Honda dealer's service - not good anymore

[ms700]

BTW...I too was charged to have the tyres rotated and balanced

The tyres are rotated as part of the service, no extra charge there, balancing of the back wheels which then become the fronts would cost approx $20. Id say thats what you paid for.

[Euro08Jaz]

Im pretty sure the stamps due increase value after they finished valuing my VW they put on an extra grand when i told them my books were up to date and dealer serviced.

[EUR003act]

Im pretty sure the stamps due increase value after they finished valuing my VW they put on an extra grand when i told them my books were up to date and dealer serviced.

people are more willing to buy a car thats been serviced by the manufacturer... so theyll pay more to get it, which is why places increase the value...

[SPQR]

i work in a dealership and recently worked at a regular non-dealership mechanic i reckon taking a car to a dealership is alot better out the back we do alot more than a regular mechanic does, we have access to special tools and also dedicated scan tools which makes fault finding alot quicker and easier not to mention we are used to getting certain types of cars which means we work quicker and know common faults with vehicles. though if you own an old crap heap take it to a regular mechanic

I generally agree but I think your last sentence makes it sound as if you guys don't wish to take-on cars with challenging mechanical problems.

[ozgordon]

The tyres are rotated as part of the service, no extra charge there, balancing of the back wheels which then become the fronts would cost approx $20. Id say thats what you paid for.

Try $40.00, thats what they added to the bill

[brett2372]

I've had my Honda CRV purchased in 2005 since new from Pickerings in Townsville Qld. Regardless of their overheads, rent, amount of staff etc ! You are the one paying for a service. You expect it to be a pleasant experience and not an uphill battle to simply get a scheduled book service completed. You do not expect the dealer to skimp out of warranty claims, the normal excuse is that it was "fair wear and tear" on a low kilometre vehicle.
Also you do not expect to be addressed as if you are a pain the arse when something occurs with your vehicle !
This dealer has displayed these attributes at all times since we have had the vehicle, it also doesn't help that they are the Honda monopoly in town.
Needless to say once it is time to get rid of the vehicle I will not be lining up for Honda again. P.S. Hyundai customers at the same dealership get better treatment and facilities than a Honda customer or VW customer.

[TheSaint]

i made freinds with the service guy at my local dealership - got all my consumables and parts for just above trade price
they also did some light maintenance stuff for me for free and servicing wasnt bad at all

i think it all depends on where and who you take the car to

that guy is no longer with that dealership - so i dont get good prices or good customer service anymore as they replaced him with a 16yr old girl that doesnt know the difference between a pencil and a camshaft
i asked for a part for my civic and she asked me if it was a honda or a kia ... facepalm

[CU2 Euro 09]

I've had my Honda CRV purchased in 2005 since new from Pickerings in Townsville Qld. Regardless of their overheads, rent, amount of staff etc ! You are the one paying for a service. You expect it to be a pleasant experience and not an uphill battle to simply get a scheduled book service completed. You do not expect the dealer to skimp out of warranty claims, the normal excuse is that it was "fair wear and tear" on a low kilometre vehicle.
Also you do not expect to be addressed as if you are a pain the arse when something occurs with your vehicle !
This dealer has displayed these attributes at all times since we have had the vehicle, it also doesn't help that they are the Honda monopoly in town.
Needless to say once it is time to get rid of the vehicle I will not be lining up for Honda again. P.S. Hyundai customers at the same dealership get better treatment and facilities than a Honda customer or VW customer.

The Townsville Honda dealership is pretty bad. I've heard a few horror stories out of there. Here's a real easy way to check how bad they allegedly are - just check the oil after they've supposedly changed it. I've heard from a few sources that their thing is to not change the oil and still charge the customer for it. Allegedly they aren't changing the consumables at all if they think for a second that you're just a moron driver with no idea about what is under the bonnet. That allegedly goes for the other makes at this dealership too as its not limited to Honda.

[antony]

I have been exceptionally happy with the service at Astoria Honda in East Bentleigh,Melbourne.

[Daveho1]

all i know is i work parts at a dealership and all day all i get is your cheaper mechanics calling to ask how to do shit.
all service prices are available upon request to ANYONE.
anything you dont want them to do to your car is fine, but since they offer the warrenty and all service info/prices is available, if you skip/forget or get your old mate to do the service with the repco filter and "good" oil for cheap and gennerally dont follow the warrenty conditions why is it hondas problem when your car screws up??
also dealerships make jobs for alot of people but in training sometimes things are miss-quoted or a service isnt done correctly or what ever and this can be a biiiig problem such as your car has a blown engine cause the apprentice left the sump plug out,if the dealership is at fault the dealership fixes it, how many storys have we heard here of local mechanics palming the same problem off?
your services at a dealership cost more cause gennerally they do more.

[Daveho1]

The Townsville Honda dealership is pretty bad. I've heard a few horror stories out of there. Here's a real easy way to check how bad they allegedly are - just check the oil after they've supposedly changed it. I've heard from a few sources that their thing is to not change the oil and still charge the customer for it. Allegedly they aren't changing the consumables at all if they think for a second that you're just a moron driver with no idea about what is under the bonnet. That allegedly goes for the other makes at this dealership too as its not limited to Honda.

i love this sort of thing aswell cause more then once i have seen customers do this, where they mark plugs and oil filters etc
there are 2 examples i can think of right now both spark plug related;
1. a customer plulled the plugs out to mark them prior to his service to mark them to make sure they where being changed. he reinstalled 3 out of the 4 incorrectly and striped the threads-guess what-no warranty
2. a customer changed the plugs on his car and marked them prior the the fist recomended change of 45,000 problem was the wroung plugs where installed and where too long and hit the piston crowns-guess what-no warranty

guys car makers will stand by there cars as long as there rules are met just follow them, its not that hard and guess what the dealerships always change the oil, know why? because if they dont and the car F*** up cause they stamp the service book and maintain it it will be covered under warranty and the car brands under book time for warranty jobs so they make very little money on those repairs.

dont get me wrong there are dicks out there but thats not car dealerships thats the world in genneral, so year theres the guy that gives you the small bit of cake every time you order at starbucks and theres the guy that rounds up on eftpos but cardealerships really arnt the worst evil in the world and if you dont want or cant afford to follow there rules dont buy a car there cause they dont want your drama, go and buy a second hand car and take it to ya local mechanic cause he sure dosent have anything to gain by over charging or under servicing right?

[CU2 Euro 09]

i love this sort of thing aswell cause more then once i have seen customers do this, where they mark plugs and oil filters etc
there are 2 examples i can think of right now both spark plug related;
1. a customer plulled the plugs out to mark them prior to his service to mark them to make sure they where being changed. he reinstalled 3 out of the 4 incorrectly and striped the threads-guess what-no warranty
2. a customer changed the plugs on his car and marked them prior the the fist recomended change of 45,000 problem was the wroung plugs where installed and where too long and hit the piston crowns-guess what-no warranty

guys car makers will stand by there cars as long as there rules are met just follow them, its not that hard and guess what the dealerships always change the oil, know why? because if they dont and the car F*** up cause they stamp the service book and maintain it it will be covered under warranty and the car brands under book time for warranty jobs so they make very little money on those repairs.

dont get me wrong there are dicks out there but thats not car dealerships thats the world in genneral, so year theres the guy that gives you the small bit of cake every time you order at starbucks and theres the guy that rounds up on eftpos but cardealerships really arnt the worst evil in the world and if you dont want or cant afford to follow there rules dont buy a car there cause they dont want your drama, go and buy a second hand car and take it to ya local mechanic cause he sure dosent have anything to gain by over charging or under servicing right?

Still doesn't change the fact that some dealers rip off the customer and treat them like shit. So you can get off your soap box. This is why people aren't happy with 'some' dealers, because of attitudes like yours that the customer has done something wrong.

They own the car after all and they deserve to be treated with respect and the point was that they don't always change the oil but still charge for it the lying theives.