Honda Accord Service Puzzle

we have a winner.

On 7/30/2012 3:53 AM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:


And Elmo is on fire! ;-)

"Elmo P. Shagnasty"  wrote in message



we have a winner.

?? I only had the A1 service.  Does that mean I won something.  I have
generally had reasonable service from these people -- looks like mgmt
change.  Thinkin

"Elmo P. Shagnasty"  wrote in message



we have a winner.

?? I only had the A1 service.  Does that mean I won something.  I have
generally had reasonable service from these people -- looks like mgmt
change.  Thinking I need to start doing some of service again myself as I
did in days when I drove Corvettes.

On 7/30/12 8:08 PM, tww1491 wrote:

I've been having a similar problem with my local Honda dealer. For
years, their service operation was A+, very fair, and reasonably priced.
I was quite very happy with them.

Now most every time I go in there the service weasel comes up to me in
the waiting room with that body language and look on his face that
resembles the doctor coming to tell you that the person you brought in
for minor pinky surgery needs a heart transplant right now-- or else.
They're looking to lighten my wallet considerably every visit.

Not fully sure what I'm going to do. Definitely go back to doing some of
the basic maintenance myself, maybe look for another dealer as there are
several in the city where I live, probably look for a good independent shop.

--
The more is given, the less the people will work for themselves and the
less they work, the more their poverty will increase.
                                      --Leo Tolstoy

"Douglas C. Neidermeyer"  wrote in message

On 7/30/12 8:08 PM, tww1491 wrote:

I've been having a similar problem with my local Honda dealer. For
years, their service operation was A+, very fair, and reasonably priced.
I was quite very happy with them.

Now most every time I go in there the service weasel comes up to me in
the waiting room with that body language and look on his face that
resembles the doctor coming to tell you that the person you brought in
for minor pinky surgery needs a heart transplant right now-- or else.
They're looking to lighten my wallet considerably every visit.

Not fully sure what I'm going to do. Definitely go back to doing some of
the basic maintenance myself, maybe look for another dealer as there are
several in the city where I live, probably look for a good independent shop.

Things were simpler in 60s and 70s -- although I had to remove the right
front wheel on the 71 454 Vette I had to change the front plug. Points and
dwell were easy. And the old Quadrajet really never had a problem except
with the float.  Of course, with a Sunbeam Tiger you had to have a trained
monkey to help since the engine was stuffed in so tight.

--
The more is given, the less the people will work for themselves and the
less they work, the more their poverty will increase.
                                      --Leo Tolstoy

On 7/30/12 9:52 PM, tww1491 wrote:

Back in my single days in the early 70's, I picked up a used Saab
Sonnett-- a hot looking, low-slung, long-nosed, Fiberglas-bodied
babe-magnet of a sports car.

The problem was its English Ford engine. It wasn't very reliable and
needed a lot of repair-- but the car had no openable hood.

There was a two-foot square small access panel in the middle of what
should have been the hood-- but to reach anything beyond plugs,
distributor, or carburetor, you had to pull the whole front of the body
off. Your average shade tree mechanic (me) couldn't really do that and
repair shops charged several hundred dollars to. So before the mechanic
could even start fixing what was broken, you were already in the hole
for a big repair bill. After I paid that pull-charge for the third time,
I sold the car!

--
The more is given, the less the people will work for themselves and the
less they work, the more their poverty will increase.
                                      --Leo Tolstoy

On 7/30/2012 5:08 PM, tww1491 wrote:

Sounds like the word came down from the top that the budget goals were
not being met by the shop and they needed to increase billing by
whatever means possible. This is then the typical tactic.

I also stopped servicing my car by the dealer when I noticed all the
extras they wanted to do beyond what the Owner's Manual scheduled
maintenance table called for. One of those extras was wheel alignment
("Oh, you must have bumped into something," etc.) After hearing it a few
times, I wised up.

Check your Owner's Manual. What does it say for the A1 sevice?

Why did you authorize work that is not specified in the Owner's Manual for
the A1 service?

If the car was in for the A1 service, you should not have allowed the
dealer to do any more than the A1 service as outlined in the Owner's
Manual.



--
Tegger

Check your Owner's Manual. What does it say for the A1 sevice?

Why did you authorize work that is not specified in the Owner's Manual for
the A1 service?

If the car was in for the A1 service, you should not have allowed the
dealer to do any more than the A1 service as outlined in the Owner's
Manual.

Actually, I did not authorize anything but the oil change. Of course, they
told me my car "failed".  Sorry if I gave the idea I went for it.


--
Tegger

If this is so, then the dealer is on very thin ice, legally speaking.

You may want to discuss this with a paralegal.



--
Tegger

If this is so, then the dealer is on very thin ice, legally speaking.

You may want to discuss this with a paralegal.

They did not do the work -- I would not let them. I was quite surprised by
their approach and final claim my car failed their "inspection." I don't
even see how they came to their conclusion in about 45 minutes from when
they took the car back for the oil change and tire rotation.  This has a
been a straight up dealer up to now.  I suspect slow sales have resulted in
pressure to produce more in service.



--
Tegger

Oh, so they just advised you to get the work done, but you did not allow
it. That's good!

The dealer is an independent company from Honda. They just have a franchise
agreement with Honda to fly the Honda flag. The dealer can -- and does --
do very much his own thing when it comes to servicing, and what you
experienced has 100% to do with boosting sales. A common trick is to offer
"free inspections". Rare is the car that comes through one of those without
needing anything at all.

Honda's only defense against dealer creativity is to publish their
requirements and recommendations in the Owner's Manual that they put in the
glove box of your car before they ship it.

Now you need to find a reputable other garage to do a /real/ inspection of
your car.

--
Tegger

On 07/31/2012 02:50 AM, tww1491 wrote:

of course.  most dealers are owned by larger distributorships - there's
very few single businesses any more.  and large distributorships, which
bought a lot of the former "family owned" dealers back in the days of
the crazy cheap money wall st was printing, particularly if they own a
number of the same franchises in the same area [which is common], know
that your options are limited.

time to search for a reputable independent.


--
fact check required

On 07/31/2012 02:50 AM, tww1491 wrote:

of course.  most dealers are owned by larger distributorships - there's
very few single businesses any more.  and large distributorships, which
bought a lot of the former "family owned" dealers back in the days of
the crazy cheap money wall st was printing, particularly if they own a
number of the same franchises in the same area [which is common], know
that your options are limited.

time to search for a reputable independent.

Absolutely!  But, most people will just take and pay the freight.


--
fact check required

On 07/31/2012 05:00 PM, tww1491 wrote:

well of course - they get the frighteners put on them about invalidating
the warranty.  i was talking to a neighbor about this when i learned she
was being dinged nearly $700 for her first 30k mile service on her honda
fit.  i suggested she take it to an independent and showed her the page
in her owner manual about how independent service does not invalidate
warranty.  but she still wanted to take the car to the dealer and got
dinged another $250 for what was basically just an oil change.

unnecessary maintenance is a cash cow if the vehicle owner doesn't know
the facts and is easily intimidated.  especially if a dealer is using
after-market parts and charging oem prices as i've seen happen.


--
fact check required

On 7/31/2012 8:49 PM, jim beam wrote:


At the same time I noticed that the dealers are pretty worried about
customers going with their complaints directly to American Honda and
then they often are willing to compromise. So I would be surprised if
American Honda would approve dealers using something else than OEM parts
when they are available.

The dealer is 100% free to use whatever parts he wants when repairing your
car, and many of them will use aftermarket if you wish. Honda has zero say
in this matter.



--
Tegger

On 8/1/2012 6:21 AM, Tegger wrote:

Thanks, I am now even less impressed with authorized dealer service. One
has better chance getting a decent repair job at an independent shop
that got good rating in checkbook.org or Angie's List, than at a dealership.