Ichibaan HONDA tried to DUPE me!!!

Shan2nu · 18th March 2004, 15:34

BTW GTO, where is the Vtec that you sold?

Regards...
Shan2nu

RJK · 18th March 2004, 15:35

[quote]"CSI Ratings mean nothing to these guys. I have never understood why some top class nameplates fail to deliver service that should otherwise match vehicle quality. Toyota dealerships come at the bottom of a list of over 35 auto manufaturers, well below average. Honda fares only slightly better, coming just above average.
Personally, I ratify these rankings. I can't seem to get this across without generalizing and sounding damning, but these folks are quite arrogant. My experiences with Toyota, Honda and VW has never been good - to say the least. The irony is, Lexus and Acura find places at the top !"

Powerslave has made a very good point there. What i believe is that the dealers know that Toyota & Honda are very successful & established brands & that the customer has nowhere else to go but to come to him once the car has been purchased. As it is there are only two dealers of Honda in Bombay with Ichibaan having monopoly..linkway mostly caters only to the western suburbs..so there's really not much competition for them...They do know that customer has nowhere else to go..Such apalling standards they set for service !

HONDA should really take a note of this & question ichibaan about this..Also GTO u should DEMAND APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION for Cheating...

GTO · 19th March 2004, 01:43

Thanks a load, fellow team-bhpians for coming front with so much support. I really took some of your suggestions into play while negotiating with the Ichibaan Honda people. I am really really overwhelmed!

There have been some very positive developments, but I will have to let you know only once things are confirmed.

Once again, thanks a lot to you guys

GTO

Dippy · 19th March 2004, 02:28

Anytime GTO we're there with ya

Cheers

RJK · 19th March 2004, 02:56

no probs dude...

toyota · 19th March 2004, 08:00

I have already sent your mail as a chain mail , so that many people can know about ICHI - BAN !

adityapd · 19th March 2004, 13:13

I have a similar ghastly story to tell about one of the leading maruti dealers in the western suburbs by the name of Sai Service at Andheri.

I had been having insufficient cooling problems with the a/c of my 95 esteem. The gas used to run out of the system every 3 to 4 months. When i went to a local mechanic in my locality, he siad that this problem was due to some malfunction of the a/c compressor and hence the whole unit costing about Rs. 14,000 /- had to be replaced. When i retorted saying that the cost was simple too much and how could the compressor fail in such a way, he said that he had an alternative solution.

He said he could replace the old a/c compressor of my car with a brand new one for just Rs 2,500 /-. I was horrified to hear his reply when i asked him how this was possible.

He said a/c compressors of new cars were swindled from Sai Service when these cars came to the service station for routine service or for fixing some other defects and these new compressors were replaced with old ones.

The next thing i did was just moved away from that guy and have decided not to see his face again. Thanks to contacts in some other authorised garage, i was able to get my compressor overhauled for a moderate cost and its been almost 4 months now that its working absolutely fine.

The only point behind narrating this episode is just to bring to light the kind of malpractices going around some of the reputed and leading garages and hence the only way to ensure that you are not cheated during your next trip to any garage is to be physically present and see your car getting serviced in front of your eyes.

aditya

A few months ago the a/c compressor of my esteem conked off and

carthick99 · 19th March 2004, 13:52

I was just talking to someone who was mad as hell with Ichibaan. Was promised delivery of his Accord in 2 weeks - paid for it and still has'nt got an order number in 2 months! I agree - they should at least be honest - be it service or sales. *

amit · 19th March 2004, 23:10

I feel manufactureres should allow customers into the repair area when the car is being serviced. IT will go a long way in building customer satisfaction and also telll a great deal about the honesty and transparency of the company and the dealer. Sadly, no car maker/dealer allows u into the service area.:angry:

Rehaan · 20th March 2004, 07:18

Hey GTO,

I know what you are talking about man. Sadly world class companies that employ idiots are no better than the latter. Enough said.

Adityapd - "the only way to ensure that you are not cheated during your next trip to any garage is to be physically present and see your car getting serviced in front of your eyes."
Absolutely! i always stand around when i take my car in. Atleast for the diagnosis of whats wrong because that is where a majority of the ripping off can happen (ie the difference between a Rs.8 fuse and a Rs.15,000 alternator!)
Also i try to be a part of the repair process as much as possible, to the extent that sometimes i get down and dirty..or greasy rather..and i even go to opera house to buy the necessary parts for the car and then give it to the mechanic. (opera house since this is for my W123 and i also like to research everything online before any work is done since sometimes the mechanics arent familiar with certain aspects of these cars!).

However one thing mechanics are really good at is testing.
They never fail to put the car on and fall asleep in it after lunch.......while "testing" the A/C. Ofcourse this is done even when there is nothing wrong with your AC, but they are just such nice guys....

Oh...this reminds me.....i used to send my car to a very well known high-profile imported car garage that specializes in Mercs, until one day i went to pic it up (as they had kept it overnight) and there was no monogram on the front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They claimed that the car came in without one!!! I was just appaulled and gave them a talking to and then they agreed to put a new one on in 5minutes. This ofcourse took 3 hours before they could tell me that they didnt have one and to send the car the next day.
So the next day i sent the car, and only after a few days did i realise that they had replaced it with a broken monogram that never friggin stays striaght!! Everytime i see it teda i curse them. How shameless are they to steal the monogram and expect me not to notice!?!?!?!!!!

Anyway...enough ranting
cya
Rehaan

adityapd · 22nd March 2004, 15:28

Hey GTO ..so are the matters settled finally between you and Ichibaan ? btw just for info, how much had you decided to pay for the 2003 Vtec ?

cheers

aditya

Power Freak · 3rd April 2004, 14:04

This is really a shocking thing. U should write to honda about this incident & also try publish it out so that every body come to know what Ichibaan did with you:angry:

jkalyanchakravarthy · 4th April 2004, 23:02

This is outright shocking!

I mean who can u trust these days. the used car market was always a risky one but now we can't even feel safe with so called "authorised" dealers. My suggestion to all of you car buyers out there is to go in for a first hand car if possible. if a used car is a must make sure you take it from someone you know. There are always talks about being conned by unscrupulous people and they will stop at nothing. don't write them off as rumours as they are tell-tale signs of what might happen to you next. as car lovers we know how traumatising it is to be in GTO's place but not everyone does. By the way these people need to be taken to task and there are always the higher officials to help you out.

ajmat · 23rd April 2004, 21:19

Looks like you've made it on Autocar, Mr Parekh!

Shan2nu · 23rd April 2004, 21:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (ajmat @ April 24 2004,05:49)]Looks like you've made it on Autocar, Mr Parekh!

Didn't get that

18th March 2004, 15:34	#16
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	BTW GTO, where is the Vtec that you sold? Regards... Shan2nu
	() Thanks

18th March 2004, 15:35	#17
RJK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,140 Thanked: 701 Times	[quote]"CSI Ratings mean nothing to these guys. I have never understood why some top class nameplates fail to deliver service that should otherwise match vehicle quality. Toyota dealerships come at the bottom of a list of over 35 auto manufaturers, well below average. Honda fares only slightly better, coming just above average. Personally, I ratify these rankings. I can't seem to get this across without generalizing and sounding damning, but these folks are quite arrogant. My experiences with Toyota, Honda and VW has never been good - to say the least. The irony is, Lexus and Acura find places at the top !" Powerslave has made a very good point there. What i believe is that the dealers know that Toyota & Honda are very successful & established brands & that the customer has nowhere else to go but to come to him once the car has been purchased. As it is there are only two dealers of Honda in Bombay with Ichibaan having monopoly..linkway mostly caters only to the western suburbs..so there's really not much competition for them...They do know that customer has nowhere else to go..Such apalling standards they set for service ! HONDA should really take a note of this & question ichibaan about this..Also GTO u should DEMAND APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION for Cheating...
	() Thanks

19th March 2004, 01:43	#18
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,789 Times View My Garage	Thanks a load, fellow team-bhpians for coming front with so much support. I really took some of your suggestions into play while negotiating with the Ichibaan Honda people. I am really really overwhelmed! There have been some very positive developments, but I will have to let you know only once things are confirmed. Once again, thanks a lot to you guys GTO
	(1) Thanks

19th March 2004, 02:28	#19
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,561 Thanked: 2,472 Times	Anytime GTO we're there with ya Cheers
	() Thanks

19th March 2004, 02:56	#20
RJK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,140 Thanked: 701 Times	no probs dude...
	() Thanks

19th March 2004, 08:00	#21
toyota BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: bangalore Posts: 148 Thanked: 3 Times	I have already sent your mail as a chain mail , so that many people can know about ICHI - BAN !
	() Thanks

19th March 2004, 13:13	#22
adityapd BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, Philadelphia Posts: 288 Thanked: 7 Times View My Garage	I have a similar ghastly story to tell about one of the leading maruti dealers in the western suburbs by the name of Sai Service at Andheri. I had been having insufficient cooling problems with the a/c of my 95 esteem. The gas used to run out of the system every 3 to 4 months. When i went to a local mechanic in my locality, he siad that this problem was due to some malfunction of the a/c compressor and hence the whole unit costing about Rs. 14,000 /- had to be replaced. When i retorted saying that the cost was simple too much and how could the compressor fail in such a way, he said that he had an alternative solution. He said he could replace the old a/c compressor of my car with a brand new one for just Rs 2,500 /-. I was horrified to hear his reply when i asked him how this was possible. He said a/c compressors of new cars were swindled from Sai Service when these cars came to the service station for routine service or for fixing some other defects and these new compressors were replaced with old ones. The next thing i did was just moved away from that guy and have decided not to see his face again. Thanks to contacts in some other authorised garage, i was able to get my compressor overhauled for a moderate cost and its been almost 4 months now that its working absolutely fine. The only point behind narrating this episode is just to bring to light the kind of malpractices going around some of the reputed and leading garages and hence the only way to ensure that you are not cheated during your next trip to any garage is to be physically present and see your car getting serviced in front of your eyes. aditya A few months ago the a/c compressor of my esteem conked off and
	(1) Thanks

19th March 2004, 13:52	#23
carthick99 Newbie Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai , India Posts: 19 Thanked: 12 Times	I was just talking to someone who was mad as hell with Ichibaan. Was promised delivery of his Accord in 2 weeks - paid for it and still has'nt got an order number in 2 months! I agree - they should at least be honest - be it service or sales. *
	(1) Thanks

19th March 2004, 23:10	#24
amit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,717 Thanked: 449 Times	I feel manufactureres should allow customers into the repair area when the car is being serviced. IT will go a long way in building customer satisfaction and also telll a great deal about the honesty and transparency of the company and the dealer. Sadly, no car maker/dealer allows u into the service area.:angry:
	() Thanks

20th March 2004, 07:18	#25
Rehaan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 24,046 Thanked: 34,080 Times	Hey GTO, I know what you are talking about man. Sadly world class companies that employ idiots are no better than the latter. Enough said. Adityapd - "the only way to ensure that you are not cheated during your next trip to any garage is to be physically present and see your car getting serviced in front of your eyes." Absolutely! i always stand around when i take my car in. Atleast for the diagnosis of whats wrong because that is where a majority of the ripping off can happen (ie the difference between a Rs.8 fuse and a Rs.15,000 alternator!) Also i try to be a part of the repair process as much as possible, to the extent that sometimes i get down and dirty..or greasy rather..and i even go to opera house to buy the necessary parts for the car and then give it to the mechanic. (opera house since this is for my W123 and i also like to research everything online before any work is done since sometimes the mechanics arent familiar with certain aspects of these cars!). However one thing mechanics are really good at is testing. They never fail to put the car on and fall asleep in it after lunch.......while "testing" the A/C. Ofcourse this is done even when there is nothing wrong with your AC, but they are just such nice guys.... Oh...this reminds me.....i used to send my car to a very well known high-profile imported car garage that specializes in Mercs, until one day i went to pic it up (as they had kept it overnight) and there was no monogram on the front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They claimed that the car came in without one!!! I was just appaulled and gave them a talking to and then they agreed to put a new one on in 5minutes. This ofcourse took 3 hours before they could tell me that they didnt have one and to send the car the next day. So the next day i sent the car, and only after a few days did i realise that they had replaced it with a broken monogram that never friggin stays striaght!! Everytime i see it teda i curse them. How shameless are they to steal the monogram and expect me not to notice!?!?!?!!!! Anyway...enough ranting cya Rehaan
	(1) Thanks

22nd March 2004, 15:28	#26
adityapd BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, Philadelphia Posts: 288 Thanked: 7 Times View My Garage	Hey GTO ..so are the matters settled finally between you and Ichibaan ? btw just for info, how much had you decided to pay for the 2003 Vtec ? cheers aditya
	() Thanks

3rd April 2004, 14:04	#27
Power Freak BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 75 Thanked: 16 Times	This is really a shocking thing. U should write to honda about this incident & also try publish it out so that every body come to know what Ichibaan did with you:angry:
	() Thanks

4th April 2004, 23:02	#28
jkalyanchakravarthy Newbie Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India Posts: 3 Thanked: 0 Times	This is outright shocking! I mean who can u trust these days. the used car market was always a risky one but now we can't even feel safe with so called "authorised" dealers. My suggestion to all of you car buyers out there is to go in for a first hand car if possible. if a used car is a must make sure you take it from someone you know. There are always talks about being conned by unscrupulous people and they will stop at nothing. don't write them off as rumours as they are tell-tale signs of what might happen to you next. as car lovers we know how traumatising it is to be in GTO's place but not everyone does. By the way these people need to be taken to task and there are always the higher officials to help you out.
	() Thanks

23rd April 2004, 21:19	#29
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,866 Thanked: 27,981 Times View My Garage	Looks like you've made it on Autocar, Mr Parekh!
	() Thanks