Team-BHP - Decide - Is honda dealer cheating ???

Hey, Just like the heading goes -- HElp needed figuring this out !! A friend of mine in Lucknow recently had an accident in none other than the NHC , and he took it to the Honda dealer there for repairs . Dunno, the dealers name , but anyways the dealer made an estimate for about 1.3 lacs and said after insurance about 27000 wud have to be paid by my friend. My friend who is not much of a car buff looked at the estimate and almost fainted -- ;) !!

Anyways somehow he thought it was too much and decided not to get it done from there, so asked for his car back ! They asked him for 5000 bucks for making the estimate ( is that common ) and they wudn't give the car back till he paid that. A lil bit of persuasion and threats to the GM got them the car back with out paying the 5K, though they took the estimate back .

Next day he decided to drive the car to Delhi ( it was driveable as it had gotten rear ended by a jeep so no damage to the front ). He took it to the Honda workshop here and SURPRISE -- they made an estimate for 37000 and he had to pay 3K only !!! It got delivered to him yesterday and he mentioned this to me as he wanted me to get him the contact info for the senior Honda officials so that maybe he could write to them about the huge difference in their dealer pricing.

The point that I wanna clarify is wether such a difference is possible between two dealers of the same company or is it another case of a rip off ??? A difference of almost 90K is pretty huge no matter which way u look at it ... Lastly what do u think is the best thing to do now to highlight this ?? Just like the ICICI case recently, do you think writing to the Honda officials would make a difference or press coverage in Lucknow would highlight that dealers wrong doing so that people are wary of him ??

Another thing , as the estimate was taken back there is no written proof of the claim ......... !!!

Cheers

Thats blatant cheating. An estimate is exactly its name sake. An estimate. You ask for one so that you can decide wether you want to get some work done or not. Unless the dealer adequately supplies this info that he will charge for estimates too (which he will never do) they cannot ask for the same.
Its very important to write or fax the company to highlight the mis-conduct of the dealer in the said complaint. Even if nothing happens at least it will be in their information and they could reprimand him for the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaadu75

Another thing , as the estimate was taken back there is no written proof of the claim ......... !!!

Cheers

written proofs will not be required when team bhp and some automag approaches the management at honda. they are sane enough to listen. and for the sake of the question asked....that is pure murder of faith....and that is what drove your friend to pay 700 grand to essentially a stranger. ( oh yes...the seller is a stranger who can only sell with customer' faith ...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBoombastic

There is no doubt that this amounts to cheating. If you have a good lawyer you could teach them a lesson, but then, we are Indians... We whine a lot about everything and make many hot air "Bhaigiri" type threats, but never have the time or the backbone to fight for what's right and/ or to fight for a change (for the better).

Hey, Not true anymore -- see rtechs fight against ICICI insurance !!

Cheers

now i'm wondering.
1. side impact in 2001 - side impact beam, door skin changed - front side panel skin changed and rear door skin repaired. all 3 painted. 55k.
2. front right bumper took a minor hit - changed, side panel skin repaired, front straightened out (impact with a staionary bullet at abt 20kmph and slowing - had braked hard at 50ish a few metres ahead to avoid surpise moron riding onto an NH, car skidded on loose soil and poor bull guy involved in small talk beside the road stopped me) - 45k.
3. medium size dent in driver side door and a tiny one on the rear, honda's estimate 17k+, a maruti guy did it for 4.5! (alrite not a perfect job but reasonable good, and its cosmetic work in Bangalore - cannot last anyway).

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

Quote:

They asked him for 5000 bucks for making the estimate ( is that common ) and they wudn't give the car back till he paid that. A lil bit of persuasion and threats to the GM got them the car back with out paying the 5K, though they took the estimate back .

Sometimes, if you read the fine print, they state that a charge would be taken if no work is carried out after an estimate is given. However, if there is no such writing and the dealer never mentioned this to the owner at the time of making the work order, they have no right charging for it.

As far as the variation in the estimates, that is really strange. All authorised dealers would have a standard price chart with minor variations taking into account each states Octroi, taxes etc. Even labour charges would be comparable. However, as soon as dealers see that the insurance claim is going to be made, they heavily inflate the estimates in a bid to get more out of the insurance company.

however, the price difference of almost a lakh between 2 authorised dealers is far too much and the Honda HQ should definitely be made aware of this. Honda pride themselves on customer service, so they will surely not take something like this lying down.

Khaadu:

1. Firstly, put in the name of this idiot of a Honda Dealership.

2. Does your friend still have the old estimate with him?

I can understand a 10 - 15 % variation in estimates, but almost 4 Times more is highway robbery. Sadly, I dont find this surprising after my experience in Bombay with Honda Dealerships. Boy, do they know how to fleece the ignorant.

Take it up with Honda. Big Time.

GTO

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Hey, My friend doesn't have the old estimate as I mentioned earlier as they insisted he return the estimate before the handed over the car to him . I will get the Honda dealers name and put it up ....

Also does anyone have any idea as to whom the mail shud be sent stating these facts ... !!

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaadu75

wow this dealers seems to be getting up to some big time dada girri. He needs to be taken down. and quick:mad:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnu

Khaadu, this should be definitely brought to Honda's notice irrespective of wheather they take an action or not. To start with, please post a feedback about that dealer at http://whatahonda.com/contactus/feedback.asp

Cheers

hey, Thanx for the link .. I'm waiting for my friend to get home after picking up his car , as soon as he gets back I'll have the exact details and will put the complaint in .

Cheers

Well the case of ICICI bank and also how Skoda guys extimated around 1.8 lacs for damage (by Karthik) shows how the guys take your trust for granted. Even many of the Honda dealers have realised that people have blind faith in them as they tell the guys about Honda quality. Its their bad luck that they were deprived of such a huge profit. Honda company has to be made aware of this and also that we are have started discussion about there dealers quality. It will definitely make them take notice - Makers as well as dealers.

RK

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaadu75

Almost all of the dealer charges this & will be adjusted if the work was undertaken in their garage. But this is very much negotiable. I too faced similar issue's with VST Motors in Chennai & based on suggestion from Team-Bhp, I negotiated and brought that amount down. Not sure how much I bargained with them.

If you pay that Rs.5000/- or any amount you finalize after bargaining they will hand over that estimate to you. If you have got that it would be very helpful to take up the case with Honda. But at the end of the day, will HONDA accept their fault and pay this back atleast? (if not doing repairs without charging you any labour ;) )