Cecilt

Went to drive the '09 TL at my local dealer (Duncan Acura). They refused to let me drive the car because I bought my 2006 TL from Pohanka Acura back in 2006. Said I wasted their time 2 years ago. I gave them the price Pohanka was willing to sell me the car for and said I would pay a few hundred more to buy locally. They refused to even counter the first and the only number which they gave me was close to $2k more than the price at Pohanka. Needless to say I went to Pohanka and bought the car. I sent a detailed letter to the owner of Duncan Auto group and got a letter from the Sales Manager stating that they could not sell me the car at the price Pohanka was willing to sell it to me for and that their time spent with me was wasted. Talk about sore losers.

Anyways, they indicate in their letter they will not service my vehicle (warranty and repairs I assume but it was not specific). I have used them for warranty work on my 2006 but have not needed any service since buying the car b/c I do my own oil changes and the car has been flawless. To any dealers out there, can they refuse warranty/repair work on an Acura product when the car is not purchased at the same dealer? My next course of action is to contact Honda/Acura and tell them how I was not allowed to drive the new TL b/c I did not buy from them 2 years ago and now they are saying I can not use their service dept. Gotta love dealers who can't face the fact that not all customers will pay their premium price and that they prefer to take advantage of the uneducated. thanks

FR4NCH1SE

hey, what are you doing in Roanoke anyways, Chantilly, Manassas for the win!!!

j/k but Pohanka Acura in Chantilly Virginia is the best dealership I have ever been to. They do all the service for my 04 TL except oil changes. They are a class act and nice people. Sorry You have to go to Duncan. Just make the long drive back to pohanka. They Rock. But If I were you, I wouldnt get involved with Duncan Acura, Let them do what they want, they dont control you, you can go to another acura. And never buy or use them again.

Colin

Definitely contact AHM but remember that dealerships are independent businesses. If they choose to 'shoot themselves in the foot' it's their choice. As for not honoring warranty work, I don't know the details of the dealer agreement, but ask yourself this: if you were able to 'force' them to work on your car....would you want them to touch it?

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Cecil,

That's an amazing story...I have never heard of a dealership treating a potential customer like that. It's obvious they are holding a grudge because you didn't buy a car from them 2 years ago.

Hell yes, I would contact Honda/Acura. And I would send them a copy of the letter they sent you to show Honda/Acura how they refuse to work on your car.

Colin brings up a good point-I don't think I would want them working (sabatoging) my car either, but Honda/Acura needs to know that Duncan Acura sure isn't representing the line very well.

Please let us know what Honda/Acura says.

Cecilt

I am going to do that first of the week. I just responded to the owner of the dealership, the GM and the Sales MAnager (he was the one at fault here). Stay away from Duncan Acura in Roanoke, VA is my only advice based on advice from my attorney.

NoLimitDeC

call the BBB lol

what a buncha bitches!!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Excellent idea !!

fsttyms1

Call Acura, and the BBB

AMIC

I can't believe they actually remember you from two years ago. I thought most tenure of employees at dealerships was 6-9 months.

1075

Cecilt,
If I were in your shoes, here is what I would do;

1) Meet with the owner and GM of Duncan and let them know that as long as the free enterprise system is alive and well, you won't pay 1$ more than you have to for a car. I would also do the following and let them know all of this in your meeting.....

2) Contact Acura, go as high as you possibly can, this may take a little effort. Tell them your story both verbally and in writing and include any written correspondence from Duncan.

3) Contact the BBB, and your State Agency that oversees consumer affairs.

4) Tell your story to everyone you know, friends, neighbors, family, anyone else who will listen, internet forums, blogs etc.

5) Find a good, honest, trustworthy shop in your area to do your routine maintenence if you don't want to do it yourself or make the trip to Powhanka. IMO a dealer like Powhanka should be rewarded with your continued business if it is practical for you to do so. An honest local Honda dealer might fill the bill here if there are no private shops. THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO USE ACURA FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENENCE AS LONG AS YOU CAN PROVE THAT IT WAS DONE IF A WARRANTY QUESTION SHOULD ARISE.

6) Use Powhanka for your warranty repairs.

7) NEVER, ever set foot inside of Duncan again, do not buy even so much as a oil drain plug washer from them.

Unfortunately there are enough stupid and uninformed people to keep price gougers like Duncan in business. You can find satisfaction in knowing that you didn't fall victim to their scheme, and that you are doing your part to educate others.

Word of mouth, publications like Consumer reports and the internet are all making it harder for outfits who do business like Duncan, sooner or later they will have to change their ways if enough people take a firm stand and refuse to become victims.

Oh Yeah, give them the link to this thread.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I would take the letter they sent you and forward a copy to the BBB as well as Acura.

You may also want to consider sending a copy to local news media and seeing if anyone wants to pick up a consumer watchdog story for the evening news.

A little bad press and creating a PR mess for these idiots will make them think twice about how they do business.

Crucifer

DEf try to get in the media/papers bad PR is the end all be all for a company. People get fired on the spot. Heck get in the paper and then deliver the paper to the GM of the dealership thank him for his time and wish him good luck.

smsTL

iTrader: (1)

Never go to that dealer again because you never know what they might do if you somehow get them to agree to work on your car.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

You should definitely do all of these things. The media will eat up a story like this and Acura would definitely want to know that one of their dealers is refusing warranty service on one of their cars...

sr4dt

^^^
Agreed

They sound like a used car wholesale dealer rather than a dealer who sells Luxury automobiles. Representation like this is why Acura is not able to get into big league.

NoLimitDeC

i really wanna call them and just be like, did you guys REALLY refuse someone service because they were a smart customer? lol but then again i can guarantee that the dumbass receptionist is going to be like huh? idk what ur talking about sir..

Crucifer

Uhhhh...what?

Acura is the #2 Luxury Sedan in the world behind the BMW 3 series. The reason they don't get slapped with a "BMW" like name is because they focus almost mainly on a specific 30-50,0000 price range. No super sport cars no nothing like that.

05 TL 6-Speed

Yep, I would do the same. Try contacting a local news station and tell them what happened. People eat this kind of crap up.

Personally, I will say that I am a sales manager for a local motorcycle dealership and unfortunately we can't always beat the prices coming from LA or the Bay Area (California), but we try to be as competitive as a small dealer can. With that said though, we would never tell someone that we would refuse to work on their machine, or tell them to get the heck out because they did business elsewhere last time. Shoot, we would welcome them and hopefully they would see the benefit in doing business with the local guys.

With that said, you should do everything in your power to humiliate these guys and really make them regret being such A-Holes!

carlos9827

iTrader: (2)

BULLSEYE!! CGTSX2004 nailed it right on the spot of what you should do. HAHA, I can already see this news storyline on tv... "Acura dealer refuses to help potential custmer because customer did not buy car from them two years ago" wow this is gonna get good....

smsTL

iTrader: (1)

lol Nice

Colin

To be fair, we have only heard one side of the story. I know it's not likely we'll ever hear the other side, and I'm not disparaging the OP, but some of the extreme suggestions are what you do after other avenues are exhausted.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Cecil,

I have NEVER heard of any business treating a customer or even a potential customer like that...EVER. If they were smart, they would welcome your service business and make a client out of you by treating you great when you bring your car in for service. Any dealership makes more money from the "back end" of the business, meaning the service and parts departments as well as the body shop , rather than the sale of automobiles.

Send that letter to Honda/Acura and let's see how much longer they remain a dealer for Honda/Acura. Hey, they didn't have to treat you like that. They came off sounding like idiots. Who tells a potential customer that time spent with you was a waste. It doesn't sound like they don't care about making money or building their business.

JCharged

iTrader: (5)

Damn that sucks to hear. Definately get the media involved. This is just plain stupid.

kenny5

I bought my TL from a more distant dealer because my local dealer (an upscale establishment in a good neighborhood) wanted $500 more. The local dealer, however, is classy and did not mind my buying from someone else because they know they cannot beat the other dealer's price. As for me, I understand why they charge a higher price because they have to pay higher rents for better neighborhoods, spend more money in maintaining the upscale appearance ... among other things.

They welcome me when I take my car in for service, as it is a source of revenue for them. The only difference is that I cannot get a loaner car at this time, as their policy is to give loaner cars to those who bought their Acuras there. As my service credits build up, I am quite sure they will be providing me loaner cars in the future. Also, they keep sending me invites and newsletters (promotion events where they give out gifts and finger foods to invitees) to test drives their new cars.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Cecil, this is exactly what your local dealership should have done for you!! You have every right to use extreme responses and circumstances against this dealership. They didn't have to treat you like this to begin with.

CL6

There are two sides to every story but an unhappy customer is not a good thing to have.

JPSMAN

When I was living in Roanoke a few years back, I had similar problems with Duncan Acura. I wouldn't trust those guys at all (PM for details).

I ended up dealing with Flow Acura in NC. It was a much better experience.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

CL6,

As a former salesperson for an Acura dealership, have you ever heard of a dealership treating an individual this badly? I am shocked that this dealership is "cutting off their nose despite their face" with any customer-given the economic climate we are currently in.

But despite that, in good times or bad, I have never heard of a dealership going that far to treat anyone that bad.

CL6

I don't know what happened but I have seen customers who cause so many issues that my previous dealership refused to further assist them. These are rare customers but I have seen it happen. Some dealerships don't service cars if they know you bought the car someplace else (rare nowadays) and you do generally have things break your way if you service where you bought the car... like loaner cars, warranty claims (if it's on the edge) etc... As I said I'm sure there are two sides to every story.

I have told former customers to back off if they used a lot of my time then bought at a broker or something but they want me to pair their phone or whatever.

There are still places that are run by 'Old School' guys and I run into these people sometimes... I just try and avoid them personally.

six spd

i do not think that they can do that. That is horrible all in all

shooter

Totally ... esp. nowdays with the current economic situation .. It's a buyer's market I would think for most of these car models ...

tman

There is 2 sides of the story. I would like to see the letter from the dealer that refuses to service your car. Scan the letter for all to see and so we can all be witness to what this dealer says. Im skeptical that a dealer would say they refuse to help you.

Type34

This is especially odd given the revenue-stricken climate dealers seem to be in - dealers would welcome any potential sale and they're desperate for service work (incoming funds).

And in the "test-drive" phase, rarely would a salesman recognize a potential customer from two years ago...there would have had to been a very memorable, emotionally charged interaction between customer and salesman for a potential buyer to A) be indentified and B) be refused business.

Is there more than meets the eye here Cecil?

snax

Steve, I think the quote is... "to spite" ??
Your intent and usage was correct, meaning: 'Disadvantage yourself in order to do harm to an adversary.'

CL6

I always remember the cool vs. asshole customers as soon as I see them and Sales Managers have excellent memories, too. Customers also get reputations like: "This is the guy who always wants his phone paired" or "He always complains about his brakes squeaking" or whatever. Nothing funnier than listening to two service writers, sales people, etc. talking about people who are parking their car to visit the dealership.

So I'd love to see this from the dealer's side.

Cecilt

Thanks for the comments. I filed a complaint with the BBB and Acura Client Services. Acura Client Services received a copy of my original letter and the dealers letter in response in addtion to my invoice showing I certainly did not pay under invoice for the TL. I just paid less than this dealership was willing to sell the car to me for. Don't forget, the Sales Mgr lives in my neighborhood and drives by my house every day. Not hard to remember that I did not buy from him so his memory is reminded of this everyday. HEre is is the exact quote from the dealers letter about service:

"You don't use or service department for anything but warranty work. You take advantage of the loaner cars we provide for such work, but service elsewhere, I'm sure because of price. This too is okay. I will never be the cheapest, nor do we aspire to be, so I will not be able sell you a car or service it. Taking these facts into consideration I determined we should not spend any more of our time or resources helping another store sell a car."

When Acura Client services saw both these letters they were equally floored. I gave the dealership in my letter the opportunity to apolgoize. Instead they took the position that since I did not buy from them 2 years ago over price I wasted their time. A truly unprofessional sales organization here.

Type34

Yeah it sounds a little personal for both sides...hopefully contacting ACS and BBB will promote some professionalism from the Sales Manager (if he stays there) and the dealership itself...

oldguytsxer

I happened by to seek input on 09 TL....I have Hondated 06 TSX.

I was retail business owner for 17 years, (retired at 49).

I actually laughed out loud when I read this.

Iin my last couple years I told many of the many tire kickers (no pun intended) that would pick my brain, waste my time, never spend a nickel, and consume the oxygen in my store, what I really thought of them.


It was very refreshing...

Perhaps you hacked someone off bad enuff, they just gave you a piece of their mind. Just deal elsewhere, Acura HQ may blow your letter off as a crank, the BBB is a frickin joke, save your breath.

CL6

I can see both sides. Dealerships generally lose money on warranty work because they are paid a flat fee set by Acura and they do get some money to reimburse loaner cars for warranty work but it doesn't cover everything. They hope to make back some of that money on non-warranty work.

Why you would do non-warranty work at one dealership and warranty work there probably angers them and doesn't make sense to me. It does sound personal but running a car business is not just about the $$ sometimes and buying a car is not just about the $$ either.

Type34

As the "car guy" in my group of family and friends, I've probably been involved in 20-25 transactions over the past 15 years or so. With all due respect to good, successful car salesmen, no other group of salesmen have collectively wasted my time and consumed more precious oxygen as they threw ridiculous numbers and information our way.

98% of the time I knew more than the salesman about their respective product and most of the time it was an all-out battle to get a fair price. One of my best friends is a BMW salesman and I understand the way the business works. That is why I no longer deal with salesmen, I work directly with the fleet manager.