Dealer Experience - Northern California
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Santa Clara, CA, America
Dealer Experience - Northern California
As many of you know (or not), I was having a problem with my passenger door lock on my 2006 Civic SI. The lock switch got stuck in the lock position, but the door was not and would not lock.
Anyway, I took it to Steven Creek Honda on Friday morning, to get the lock fixed, and get the rear wheel bearings checked (recall item). The service advisor also told me that Honda had issued an update for some SRS light issue, and they would take care of that as well.
To be honest, I was little nervous about getting the lock repair covered by the warranty, since I had an aftermarket stereo system installed.
After waiting around for about an hour, I get called by the service adviser. He say’s to me “My mechanic tells me someone has had the door panels off before. You have aftermarket speakers installed?” I think to myself “Well, here we go”. I answer “Yes”. He then asked me “How long ago did you have them installed?” I answer “About a year ago.”. He then say’s “This is the first time you have had a problem with the lock?” I answer “Yes.” He then say’s “Ok, that’s fine. If the lock had been working fine since you had the speakers installed, we can’t say the speaker installation is responsible for the broken lock. The lock jammed because of a missing clip on the lock assembly. The mechanic said it was probably removed by the stereo installers. But, if the lock had been working fine after the speakers were installed, we can’t prove the speaker installation was responsible. We will cover this repair on the warranty.” He then continued to tell me that, after seeing the modifications on the car, he had the mechanic NOT do the SRS update, since that update involved reprogramming the ECU.
I was very happy when I left……..for a short period of time as least.
The next morning, I need to take my son clothes shopping. My son opens the passenger door and say’s “Wow dad, how did you get these huge scratches on the window.” I ask him what he is talking about, so he points out to me these 2, 4” scratches on the upper left corner of the window. The scratches were deep. Not just scratches in the tint, but all the way through into the glass. I did not see them when I picked up the car from Honda, because the passenger seat headrest was blocking my view of that section of the window.
To say the least, I went ballistic. I kicked my son out of the car and told him we would go shopping later, and headed down to Honda with fire in my eyes. I arrive, jump out of the car, see my service advisor across the room and yell “HEY RAY, YOUR MECHANIC SCRACTHED THE HELL OUT OF WINDOW YESTERDAY”. Mind you, the service area was full of customers at the time. I look around and all faces are looking at me. It was a little embarrassing, and I realized it was really uncalled for, but I was really pissed at the time. Ray comes over and we walk out to the car. After a quick inspection he says to me “We will take care of this. If you could please bring the car back on Monday morning we will take care of it as soon as possible. I need to get approval from the Service Director and order the window.”
So, this morning I go in and meet with the Service Director. He inspects the damage, asked me what repairs were originally done and then meets with Ray to discuss the issue. After 5 minutes, Ray is ordering the glass and making an appointment for me to return on Friday to replace the glass, free of charge. They even offered me a loner car for the day.
To say the least, I am very happy. Everyone at Steven Creek Honda was very pleasant, very fair, and handled my outrage with great professionalism. After reading all the posts about poor service at dealerships, I am very happy to have a great dealer service department close by my house.
For those who live in the Northern California area, Steven Creek Honda is the place to go if you have warranty issues or need service. They will take great care of you.
Anyway, I took it to Steven Creek Honda on Friday morning, to get the lock fixed, and get the rear wheel bearings checked (recall item). The service advisor also told me that Honda had issued an update for some SRS light issue, and they would take care of that as well.
To be honest, I was little nervous about getting the lock repair covered by the warranty, since I had an aftermarket stereo system installed.
After waiting around for about an hour, I get called by the service adviser. He say’s to me “My mechanic tells me someone has had the door panels off before. You have aftermarket speakers installed?” I think to myself “Well, here we go”. I answer “Yes”. He then asked me “How long ago did you have them installed?” I answer “About a year ago.”. He then say’s “This is the first time you have had a problem with the lock?” I answer “Yes.” He then say’s “Ok, that’s fine. If the lock had been working fine since you had the speakers installed, we can’t say the speaker installation is responsible for the broken lock. The lock jammed because of a missing clip on the lock assembly. The mechanic said it was probably removed by the stereo installers. But, if the lock had been working fine after the speakers were installed, we can’t prove the speaker installation was responsible. We will cover this repair on the warranty.” He then continued to tell me that, after seeing the modifications on the car, he had the mechanic NOT do the SRS update, since that update involved reprogramming the ECU.
I was very happy when I left……..for a short period of time as least.
The next morning, I need to take my son clothes shopping. My son opens the passenger door and say’s “Wow dad, how did you get these huge scratches on the window.” I ask him what he is talking about, so he points out to me these 2, 4” scratches on the upper left corner of the window. The scratches were deep. Not just scratches in the tint, but all the way through into the glass. I did not see them when I picked up the car from Honda, because the passenger seat headrest was blocking my view of that section of the window.
To say the least, I went ballistic. I kicked my son out of the car and told him we would go shopping later, and headed down to Honda with fire in my eyes. I arrive, jump out of the car, see my service advisor across the room and yell “HEY RAY, YOUR MECHANIC SCRACTHED THE HELL OUT OF WINDOW YESTERDAY”. Mind you, the service area was full of customers at the time. I look around and all faces are looking at me. It was a little embarrassing, and I realized it was really uncalled for, but I was really pissed at the time. Ray comes over and we walk out to the car. After a quick inspection he says to me “We will take care of this. If you could please bring the car back on Monday morning we will take care of it as soon as possible. I need to get approval from the Service Director and order the window.”
So, this morning I go in and meet with the Service Director. He inspects the damage, asked me what repairs were originally done and then meets with Ray to discuss the issue. After 5 minutes, Ray is ordering the glass and making an appointment for me to return on Friday to replace the glass, free of charge. They even offered me a loner car for the day.
To say the least, I am very happy. Everyone at Steven Creek Honda was very pleasant, very fair, and handled my outrage with great professionalism. After reading all the posts about poor service at dealerships, I am very happy to have a great dealer service department close by my house.
For those who live in the Northern California area, Steven Creek Honda is the place to go if you have warranty issues or need service. They will take great care of you.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,063
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From: Let me warn ya. Northern California
Re: Dealer Experience - Northern California (06civicracer)
good to hear. when i was reading i thought this was going to turn into a horror story since most delearship experiences that are posted on h-t turn in to dissasters.
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