Situation #1
I went to the local dealership to get a weird noise in my seat fixed. I called two weeks in advance for this appointment, but when I showed up the service manager said he was completely booked and won't have anyone avail to look at my car for an hour. I asked him, "what was the point of me making this appointment if you don't have anyone avail today?" He tells me, "sorry, we're booked solid".

He then proceeds to ask me if I've ever been serviced there before. I told him I bought the car at his dealership. He looks up at me and says "oh, I saw your Washington license plate, so I assumed you bought it from somewhere else". I looked at him like

He brings me back into the service desk area, puts two big red "VIP: Important" stamps on my invoice, and tells me "your car will be looked at immediately".

Now, does this situation sound familiar to the rest of you?

Situation #2
I tried going to another dealership in this area and they offered me a loaner vehicle for an oil change and alignment. I was very impressed with their service, more so than the dealership I bought my car from. Then one day I was bs-ing w/ a friend about doing my service at this new dealership, and an Acura salesperson from the same dealership over hears me talking. He yells over at me " make sure you never get a loaner from us again". I looked over at him like I couldn't believe those words just came out of his mouth.

Are these dealerships so competitive against each other that they can discreminate for service?

 

From my reading these forums, I've decided that the attention that you get for your problem and the quality of service is all at the WHIM of the service manager. There doesn't seem to be any consistency between dealerships.

I don't think this is a problem isolated to Acura/Honda. It affects all car manufacturers and comes from the way thier business model is set up.

 

That is the kinda crap i aviod.....by driving 1.5 hrs north to Park Avenue Acura.

 

I agree with Slimey, I have had issues at numerous different car dealerships. Just last month, I took my 94 Vigor (yes, I still have a Vigor) into a local So Cal Acura dealership to get an alignment being that I just purchased some new tires, I too have out of state plates, North Dakota to be exact. I come back after 6 hours, the service manager tells me "oh give us another half hour it'll be ready" I wait on the spot, finally I get aggravated, I tell svc mgr what the f&^k? where is my s^&t! Now he tells me "Well, you see because your car is from North Dakota where its so cold, we are having a problem removing the adjuster bolts and can't do the alignment".
What a crock of shit, the car was purchased used in So Cal originally from his dealership, just licensed out of state. Wasn't the car's history in the database based off the VIN? Needless to say, I will never go back there again. Oh yeah, its Thomas Acura in Covina for those who want to know. What a bunch of morons. But I get discriminated all the time from even independent mechanics, they think because supposedly if your from out of state, your an idiot, one thing they aren't aware of though, I'm from California. Thats okay though, while there out spending that cash on the smog check and high-time reg fees, my 23$ a year to keep it registered with no smog required keeps me rich....

 

In my experience. Amny dealers tend to treat customer who bought the car from them, better than the average Joe. It makes no sense though. Warranty work is warranty work. They get paid to fix an issue whether you bought the car there or not. With all the incentives and discounts going on, they can't possibly make enough money to justify only giving loaners to customers who bought from them.

This type of crap has always boggled the mind.

And what's up with the crack about the loaner? Uncalled for. If I overheard my customers making comments that I may use to better serve them, I wouldn't try to drive them away by being a dickhead. I wouln't say anything, but make a mental note and try to do a better job.

The problem with near-luxury and luxury brands, is that there are significantly fewer dealers to go around. So if they want to, they can be a little more snotty, they know your choices are limited. It's not like Chevy, Ford or Dodge. Where there is a dealer every 4-5 miles or so (in most major areas.) They treat their customers like shit for a whole other reason. Quantity! When Ford's selling over 800,000 F-Series pickups a year. What do they care if 1,000 customers get pissed off and go to Chevy. There's another 1,000 waiting to take up the slack.

 

Interesting point that I had not thougt of.

 

i had a situation just last week on my '97 CL 2.2 5 spd.. Check Engine light came on, found out it was a recalled EGR valve.. UNDER WARRANTY TIL 150,000 miles.. *thanks Acura* make an appt for TWO WEEKS In advance, NO service loaner (which i could deal with.. ).. they call to tell me they dont have the part, but they COULD have the part the next day if I paid em $20 for overnight delivery-- I'm like-- HUH? You know why it's coming in, YOU didn't order it, I'm out TWO days with a rental IM PAYING FOR and you want ME to pay to get YOU the part on time? After raising holy hell it was all taken care of.. but like .. huh? I'm very interested in gettin a new 6spd, so I went to talk to someone and was told "they have NO inventory"... i go outside? Three Anthracite 6 spds on the lot.. like-- is my money no good? Needless to say, they're not gettin my business EVER again..

 

some dealers are dicks, just go to the one that gave you good service

 

Made an appointment 3 weeks in advance to have a damaged sunroof replaced. My claims adjuster had just worked out the price on labor and PARTS with the dealer. Called to confirm at 2 weeks, 1 week, and the day before. Took car in and got a loaner. It took 3 days to get my car back because 'they did not have the parts.' WTF

I guess dealers don't order any parts until they have your car to ensure the parts will be used/sold?

 

Often a dealer will ask for a credit card "deposit" so they don't get stuck w/no show repairs... not unreasonalble. But rudeness, poor quality service or bad repair work should be addressed to the franchise owner - I assure you that he'll give a damn!

dogfight

 

Your joking right?... you got to be....

I would crush someone's skull if they talked to me like that. K-dawg you need to stop taking shit from people, put the smack down on their candy asses....

Smitty

 

My local dealer General Manager said it blantly... "you service history does not amount to a normal customer relationship, so please find another Acura dealer to service your car..."

Translation: If you do not pay the $39.99 the oil change fee, or the $128 15k miles service, or $450 for 30 Kmiles service....yada yada yada.... then get lost....

I used to book an Acura withing 1 week or 2 week, the last couple visits I was put into a $25/day chevey rental....

And one of the visits sorry no rentals....

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by matchjames
[B]i had a situation just last week on my '97 CL 2.2 5 spd.. Check Engine light came on, found out it was a recalled EGR valve.. UNDER WARRANTY TIL 150,000 miles.. *thanks Acura* make an appt for TWO WEEKS In advance, NO service loaner (which i could deal with.. ).. they call to tell me they dont have the part, but they COULD have the part the next day if I paid em $20 for overnight delivery-- I'm like-- HUH? You know why it's coming in, YOU didn't order it, I'm out TWO days with a rental IM PAYING FOR and you want ME to pay to get YOU the part on time?


:sqnteek: If there is a recall then American Honda automatically ships the part or parts to all dealerships. They should always carry these parts in stock and if the they are out of them then tell them to pick up the phone and call around!!! Sometimes they rather skip the warranty work and go for the "gravy".

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluto
[B]Made an appointment 3 weeks in advance to have a damaged sunroof replaced. My claims adjuster had just worked out the price on labor and PARTS with the dealer. Called to confirm at 2 weeks, 1 week, and the day before. Took car in and got a loaner. It took 3 days to get my car back because 'they did not have the parts.' WTF

No, they just "dropped the ball".

 

Smitty...

In Situation Number 2, it was you and me having the conversation...at Quaker Steak and Lube...the dealer rep was George.

 

what i don't understand is....

when i had my Jeep Wrangler they always had a loaner for me ...ALWAYS. They would just call up Enterprise and a guy with a car would pick me up ten minutes later. With my Acura (luxury car) it is always a battle to get a loaner. That is fucked up.

 

Which dealer in Balt. area?

 

Not sure if this is a case of discrimination, but...

when I purchased my CL from Lehigh Valley Acura (Only dealership within 45-60min, I had nothing but good comments about them, and some on this board still feel that way, like Shawn S.

But they were really nice and considerate during the purchasing process, and I decided to buy from them, but I recently got a better offer from another dealership (Montgomeryville). I told them that I wanted to buy from them and would if they matched the price (about $1000 less than L.V. wanted). considering it was the last week of the month, they said they would match it if I pick it up at the end of the week, so I agreed.

I had bought from L.V. Honda before, so I had a coupon for $100 they said they would honor, so I gave all the stuff to them, signed the papers, paid cash, and all was cool, except they told me that I would get a $100 rebate for the coupon in the mail.

1 month later, no rebate, they told me it was in the mail.

2 months later, no rebate, the general manager told me that I got a good deal, so "no way in hell are we going to give you $100 back". It's ironic because I was goign to use it to buy stuff from them.

I also inquired about the navi updates (I was told I get 2 free). He told me that he never told me that and I was "lying".

I'm not sure if it had anything to do with me buying with cash (i was 21 at the time), or if they were really pissed because I saved $1000.

But now I drive to PAA, and they treat me like I've bought 10 cars from them before.

 

A salesman offered me a $100 referral fee for sending my G/F in for her 2000 GSR. 3 Months later no check and a bunch of excuses. I drove up to the dealer on a saturday morning opened the front door and started calling them frauds and scam artists.

A 1/2 an hour later I was at the bank cashing my $100 check.

 

I really couldn't do that because I was in TN at the time and bought my car in PA. It's not even the $100 that mattered, it was the fact that I was accused of lying about the navi updates and the sales manager using the word "hell" towards me.

I did ask for the coupon back, but they conveniently "did not have it anymore."

They lost a customer over a matter of $100, which was going to go right back to them anyway (was gonna get the trunk tray and all-weather mats).

But even worse, Knopf Mercedes lost a sale of a 430clk to me 'cuz they treated me like a kid...but called a day later apologizing and asking me to return after they found out our family bought an s500 and sl500 from them.

and don't take it out of context either, I was very diplomatic towards them, never accusing them of anything or yelling. They were the first to draw blood by telling me "there's no way in hell we're giving you $100 back" in a rude manner.

 

Tischer. I guess they did not want to order a $700 sunroof without assurance someone would buy it. The check for repairs was written to me, I could of went anywhere for the repair. Maybe they broke something while replacing it or they really did need more parts. Other than not acknowledging 3 days was too long, the actual repair work and other service was flawless. Plus, the total cost was less than the estimate, covering my deductible.

I do recommend them. But I would have liked better customer service for a +$1000 repair and service.

 

I dealt with Tischer a couple years ago (on an Integra) and had no problem. I use Acura West now and they've been pretty good. But late last year the long time owner sold (including the Nissan next door) to Norris -- not sure if they are keeping the same quality standards. I've had no work needed on my last Integra or the CL-S. I need to schedule a fix for the dreaded sun roof rattle soon and I'll let you know how they treat me.

 

Was I drunk....??? LOL.. I would of remembered that..

Smitty

 

If you need a loaner/rental set something up in advance. A friend ended up with a Geo one time. But, it was still Acura West, not Norris. I've always got an Acura or a V6 rental from Tischer. My friend is trying to find out if Norris repairs scratched rims and has paintless dent removal (I need both). Frankel has coupons for both until the end of the month.

 

Nah...I don't think you heard him. I think you're attention was diverted to some fine high school ass walking by...

 

Heard who?... I thought this story was about you?... Oh man I am so confused... but your right I was probably watching some bimbo shake her tits and ass..

Smitty

 

One time I took my car in and left it with them (don't ever do that if possible) and they gave me a loaner. It was a f@#$'n Geo Prizm, so I said OK I'm not going to be a dick. So I get inside of it and it was less the full when the Hertz guy told me it was full and it was a hooptie. The Hunk of S--t need an alignment BAD plus it had cigarette burns in the passenger seat. I was pissed. To make a long story short I told the customer service chick about it and she was able to get me a discount on my next paid service.

 

I've been going to Cerritos Acura in So Cal for the last 5 years for my integra and now my CL-S, both cars which were not purchased from them, and they have always given me good service. I'd recommend them to anyone.

 

Thanks for the tip, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'll wait, it's about a 1 hour fix.

Admire the Natty Boh loyalty -- head on down to the Inner Harbor and have a glass of Fuel at Capitol City.

 

Sounds like the theory behind the thinking of any service related business here in Florida.

 

Acura of Ocean in NJ isn't that bad. My ball joint broke after they regreased/repacked the joint two times. They paid for the tow there, and I got a RSX Loaner...took three days to fix. All they had to do was replace the ball joint the first time would have been much easier.

Acura on Rt 22 I think its called Springfield...they are a mess over there, and I think they put aftermarket brake pads on, not OEM.

 

I think this is the biggest problem facing Acura. I know they are trying to limit their dealerships so each one can make more money but here in Phoenix there are only two dealerships. The metro area is something like 6 million and only two Acura dealerships. I have problems all the time and I think most of it is they know there are no options.

 

god- now i have no clue what to do-- im about a month away from gettin a new 6spd, but literally EVERY dealer ive had any encounter with has been a full on idiot.. to be frank, I have trouble gettin attention in a showroom, since I always look a mess, and dont look like i can swing a $30K+ car *though i can.. * buying is SUCH a hassle!!!* so where in NJ? any suggestions? I wont deal with Open Road in East Brunswick, PRecision in PRinceton (wouldnt even LOOK at me in an empty showroom) -- and now Springfield has me nervous!