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Old 19th July 2011, 16:58   #1
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Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse

My interaction and visits to Ace Honda go back to mid 2008 when I was looking to buy the NHC (10 Anniversary Edition). However due to news of the ANHC round the corner, I delayed my purchase.
Eventually in 2010 when the time came for purchase, the Sales girl from Ace Honda who had been following up for more than a year was delighted to see me at the showroom.

Things started to go wrong:
I had already been to other showrooms and got price and discount details. The Sales girl could not match the discounts, and her superior was arrogant enough to say " The other dealer is fooling you". Man he had the guts..!!
Eventually I bought my car from AutoMax Honda with the discount package as agreed.

Service issues:
IMHO Ace Honda Service department is pathetically understaffed, ill managed, and filled with arrogant "take it or leave it" attitude people.

1st Service:
I had mentioned for the suspension to be checked as there was lot of noise and also the horn for sound variation (that time I didn't know that these are known problems with ANHC), which the service advisor said was OK. The Service was done well (credit given when due) and car handed over in pristine condition. However they did not agree to provide pick-up and drop, so had to sit in the visitors lounge.

2nd Service:
This is where things started souring. I had called up a day earlier and booked my car for a 10:00 a.m. service. I reached the workshop at 9:50a.m., and to my dismay had to wait till 10:45 for a service advisor (SA) to attend to my car and open a job card. Waiting for 45 minutes on a prior booking..!!
Apart from the regular servicing, I again repeated the suspension noise issue. The SA went with me for a TD and when I pointed out the noise, said there was no noise and its only my illusion. When I insisted, he took me for a TD on their Showroom TD vehicle (badly maintained) and showed me even bigger noise on the car. Point proved by SA.
I could not collect the car in the evening as was in Gurgaon for a meeting and asked the SA if he could get the car dropped at my home, but it was declined so I told him that I would come next day morning.
Next morning I had to wait for 15 minutes for the SA to come and another 15 minutes to get my car. The car was covered with dust, and on close examination I saw that the Alloy wheels were still dirty, that under body was not clean and the carpet inside the car was not in order. It took my repeated calling and another 15 minutes to get the car cleaned. The attitude of the staff during these 30 minutes was of " oh get lost"
I decided not to come back for Service to Ace Honda.

For the 3rd service I had been to Pearl Honda, Sec 63, Noida, and found their personal attention and customer centric approach to my liking. Got the 3rd Service done to my satisfaction with a free pick-up and drop facility.

Horn trouble:
This is an issue which made me decide to write this thread.
1st Visit - Out of the dual horn, one was missing regularly and sounding odd. Went to Ace Honda and they "tuned" it and said things will be fine. As this was a GR (General Repair) a job card was not opened.
2nd Visit - 3 weeks later, same problem resurfaced. Took the car again and surprisingly the problem did not resurface at the workshop. The horn was again "tuned" and no job card opened. Was assured that next time the horn would be replaced.
3rd Visit - Problem resurfaced in 10 days, took it to Ace Honda and asked them to replace as promised, however as I did not have proof of earlier visits for same problem, the horn was again adjusted. However this time I insisted on a copy of the gate pass for future reference.
4th Visit - Low Horn stopped working (19th May 2011). Took it to Ace Honda, and this time got it replaced under warranty. Copy of Job card retained. Car returned with Grease stains all over, another 15 minutes wasted in getting car cleaned.
5th Visit - Hi horn giving a harsh vibration sound (12th July 2011). Reached Ace Honda at 11:45 a.m., and made to wait for 30 minutes for SA to attend. After inspection was told Horn would be replaced. I inquired how long it would take and was told I would get the car back at 2:00 p.m.
Why would a 10 minutes job take them so long.? Was told they are over loaded with cars, so no mechanic was free, they would also go for their lunch break and only after that will the horn be replaced. Disgusted I simply walked out, as I do not have 2 hours to waste.
Went straight to Pearl Honda and got the Horn replacement done. It took them 5-6 minutes to replace the horn and 20 minutes to return the car to me. By 1:00 p.m. I was back in my office.

My bad experience at Ace Honda has been echoed by my friends also, who agree to a high handed and arrogant attitude of the staff, apart from overloaded mechanics. We have all switched over to Pearl Honda and have till now got a better experience.

Last edited by amitku : 19th July 2011 at 17:04.
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Old 19th July 2011, 20:00   #2
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Re: Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse

Quote:
Originally Posted by amitku View Post
For the 3rd service I had been to Pearl Honda, Sec 63, Noida, and found their personal attention and customer centric approach to my liking. Got the 3rd Service done to my satisfaction with a free pick-up and drop facility.
Hi Amit,
Agree about your feedback for Pearl Honda. All the service advisors I had interacted with had been extremely courteous and never pushed for anything unnecessary.
So, good experience till now. Touch wood!
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Old 6th March 2014, 13:31   #3
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Ace Honda Noida: Pathetic Sales Staff & Workshop Unit.

Hi all, One of the worst and most cunning dealership ever of a reputed automotive brand in Noida owned by Mr. Malhotra. Located in Sector 11 opposite Shiva Motors (Another pathetic agency for Chevrolet) this dealership is best to be avoided at all costs. They also over-charged me in the accessories that I got fixed from their outlet. The list include:

* V-kool film
* Kenwood music system with USB
* Coloured side view mirrors
* Reverse sensors
Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse-scan_pic0001.jpg
The actual name of this dealership is Naksha Enterprises and I can bet my last penny over the fact that they try to convince customers with their smooth talking tactics. As you all know that I own a City Ivtec which was purchased from this outlet; Till date I have never been satisfied with their work culture and knowledge about the brand.

On the first free service in 2011 my car was hit from behind on the rear bumper by SA Birender and when I got to know about it I called up their outlet and after making 7-8 calls to them I had to visit them in person to clarify the issue. To my shock; they refused point blank to have damaged my car during service. But, on my insistence to bring the copy of the job card in which the scratches are mentioned prior to the service it was found that there were only 2 minor scratches and this 3rd one was hence proved to have been done at their service station only.

Their official Mr. Naveen who looks after the service told me that he will get the damage repaired to which I told him that get the bumper properly painted in full and not just do the touch-up. But hell fell on me when I went to check my car after 2 days and found only a darn patch work done on the right corner of the rear bumper.

Out of anger, I straight away contacted their DGM and they appointed another SA who looked at the work and said "Sir this is the best we can do else make some payment to us and we will get the whole bumper painted". As paa was with me so I controlled my anger and did not utter anything.

On the 2nd encounter an SA over there told that the discs of the car's front brakes have got scratched. Can you believe that!! At that time the car had run about 12000-13000 kms. After listening to that fool I contacted Mr. Arun who is the Director there and he said that the SA who has told you this will be accordingly punished on priority and he actually turned out to be the man of his words. He also said that its difficult to retain technically sound workers here because of better job options.

The last encounter with Ace Honda was a couple of months back with regards to engine oil change. I am a maniac when it comes to the upkeep of my cars so I insisted upon using Castrol Magmatec instead of their OEM oil to which they refused after giving all types of excuses. Hence, I simply changed the outlet and till date I have not entertained any communications with them with regards to anything relating to my car.

Also, A general warning to all the guests and fellow bhpians of Noida-NCR

AVOID THE SALES EXECUTIVE BY THE NAME OF S. CHAURASIA ALWAYS.

thanks

AD

Last edited by ad3952n : 6th March 2014 at 19:30. Reason: spellcheck
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Old 7th March 2014, 03:31   #4
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Re: Ace Honda Noida: Pathetic Sales Staff & Workshop Unit.

Mod Note - Thread moved from Assembly Line to public forum. Thanks for sharing
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Old 6th September 2014, 02:28   #5
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Re: Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse

I have been dealing with Ace Honda for nearly 2 years now and always had a good experience there. Apart from the 3 months service interval for the Honda Jazz that wasn't conveyed to us while buying, there is nothing that i have a problem with from them. As an informed customer i should have checked that out myself and the Sales guy hadn't said anything about service in general i cannot blame anyone here. They got the car registered properly,correct documents,5-7L of petrol at delivery,etc.It was a pleasant experience.

After sales has also been smooth till now, they listen to my feedback,and take it into consideration. I maintain a friendly relation with my SA(i always insist on a particular SA),that may be the reason that my problems and feedback is taken into consideration. They follow service procedures,i know this because i stick around during service. Initially(for the first service) they didn't allow me to be with the car citing reasons like "Machinery hai sir,power tools hai, lag sakti hai". I insisted and he didn't stop me. They do have a pick and drop facility and other amenities like LCD TV,computer,WIFI,beverages,etc at the customer lounge though i havnt used them much.

Infact,they have exceeded my expectaions on two occasions, once i went there just for a dent removal on the front bumper and they did that free of cost.

Second time, somehow the front towing cap fell off. I pointed it out in the second service and the reply was part not in stock, and cost is around 50 for the part and Rs 50 for painting. I said okay,and part was ordered. Two days later got a call for the same. I went there and surprisingly they did it free of cost. According to me its these small things that make customers pay extra at the ASC for other jobs if small things are taken care of.

I have yet to check there technical skills as all work is related to regular service which involves mostly inspection and oil change. I hope that chance i never get.

Once i had issues with the master power window switch(driver side auto up/down functionality used to stop sometimes), i pointed it out to the dealer during routine service, he checked and said it will be replaced under warranty but will take 4-5 days for the part. So i think warranty claim is not a problem. But after the service it started working fine somehow(maybe there was dust and pressurized air did the trick) so i did not opt to get it changed since i did not want the door panel to be taken off as it may lead to rattles.

So i think they have changed, probably because now they have competition-pearl Honda and crown Honda and i think even they are good at customer satisfaction though i haven't tried any of them. But Honda's increasing sales worries me because as now they'll have more and more cars for service which might degrade service. I suggest you give them a try, and i think they were right in not changing oil apart from their OEM oil as it is what the manufacturer told them and is written in their service manuals.

Last edited by Eddy : 6th September 2014 at 10:11.
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Old 10th November 2014, 18:55   #6
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Re: Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse

A friend's City (ANHC) has its airbag light staying on. The car is currently with me since the friend is unwell, and I was looking for a reliable Honda service centre who would address the issue without trying to rip me off.

On the recommendation of a friend and Team-BHPian who works for Honda Cars, I landed up this afternoon at Ace Honda, to have the issue taken care of. I was supposed to contact the GM, Mr. Naveen Gupta, giving him the direct reference of an official from Honda Cars. A half-hour wait got me the information that Mr. Naveen Gupta was in a meeting, and I was met by Mr. Pushpender Singh, Manager - Service.

I described my problem to him - I am short on time, live across the town, and need a solution. Or I need a timeframe (x hours) by which the problem can be fixed. He tells me they need to scan for codes before they can commit, and he will therefore organize for a job card to be opened and the scanning done. Fair enough.

in a while, he comes back with a chap who is supposed to be the one who does the scanning. This person starts off with a cursory check, and tells me straightaway:

There could be so many things wrong. We'll need to check, please bring your car in the morning and leave it with us, it can even take all day. Or even 2 days.

What do you think could be wrong? Do you want to connect up your laptop and find out anything specific?

Sir, it can be the sensors, it can be the wiring, it can be a problem with your seatbelts. Scanning will only show an open circuit. We need to open and check each part.

Oh really? Just an open circuit? Who needs scanning to tell me that? And what about the clockspring?

That is not likely to be faulty. Your horn works.

Duh? A working horn automatically means the clockspring is fine?

So do you want to do the scanning now and give me an idea of what kind of time will be taken for repairs? I need to budget for that much of time.

Sir, for that you need to bring the car in the morning and leave it with us. We need to open each part and check. Your car could have been in an accident ( - I didn't know that - and nor did my friend!!) and the sensors damaged - the front bumper is repainted (sure, scratched bumpers do need repainting). Wires could have been cut by mice - the engine bay is quite dirty. We'll need to open everything...

So check what you need to right now. I have a couple of hours. This was at 3:15 PM - closing time was still a long way away.

But if the work isn't completed, we'll need to fit back everything again, and charge you double for opening and fixing it the next time.

Fine, I'll pay you twice for the same work. But why don't you check right now?

No Sir, we have heavy rush in the afternoon, please bring your car in the morning and leave it here.

This conversation wasn't getting anywhere. No job card, no scanning, as promised by the Manager-Service earier. I left.

If Ace Honda and its General Manager / Manager - Service can give the runaround to a customer referred by an official of Honda Cars, I dread to think what they do to walk-in customers without any kind of reference. After all, performing a diagnostic scan is not rocket science, nor does it take more than a few minutes. Their insistence that I leave the car for a full day to enable them to fix the issue doesn't sound good. It's like the time one reports to a doctor with a pain in the abdomen, and he asks the patient to get admitted to his hospital first, before conducting a clinical examination!

I need to find someone else to repair the airbag light problem - someone a little more honest, who doesn't want to rip me off (and rip the car apart) to diagnose a fault. Silly me, I didn't get to read this thread earlier...

Last edited by SS-Traveller : 10th November 2014 at 19:11.
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Old 16th November 2014, 02:43   #7
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Re: Ace Honda, Honda Dealership, Noida - Going from Bad to Worse

Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
I need to find someone else to repair the airbag light problem - someone a little more honest, who doesn't want to rip me off (and rip the car apart) to diagnose a fault. Silly me, I didn't get to read this thread earlier...
You can try Crown Honda. They are located around Sector 62. But what i think is, not only Ace Honda, any car or for that matter two wheeler dealer will ask you to leave your vehicle in the morning. Ive tried Bajaj, they dont even agree to changing a small part like the starter relay if i get the bike in the afternoon. I had to bring it in during the morning. At Ace Honda too, for the complimentary wash, i had to go in around 10:00AM because they would not attend to the car if i give it to them during the afternoon,even if the wash didnt take more that 3 hours. I think its how they plan their day. I do agree with you that customers should be dealt with properly whenever they want and not as per the dealers discretion. But with high workload, they have to find ways to deliver the cars that come in the morning. I suggest you fix up an appointment with the reception. Tell them what time you can come. Anyway fill the feedback form which is kept near the cash counter or online on Honda's Website.
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Old 2nd July 2015, 15:18   #8
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Experience with HONDA dealers in NCR while buying City AT (June 2015)

Just last week (on June 26, 2015), I got a new City VX AT Silver for my wife.The actual process of upgrading her Etios VX started in early June 2015 but could not progress further. This was because I was half serious from both pull side (why sell a 9,100 km 2012 Etios which was in peach condition) and also push (no City VX AT on ready delivery).

Anyway, just for a lark, I posted the Etios VX sale ad around 15-16th June 2015. By 21-22 June, 2015 had got some reliable offers but from third parties (known and unknown). I initiated a dialogue with my trusted sales head at Infinity, Gurgaon (he had sold me a Corolla from Galaxy Toyota in 2007 and a nicer person is rare to find). He told me that there was nothing available and I should wait till end-July 2015. I will not bore people here with Toyota dealers' experience. They are very keen, proactive, quick, reliable and friendly. However, Corolla was more or less out.

So this is how it went when my Infinity person told me that there was nothing for 4-7 weeks with regard to City Silver VX AT.

23-6-2015 afternoon: serially called at least 5-6 Honda dealers in NCR (mostly in central/east/south Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad). Enquired about Silver VX AT being in stock. Hit pay dirt with 3: Ring Road (North Delhi), Prime (Ghaziabad), and ACE (NOIDA). Called all and got a call back soon.

23-6-2015: ACE Honda's person landed at my place at 4pm (40 mins from my call), explained all costs, and promised a TD next day. At 6 pm, the Prime Ghaziabad person was at my home and I took a AT test drive. Ring Road Honda also promised a show/TD on 24-6-2015 morning.

24-6-15: Ring Road person backed out citing rains. Hardly justifiable as it was more a light intermittent drizzle. More likely the distance (35+ km). ACE person landed at 12 Noon and gave a TD. Very nice, courteous; and I judged him to be trustworthy and credible. Finalised sale of Etios at a price and promised a final confirmation by 24th evening/25th morn. Prime Honda also landed again at my home and finalised the same deal (sale of Etios and purchase of City). However, he was offering less for Etios and so the deal could not be finalised. Also at 3 pm, got a TD of Corolla from Uttam Toyota. This excluded Corolla completely, as the dashboard was not to my liking.

25-6-15: Finalised everything (sale, loan papers, prepayment of Etios loan) in collaboration with ACE Honda. He promised the car on 26th (instead of earlier 28th). I still confirmed this again in the evening.

26-6-15: Confirmed with ACE Honda and he said I can pick up the car post lunch. So at 110 pm, I left for home (9 km from office), picked up my wife and son in the Etios (to be delivered to ACE), and reached ACE, NOIDA at around 150 pm.

26-6-15 (2 pm to 3 pm): Everything went as expected including free cold drinks/tea/sugary coffee, and after some usual new car theatrics from the sales team, left ACE Honda at 3 PM with a new City VX Silver AT.

Overall, less than 71 hours from calling ACE Honda and taking car delivery. Guess my wife was lucky.

Last edited by vasudeva : 2nd July 2015 at 15:21.
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