[Yashodeep]

Greetings to all at Team-BHP,

This is my first post and indeed not a very pleasant one to type. I am going to keep it short, like a summary in points.

1) My father and I booked the ANHC 2009 S MT in Feb 09 at Arya Honda - Prabhadevi - Mumbai.
2) Got the delivery of the vehicle on 27th March 09 (Gudi Padwa)
3) Noticed a strange defect in the front windscreen. Could see double image, and also noticed the rear bumper was dented - right from the showroom.
4) Got the dealer to pick up the vehicle on 31st March 09
5) Wrote to the dealer and the Honda website about the problem.
6) Dealer responded in 4 days saying they will replace the screen under warranty and fix the dent in the rear bumper.
7) Vehicle was ready in 3 days. Went to take the delivery on 7th April 09.
8) To my utter shock, the left door bottom panel had three dents and minor scratches on the sides and paint chipped at the right rear corner below tail light and the dashboard was rattling from the drivers side.
9) I refused to take the delivery and asked the dealer to replace the door.
10) They called back in 2 hours and said the door has been replaced.
11) I was shocked to see that the door was really replaced because they showed me the old door removed.
12) In the meantime, I had written to Honda's Corp Comm dept. about the entire episode and demanded an explanation and possible compensation.
13) Honda has not responded till date.
14) Got in touch with Business Standard Motoring. They said I have already lost the battle as I allowed the dealer to replace the windscreen. I should have rather not accepted the vehicle and demanded a completely new vehicle.
15) Now, I have my car, the dashboard rattles a little even now. I don't know what to do.

Have I accepted a defective piece? I feel cheated even though the problem has been resolved as such. Your comments/ suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Yashodeep.

[prince_pervez]

God! This is shocking! Clearly the dealer is hiding something that happened during transit. I think you should give a tough fight for a brand new car. Use all methods possible.

[ikoneer]

You should not have taken delivery of the vehicle when you felt it had a defect in it. Please try to gather enough evidence and documentation for all your concerns and get in touch with the Honda guys. You can also try and reach the showroom head and can speak to him of your concern.

Please check and verify that your service records are not tampered are intact with the complaintst that you have mentioned only

[Jaggu]

Another one thanks to the dealer. Did you notice the distorted image through the windshield before delivery? If so you shouldnt have accepted the car.

Door replacement seems very fishy, sounds like they swaped your cars doors first, then since you caught them, replaced it back. Or some other poor souls car door has been replaced, otherwise how do you explain 2 hours for this job!

Sort out the rattle and move to another dealership, since glass and door has been sorted out you have been saved a bigger pain.

[Yashodeep]

I really don't know what's hapenning. Just spoke to the dealer. He said they are supporting me completely on this and the car is in their care taking. So I asked them to support me on replacement of the car. They could not respond to that request. But they have assured me that my car is genuine and 100% quality checked. Even though they agree that the vehicle had a defect and I deserved a full replacement.

[Jaggu]

Well my point being: for a defective glass (my manager still drives around in one such Getz) and bumper, its very unrealistic to expect a replacement in India. If it was before delivery/registration you could have requested the dealer.

If the dealer is responding positively to your request then:

Get some sort of commitment that dealer would help you if something goes wrong with the car in the next 2 years atleast (apart from regular wear and tear & service). Written commitment would be great though highly unlikely.

Based on T-BHP feedback Honda is "supposed" to be more reliable and less lemony

[asr245]

Did you write to Honda India or Honda Japan? If you haven't written to Honda Japan, maybe you should. Tell them that Honda India did not respond so you had to escalate the matter.

A colleague of mine had written to Honda India & Japan when he wasn't happy with the way they (Authorised S.S.) serviced his car. They had the service station re-service his car for free.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Another one thanks to the dealer. Did you notice the distorted image through the windshield before delivery? If so you shouldnt have accepted the car.

Door replacement seems very fishy, sounds like they swaped your cars doors first, then since you caught them, replaced it back. Or some other poor souls car door has been replaced, otherwise how do you explain 2 hours for this job!

Sort out the rattle and move to another dealership, since glass and door has been sorted out you have been saved a bigger pain.

Exactly how does a dealer keep a door in stock of a very newly launched car, that too in the same color as yours!

Theres not much you can do now honestly, sort it out in your head first. Because if you have a bitter taste in your mouth you will always feel bad driving the car, it wont just be about the cheating part. Learn your lesson and move on. This is why PDI is so important.

[A.R]

This is certainly absurd stuff from Honda.

But, when you did notice the defects before delivery, why on earth did u take the delivery? There is no point in taking delivery without appropriate inspection (basic atleast). Later no one's gonna listen to you & replacing the car is a remote possibility.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by Yashodeep

8) To my utter shock, the left door bottom panel had three dents and minor scratches on the sides and paint chipped at the right rear corner below tail light and the dashboard was rattling from the drivers side.
9) I refused to take the delivery and asked the dealer to replace the door.
10) They called back in 2 hours and said the door has been replaced.
11) I was shocked to see that the door was really replaced because they showed me the old door removed.
Yashodeep.

Yashodeep - i can't understand points 9 and 11.

you asked them to replace the door because of some dents and they did so. But why are you shocked if they did what you asked them to ?

net net - you now have a car which is perfect in all ways except the rattling with the dash board right ? isnt that something that can be fixed ? i suppose it could be because they removed it for fixing the windshield and have not refitted properly.

am i missing something here?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by narayan

Yashodeep net net - you now have a car which is perfect in all ways except the rattling with the dash board right ? isnt that something that can be fixed ? i suppose it could be because they removed it for fixing the windshield and have not refitted properly.

Why would they need to remove the dashboard to change the windshield?! I've had the windshield on my car replaced, and there was absolutely no need to remove the dashboard for that.

Yashodeep, when driving the car post the windshield change, did you make sure no wind noise is entering the car? If not, please do so.

The door seems to have been replaced from some other car in their lot in most probability.

As for the dashboard rattle, mention it to them, and see if they do help you out. Other issues being solved, and nothing looking all the more serious, try and get over it and enjoy your new car.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Yashodeep

3) Noticed a strange defect in the front windscreen...also noticed the rear bumper was dented
6) Dealer responded in 4 days saying
7) Vehicle was ready in 3 days.
8) To my utter shock, the left door bottom panel had three dents and minor scratches on the sides and paint chipped at the right rear corner below tail light and the dashboard was rattling from the drivers side.
9) I refused to take the delivery and asked the dealer to replace the door.
15) Now, I have my car, the dashboard rattles a little even now. I don't know what to do.

You should not have accepted a car with that odd windscreen. Now that you have come this far your best bet is to (a) get the car checked by a competent mechanic - like you would if you were buying a used car (b) make a list of everything found wrong with the car including the rattles, chipped rear corner below tail light etc.. and present the dealer with a comphrehensive list of complaints.

Send the same list of complaints as well as the entire story to Honda India, Honda Japan, and cc every car mag you know (ACI, BS Motoring, etc.. as well as TBHP).

When presenting your case to the public you have to be very clear, concise, and logical. Document everything and substantiate everything you document with as many photographs, dates and times of correspondance (esp all meetings in person).

[StarScream]

Apart from what Navin said, get extended warranty. Since it's probably too late to demand a replacement and the dealer has tried his best to address your complaints, extended warranty will protect you from defects for 4 years if you feel you have been handed a lemon.

[equinox22]

Coincidentally, I just got my Honda Civic windshield replaced last week. They should not have to remove the dashboard for it. They did put some special tape around the seals though which I had to keep on for 24 hours. Even I thought I heard more rattles but it was really my imagination playing games. Since most of your problems are solved, try to get your mind over it and start enjoying your new car.

[shortbread]

Yup, The dealers easily replace parts by taking it off stock cars, Worked in car sales, Been there, seen that.
Honestly expecting a replacement car is going to be a long hard uphill battle, Its for you to opt wether its worth it. From what I understand the complaints are cosmetic and not mechanical, in a way youre actually lucky there.
I think this is something the dealer/company can sort if you make enough noise. But I can understand your frustration in going through this experience when the only fault you have done is spend your money in what otherwise is a respectable brand.