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Well folks, after 2 years my S ownership is coming to an end.
I really really love this car and like so many others on here, it puts a mile-wide grin on my face every time I drive it.
That said, it's a piece of machinery and therefore it's not bulletproof. That in itself is fine - things go wrong so you get them fixed and move on. Therein lies the problem however..... other than when you're lining their pockets at annual service time, I find the Honda dealership experience absolutely appalling.
Without going over old ground, an example of this is when I recently had reason to query a dealer's assessment that the clutch in my MY04 is not excessively noisy. Firstly they told me that they would have to retrieve the job card from Honda and that would take a couple of days. When I called to speak to the Service Manager two weeks later because I hadnt heard from them, he told me that in all likelihood, the reason I hadnt heard from them was because "we're very busy....." That said, he did promise to sort it out and call me back the next day. That was a week ago on Wednesday. Anybody want to hazard a guess as to whether the call ever came..........?
So congratulations Mr Martin Samways of Alan Day Honda in Portsmouth - you've really earned your title of "Service" Manager. Not.
This isn't an isolated incident with Alan Day Honda or indeed *some* dealers in general. I found them very very reluctant to take on warranty work - even when the problems were absolute cut and dried. Now I know that this isn't the experience of everybody on here, from reading some of the threads some of you guys have clearly found dealers that enjoy working on these cars and want to add to the experience of owning one, but for me, finding a good dealer has been like trying to mine for gold and it shouldn't be like that. I truly believe that a lot of dealers are simply scared of the S (though fully embracing of the mark-ups involved in selling or servicing them). It's for these reasons that I decided to move on and did not / would not consider another S.
So to it's replacement....... I was looking for two things:
a) As much fun and grin-factor as the S gave me every time I climbed in it.
b) A dealer network that knows their cars and offer a service that enhances, not detracts from owning them.
In answer to these:
a) I think I may have found something that does just that.....
b) Who knows, only time will tell. However, the feedback I've read is broadly positive and lord knows I'll be paying them enough in the coming years.
Next Saturday, I pick up this little baby..........
I just want to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to everybody on here for all the very very useful tips and advice and for the endless hours of goonery and amusement!
Sorry to hear your issues with AD Portsmouth. Just out of interest have you ever had any dealing with AD Southampton ? I only ask as I've recently moved and will be using AD Southampton so would appreciate any feedback.
My old dealership in Bognor (Yeoman's Honda) were excellent and I'd highly recommend, why can't they all be like this ?
The novelty of the Boxster is at all time high with me, love it to bits, my car looks almost identical now I have done the clear lamps and glass hood conversion, wheels and S brakes, did all this because the car you have gone for is exactly the spec I desired but didnt quite have enough cash spare.
You will miss the S2000 but the Boxster WILL NOT disappoint you, just watch out for jealousy.
09-08-2007, 02:00 AM
Time to move on.......
Congrats
