TwistedS2k

damn, that really sucks that it happened to your car. Hope you'll get it fixed at their expense

dyhppy

i really hate service people too. i wonder if benz or bimmer serice is any better for the money u pay.

pikkashoe

Dyhpy,

I wondered that same thing this morning. My next car is going to be a BMW or Acura, enough dealing with these cheap dealers, who hire people and pay them $1.00 an hour, do you really think they care if the cars are messed up.

Well I went to the dealer this morning, and of course, they service manager was of no help. Basically he said I could not prove it happened at the dealer, even thought the finger prints from the workers are there. I hate dealers. Going to talk to the head guy of service on monday, but I am already starting to give up.

He basically asked me if I did a walk around with the service advisor, I told him yes, and then he has the nerve to ask me if I specifically show him the fenders, I told him its not my responsibility to show each panel one by one, thats their job. So he contends that the dents might of been there before. Arrgghhh!

Harpoon

At the risk of sounding philosophical here - this problem with dealers occurs with every car manufacturer. My theory is that the car companies will only sell a dealership to someone with some serious proven business success already. The buyer is already in business and making serious money before they buy the dealership. They want to be in the car business because it's an exclusive thing with high profit available. Also, they DON'T have to be there running the thing day to day. So, if you take someone making $2 - $10 million a year who buys a dealership and adds $500k per year to their bottom line, you can understand their reluctance to roll up their sleeves and work hard in the dealership to make an extra couple hundred thousand. They're already in the "delegate-everything" mode.

I know people who have owned and sold dealerships who said it was a status thing and they just didn't see the need to get involved.

Solution? Do it yourself or go to a smaller shop where you see the owner covered in dirt. Way more accountability that way.

pikkashoe

Thats great harpoon, but its under warranty, and the whole thing is to get it done for free. For that I would of replaced it myself and eaten the cost of the tensioner, but I honestly thought since I have a high end honda, they would treat my car with a little bit more care. I GUESS NOT!

Kyras

I understand your anger. I'm the same way.

I've had dents removed from the rear fenders of our '01, three times and they always come out fine. I think the rear fenders are even easier to dent then the front ones. Just a hip leaned against it and PONG, a new dent.

2001e46

I just wanted to point out two things:

1) Yes, service at a BMW dealership is better. I'm not saying that they're great, but they won't put dents in your car. The service advisor always does his own walk around of your vehicle before they sit down to talk with you and he will point out all of the dents and scratches on your car before they work on it. This way you both agree what damage was already there beforehand. They once pointed out a really minor ding on the side of my car that I didn't even notice, you could only see it at a certain angle in a certain light, I was impressed.

2) If you are really worried about your car, be careful about using a paintless dent removal service. While they definitely make the exterior of the car look better, they may damage the interior in the process. Most of their repair work is done from the inside-out and they don't exactly take their time when stripping and reinstalling the trim in your vehicle. For example, to remove a door ding they will actually disassemble the inside of the door, removing all of the hardware, panels, bolts, screws, etc. Then they bang out the ding and zip everything back together. Do you really think they're putting everything back together properly? I wouldn't bet on it. There's just some minimum wage guy with a cordless drill recklessly putting all the pieces back on without any concern for your vehicle.

PDR is great for last minute repair work right before you sell your car, but otherwise I would stay away from it.

pikkashoe

Kyras- You can clearly see on the fender where they where leaning on them with their hands putting weight on the fenders. I had a dent removed once from my quarter panel and it came out perfect, the guy was very professional and showed me exactly what he was doing. I have an appt with him this week to fix my fenders, whether or not the dealer pays.

E46- I like how the process at BMW sounds. I had to drag the guy at honda just to see my car, they would of never done a walk around if I had not brought it up myself. It seems they just dont care. If they would of done what BMW does, this would of been resolved already. Next time I will take it to another honda dealer, but I do plan on getting a BMW next (525 sometime in december).

As for the PDR, the guy who did my quarter panel came in from under the wheel and got it from there. He will do the same thing but from under the fender for this repair. THey drill a tiny hole in the plastic splash shield, and once they are done, they put a rubber plug in the hole. I trust my guy, and he does it right in front of me. But you are right about taking out panels, they can't possibly know how to take of every car's panels. The guy even told me he really does not like doing some dents on doors on high end cars, because they have those side impact airbags in the doors, that if not taken out right can get dmg'd, and thats big $$$ to repair or replace.

Kyras

I respectfully disagree. I've used Joe at Dent Masters in Lancaster, California and he is very professional. He is hired by dealerships to come do his work at each one. He does all the work himself, and I've been pleased both times he's worked on my '01. I don't want to look at dings in my car each time I get in so I would rather get it done while I enjoy my car.

pikkashoe

OH yeah, I forgot to add this.

I noticed today when I went to get gas that my Mobil speed pass was missing from my keychain. I immediately called to cancel it, and of course, the tech working on my car got away with using it 3 times. How stupid can you get, he used it 3 times, twice while my car was still in the shop, and once after I got the car back. I want to see what the dealer has to say about that and explain how my speed pass was used while they had possesion of it, and not to mention how they knew my zip code to get gas. No respect. No respect. Never again to I take my car to service at the dealer where I bought my car.

So, so far we have the following
- 6 dents in total on both fenders, which the dealer is refusing to pay for
- 2 instances where my speed pass was used while the dealer had possession of my keys and vehicle. $75 in gas bought.

Anyone know how I can get in contact with the Honda Regional Rep in south florida???? Please let me know or PM me.