[bhavik.1991]

Originally Posted by vishy76

Wow! A new low for Honda dealerships as well. BTW, here's what I think VW adds as an extra in their service bills:

- A/C Disinfectant - Don't know if other manufacturers resort to this but VW charges 900+ for this job, which only involves spraying a can of foaming agent into the vents. Funny thing is that the can itself costs Rs. 900 or less on Amazon

- Lock cylinder lubrication- Another daylight robbery. 800+ for this job. Again, spraying a can of lubricant into the door locks. Not needed at all as far as the system works fine

Apart from these two cheap tricks, they do charge a bomb for wheel alignment and balancing as well, which I think is common across all service centres. They are not as greedy with the car wash though and only recommend changes to be done at the bottom of the bill. They don't actually change it without consent.

Don't know how much they charge for diagnostics. Had been to them once when the airbag light on my Jetta came on when I inadvertently disconnected the airbag light, but they cleared the error for free. Another issue with a stubborn electrically folding door mirror was also diagnosed free of cost.

Looks like I should be satisfied as a VW owner, at least for now.

I have had similar experience with VW Automark, Ahmedabad. They once charged me for A/C Disinfectant & Lock cylinder lubrication without the consent. When I confronted, they immediately deducted the amounts from the bill. They also fix minor issues for free.

However my experience with Kiran Motors, Ahmedabad (MASS) has always been horrible for past 7 years. They ripped us off during 8 services of Dzire [2010-2016, services upto 60k kms]. I wasn't a member of TBhp member then & services were mostly handled by dad. I just came across those invoices a few days ago & now I realize how naive I was then & they looted us as much as they could.
Heck, they charged approx 130 bucks for windshield cleaner: Unit price ~13 INR, Quanity 10!!!!!

I just got my Brezza back from 20K service & they charged some amount for lubrication in the invoice. I confronted SA & he said that it is a standard procedure recommended by MSIL. I asked him to show it in the owner's/service manual & he was like "Saar, agar aap company k hisab se service karvaonge to 5 saal me apki gadi khatara banke road k side me khadi hogi!!!!" (Sir, if you follow MSIL recommendation, your car would be stranded & rusting in 5 years). That was extremely offensive & unprofessional. I have given up on that dealership after escalating multiple matters to the service manager multiple times without any positive result. I will give some other dealership or an FNG a try during my next service.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by abhinavb

This thread has really been an eyeopener.

Glad it helped, that is precisely why I started this thread.
..

Originally Posted by abhinavb

What can be a solution to this problem? An average person like me who does not have too much knowledge on the maintenance required for keeping a car in prime condition will generally depend on the so thought "reliable" SA, who have been plainly misleading the customer.

That is something even my friend is waiting to hear from Honda.

Do you guys feel a group of owners (who have suffered this already) speaking to Honda about it, will be better?
In such a case, I will share my friend's contact details and all of you can have a chat together, with someone at Honda (if they care, that is).

[drmohitg]

This is commonplace now across all brands. I was happy that Toyota was still not resorting to such shoddy practices but during my last service even they have started recommending on additional useless stuff which is not required as per the booklet. But still the SA at Toyota was least pushy.

My best experience was at Hyundai while getting my i10 AT serviced. On striking off all the extras and cancelling the suggestion of synthetic oil in favour of mineral oil, the SA first tried to persuade me to opt for synthetic. After failing to influence me, he came out with a brilliant suggestion: Sir atleast let me put half synthetic and half mineral and then we will have semi-synthetic and that is also better than plain mineral oil. Now what do you call such people? Scamsters is too mild a word for such people.

[Turbohead]

I personally feel it's not so bad paying a small premium for those 'add-ons'. I'd rather do unnecessary items worth ₹500 to ₹1000 rather than leaving my car with an infuriated SA!

With an infuriated SA, what guarantee do you have that the SA hasn't messed with your car? Has he really changed the engine oil? Did he reallyly check the brake pads? I'm pretty sure giving him some room will avoid such scary practices unless it's the dealership norm.

Getting the car serviced is more than just leaving your car at the SC- it's more about building a relationship with the people involved. Easier said than done!

[//HB]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I personally feel it's not so bad paying a small premium for those 'add-ons'. I'd rather do unnecessary items worth ₹500 to ₹1000 rather than leaving my car with an infuriated SA!

Great! The next time you go shopping, please do also ask the shopkeeper to add a few items to your bill and them let him keep those items with your compliments.
Why hand over your vehicle to a person you clearly perceive is a threat to your vehicle ? Or even to continue by your logic, just give him a "shagun envelope" each time you leave your car at his mercy.

[Intelsingh]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

:

UPDATE:
Meanwhile, Samara Automax Honda wants my friend to take this thread down with a petty return of 3-4k as a "resolution". Thoughts welcome.

Wow! This seems to be turning into a mafia film of sorts. I hope your friend takes this issue along with the resolution tactics to Honda management in some way.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by //HB

Great! The next time you go shopping, please do also ask the shopkeeper to add a few items to your bill and them let him keep those items with your compliments.
Why hand over your vehicle to a person you clearly perceive is a threat to your vehicle ? Or even to continue by your logic, just give him a "shagun envelope" each time you leave your car at his mercy.

Quoting my post from a different thread

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I'm surprised there isn't any usual VW/Skoda bashing going on!

Anyway, for the 45k service at VW ABRA here in Chennai, we told the SA that any unnecessary items, like AC disinfectant, wouldn't be tolerated. That pissed off the SA!

Later in the evening, when we had gone to collect the car, the bill was only 11k( the lowest so far). We were quite pleased until we saw the recommended work in the job sheet: Change alternator belt and tensioner-RS 7000, change brake pads, change rear suspension bush.

He insisted that we had to change the belt and tensioner because there was some 'sound' coming from the engine bay. We weren't sure of the diagnosis and ignored it anyway since such replacements were never reported in the Vento thread, ever.

Surprise! Once the engine was warmed up, there used to be some vibrations-minor but very annoying! We were perplexed and in two minds whether to go ahead with the replacement. On our trip to Kerala, we showed the car to the SC there and they had a totally different diagnosis- something in the gearbox, which they said wasn't worth working on as it involved a lot of labour! The brake pads were changed there as it was definitely due!

Later I came to the conclusion that the vibrations were caused because the RPM dipped below 800 after warming up!

Soon, ABRA motors came up with a fancy offer for which their customers can avail lots of discounts ,offers, free car washes etc for Rs 1000! My dad went for it as we were happy with them anyway! I went for the 'free car wash and checkup' offer and told the SA, who happened to be very friendly, about the vibrations and told him about my assumptions!

He returned the car after a few hours and said there wan't any problem! Although I was slightly disappointed initially, the vibrations had vanished for good! And I still don't know what they did!

One thing I did learn was that befriending your SA and the head of the service centre is critical for a peaceful car ownership!

It could have been way worse. Believe me, I got the same SA for the 60k service and he did an excellent job. The difference was we didn't tell him about anything in the beginning. We shot down all the unnecessary items after completion of work. You don't necessarily have to throw off money either.

[su1978]

Originally Posted by //HB

Great! The next time you go shopping, please do also ask the shopkeeper to add a few items to your bill and them let him keep those items with your compliments.
Why hand over your vehicle to a person you clearly perceive is a threat to your vehicle ? Or even to continue by your logic, just give him a "shagun envelope" each time you leave your car at his mercy.

This is one of the best replies that i have heard for a long long time. Same goes for for me also, i can spend a good fortune for what i want. But not at the hands of an unscrupulous Service Advisor. When i was being forced to get my silencer cleaned, i ensured that i directly call up Honda after denying the stealership for any such work. I trust that Honda as such does not promote all these mis-doings. But the dealership think it as an easy way to make money through unsuspecting customers.

In-fact, yesterday itself, there was lady who wanted to get her Brio serviced and the dealership-Classic Honda, asked her to get the wheel-alignment and balancing done for which labor cost was 1200+taxes. Weight to be charged extra. Whereas i get the same done from outside and the maximum that i have paid is 654 rupees(wheel alignment, balancing & tyre rotation and free additional nitrogen filling every-time he does it).

When i went to the dealership last time(for 40000 kms service), the same SA who attended me this time told me that the brake pads need replacement. Yesterday, when i was getting the car serviced at 50000 kilometers, i asked another mechanic if the brake pads are OK. He replied saying that the brake pads are as good as new and there is no issue at all. I made it a point to call the Advisor and told him about it. Post that he started giving all sort of excuses and said that it is a point of view of the mechanics who attend to your vehicle. . I fail to understand that if same training is given to all the shop floor mechanics, how can one mechanic say something else and the other one say something else.

Also i had fixed in Bosch soft wipers in my car. The SA was adamantly asking that why did i get those? These will void my warranty. I gave the advisor a very stern warning and told him that he should do his job and not tell me what to do and what not to do. Also asked him to explain the difference between them as the originals were also from Bosch and the replaced are also from Bosch. told him that i have paid a million rupees for my car and i am not a novice that i do not understand anything. Then called up the customer care head of the dealership and informed her about it. Also i make it a point that during service, i am with my vehicle all the time whether by choice or by force.

[low_rider]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I personally feel it's not so bad paying a small premium for those 'add-ons'. I'd rather do unnecessary items worth ₹500 to ₹1000 rather than leaving my car with an infuriated SA!

I also mostly allow the SA to earn some incentive from these services, but I usually take some wax and shine sort of treatments and contain the damages within Rs 1000 ~ 1200.
However, I don't do this for the fear of SA's anger, but to let the guy earn some incentive and be happy. I have seen most of the SAs (atleast in Maruti and Tata) overworked and underpaid. I try to think of it mostly as a "tip".

[autobahnjpr]

Today I got little amused when I got the car back from servicing. There are things like

• auto pest control
• rodent repellant
• motor care treatment
• silencer coating treatement
• ac cleaner and disinfectant

Of course, dealers try to pad the bill a little but this time it was a little much I think. Why would you coat the silencer and then do motor care treatment separately? Is AC cleaning and disinfectant really required?

I think it is time I pay more attention now onwards to the service bill and keep a tab of what they are replacing each time.

[CarJunki]

Stealership indeed. For my Brio-AT (2016 model), last year the windscreen spray motor went bad and stopped functioning. Car is under warranty, and it took a lot of effort in getting Honda ASS to agree for replacement under warranty. At one point the workshop actually recommended me to get the job done from outside.

At the same workshop they replaced RHS mirror under warranty for motor failure without any fuss.

As recently as Dec-2017, they tried selling me battery replacement for a perfectly working battery which i refused.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by bhavik.1991

I just got my Brezza back from 20K service & they charged some amount for lubrication in the invoice. I confronted SA & he said that it is a standard procedure recommended by MSIL. I asked him to show it in the owner's/service manual & he was like "Saar, agar aap company k hisab se service karvaonge to 5 saal me apki gadi khatara banke road k side me khadi hogi!!!!" (Sir, if you follow MSIL recommendation, your car would be stranded & rusting in 5 years). That was extremely offensive & unprofessional.

That's horrible.

I have given up on that dealership after escalating multiple matters to the service manager multiple times without any positive result. I will give some other dealership or an FNG a try during my next service.

You should try a MASS this time, preferably A category one. Dealer owned workshops are notorious for bill inflation.

For more details: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...workshops.html

Regards,
Shashi

[car-dent]

My experience at Kashyap Fiat Noida.

One fine morning my radiator fan started making some noise. The fan was loose and was getting stuck to the radiator and thus the noise. After some time the noise stopped and so did the fan.

I somehow took the car to the fiat authorized service center. The service advisor had a look and advised that I will need to change the whole fan assembly as it is broken and will cost approx 14000rs. I asked him to check it whether it can be repaired or only the fan may be replaced as the motor was fine. He said, no it only comes as a whole assembly. I had no choice, so reluctantly agreed.

They took my car inside and removed the old fan assembly and started putting a new one.
After some time, I went inside to check on them and asked for my old assembly. They had already removed it from the scene. It wasn't near my car. Someone had already taken it away. I asked them to give it to me. They said they have thrown it in the junk as it was a waste.
I told them that I wasn't going to pay for the new one unless I got my old part back as it was my property and however useless it may be, they have no right to discard it. Then someone brought it back from where it was carefully hidden behind another car.

I kept it in my car boot. The mechanics there were visibly disappointed with that.
By then the car had been repaired, old part kept in the boot, they took my car for cleaning and ready for delivery.
Just before I was about to pay the bill, I just felt something was not right.

So before paying, I asked the service advisor to show me the old part and tell me what was the problem in that.
When I asked him to show me the problem, The advisor said, the fan had broken. I checked the fan, I couldn't find anything broken. He surely didn't look too happy with that.
He tried to throw some more shit to me that the screw threads are damaged and the motor is damaged. I asked him to check it in front of me. The motor worked fine. The threads were fine, the fan fitted properly over the motor and had no apparent problem.

Only one part was missing. The nut which connects the fan to motor. Probably it must have gotten loose and fallen off somewhere.

I went to the manager and told him all that happened. Even after that, the supervisor kept trying to convince me that the motor is weak and will fail in few days and that they don't have any screw in stock as it is not available separately and I need to buy the whole assembly only.

Now I sure wasn't going to buy any of their nonsense. I told him to just put back the old fan assembly in my car. The manager told them to put a screw and fit it back. Then within a minute, they were able to find a nut and fit it back in my car. I was just too happy to have marginally escaped from a scam trap.

it has been almost a year and its been working perfectly.

The moral of the story is: Never believe what the service advisors tell you. Keep yourself aware of things and be vigilant.

[W.A.G.7]

Eye opener thread! The moral of this story is - find your own garage whom you trust and service the car only with the garage. For me, I get my Micra serviced at Tune Up plus in Pune, and I now trust him more than the authorized dealer.

It seems everyone is now out to make a quick buck, no one is really bothered to actually find out the root cause of the problem and gain a valuable learning experience in the process. Plus these days, the onus has shifted from repairing a part, to directly replacing it; irrespective of whether the part can be repaired or not!

[bhavik.1991]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

That's horrible.



You should try a MASS this time, preferably A category one. Dealer owned workshops are notorious for bill inflation.

For more details: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...workshops.html

Regards,
Shashi

I went through the thread. An extremely useful one. Thanks.

Do you know where can I find info about MASS in my city & their category? I briefly checked official MSIL website but couldn't find it.