sold it, in my opinion. The passenger seat was stuck all the way back, (had a sliced penny in the track), the ignition lock was faulty and had to be forced to turn the car on, the headlights were way out of adjustment, the driver window would not go into it's track correctly, the ABS light would stay on, the tail light warning light stayed on. In the first month I had to take it in several times for all these repairs. EAch time the service dept had major confusion and usually told me I had no warranty. I'd have to walk over to the sales dept and find the salesman.
I did get a loaner RSX 4 door, once, next time I was driven to a rental store and had to get one there (for one day only). Next visit suddenly they do not give out loaners. Picking my car up once, the radio was at max volume and the speakers were rattling with a spanish radio staion I don't listen to and there was a paint ding on the car. They said the worker had been fired for complaints, and tried to buff out the paint ding.
So, no I have no faith in this dealer, the only one in town. It was unprofessional in sales, service and mgmt. I did complain to the person who takes complaints but I was never called back or followed up on, but they did try to sell me a CLS.
I love my Legend, and I've followed the CL-S 6 spd as a replacement. Acura makes great cars, but the personnel and mgmt end of it is the pits in my town.

SilverBulletCLS_RENAMED

here's just one of many bad experiences i've had while
trying to purchase my car...
before purchasing my cls, i had spent many wasteful hours driving around the entire bayarea looking for the 'right deal.' to my surprise oakland acura's first ad for the cl type s was placed in the sunday paper that weekend. the price was listed at $28,588 with 7 in stock. "great," i thought, "this is exactly what i wanted and it's now at the right price!" so i quickly hopped in my car ('97 civic ex) and bolted straight for the dealership; cash in hand, ready to buy.
i waited, waited, and waited before nothing happened. so i waited, waited, waited, and then waited some more before nothing happened, again. by this time i was red hot. so hot that i must've matched the pretty red nsx they had in the showroom. i plopped down inside the nicely bolstered seats of the nsx, tired of waiting and i found this to be a nice way to lure in the salesman. "im sorry but you're not allowed to touch this car unless you're think of buying it(smirking)." i should've left, no questions, no wrong answers, just smoke from my front tires before making my exit. instead i brought the ad to his attention and he quickly dismissed it saying the colors that were offered were already sold(i should've known) but offered a silver one for $1000 more. "shit, you guys sold 7 cls in 7 hours?" i asked. "i guess so," he responded while checking for prospective buyers. by this time, i had already shown myself the front door. i was pissed at how he aproached me, sick of how i was treated, and tired of his bullshit. needless to say i got my silver cls for $28,388, no bullshit, no hassle, just the way i wanted my sales experience to be...
however, i purchased my vehicle over the phone through the GM and GSM at marin acura later that same evening. i should mention before i end my post that my experience at marin acura(service) has been faaaaaar worse than any other experience at any other dealership, including other acura dealerships, GM, honda, ford, buick, and nissan but i wanted to bring this story up since ive never told it to anyone. the marin one is just waayyy too long and too deep to get into right now. sorry.

ps. the salesman from oakland acura called me the next day and told me that his boss had lowered the premium down to $750 for the color i had wanted..."the gold one, right?"
"yeah the gold one...ill be down there right away." click.

Sarlacc

Little secret: those newspaper adds are lies used to lure you into the showrooms, they are never true. The cars in those adds dont exist period. If you see one of those adds and it even lists the VIN, take the add and go to the dealer, tell them you want to see that very car...it wont be there, it doesnt exist.

As for the purchasing experience of your cars. A lot of dealers just suck, they are run by low people. Its hard but there are diamonds in teh rough. I have a very pleasant experience at Santa Monica Acura where i bought my car, I was very pleased in what they did for me and how i was treated.

And the honda dealership i sold for was very honest and reputable with a great service dept. i used the service dept before i started working there, it was one reason i decided to give car sales a try so i could earn money to move west. anyway, most dealer suck, they try and take you for all your worth. All i can say is become friends with someone who sells cars, or do it for a few months.

After selling, i knew everything i was going to get with and in what ordering when it came time to purchase. So, i knew how to disarm every salesperson that came up to me. As frustrating as the process of buying a car is, i had a ton of fun watching the sales people get hung up and frozen ( they are all robots in california anyway)

Anyhow, on the buying end, if you know their tactics and routines (its all textbook) then you can minimize the hell that is buying a car.

FastEddie

I have to admit that my purchase experience was bad - real bad, too.

My wife had a POS Sable that she wanted to get rid of. She is one of those "Buy American" kind of people. I have been slowly convincing her that buying a car - any car - that holds it value is better for her when she wants a new car. At the time I had my Accord Coupe purchased within months of her Sable and worth about 1/3 more.

Anyway, a review is in one of the local paper raving about the TL. Her mom - who had just moved in with us - and I talk her into going to drive it on a Friday night. So the three of us take our happy asses down to McGrath in Westmont. She likes the car, I negotiate a GREAT price, then double back and say we will trade the Sable after all and get the sales manager to give us a sweet deal on the trade. Everyone is happy.

So we wait - and wait - and wait for the finance guy. We go in, start the paperwork and I notice the price is $1K more than we agreed to! WTF!!! The finance guy calls the sales manager in. I point to where he wrote the number on the deal sheet and he says he wrote it in error! I say tough shit buddy! He says too bad, take it or leave it! I ask for his business card so I can call the attorney general to discuss bait and switch. We get up to leave and he starts hollering at me - in the showroom - that I should try to get that price at any other dealer! People start leaving!! My wife, until now, always the cool one during our entire marriage gets in the guys face!!

Try to picture this: a little (5'4" size 8) 39 year old redhead going at it with a 6'5" late 20's dude. Finger pointing the whole thing! ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR! And her 75 year old mom is crying during all of this. Un-f'in-believable!

We go to her Sable - in the service area - and tell the porter to put her plates back on. The sales guy we were dealing with blows up and goes after the sales manager! We are about to leave and the used car manager comes over and tells me that they have to honor the price. Finally somebody with a brain. I said sure - and include the 7yr/100k warranty. We drove it home that night!

I called Mr. McGrath the next day and told him about it. Seems other shoppers that left called to complain, too! A couple of weeks later the sales manager was gone.

Seven months later (November '02) when I went to buy my car, they were real civil!

mrdeeno

save for the tranny problem, i agree with all the above.

the tranny problem is common the TL, CL, Accord and MDX. It is not limited to the CL and therefore should NOT affect ONLY the CL.

Caddy©

Sounds Like PYE Acura in Chattanooga !

Caddy©

Hehehe !

I love a good ending !

QuestMGD

I'm a newbie to this board.

I just want to interject some of my opinions about Acura.

No real presence of brand, I didn't know what a CL-S was. I was blind that Acura built something like this. Funny thing was this was exactly the type of car I was looking for.

Went to dealer. Bedford Acura, the only one in the Cleveland area. Had the worst salesperson, was only allowed a 2 mile test drive, got a ridiculous trade-in, and salesperson+manager were almost insulting my intelligence.

I walked out thinking I'll go back another time.

I found this board, and now I am really doubting whether I should get an Acura. I have visited many auto boards, but I have never seen a more negative messages about their own car and car brand.

And now it seems that the treatment I received at my local Acura was par for the course.

Considering how much more pleasurable it has been to deal with other dealerships in the area, including Lexus, MB, Porsche, Audi I think I'll pass and go look at a certified Lexus GS400.

I think the 6-speed CL-S is a wonderful car. I liked everything about it, including price. But sometimes there are intangibles that cause someone to look elsewhere. I have been somewhat of an anti-Honda type person. Honda seems to have the attitude that they know better than you about cars which of course is just a general feeling. In addition, there lack of information concerning future models means that they don't care if I take a large depreciation hit on a new car.

Sorry, I am not trolling, I am sure I will stick around this board at least to see what happens with the CL line, but I have been totally turned off by Acura/Honda again. If there had been another dealer in the area my experience might have been different, but there it goes. And what is with Honda that they are going to only give 5 6-speed Accord Coupes to my local Honda dealer. I have no idea what goes on in the brains of those at Honda/Acura.

1SICKLEX

Duh, Acura is an entry-level luxury brand, their cars don't have all the bells and whistles so their dealers won't either. Once you realize that Acura is not on par with Mercedes and Lexus and BMW then you won't expect these extras.

QuestMGD

I guess you're right. But I had the feeling that Acura was at the same level as Lexus. Note that I haven't been in an Acura dealership since the first legend.

nvpscore

Valencia Acura has good service, number one customer satisfaction on the west coast, it has its own car shop now called VA motorsports, its just like Park Avenue on the west coast. It is located off the 5 freeway, by magic mountian, get off at magic mountain pkwy, then head towards the mall, ahh forget it, if you want to know how to get there, PM me.

nick out.

acuraboy_RENAMED

no one is it calling it "free"...at least i don't think so. but an LS V6 ( a "car of the year" ) lists for about $2K more than my CLS w/ navi (possibly the bulk of the price difference) and includes service for the term of its warranty....the same warranty as ours. a very well equipped audi 3.0 lists for about $4K more and it too includes all scheduled service for the same 48/50K. a loaded 9-3 arc is also about $2K over with the same included service and warranty. its not free but its pretty damn close to being so

fahoumh

my family's Jag VDP comes with free service for the first 5 years of ownership, but at $68 K, you're paying for it...and then some

and who seriously expects scheduled service to be included in the price of a car that costs $30 K??

neoprufrok

Actually, my wife gets incredible concierge service, free maintenance (with a computer that adjusts the interval based on the way she drives - which was 10k for the first oil change!) for 50k miles/4 years, in a 24k base price Mercedes.

I understand that not every dealer can offer these services. However, it is the standard which is being adopted by most of the luxury brands.

Finally, I do expect Acura to act like a luxury car brand. They compare themselves to the other luxury car makes and have increasingly escalating prices. The NSX is a 90k car and lexus doesn't even have a 90k car.

That being said, I probably do expect a lot from my dealer. But expecting more is certainly not a crime. Great stories and discussions!

JRock

The only one of those I have experienced is #4, and if we didn't pay for maintenance, we would pay more initially for the vehicle.

fahoumh

well, neoprufrok, you do make a good arguement...I agree that Acura has a lot of catching up to do if they want to reach Jag, Audi, BMW, etc... But for everything I got in my TL-S for ~$30K, I really can't complain.

As far as my service experience with the dealership, it took a while, but I've gotten to the point where my service advisor has hooked me up with free wiper blades, discounts, etc...

And for all you complaining about the piss-poor service: do know that if you treat someone with respect, they'll return in kind?

Caddy©

Here's the Type of Service Consideration you get from PYE Acura in Chattanooga.

Service Manager calls me up tells me he needs the other Keys in order to reprogram them after the Transmission was installed. The 3rd Key, he did not tell me about--and I did NOT think about it--till I got there. As I'm about to drive off, he tells me if I find another key, THROW It away. He knows I have the Aftermarket Alarm on it. It wasn't until I get home that I notice that due to the ECU and Keys being reprogrammed, the car won't Remote Start. He's going to NOW charge me 68 Dollars to reprogram the Other Key !

Got to love these guys.

Shawn S

Lets see…. YOU made the mistake of not telling them about your extra key which they would have done for free and now THEY are the bad guy for charging more labor ???

I agree 68 seems a bit much, but I would expect you to pay SOMETHING for the extra time.

Shawn S

Shawn S

This guy’s post is EXACTLY the reason why I hate to see so much of the BITCHING that goes on here

People that have problems with products that they own are ALWAYS going to be more vocal.
For every ten people here with a smoked tranny or crappy dealerships there are another 500 that are motoring along fine every day.
But of the ten people with problems we probably have nine of them posting here about it.

You guys bitch, bitch and bitch some more about monthly sales and resale value and at the same time you’re chasing away future Acura customers.
Soopa has said it before that we have LOTS of traffic here from non-members.
I’m sure a LOT of them are potential customers.

I’m not saying we hide the defects and blow smoke up each others ass all day, but you have to understand that your actions are having a direct effect on the value of the car you own.

Shawn S

Zoot

Thank you Shawn!

Caddy©

No ShawnS

Here's the Deal, As I'm pulling off the Parking lot to go home, HE then tells me I have a 3rd Key. This does not really register with me till I get home: Long day at work, General malaise, the fact that I've never seen my Valet key, call it what you will, but he then tells me, "If you find it, just throw it away, it won't work." The guys a SERVICE MANGER FOR GOODNESS SAKES, he knows I have an aftermarket alarm, cause he tripped it off more than once while I was there, so He problably knows its under the dash S O M E W H E R E. The fact that he doesn't go the extra mile is what CHAPES my butt. Sure I probably shoulder some blame, but after the other MAJOR Hassles they put me through, with Rental Car, I'm probably going to spend my Time in Knoxville or Atlanta with Service from now on.

TypeS_boi

I bought my car in Sunnyvale Acura and only went there for service once. BEen to Acura of Pleasanton ever since. Much nicer service reps, always ask if I need a loaner. Too bad one of the best service reps moved to TX. I am kinda peeved that the new Accord has a voice activated Navi! Sup w/ that? I figured when you buy an Acura, it should at least distinguish itself from Accord. Sucks! Only thing I like about my CLS is the performance but now you have other cars comin out w/ more HP. Accord is already @ 240, infinity pushing 300. I think the CLS needs to be revamped and make an inpact just like when it first came out. 340 hp would be cool, sleeker, better interior, and DVD ready Navi system w/o having to make conversions..etc By the way, this is my first post! I'm new on here!

acuraboy_RENAMED

welcome

FastEddie

Shawn:

You are correct. I looked hard at this site and others before buying mine. I expect - and enjoy - the sales negotiation. (I know, weird.) I just don't expect or accept bait and switch tactics.

I did go back and buy another car from them though. Why? It's all about the car. Dollar for dollar, I think the Acura rules. Look at Edmunds True Cost to Own below. Most of us probably compare these three. Looking at the "investment" from a purely financial view, the Acura wins.



But I drove all three, too. I really like the combination of features to performance to cost on the CL-S.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely!! Are there issues with Honda/Acura? I say a qualified yes based on others experience. Have I had service issues? No - not with any of my Hondas either.

At the same time, HOA does position the Acura line as near luxury. I expect better than what I had at Schaumburg Honda. It will be tough for McGrath Acura to meet those expectations. But so far, my service has been excellent and timely. The one time I had to leave a car I got a loaner.

The bigger issue for me personally was reading about the tranny problems. I was between the G35 coupe and the CL-S. I thought better the devil you know (the tranny) versus the one you don't (first year model problems).

Let's agree to keep the dialog - both positive and not so - going. Maybe it'll help HOA raise their standards and we can all win.

Ed

Rod

Well people are always going to come on here and bitch about things and if the bitching helps some people make better decisions, then so be it, even if it doesn't help our resale value. Our resale value is going to be below averge anyways. Otherwise, lets start a couple threads in order to raise our resale values, maybe we could say that the CL probably started the HP wars in this class and since it may be discontinued soon it's sure to become a classic and have a huge markup. I'll sell mine right now for a minimal markup before the market for the CL just explodes. I wish I would've seen some of the bitching going on now before I bought my CL-S, it would've really made me think more about actually getting it, but unfortunately I didn't even know about this forum at the time and the tranny problems weren't even beginning to really show. Yes, the bitching does get excessive at times, but you can always simply ignore those threads like I try to do. As for potential Acura customers coming on here looking for opinions and other useful info on the car, I think they see things for what they truly are. We have lots of positive comments from owners and, of course, lots of complaints, but people should know that the whiners are always going to be the most vocal and just about every complaint thread eventually gets into the same stuff going on in this thread, members stating that the complaining is ridiculous and that most owners are probably happy with their CLs. Potential future CL owners can draw their own conclusions.

Caddy©

After another call to the Service Manager--telling him that I had talked with another Dealer, which suggested a new key be cut ( Cheaper )--He said he'd do it for 25 Bucks.

I can live with that !

Tom2

Okay, so if Acura raised the sticker price another $2K and gave you "no cost" maintenance, would you be happy?

Can't you see how foolish this is??

acuraboy_RENAMED

umm no not when comparing the cost of a "severe" service schedule over four years or 50K miles.....which dealer do you go to that you'll spend less than 2 grand on service for the term of the warranty?

Sarlacc

I have a lot of good reading on this thread

1) i have to agree with shawn s. to some extent

2) what i dont think a lot of you understand is that youre not having a problem with Acura. You having a problem with Acura dealerships and service departments. Who are independently owned from honda/acura of america. And yes its sad there a lot of shady dealerships out there, and really crappy service departments. And it really sucks that some honda service departments are 10x better then some acura dealerships, but its all in the way those dealer/service dept are run by their GMs and owners. And it sucks that those people are shitty assholes who could care less, but they know they are going to keep making money regardless, so they dont care.

and it is sad that acura doesnt step in, but again they are a corporation and as long as they are making money they dont care. Even if it doesnt make sense and they are losing out on more money by not doing anything. The corporate world is a weird and messed up place. but its life.

so all you can really do is find the diamond in the rough, the one good dealership that will cater towards what you want. No you will not get lexus/bmw service most likely but at least someone who can go the extra mile without youre asking for it. and if all else fails find a good mechanic that you really trust, i got lucky finding mine (for everything cept warranty work of course.)

The car business is not a nice world, period. but you take the bad with the good and try to make the most of it.

KavexTrax

non sequitur

http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000125835.cfm

:o :o :o

Ashburner

I've been less than happy with the sales and service departments at Niello Acura in Sacramento.

They treated me like crap when I bought my car and tried everything to screw me. I couldn't even get the sales guy to buy my wife and I a Coke.

Service is not much better. I took my car in to have a rim replaced which they told me was a 30 minute job. It ended up taking them almost 3 hours as I just sat there.

When getting my tranny replaced, they gave me a rental from Enterprise. It was a 2000 Base Toyota Camry with 30000+ miles on it. The Enterprise representative was telling me how lucky I was to be getting one of their "premium" rentals.

The second time I brought my car in for my tranny, they are blaming the slippage to my CAI. That was a while ago and the tranny is still hosed.

-Ash

SilverBulletCLS_RENAMED

ShawnS, wouldn't you rather find valuable information, whether good or bad, from respective owners like us than say, the salesman or acura's service technicians? The more you choose to hide the truth from prospective buyers, the more they'll feel like they got screwed. In my opinion, everything written on this board is invaluable to everyone who chooses to read it. Shit, if it steers some potential buyers in the other direction, so be it. As long as what is read is not tainted or falsified it shouldn't cause you to hate what you see.

Fabvsix

It kills me to Hear negative stuff about Acura dealerships, but the truth is the truth and I'll be darned if I'm going to KISS ASS for the sake of TRYING TO mislead other customers ! Customers service is on the decline in this country and I hope Acura is reading these boards and address' these horrible issues ! All it takes is "one bad apple" to ruin it for all.....................Could the "slush box" given a bad reputation ? Could the lazy mechanic frown when they see yet ANOTHER CLS in for major surgery ? You really think those mechanic like tearing down engines to replace trannys ? I takes more that a screw driver to do these jobs and having to do this "day in and day out" can burn these guys out. BAD products can effect the performance of a company

I've yet to come accross a A+ Acura dealership in Northern California !
To sum it up:
Oakland: :thumbsdn:
Concord: :thumbsdn:
Pleasanton: :thumbsdn:
Sacramento "Niello": :thumbsdn:
Notorious "Arrogant Marin": :thumbsdn: :thumbsdn:

Did I miss anyone Bay area memeber and "Peeps" ???????