[ZeroThoughts]

I have just got the second service done for my City AT.

At the time of giving the car for servicing I had made it clear that they should put 'Mineral' oil although the SA kept pushing for the 'Synthetic' oil. I got it mentioned on the job card and got the estimate made accordingly.

When I went to pick up the car I was handed a bill for Rs. 2200 odd because it mentioned the use of 'Synthetic' oil. I called the SA and showed him the job card copy and told him that I will not pay the high cost. He immediatelly took the bill and after about 10-15 minutes produced another bill for Rs. 900/= odd for the 'Mineral' oil.

I paid and left but have been left wondering as to what is really going on behind the scene?
Were they trying to make a fast buck?
or
Are they so customer focussed that they acknowledged their mistake and decided to correct it and bear the losses?

Is there any way in which I can determine the type of oil used, although I have driven around the car for a few days?

I also want some suggestions for a reliable Honda Service Centre in Delhi / NOIDA area as I am not inclined to go back to this dealer at least.
I stay in Delhi but commute daily to NOIDA for work.

[echo77]

Is there any way to know then and there (before taking delivery) what kind of oil they have used? This is in case mineral oil is used even though synthetic oil is billed for.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ZeroThoughts

When I went to pick up the car I was handed a bill for Rs. 2200 odd because it mentioned the use of 'Synthetic' oil. I called the SA and showed him the job card copy and told him that I will not pay the high cost. He immediatelly took the bill and after about 10-15 minutes produced another bill for Rs. 900/= odd for the 'Mineral' oil.

Shocking! Either you or the dealership's owner has been cheated.

My guess is, its the latter. Very easy for the Service Advisor to get away with supplying synthetic oil at the cost of mineral.

[raghav.carfreak]

Even I got billed the same amount, the difference being I didn't specify synthetic or mineral. And it was pick up-drop service, I don't mind it being synthetic, because it was the second service of the Civic(07 model), 11k done. The car isn't used much. But the bill came upto 3.7k which includes 2200 odd change for the oil, 350 for pick up/drop and the rest for regular servicing. Car came back yesterday havn't got a chance to drive it yet, But no way to tell right?(i gave the car with 2 bars of fuel remaining to them) and they gave me a receipt of 500rupees of fuel=8.6litres but it still showing 3bars of fuel left.(this was besides the actual service bill) If the service centre is about 15-20km from my house,and they probably did test drive it around. should I smell something fishy here or should i give them the benefit of the doubt?
the only reason i gave it so far was because I had changed the 02 sensor around the 8000km mark and the yellow MIL light was glowing again, next time i plan to try a service centre closer to my place
If my dad hasn't taken the bill to the office, ill update the grade of oil used if it helps!

[Gilead]

Synthetic typically costs Rs. 1000 a liter. Does the city take only 2 litres of oil? That sounds rather low to me.

[Sn1p3r]

RR Honda service is bad in Gurgaon. Can someone also help me with experience with Pearl Honda? Thanks!

[spadix]

I had a similar experience with my Honda Civic's 1st servicing at Pride Honda Hyderabad.

I requested for under-body anti-rust treatment. I was initially quoted 3800 + tax (10.3%) and was told it'll come with 5-year warranty. This is apparently a 3M job although I wouldn't get any receipt on the 3M letterhead (which was strange because I did get a 3M letterhead receipt when I got 3M detailing done for my bike at a Bajaj A. S. S.).

*After* the work was done I was presented a bill of 4800 + tax. The reason given was that the SA mistook my car for a City! This was after he'd physically seen/inspected the car and prepared a job card.

After some fighting the service manager agreed to waive INR 500 off the post-tax price. I told him that's not enough and I wouldn't even have considered the job if I knew it would cost me above INR 5000. This didn't work so I ultimately had to pay INR (4800*1.103 - 500).

By the way this is not the first time Pride has done this. Before I booked the car I was promised a corporate discount of INR 7500. After booking and invoicing I was told it's actually INR 5000 because the sales consultant forgot to check the latest corporate tiering!

So this lack of going by a checklist of procedures (which could've eliminated both problems) seems to be endemic to Pride Honda. Sundaram Honda on the other hand always maintained that the corporate discount was INR 5000 only.

I think these sorts of problems are dealer-specific rather than Honda specific. However I just wish Honda India is more proactive while listening to our complaints. That doesn't seem to be the case, considering the number and frequency of complaints people have with Honda service.

Regards,
spadix

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by ZeroThoughts

He immediatelly took the bill and after about 10-15 minutes produced another bill for Rs. 900/= odd for the 'Mineral' oil.

I paid and left but have been left wondering as to what is really going on behind the scene?
Were they trying to make a fast buck?
or
Are they so customer focussed that they acknowledged their mistake and decided to correct it and bear the losses?

Is there any way in which I can determine the type of oil used, although I have driven around the car for a few days?

If he reduced the oil change charge from 2K to Rs 900 in a matter of 15 minutes I think there was mineral oil filled in your car. I am not one of those who believes in Honda dealers given my experiences with the local setup with my OHC - II back in the early 2000s.

No, you cannot make out synth from mineral unless Honda uses different colouring to tell em apart. For e.g. Toyota's OEM mineral is light blue and the OEM synthetic is golden yellow like most other oils. Both are brews by Idemitsu/Savita Chemicals.

Just be careful...caveat emptor applies to all auto dealerships including Toyota's dealers who are miles ahead of most other mfrs' dealers in this country.

[ZeroThoughts]

Originally Posted by GTO

Shocking! Either you or the dealership's owner has been cheated.
.

I was lucky that it was not me as I only paid for the mineral oil cost. I am sure even the owner did not lose any money, it appears as a scam to take customer for a ride by charging for synthetic but putting mineral as the oil anyway is required to be replaced every 6 months to maintain the warranty.

Originally Posted by R2D2

If he reduced the oil change charge from 2K to Rs 900 in a matter of 15 minutes I think there was mineral oil filled in your car.

Just be careful...caveat emptor applies to all auto dealerships including Toyota's dealers who are miles ahead of most other mfrs' dealers in this country.

Agreed. Even I feel that it was an attempt to cheat rather than make a correction.

Thanks to all for their responses. But am surprised that not a single Honda owner in Delhi/ NCR region has come up with any suggestions regarding a decent service outlet for Honda servicing.

[Sn1p3r]

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

RR Honda service is bad in Gurgaon. Can someone also help me with experience with Pearl Honda? Thanks!

Hi could Honda customers guide me with their preference of service stations. Thank you!