Decide - Is honda dealer cheating ???

Neo. · 21st January 2006, 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenx

How trustworthy are Honda dealerships ? I'm probably not buying another Honda - sad - cause its a terriffic car but let down by dealerships which assume I'm one of them super rich blokes

On the contrary i have been happy with the honda dealers in Bangalore both Whitefield and Dakshin Honda. They have always charged reasonably and i am pretty much happy with not just service but even with a few minor accident repairs. Trust me it was by no means exorbitant, even though i presumed it would be expensive. I have to say it has been pretty pleasant dealing with them for the last 4 years.

kvish · 22nd January 2006, 00:12

This is usual gimmick by All service centers. (however, Honda seems to have crossed the limits here!

). Whenever, you say, you will claim by insurance, automatically, they start quoting everything under the sun in the estimate. They will say "Saar, 90% will be given by insurance company".

I think its better to tell them that you will be paying the bill and not the insurance company, they will be bit more honest in their quotes.

adya33 · 22nd January 2006, 01:02

In Pune I have had good experience with Honda dealer.

And difference of almost 1 Lakh is surely dealer trying to take advantage
and people please it was not Honda who were cheating it was Honda Dealer

srasania · 22nd January 2006, 03:08

Dude,email/call HSCI,Noida and inform Customer Relations about all this mess..that's the only way in which the dealer will be contacted by Honda and will clear out why such happened.
If you need emails/contact nos/names of head people at Honda,feel free to PM me,and I'll provide them.

cheers,
-sr

Surya · 22nd January 2006, 05:12

God damn these guys..
I would consider this to be improfessional behaviour from the dealer rather than blaming honda.

If this guy had joined Maruti, Do you guys think he would have behaved differently??

Surya

narasimha raju · 22nd January 2006, 05:51

As GTO suggested, please provide Honda dealer name to Team Bhpians. Also take the Honda contact info from Srasania and contact the Honda directly.

Insane Devil · 23rd January 2006, 17:06

A few months back, one of our Staff member's Santro had toppled. We gave it to the Dealer's workshop and he gave me the quotation, and yes, the Estimation Charges of Rs.5,000/- were charged.

The Insurance company wudnt pay the full repaires.around 60,000, and the Workshop guy recommended us to tell the Insurance guys to mark it Total Loss and hence they gave us the 60,000 as cash, and then the Insurance is over with. and we got it done outside. So in this case i had to pay the Rs.5,000/- as Estimation... (It was quoted as 5,000 but bargained it to 3,000/-)

Hence proving the point that the so called "Estimation Charges" are applied. now i dont know if it applies even if the Work is done from them or not...

Regarding the Cheating by the Lucknow Dealer.... well report to the HONDA Authorities, and have them pull out the Estimation he made, and then u can make a scrutiny on it.... In the latest Rendezvous (honda) magazine i received, they mentioned the Honda One2One Customer support, the no. is 1600-113-121, or 011-39898918

khaadu75 · 24th January 2006, 09:27

Guys, Havn't been online for much in the past few days so havn't been able to post the latest on this issue.

My friend finally got his car back after full repairs on Sunday afternoon. His final bill was Rs 47,000 of which he had to shell out 7k, whereas at the Lucknow dealership he was given an estimate of Rs 1,30,000 and he wud have had to pay 25K-30K from his pocket as well as give an advance payment of 50K for them to start work !!!

I asked my friend as to what made him refuse the repair of the car at that dealership and instead send it to delhi for repairs and he said it was thanx to the surveyor. Basically the surveyor on seeing the estimate outrightly said to them that the insurance company is not gonna pay for most of this and that its an over inflated estimate and also that they will claim that the part needs replacement -- will dent/paint it and claim they have put a new piece in. So that made them a lil suspicious and they decided to send it not realising that it wud be such a gud move !!

As for the status of the complaint ... He doesn't have the original estimate like I mentioned earlier but he's gone back to Lucknow yesterday and will try and get in touch with the surveyor and see if he has a copy of it !! Incase he does get hold of that his case becomes water tight and he will again mail to Honda India with proof but he anyways has sent a mail to a few people allready about this issue.

Lets see how Honda responds, and I'll keep you guys posted about the end to this BLATANT CHEATING episode !!

Cheers

LandCruiser · 5th February 2006, 00:43

I think most dealers try to make up for the discounts they give during vehicle purchase. Not only honday but others also.

My experience with my santro is that of late KUN Hyundai in chennai is trying to take maximum money possible for service.

Rarely i go and drop the vehicle myself. I ask them to pick it up from home or office. During such times they call me up and give some weird terms and say this or that has to be replaced and give an estimate around 8k-10k everytime.

Sometime back i felt some wobbling effect on the steering and doubted that some problem with the wheels or suspension. But they said they have adjusted some bearings and it is fine.

But recently when i sent it for regular service, they said some ball joint has ot be replaced for 5k. i said dont replace anything just do the service and give to me.

In this last one year i have spent nearly 25k on service for santro. i feel it is on the higher side. I even doubt if they setup some kind of problems so that next time the vechicle will return to them soon.

These are the list of problems faced by me or discovered by KUN this year.

1. Fan belt changed
2. De carbonization (some 2k for this)
3. AC coolant drained
4. Battery out (twice)
5. Clutch plate & assembly changed
6. Spark plugs changed on all cylinders
7. 1 Tyre and tube changed
8. Brake pads
9. Some mechanicals in the steering
10. Air flow thru the vents even when AC/fan is not on (not solved)

pmbabu · 5th February 2006, 14:19

25K per year for Santro is just too much. I had a '02 Santro for 3+ years (for the 1st 2 years, I had a driver) and never exceeded 2.5K per paid service. I wonder if I would have spent even 20K in total for all the 3 years (any new accessories excluded). I too went for pick-up and drop services a couple of times but never faced such issues. Next time, change the service station and see.

22nd January 2006, 00:12	#17
kvish BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 627 Thanked: 195 Times	This is usual gimmick by All service centers. (however, Honda seems to have crossed the limits here! ). Whenever, you say, you will claim by insurance, automatically, they start quoting everything under the sun in the estimate. They will say "Saar, 90% will be given by insurance company". I think its better to tell them that you will be paying the bill and not the insurance company, they will be bit more honest in their quotes.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2006, 01:02	#18
adya33 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 1,839 Thanked: 183 Times	In Pune I have had good experience with Honda dealer. And difference of almost 1 Lakh is surely dealer trying to take advantage and people please it was not Honda who were cheating it was Honda Dealer
	() Thanks

22nd January 2006, 03:08	#19
srasania BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Orlando, FL, USA Posts: 321 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Dude,email/call HSCI,Noida and inform Customer Relations about all this mess..that's the only way in which the dealer will be contacted by Honda and will clear out why such happened. If you need emails/contact nos/names of head people at Honda,feel free to PM me,and I'll provide them. cheers, -sr
	() Thanks

22nd January 2006, 05:12	#20
Surya BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai. Now in BlueBell, PA, USA Posts: 49 Thanked: 0 Times	God damn these guys.. I would consider this to be improfessional behaviour from the dealer rather than blaming honda. If this guy had joined Maruti, Do you guys think he would have behaved differently?? Surya
	() Thanks

22nd January 2006, 05:51	#21
narasimha raju BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 128 Thanked: 54 Times	As GTO suggested, please provide Honda dealer name to Team Bhpians. Also take the Honda contact info from Srasania and contact the Honda directly.
	() Thanks

23rd January 2006, 17:06	#22
Insane Devil BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 987 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	A few months back, one of our Staff member's Santro had toppled. We gave it to the Dealer's workshop and he gave me the quotation, and yes, the Estimation Charges of Rs.5,000/- were charged. The Insurance company wudnt pay the full repaires.around 60,000, and the Workshop guy recommended us to tell the Insurance guys to mark it Total Loss and hence they gave us the 60,000 as cash, and then the Insurance is over with. and we got it done outside. So in this case i had to pay the Rs.5,000/- as Estimation... (It was quoted as 5,000 but bargained it to 3,000/-) Hence proving the point that the so called "Estimation Charges" are applied. now i dont know if it applies even if the Work is done from them or not... Regarding the Cheating by the Lucknow Dealer.... well report to the HONDA Authorities, and have them pull out the Estimation he made, and then u can make a scrutiny on it.... In the latest Rendezvous (honda) magazine i received, they mentioned the Honda One2One Customer support, the no. is 1600-113-121, or 011-39898918
	() Thanks

24th January 2006, 09:27	#23
khaadu75 BANNED Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: same as the proposed venue for F1 ;-) Posts: 1,156 Thanked: 16 Times View My Garage	Guys, Havn't been online for much in the past few days so havn't been able to post the latest on this issue. My friend finally got his car back after full repairs on Sunday afternoon. His final bill was Rs 47,000 of which he had to shell out 7k, whereas at the Lucknow dealership he was given an estimate of Rs 1,30,000 and he wud have had to pay 25K-30K from his pocket as well as give an advance payment of 50K for them to start work !!! I asked my friend as to what made him refuse the repair of the car at that dealership and instead send it to delhi for repairs and he said it was thanx to the surveyor. Basically the surveyor on seeing the estimate outrightly said to them that the insurance company is not gonna pay for most of this and that its an over inflated estimate and also that they will claim that the part needs replacement -- will dent/paint it and claim they have put a new piece in. So that made them a lil suspicious and they decided to send it not realising that it wud be such a gud move !! As for the status of the complaint ... He doesn't have the original estimate like I mentioned earlier but he's gone back to Lucknow yesterday and will try and get in touch with the surveyor and see if he has a copy of it !! Incase he does get hold of that his case becomes water tight and he will again mail to Honda India with proof but he anyways has sent a mail to a few people allready about this issue. Lets see how Honda responds, and I'll keep you guys posted about the end to this BLATANT CHEATING episode !! Cheers
	() Thanks

5th February 2006, 00:43	#24
LandCruiser BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 712 Thanked: 51 Times View My Garage	I think most dealers try to make up for the discounts they give during vehicle purchase. Not only honday but others also. My experience with my santro is that of late KUN Hyundai in chennai is trying to take maximum money possible for service. Rarely i go and drop the vehicle myself. I ask them to pick it up from home or office. During such times they call me up and give some weird terms and say this or that has to be replaced and give an estimate around 8k-10k everytime. Sometime back i felt some wobbling effect on the steering and doubted that some problem with the wheels or suspension. But they said they have adjusted some bearings and it is fine. But recently when i sent it for regular service, they said some ball joint has ot be replaced for 5k. i said dont replace anything just do the service and give to me. In this last one year i have spent nearly 25k on service for santro. i feel it is on the higher side. I even doubt if they setup some kind of problems so that next time the vechicle will return to them soon. These are the list of problems faced by me or discovered by KUN this year. 1. Fan belt changed 2. De carbonization (some 2k for this) 3. AC coolant drained 4. Battery out (twice) 5. Clutch plate & assembly changed 6. Spark plugs changed on all cylinders 7. 1 Tyre and tube changed 8. Brake pads 9. Some mechanicals in the steering 10. Air flow thru the vents even when AC/fan is not on (not solved)
	() Thanks

5th February 2006, 14:19	#25
pmbabu BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: On The Net Posts: 335 Thanked: 47 Times	25K per year for Santro is just too much. I had a '02 Santro for 3+ years (for the 1st 2 years, I had a driver) and never exceeded 2.5K per paid service. I wonder if I would have spent even 20K in total for all the 3 years (any new accessories excluded). I too went for pick-up and drop services a couple of times but never faced such issues. Next time, change the service station and see.
	() Thanks