Very Very Mad!

[Accord4Life]

Sit tight and buckle your seat belts. We're going for a ride!

Today my Wife Karen (Pilot4Life) took her Pilot in to the dealer so it could be looked at becuase she's been getting horrid gas mileage, and it's not becuase she's a lead foot :lmao: . She called this morning to confirm that she was comming in, and they asked her if anyone had contacted her about the 'notes' on her account. She said no. Why? A woman at the dealer said that they needed to have the 96' back for an important recall. Karen knew the 96' Accord has had all it's recalls completed, and that there were none left to be taken care of. So she told that to the woman on the phone, only to be told that we still need to bring the car back. So finally she asked "Well why?" It's confitdential business is what she was told, but it's a major SAFETY concern. Karen decided that she would just go with it, and set an appointment for Monday, thinking she'd talk to the tech who does all the work on our cars.
Karen went to her appointment, dropped the Pilot off, and then immediately went to find the guy who normally works on our cars, and she found that he'd been fired. Instantly she had a bad feeling about what she was told over the phone, and asked that I come down to meet with a manager of the service dept. together. So she calmly waited in the waaiting room until I got there, with the 96' Accord.
We asked to speak with the manager, and we did. We'd told him about Karens phone conversation earlier, and how we wanted to know why it was confidential. The manager told us that we were not to worry one bit, and to leave both of the cars there, and that we'd get a free loaner for the time they need to take care of the issues. I had told him not to beat around the bush, and that we want to know what's so confidential, and why our normal tech got fired. Finally, after soooo much beating around the bush and crap, he told us that the guy who'd worked on our car hadn't really been doing the work he was being paid to do. I asked "Well do you know how long this has been going on?" He said no. At this point my blood pressure was at a boiling point. The only time I ever go to the dealer is for major things like Timing Belts and major maitenances, so now I'm being told that all the major stuff wasn't even being done!
I immediately said that if he wants me not to pursue this against the dealership, that I better get every single penny I ever paid that dealer for service all the way back to 98' when we moved to Austin. So now, here I am, thinking that I have a wonderfully maintained 1996 Honda Accord, when in reality it's been neglected without maitennace for who knows how long. I really hope there arn't too many people that are going to be effected like me. As of right now, I'm ready to sue the dealer (of whom I won't mention at this very moment) for every penny they have. But I'm being nice, and I'm going through my reccords and gathering all my Automotive repair files with them.

If you read that. Your amazing...

Mike & Karen

[Accord4Life]

I tried to indent. No success sorry.

[stevencrosbie]

Sorry to hear that. This is why I do everything myself except for that timing belt :thumbsdow


Well, on a good note, if he did neglect your car, it shows how reliable Hondas really are. Just be glad nothing bad happend to you or your family in this process.

Now, what would I do. I would have all of that maint. done free of charge, and force that dealer to get you into an 08 Accord for real cheap!

[Accord4Life]

Good suggestion... Although looks like I've spent a good 5400 there since 98'. They will do all that work. That's for sure. I'm so mad, I'm ready to make them put all my acessories on free of charge. I have a spoiler, fogs, Alloy Wheels, lots of stuff. So pissed...

[flcma99]

That completely sucks!! They definately need to do more than just perform the work to make this right.

The good news for you is that I have a co-worker who had his timing belt on a '96 Accord replaced at 110,000 miles and the mechanic who did it, a Honda certified mechanic with his own import service shop, said it still looked like it had 20K miles of life left in it.

Thankfully, it sounds like you were taking care of your own fluids and routine maintenance.

[stevencrosbie]

Hey, at least they got ahold of you and told you about the crappy mechanic.....

Didn't you buy your black 01 Accord from him or was that a different guy?

[RTexasF]

Such a deal! I realize you can't name the dealership but it does have me wondering since there are three biggies there.......well two biggies and one up & coming in Round Rock.

[Accord4Life]

Hey, at least they got ahold of you and told you about the crappy mechanic.....

Didn't you buy your black 01 Accord from him or was that a different guy?
No I bought my 01' from my independent Honda Acura Specialist. I should'be just skipped the dealer and gone there all along!

[Accord4Life]

Such a deal! I realize you can't name the dealership but it does have me wondering since there are three biggies there.......well two biggies and one up & coming in Round Rock.

I'll just say it was one of the two buggies in Austin. And it was the first buggie to get there...

Get my drift?

[RTexasF]

I think so, thanks.

[Conundrum]

wow Mike...sorry to hear about all that. I guess the important thing is that none of this ever caused an accident or anything for you or Karen, and also that the car is still running well despite being neglected without your knowledge.

If it were me I'd defintely push the dealership too...as something needs to be done for the two of you. At the very least, they should give the money back on the fake repairs, or give you a steal on a new Accord or something.

I hope your having the Pilot onced over as well if the same tech was servicing it as well...

I really hope this gets sorted out for the two of you...

[jermy4]

Wow, just wow. I'm speechless and relieved that I do as much here in my garage as I can.

This is unbelievable.

[Accord4Life]

If it were me I'd defintely push the dealership too...as something needs to be done for the two of you. At the very least, they should give the money back on the fake repairs, or give you a steal on a new Accord or something.

I hope your having the Pilot onced over as well if the same tech was servicing it as well...

I really hope this gets sorted out for the two of you...

Thanks,

I'm not really worried about the Pilot, only thing I can think of would be a 45k maintennace that the guy did, but it wasn't much more than an oil change, tire rotation, new wiper blades, and other small things. I'll be getting my money back for it though. The rest of the repairs were warranty and that tech dosen't do warranty issues.

I'm not sure if we'll get a new car either way or not. But karen is about to pay her Pilot off, and then she's may/may not sell it, and get something smaller. her momy duties are kind of over, and she hasn't needed to take many clients places as of late. So a good Midsized/Large sedan may be in order. I'm still going to wait for the 08's, unless I can get a decent 24 month lease on something, and sell my 01' Accord. So we'll see...

[stiller fan]

wow, mike and karen....... unbelieveable......

it's a shame that you can't even go to the dealership anymore, without worrying about being ripped off like that...... :thumbsdow

[Accord4Life]

I know! I guess we're off to the dealer where we bought the Pilot. I really did like 'that' dealer ever since 98' when we moved back from N.Y.C. They've always had the best prices on new cars, and their service department seemed excellent. I suppose it was really the mecahnics fault, and had the dealer just been straight up front about it, I probably wouldn't be mad at the dealer right now.

Got a price for all the work I've done there. I'm thinking of including all the work I've had done to my 03', 89' and 86' Accords. That guy worked on all of them. But for now, I spent $5303.54 on the 96' Accord. Wow that's alot of money. Evens out to an average of $662.92 a year. But it really is just lower than that. Things like Tires, T-Belt, and other misc. things rack up the price.

Mike.

[Accord4Life]

Now that I'm thinking about this... I do like the suggestion of them getting me into a new car at an excellent price, and doing the work that was never done before. I know I spent at least 3k for the 03', 89', 86', each. So I'm 'guestimaing' 9k + 5.3k = $14,300 of lost money. If they don't want me to do what I do best, argue, and fight for every penny of it (Lawyer...I'm good at that), then maybe they need to do my repairs on my 96' and pay for 14k of my new Accord? I imagine I can get a 24 month lease on an Accord for less than 14k. That dealer better start kissing my a$$ because I will raise hell, and I know that practically 'giving' a car away on their lot, is alot less than having to dish out 14k to someone. Any opinions on this?

[stiller fan]

IMHO mike, do what you think will give you the best value..... i mean, you are a lawyer anyways, so you already have that going for you if they decide to balk with fixing the 96 and a huge discount on your next car.....

[Accord4Life]

Well I don't necessarily need money for my next car. Whatever it may be... But I'm highly doubting that I'll get 14k in cash from a major dealer franchise in Texas without some serious court time. I really hate to sound greedy too, seeing as a few posts ago I was only seeking my $5300 for my 96', but I'm just now realizing that with no proof of the work being done or not on those either, and the manager admitting to me that they didn't know how long this had been going on, I still have to be curious, and suspect the worst case scenario. Either way, my Accord is going to get every single mait I paid for done again, and I don't care if that means starting up at the 60k major maitennance, it will be done. Idk. I mean I'm just really thinking that this is going to come down to some sort of material reimbursement. I'm doubting I'd get my money from them, even if I did take them to court, for a long while.

I wish this never even happened...
Mike

[stiller fan]

there are alot of things that i wish never happened to my car as well, but you gotta do what you gotta do, ya know??? :yes: :hug:

[BenjiBoy650]

I seriously doubt they're going to pay you 14K. Even if you sue you probably wouldn't get it...your '03 Accord is gone anyway and you couldn't show that this somehow put your life in danger when it was wrecked or anything like that. Plus, you can't prove that ALL of the work was not done.

[Accord4Life]

Yes, that's exactly why I said I doubt that.

I'm still totally pissed that a guy who's been working on my cars for 8 years may or may not have been doing a 'full' job of what he was being paid to do. Also extremely mad that a dealer tried to cover it up as a 'recall' so they could get my car into their shop to look over it, and do whatever they were planning on doing to it. I mean some kind of reinbursement is in order. I don't know how much damage this has caused to my car in the long run, and for me, I'm not exactly concerend about the safety issue. I'm concerned about how many other people are being effected by this, and if their falling for the Recall trick. On Monday I'm going to meet with the manager of the Dealership, and the service department. If I don't get my work done for free, and at least some reinbursement to the potential damage that may have occured to the car, I will do something, and it will start with the BBB, and protesting in front of their dealership. I've done it with Ford in the 70's, and I'm not afraid to do it again.

[princess]

I'm really shocked that they even told you!! It's happened before where my prince works, but much less blantantly. Not usually things like timing belts, more little things. Not long ago my prince had to redo a whole service because the customer claimed it hadn't been done because there was no evidence of the doors being lubed!

Since the service dept & sales are different I doubt if they'd be much help on getting a new one. But who knows..... :dunno:

Luckily, the whole amount you've spent on it isn't on things you can't see... you can see new tires, the foglights, spoiler.... so the total isn't all wasted. The service items should be done again for free, the recalls/bulletins should be redone or checked. You should be allowed to watch!!! :D

I wonder how many customers they've called in for this, um, "recall".... :paranoid: You may be one of the lucky ones! The dealer gets a point in my mind for at least attempting to undo this. They could've just kept their mouths shut. This stuff is more common at independent shops since each dollar counts.... at a dealer there's more pieces of the pie. I really glad to hear they fired the "tech"!! I've known some to get their hands slapped & nothing else!

[Conundrum]

Hey Mike, just throwing this out there but if the dealer isn't nice to you when you next go in to talk about all this would there by any chance Honda of America would do something if you gave them a few calls??? :dunno:

[2006AccordV6Lvr]

Hey, at least they got ahold of you and told you about the crappy mechanic.....

Didn't you buy your black 01 Accord from him or was that a different guy?

Yeah, am I the only one that's finding this, mildly startling pot of gold at the of the proverbial rainbow after the proverbial severe thunderstorms, to be mildly miraculous? :lmao:

[Accord4Life]

I've called Honda Of America. The only thing they said they can do is put it on the reccord, and that Honda dosen't own or operate any of it's dealerships. I knew that would happen when I called, but I did file a complaint.

Princess, well the foglights a spoiler are things I said I might ask them to install as a courtesy for what I'm going through, the parts are lying in my garage. Yes, I'm def. going to get the service's done again. Also, about them telling me, it definately wasn't easy for me to gett it out of them. Karen says Hi and thanks for all your input, she's really tired of cars at the moment (Gee, wonder why...) and that's why she hasn't been on.

K. & Mike

[Accord4Life]

Yeah, am I the only one that's finding this, mildly startling pot of gold at the of the proverbial rainbow after the proverbial severe thunderstorms, to be mildly miraculous? :lmao:

Huh? I'm a bit lost sorry, but I did say in another post that I didn't by my car from that mechanic...

[Peniole]

Good luck Mike with getting this resolved. My greatest fear actually does happen (that's why I photograph and initial everything that's being changed to make sure it's gone, not the oil obviously :lmao: ), sucks that it happened to you. I'm glad no-one got hurt from the negligence, give them hell!!!

[RTexasF]

The dealership realized a problem and they suspect some of the the work may or may not have been done but don't really know....how could they? Proving that it was not done (in court) would require a total tear down, time, money, and still might not be conclusive. Go for your best deal on brand new while the dealer has their pants down.

Realizing you are attached to your older car, forgetaboutit! Make one HELL of a deal on a brand new one, sign the "I won't pursue this" papers and enjoy your new wheels.

Pissed or not not use your attorney sense to get the best deal on "new and warranted"........it's for the family, not just you.

[Conundrum]

The dealership realized a problem and they suspect some of the the work may or may not have been done but don't really know....how could they? Proving that it was not done (in court) would require a total tear down, time, money, and still might not be conclusive. Go for your best deal on brand new while the dealer has their pants down.

Realizing you are attached to your older car, forgetaboutit! Make one HELL of a deal on a brand new one, sign the "I won't pursue this" papers and enjoy your new wheels.

Pissed or not not use your attorney sense to get the best deal on "new and warranted"........it's for the family, not just you.

+1...I have to agree with RTexasF here.

[2006AccordV6Lvr]

I don't even trust the dealer to do my first oil change. My wrench light came on and I'm at 15% of usefull oil life left and dropping steadfastly. I got about 4900 miles. I got my own oil and all the service department has to do is dump it in but I seriously do not trust them because of how oppositional they are to everything. :paranoid:

[flcma99]

I don't even trust the dealer to do my first oil change. My wrench light came on and I'm at 15% of usefull oil life left and dropping steadfastly. I got about 4900 miles. I got my own oil and all the service department has to do is dump it in but I seriously do not trust them because of how oppositional they are to everything. :paranoid:
I am so thankful that I have a dealership service department that I trust. I even feel that I can recommend them to friends as an honest and trustworthy group. A rarity in the day and time where you are a number with dollars in your pocket to most service advisors.

[princess]

I am so thankful that I have a dealership service department that I trust.

That's cool! :thmsup: I know they aren't all the same, but the bad stories spread much faster than the good. Like with anything.

This week my prince had a long time customer.... (he's been maintaining their Hondas since 1988) come in with their oldest currrent Honda. It's a '91 Accord SE. Among the things it needed was a timing belt, major service & an ABS thing was leaking. Because of the car's age he tried to talk them out of things that weren't needed now. They could've easily spread it out according to safety & drivability issues.... they wanted it all at once. The manager did discount it a little for some reason. So they spent 2500 on the car!! They trust him & will not let any other tech touch their cars!

I think the good vs. bad is about 50/50. According to the TV news magazines it's more like a 1 in 4 chance of a bad shop or tech. I think it's higher. When you find one you can trust, it's worth sticking with them!

Like at the beginning of this thread, a pretty good shop can have a bad tech that's cheating their customers. The right way to handle it is to fire them & contact as many of the owners as they can OR they can deal with each car as they see it again with non safety issues.

If things like fluid changes weren't done, you can't undo the damage. :dunno:

[Conundrum]

I am so thankful that I have a dealership service department that I trust. I even feel that I can recommend them to friends as an honest and trustworthy group. A rarity in the day and time where you are a number with dollars in your pocket to most service advisors.

One of my friends I work with has a 7th gen civic and swears by one dealership where he lives (Forumla Honda...not that it will mean much to people not in Scarborough...lol). I haven't taken mine into them yet, but I have the tech's name that my friend only delt with, and he only ever had good things to say about the car when he got it back from the dealer (and he was there A LOT, as he had one of the first 7th gen civics that came out so it had its share of probs and then some).

It's a bit of a drive for me but if their service is what I've been told its worth the drive and the inconvenience to me to get there...Still, I plan on doing 90% of everything myself (aside from belt inspection and maybe a few other things), but I am taking it to them to get my first oil change, and probably to install a Fram SureDrain while they are at it so I don't have to worry about killing my oilpan in the future ($20 now vs like $600-$800 later).

[Pilot4Life]

Wow, look at all these responses! Amazing.

Thanks for your input everyone!

Karen.

[stiller fan]

you should stop by more often, karen.... :yes: :thmsup:

[Accord6MT]

Wow. Just now reading this thread and can't believe it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Pilot4Life]

I have an update! Mike has gone to the Dealer, and they are making progress he's told me!!! I don't know the details at the moment, but I'll tell all when he gets home, or let him. Just wanted to let you know.

Karen

[stiller fan]

so karen,

what's the story??? :wave:

[EXLNavi]

I tried to indent. No success sorry.


_______You could always do like this.

_______But then your posts will end up looking like xcel's. :lmao:

[Pilot4Life]

Ok, I'll give an update. I've been avoiding it, but here I am!

Mike went to the dealer, they were very helpful. Did the repairs on the 96' runs so much better now its unbelieveable. Tech was honest in saying the transmission fluid didn't look too good, and manager promised that should anything (have it in writing too!) go wrong with it, they'll put a new trannie in there.

Here comes the part for making up the costs that we've spent with that dealer for 8 years. Mike was told that if he bought a new car from them within the year (we didn't buy our kids civics there) he'd take 35% off the price on it. Mike dosen't want to buy any new cars tight now, but I'm about to bring in some money from a house I've contracted for sale and I'm planning on paying off my Pilot, selling it myself, and buying an Accord LX V6 Sedan. I didn't have my Pilot for long, and I'm only selling it becuase it drimks gas, and I hate the feeling of driving a mid/large SUV all by myself. I just don't have use for it, I mean I rarely pick clients up as of late, and my kids have cars now. So mommie days are over :( ...

So there's the 411...

[andysinnh]

Ok, I'll give an update. I've been avoiding it, but here I am!

Mike went to the dealer, they were very helpful. Did the repairs on the 96' runs so much better now its unbelieveable. Tech was honest in saying the transmission fluid didn't look too good, and manager promised that should anything (have it in writing too!) go wrong with it, they'll put a new trannie in there.

Here comes the part for making up the costs that we've spent with that dealer for 8 years. Mike was told that if he bought a new car from them within the year (we didn't buy our kids civics there) he'd take 35% off the price on it. Mike dosen't want to buy any new cars tight now, but I'm about to bring in some money from a house I've contracted for sale and I'm planning on paying off my Pilot, selling it myself, and buying an Accord LX V6 Sedan. I didn't have my Pilot for long, and I'm only selling it becuase it drimks gas, and I hate the feeling of driving a mid/large SUV all by myself. I just don't have use for it, I mean I rarely pick clients up as of late, and my kids have cars now. So mommie days are over :( ...

So there's the 411...

So, sounds like "mommie" needs to get a fun car to drive, and get ready for the next stage - having grandkids to spoil the "you know what" out of. :lmao: We're sort of in that stage - a 20 and 17 year old (and also a 9 yr old) - the next time we hear a baby crying in the house it's gonna be a grandkid - but that'll be a few years out......

andy

[BenjiBoy650]

You realize that 35% off a EX V6 Nav makes it under 20K...I don't think they're really going to try to pull that off but :dunno:

[Pilot4Life]

Well it's what they said and I have it in writing. I'm not getting an EX V6, and that's because I HATE the leather in Hondas with a firy passsion. Feels like crap if you ask me. This coming from someone who owned lexus's and Saabs before Honda recently. So maybe I'm just too spoiled by those cars...

We'll see. I mean even if I don't have a discount at all, I'm still buying the car. I don't want my Pilot anymore. But I am going to go test drive a Hyundai Sonata today. I hate to say it, but the nly real reason I'd buy a Honda at this moment would be to keep to our 'trend' of Hondas, but I really don't see anything I like to be honest. I'm only going with the LX V6 becuase I know Acccords are reliable, and I can get a sunroof and all thsoe other goodies at a great price. I do however extremely dislike the new styling. I disliked it ever since the 05' tail light change. So we'll see. I've heard good things about the Hyundai as well though... And I like the styling better.

Karen.

[Trip]

If you're not crazy about the Accord, how about a 2WD Pilot with VCM? :D Not sure what the real world mileage difference is btwn an Accord V6 vs standard Pilot vs Pilot with 2WD/VCM. Might be worth checking into. But you can't go wrong with the Accord. Exterior preferences aside, the interior is a very nice place to spend quality time. :yes:

Good to hear the situation was resolved to your satisfaction. There are a lot of variables to consider and I'm glad to see that the dealer initiated this rather than let it go (though they could have gone about it differently) and they took an extra step to try to recoup your losses.

I've been on both sides of these situations. My previous company had 800 field techs that worked on medical equipment. A few times over the past few years we had this situation. Cars are one thing and in some instances a neglected service might be disasterous but to skip repairs on health care equipment that sterilizes operating instruments or comes into contact with patients kicks up the liability a few hundred notches - especially considering hundreds if not thousands of people are exposed to the situation over the course of a year. Our lawyers had oh so much fun scampering on those cases. :thumbsdow

[stevencrosbie]

Well, you want my opinion? Get a slightly used TL :lmao:

How about the TSX? Its a super car if you want something w/ a simlar size to the '96. Its a lot of fun to drive as well.

Now, my Dad has a 2006 Hyundai Sonata LX V6. He loves it. He used to be a "Honda/Toyota" guy, but the price difference is hard to justify.

You can't get the MT w/ the V6 though, so that sealed the deal w/Honda/Acura for me.

Let us know what you think.

[mypp]

I think the good vs. bad is about 50/50. According to the TV news magazines it's more like a 1 in 4 chance of a bad shop or tech. I think it's higher. When you find one you can trust, it's worth sticking with them!

i used to think that. someone recommended a mechanic 8 years ago. i thought i hit the goldmine--he was quick, did quality work, allowed me to bring my own parts in. recomm'd him to all of my friends.

but over the years (esp. the last few), it's almost like he doesn't care. i'd bring the car in with some weird noise (granted, most of it was in my head, but still :) ). he'd either take it for a spin or just listen to it, tell me it's all good, and just blame it on the randomness of old age (car's, not his :) ). and then, of course, something would break two weeks later, and i keep thinking "if only i caught it earlier"....

weird :)

[EXLNavi]

Looks like it's not just A4L's Honda dealer either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1J7d2ssc3Y&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbulletin%2E

[princess]

They're wrong...it's been recorded before.... 20/20 & dateline did it YEARS ago.... They showed timing belts not changed & lots of other stuff on their cars set up with cameras.

We get the BAR (bureau of automotive repair) paper & it lists the shops & techs being fined & suspended in CA. Most Sears now only do tires & batteries because they got caught too many times! 90% on the lists are independents. Jiffy Lubes have been caught by lots of news teams. Dealers have more people to answer to.

This new reel says 5 out 9. Dateline said 5 out of 10. Like I said you seem to have a about a 50/50 chance of finding a decent tech or shop! :dunno: I've called different service depts. on my mom's behave. I've asked questions to see if they sound like they know Hondas. I've done it for her Toyotas too. I'll call as if I were a customer with her car's problem, trying to get someone to give me a clue as to what it may need. Sometimes they'll go solely on mileage & try to talk me into things it doesn't need, sight unseen. I move on.

MOST of the time, it's a bad tech or mechanic, not the shop. But there are definately shops purposely cheating too! I honestly think the majority of poorly repair cars are due to ignorance, not cheating. Places will hire anyone because there's a shortage of trained people. :paranoid:

[EXLNavi]

I remember 20/20 doing it - where they showed the shop simply spraypainting parts to make them look like new parts. Disgusting!

They said that you should ask for your old parts back. Not sure how you're going to do that these days with all sorts of environmental regs for proper disposal of worn out parts and fluids such as used motor oil etc.

[princess]

Plus core charges! I tried contacting a news person about that. They said to ask for your old parts back. There were at least 2 problems with that. One, if it's really a dishonest place or person, they'd have a ample supply of parts to give you. Two, things like starters, axels, alternators, etc. have core charges. So unless YOU are willing to pay it, then return the part yourself to the manufacturer (many times, not the store)...you're still at their mercy on many things! But yeah, there's also the enviromental factor. We can't just throw away much of anything anymore!!

Such a bother! Everyone should simply be honest & do the job they are paid to do. :yes: Honesty does go both ways..... claiming something has been "wrong" since the last trip to the repair shop when you know it's not true, just to get a freebie, is just as bad as the ones not repairing things they said they did.

[saxdogg]

Sounds like if they told you in the first place and fired the guy, they're trying to make it right,,,maybe? I didn't read this whole thread, but I hope you get something back out of the deal and they do you right.

Fellow Texan...

[Pilot4Life]

We got what we needed from them. All our repairs were done again, car runs likea top. Then, I got an 06' LX V6 for $19,000. Pretty happy.

Thanks for wondering :)
Karen.

[Mike Nassour]

Wow! Just stumbled on this thread and it does indeed appear that all the maintenance on my Accord has been done at this same shop, given the earlier description. I've got a call into my service writer right now.

Did you suspect anything was wrong because the car was not running properly?

[Pilot4Life]

No. If you read through the whole thing, the dealer called all the affected customers. So if you've not been called, don't fret it. :)

Karen.

[Mike Nassour]

No. If you read through the whole thing, the dealer called all the affected customers. So if you've not been called, don't fret it. :)

Karen.

In that case, we're fretless! :banana:

Thanks again, ma'am!

[Pilot4Life]

You're very welcome :)

Mrs. Accord4Life hehe

[mypp]

I've called different service depts. on my mom's behave. I've asked questions to see if they sound like they know Hondas. I've done it for her Toyotas too. I'll call as if I were a customer with her car's problem, trying to get someone to give me a clue as to what it may need. Sometimes they'll go solely on mileage & try to talk me into things it doesn't need, sight unseen. I move on.

like what? princess, do you have a list of reasonable questions i could use? there are a couple of places in the area i moved to that seem to specialize in hondas, so i'd love to give them a trial run on the phone!
thanx in advance :)

[princess]

Questions you already know the answer to. Get out the owners manual & make a list of when things are due.... then ask when they recommend them. Or describe a symptom, like a bad rotor & see if they tell you something different. I'm sure you can find very specific details on a problem on here, with the answer.

The service recommendations will tell you a lot about them.... "honda says you don't need a timimng belt till 105K unless it gets oil or something on it, but we prefer to tell our customers every 60K to be safe." Sounds good, but they are asking you to waste your money. Like any store, they are salespeople & you need to do your own homework when talking to the ones that make the appointments.

Ask if it's OK to watch the techs. Where my prince works the customers can if they stay out of the way.

On a side thing.... yesterday there was an '02 Civic in his shop.... this poor owner has had their car damage EVERYTIME it's been in! All have been fluke things. Well, he got the priviledge of working on it. On the test drive someone in an ODY decided to make a quick right turn from a left lane. He managed to get the Civic stopped in time with a screaching halt. That car is just plain jinxed!! So if the owner managed to pick it up without anything happening, it will be a first! Maybe it will be the beginning of better luck with it! :)

[mypp]

Questions you already know the answer to. Or describe a symptom, like a bad rotor & see if they tell you something different. I'm sure you can find very specific details on a problem on here, with the answer.
thanx, princess. i'll try and do something with this over the weekend.

Ask if it's OK to watch the techs. Where my prince works the customers can if they stay out of the way.
funny you should say that :) i actually -like- watching my car being worked on. (probably because i'm paranoid they'll forget something, but anyway). however, more and more places forbid the customers from actually being -in- the work area, next to your car. i've heard, "for safety reasons", "it's our policy", "we're regulated that way", "we'd love to have you watch, but it's a corporate thing, and the manager will kill me". how do you fight that? for example, last year i had a new battery put in at NTB. you can't watch them work on your car. um, ok. i knew i was in for a treat when a guy drove it into the bay (maybe 10 feet of total distance) at 40mph and brought it to a screeching hault. then, when the car was done, i was so late, i didn't bother to take a look, so i just drove away. got home, popped the hood. the battery has this cloth handle. not sure if they were supposed to cut it away, but at least it should've been out of the way. oh no, they managed to loop the battery cables though it like 5 times. too lazy to go back, undid it myself.

the dealers are even worse. they don't let you talk to the mechanic that actually looked at your car--only the service manager. that's just screwed up.

i ran into a similar setup at a place that worked on my car (never ever again!). the mechanic looked at my car, scribbled stuff on a piece of paper, gave it to a manager, went outside for a cig. i walked up to him and asked him to talk to me about the car. he says, "i'm sorry, but we're not allowed to talk to the customers. the manager will talk to you". yeah, the manager who never saw my car.....
the manager told me, "blah blah blah is wrong, and oh, you need new spark plugs".
me: "wtf?????? my spark plugs are -brand new-!"
manager, "no, it says here you need new spark plugs"
me: "let's ask the mechanic"
mechanic: "i meant she -has- new spark plugs, not that she -needs- new spark plugs"
manager: "i guess you don't need new spark plugs"

nevermind that this is a crappy ass shop that took me for a ride for about $200 of useless work i didn't need. still thinking of doing something with BBB about that (but it's a small private shop).
point is, that there are a lot more places than not that won't let you watch.

[jermy4]

mypp, those all sound like bad places to go. I've actually found quite the opposite to be true of the dealers, tire shops, and independent mechanics around here. They usually invite me into the service area without me even asking. And most places have signs that say customers are not allowed. I almost always speak to the person who works on the car. Most of the time they take me back to the service area to show me firsthand exactly what needs replaced and why.

Example, I recently got an alignment done on my Alero and tire shop noticed that one of the calipers was sticking. The manager of the shop tells me this and asks me to come out and talk to the mechanic so he can show me how he came to that conclusion.

Not sure why you are having such bad experiences but I can share my secret. I'm always incredibly nice to everyone that works on my car upfront and I try to let them feel like I trust them even though I might actually be a little nervous about other people working on my car. It seems like if they think you are a really nice customer they tend to want to do a good job and make sure you understand what is going on with your car.

[mypp]

mypp, those all sound like bad places to go. I've actually found quite the opposite to be true of the dealers, tire shops, and independent mechanics around here. They usually invite me into the service area without me even asking.
well, that last shop was %&$*@$^#&@*&^, but my regular mechanic was on vacation, so i got stucked based on a recommendation from a friend. (perhaps a former friend? :P)

And most places have signs that say customers are not allowed. I almost always speak to the person who works on the car. I can share my secret. I'm always incredibly nice to everyone that works on my car upfront and I try to let them feel like I trust them even though I might actually be a little nervous about other people working on my car.
aah, how i wish i could do that :) i try, i really do... but when i feel that i'm being treated like a morron, i go from zero to asshole in under 3 seconds. i think all i need is for them to listen to me :) i get it that they probably know better, but it -is- a service industry. i want them to let me tell them about the noises the car is making or the problems i'm having. i have no appreciation for places going, "yeah, yeah, we'll figure it out", which, unfortunately, seem to be the places i get :)

i've had the '87 for years, and as little as it needed to be in a shop, i've never been able to find one i actually liked. i like my regular mechanic, but just because he happens to work at midas, doesn't mean i like his shop as an entity. there's a new place down the street. the mechanic is very nice, courteous, attentive to detail. perfect, right? well, he's very young and, i suspect, is not ASE certified.

i'm thinking unless you're a total DIYer or you have a mechanic in the family, you're screwed 100% :( :( :(