I've had my 2007 Fit Sport in for work at my dealer about 20 times in two years. A rundown of my visits:

Several for regular maintenance
Oil changes, wiper blades, fluids, tire rotation, etc.

Two return trips because they broke my wiper blade when replacing the insert during maintenance
Meaning one trip to point out the damage, then driving around for a week in rainy season with a busted wiper until they got the part in stock, then a second trip.

One for the recall repair (airbag cable)
An all-day trip. I'm glad they had wi-fi.

Three trips to find out what happened to the cargo mat I ordered when I bought the car
They would claim it was "delivered" when I picked up the car, then offer to order it for me. Three times!

Four for the peeling paint issue
Finally got to see a manager and have the bumpers repainted under warranty.

Two were for a radio problem/replacement
The CD player wouldn't recognize a CD.

Two return trips to replace a center console piece a tech gouged with a screwdriver while replacing the radio
One trip to point out the problem, one trip a week later to have the new part installed.

Two return trips because they didn't hook the recirc lever on the center console back up after replacing the radio
One trip to point it out and have my claim denied, a second trip where they finally believed me and fixed it.

Three trips for my failing battery
Jump starting your car three times in a month is no fun.

Etc.

Every time I have had service there, I am told that I will get an automated call from Honda to ask me about my recent service. If I give them all 5's (top marks) on the survey, they will give me a free oil change.

This sounds unethical to me. Does anyone else have a dealer who bribes you to give them good reviews for bad service?

 

but I would definitely say incompetent!

After all those screw-ups, I would report them to Honda and NEVER take my car there again.

One thing, I don't know if you're uncomfortable doing it, but wiper blades are the easiest thing in the world to replace. Most people do it themselves.

I have found though, that if I buy the blades at Autozone, they will always put them on for free. It only takes a sec and they are very nice about it. Save yourself some money and do that next time for wipers instead of the dealer.

 

I agree - definitely incompetent. Find a new dealer/mechanic. And for everything that doesn't absolutely require a dealer (i.e. recalls or manufacturer defects), learn how to service your car yourself . . . it was the best thing I've ever done - I started about 7 years ago, and the stimulus was the incompetence of my local dealer at the time (Gerrish Honda of Lebanon, NH).

And although I wouldn't consider it unethical, giving away a free oil change as a "reward" for giving them good ratings is pretty pathetic.

 

Sales may be different, but I was told when I purchased my car that they couldn't coach customers how to respond.

I was asking whether the system of 1-10 meant 7 was average or 10 was average. The answer is that anything less than 10 is considered failure. I practically had to beat that out of my salesman.

With that said, I think it is unethical.

Also, as part of my purchase survey from Honda on the phone, they actually asked if the dealer coached you.

 

Yes, they seem to be very adamant about promoting themselves as being exceptionally good, even if they aren't. They do want all 5's. My salesperson told me it was because Honda considers anything less to be a failing mark.

Well, if the service is 5 star, the best, totally awesome, rate them 5. If they suck, don't do it.

And they make it kind of hard for people to NOT rate them 5. There is a kind of implied feeling of doom if we rate them anything less than a 5.

I did call Honda and give them some information on another dealership where I had contacted them via email and wanted to buy a car from them. I got kind of a strange run-around that annoyed me. I got a lot of emails from them, but they were generic, like automated? The potential salesperson gave me an additional email address to contact him with any concerns or to talk, so I did. I got no response from him, but I did get more automated mail.

Saying things like "we left a voice message for you". No they didn't. There's no way they could have left a voice message for me if my phone is unplugged and I have no voice message service.

So, if I were you, I'd call Honda directly. Tell them EVERYTHING you just posted.

Now, having to make trips back to have a part installed isn't unusual. They generally don't have EVERYTHING in stock, and they don't have a "repair emergency room" with a crack team of mechanics standing by waiting to instantly install YOUR part. So, yeah, you have to make a service appointment.

You MIGHT be able to save some time and a couple of trips by contacting them by phone and getting a regular person to talk to, like a service advisor. I feel more comfortable calling a regular person at any shop, who knows me, and knows a bit about my car, and will help me with my service needs.

The private shops could even get a repair order filled out before I get there (the old ones I used to go to before I had the Fit). Or they know who you are and can pull up your computer record right when you get there, and you know what info they need, so there is a familiarity with the process on both sides.

It's a lot more fun too, to visit people you are friendly with, that also happen to be the service or parts personnel where you're taking your car.

 

I only got one survey on the salesperson. Didn't get the second one on the dealership, because I got fed up with the other incoming calls. I HATE the phone. Do not call lists don't work, too many scams out there, and stupid people that say they didn't get the last form I sent, and want me to fill out the same form again. Grrrr.

I was pleased as punch with my salesman. For the questions that were asked, I gave the full 5 rating. I would have rated him 10 (and told them so) if that had been an option. That was for MY specific situation.

I am disabled and I had no car to go car shopping in. So all my wheeling and dealing had to be done via email and phone. If the dealer wasn't going to take that kind of shopping seriously (which the first one didn't), I wasn't going to be able to get a car from them.

Yes, I was darned impressed that I was able to buy a car via email and phone. I walked down to the store (a couple miles) the night before going to the dealership to get the cashier's check, as I had the total from the salesperson from the phone chat.

The dealership also picked me up the next day. About 30 miles! So, yeah, that is definitely a 5 rating.

There are a couple things I will probably call Honda about, that I want to see corrected for all future customers. One is that the correct odometer reading was NOT on my paperwork. The paperwork said 3 miles, the odometer said 69 or 67 (it was one of those two). They didn't change it, even though I pointed it out.

The other was that the salesman used "invoice" and "MSRP" as interchangeable prices, and they aren't. So when he said 150 under invoice, that was great. Then it changed to 150 under MSRP. And that latter figure was what I got the car for.

Whether it was done on accident or on purpose, I don't know. But he ought to know the difference.

 

I never take my car to Honda. Those 'technicians' are a joke.

 

Sounds like they have failed in the customer service department. I would be honest if you are called but I guess it happens because they probably get a bonus or some sort of perk for getting a high rating from the owner. I guess I am lucky. Lester Raines Honda in South Charleston has been excellent in customer service to my car. The guys in service have been great getting me in and out for routine items and the one recall that I had. They even ordered touch up paint for me and gave it to me at no cost. Installed all my extras mats,cargo cover, exhaust finisher for free. Repainted the bumper when the paint pealed at the sem without any hassles at all.

Cat :x

 

Yeah, I'll be doing my own blades in the future! The car was in for its first oil change and I figured I'd just have Honda do it so I didn't have to make a special trip to the auto parts store. Big mistake there! I don't even really like the stock blades so I can probably find something way better.

What do you recommend?

I used to love my Fit so much. The stupid dealership really ruined that for me.

I bought the Fit, ironically, because my old car had sustained some body damage (somebody backed into it) and it wasn't worth putting repair money into. I figured I'd buy the Fit and, like my ancient Nissan, I wouldn't have to see a mechanic for years. The Fit came from the factory with defective paint, so I wound up taking my brand-new car to a body shop anyway. At least it was covered under warranty!

I used to do all my own oil changes and fluids when I lived in sunnier climates and had a garage. Now I park outside, the condo association forbids working on my car in the parking lot, and it's 20F in the winter. No thanks!

 

After a Honda service appointment I usually get a letter from Honda asking me to fill out a survey, I can fill it out on the paper and mail it or do it online. I fill it out online and at the end of the survey it asks me if they can share my comments with the dealer, I usually say no. My last Honda service they bashed in my door and did not bother to point it out to me..long story short after a hassle they fixed it correctly and got a bad really bad survey from me. I'm changing my own oil from here on out....I'm staying clear of those jokers....

 

1) epic fail. (on both parties) IMO you should have ran away.

2) fail. (for the dealership)

 

For every good Honda dealership.....there are likely 5 bad ones. So no-one should be surprised at things like bad service, telling lies, and bad attitudes.

All of the comments below make sense, as they can all happen to anyone. But finding that one good dealership takes a lot of work, and usually some luck. But they do exist.

I have talked to Honda USA, and they say that they have no control over the behaviour of their dealerships. That is apparent. I just had my first oil change, and it is clear that they lied on the sheet about checking the air pressure in my tires....I keep them at 40 psi this time of year, and they claimed to have set them at 36 (which they claimed is recommended in the manual....which is wrong). So all of those tick marks for having checked everything has to be assumed to be bogus. I may have to drive two whole hours to get to a good dealership, but it will be worth it.

 

sounds like a crap dealer...

 

your dealer has a moron to brainiac ratio once thought to be statistically impossible

 

Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. I wrote them a review on Edmunds.com. I hope it helps others to avoid going there except for routine oil changes.

 

I can see it now, you give them 5 stars and get a free oil change, at which point they don't tighten the drain plug or filter, the engine seizes, now you are back for a new engine. Time for a new dealer it sounds to me. I lucked out with my Honda dealer, at least as far as sales go, they are top notch. Most dealers in general are god awful though. I never go back to a dealer for anything other than warranty or recall work.