mikel@codas.UUCP (05/13/87)
> "NEVER, NEVER take your car to a dealership for repairs." > > Not even if you have the money, and "want the job done right". > -- > Paul Flaherty, N9FZX >->-_->-> I would generally agree. Except when it comes to the Honda dealership that I take my CRX into. Any time I have ever needed anything done it has always been very polite, fast, well done, and reasonably priced. Of course this dealership is probably the exception... -- Mikel Manitius @ AT&T-IS mikel@codas.att.com.uucp Copyright 1987. Redistribution via Stargate PROHIBITED
amamaral@elrond.CalComp.COM (Alan Amaral) (05/14/87)
In article <1034@codas.ATT.COM>, mikel@codas.UUCP writes: > > "NEVER, NEVER take your car to a dealership for repairs." > > > > Not even if you have the money, and "want the job done right". > > -- > > Paul Flaherty, N9FZX >->-_->-> > > I would generally agree. Except when it comes to the Honda dealership > that I take my CRX into. Any time I have ever needed anything done > it has always been very polite, fast, well done, and reasonably priced. > > Of course this dealership is probably the exception... > mikel@codas.att.com.uucp It seems as though I've seen oodles and oodles of people saying "I bought a (fill in the mfgr,model) and after X miles (fill in the part) broke. I took it to the dealer N times and all they still haven't fixed it. Jeez, those (fill in the mfgr,model) cars really are pieces of (fill in your favorite smelly stuff)!" It seems to me that you ought to be flaming the DEALER, not the manufacturer. Things break! Things go out of adjustment! If the stupid mechanic can't fix it it's probably not the manufacturers fault, it's the dealers fault. There are some good dealers out there. The Mazda/Volkswagon dealer in Nashua NH is an excelent example. They do great work THE FIRST TIME (at least for me). They did things like towing my car gratis once when my ignition broke. AND to top things off they were incredibly professional about how things are organized, like leaving a small amount of time available each day for emergency/last minute repairs that always seem to happen. There are many dealers around here that book 120% of their time and when something breaks it takes two weeks just to get an appointment. The service manager there was so great that even though I would only take my car there avery 4 or 5 months when I would walk through the door he would greet me BY NAME! I have had many bad experiences where mechanics wanted to perform unneeded repairs like the local Midas Muffler shop that wanted to replace the front brake calipers on my Toyota for $90 each, plus another $90 for labor. The local Toyota dealer (which was 3 weeks backlogged else I would have taken it there in the first place) told me over the phone that they coule be rebuilt for probably less than $50 including labor. When I finally brought the car to them they found it (the noise that caused me to bring the car in) was just an unevenly worn break pad that cost me $10 to replace... I have taken the attitude that I'll treat my car like I treat my body when it comes to repairs, and always get a second AND a third oppinion if at all possible. Hey, lots of mechanics will give free estimates, and some will even explain what needs to be done if you act like you don't understand what he means. Then you can go home and do it yourself! -- uucp: ...decvax!elrond!amamaral I would rather be a phone: (603) 885-8075 fool than a king... us mail: Calcomp/Sanders DPD (PTP2-2D01) Hudson NH 03051-0908
johnm@auscso.UUCP (John B. Meaders) (05/15/87)
I have had my Celica GTS since August of '86. Every time I have gone to a
Toyota dealer I have had extremely good service. I have been in to two of
them here in Austin, and once to the dealer in Dallas I bought the car from.
U.S. automakers wonder why we buy Japanese, well they make a superior product,
and on top of it give good service. My next car will be a Toyota. Thanks
Toyota. (No I don't work for Toyota, I am just a very pleased customer).
--
John B. Meaders, Jr. 1114 Camino La Costa #3083, Austin, TX 78752
ATT: Voice: (512) 451-5038 Data: (512) 371-0550
UUCP:{ihnp4,seismo,allegra}!ut-sally!ut-ngp!melpad!jclyde!john
\auscso!johnmrobert@sri-spam.istc.sri.com (Robert Allen) (05/15/87)
In article <855@elrond.CalComp.COM> amamaral@elrond.CalComp.COM (Alan Amaral) writes: >It seems as though I've seen oodles and oodles of people saying "I >bought a (fill in the mfgr,model) and after X miles (fill in the part) >broke. I took it to the dealer N times and all they still haven't fixed >it. Jeez, those (fill in the mfgr,model) cars really are pieces of (fill >in your favorite smelly stuff)!" > >It seems to me that you ought to be flaming the DEALER, not the >manufacturer. Things break! Things go out of adjustment! If the >stupid mechanic can't fix it it's probably not the manufacturers fault, >it's the dealers fault. > Yeah, but if you buy GM, "things break" and "go out of adjustment" a heck of a lot more than if you buy a Ford. :-) -- --------------------------------------------------------- Who? Me? Robert Allen, robert@spam.istc.sri.com ---------------------------------------------------------
wmf@chinet.UUCP (05/15/87)
In article <10099@sri-spam.istc.sri.com> robert@sri-spam.UUCP (Robert Allen) writes: >In article <855@elrond.CalComp.COM> amamaral@elrond.CalComp.COM (Alan Amaral) writes: >>It seems to me that you ought to be flaming the DEALER, not the >>manufacturer. Things break! Things go out of adjustment! If the >>stupid mechanic can't fix it it's probably not the manufacturers fault, >>it's the dealers fault. A franchised new car dealer has as part of his agreement with the factory a commitment to "honor product". He makes a substantial investment in both equipment and personnel in order to fulfill this commitment. By and large, the service department in a new car dealership has the lowest return on the dealer's investment than any other profit center. So, that may offer an explanation, tho not a justification for the indifference that you find when dealing with a warranty problem. What can you, the poor consumer, do? GET THE FACTORY INVOLVED! If you feel that the dealer has not lived up to his commitment to honor product, a letter to the FACTORY service rep will get the surest results. (His address is probably all over your new car warranty book, posted every place but the john at the dealer's and will be cheerfully given you by any of the "consumer protector" agencies at the state and federal level). Once you generate that document, it starts a "tickler" process that will continue to haunt the dealer until some sort of resolution of the problem occurs. I speak from experience, having been involved in automating the nightmarish paperwork problems from factory warranty claims in a number of dealerships. Every week, the factory service rep shows up at the deal and one of the first order's of business is dealing with HIS mail. Since this guy can turn off the factory payments (or slow down, anyway) the dealer gets for warranty work, he has clout. Of course, a copy of your letter was forwarded to HIS boss before being routed to him, so.... Caveat Emptor, let the buyer keep copies ... -- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | UUCP: wmf@chinet.UUCP FONE: 312 441-5096 ICBM: 41 52' 28" 87 38' 22" | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Mossad fissionable counter-intelligence NSA genetic terrorist ammunition D E S nuclear Marxist [Hello to all my fans in domestic surveillance] CIA Uzi rifle assassination Soviet plutonium Treasury Rule Psix Cocaine Ortega FBI PLO DES strategic Nazi smuggle supercomputer domestic disruption KGB Kennedy SDI spy
toma@tekgvs.UUCP (05/15/87)
A few suggestions on judging a service department without trying them out, 1) Are they busy (could mean they are very good or very bad, but...) 2) Observe the customers at busy times: morning drop off for irate returns of unfixed cars, evening pickup for bad billing practices. Twenty years ago I had my new X (after 20 years the brand name is especially irrelevent!) serviced at the dealer I purchased from. It had a good reputation and always did an excellent job. But it took one month to get a preventive maintenence appointment scheduled! Well a new dealer had opened up which was alot closer. I took my X there and boy did they botch thing up. But there was no waiting! Tom Almy PS of course you could also ask other owners where they get there car serviced and are they satisfied.
klein@gravity.UUCP (05/15/87)
In article <855@elrond.CalComp.COM> amamaral@elrond.CalComp.COM (Alan Amaral) writes: >In article <1034@codas.ATT.COM>, mikel@codas.UUCP writes: >> > "NEVER, NEVER take your car to a dealership for repairs." >> > >> > Not even if you have the money, and "want the job done right". >> > -- >> > Paul Flaherty, N9FZX >->-_->-> >> >> I would generally agree. Except when it comes to the Honda dealership >> that I take my CRX into. Any time I have ever needed anything done >> it has always been very polite, fast, well done, and reasonably priced. >> >> Of course this dealership is probably the exception... >> mikel@codas.att.com.uucp > >Nashua NH is an excelent example. They do great work THE FIRST TIME (at >least for me). I have in front of me a "Bay Area Consumers' Checkbook" (for the San Francisco Bay Area) which lists subscriber-rated auto repair establishments. Relevant to this discussion, 94 repair establishments earned the Checkbook's "top rating for quality" (out of a total of about 390 service shops reported). Of these, only 4 (four) are new car dealers! This appears to bear out, at least for the SF Bay Area, this rather sweeping generalization. The four dealers offering good quality service are pretty randomly distributed among makes; one is a VW/Mazda/Peugeot dealer, the others are American. The Checkbook is a non-profit service-rating magazine accepting no advertising and relying mostly on subscribers' ratings of local services for their reports. I have found its ratings to be quite accurate for other types of services. -- Mike Klein klein@Sun.COM Sun Microsystems, Inc. {ucbvax,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!sun!klein Mountain View, CA
levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) (05/17/87)
In article <29@auscso.UUCP>, johnm@auscso.UUCP (John B. Meaders) writes: < I have been in to two [Toyota dealers] < here in Austin, and once to the dealer in Dallas I bought the car from. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ < U.S. automakers wonder why we buy Japanese, well they ... < give good service. My next car will be a Toyota. Thanks Toyota. Rather, thank the Americans working at the Toyota dealerships you visited. -- |------------dan levy------------| Path: ..!{akgua,homxb,ihnp4,ltuxa,mvuxa, | an engihacker @ | vax135}!ttrdc!ttrda!levy | at&t computer systems division | Disclaimer: try datclaimer. |--------skokie, illinois--------|
pault@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Paul Tu) (05/28/87)
In article <10099@sri-spam.istc.sri.com> robert@sri-spam.UUCP (Robert Allen) writes: > Yeah, but if you buy GM, "things break" and "go out of adjustment" > a heck of a lot more than if you buy a Ford. :-) Wrong! At least in my experience. I owned an '82 Camero. The car was great, the service was excellent everywhere I went. I was completely happy. I then bought an '85 Ford Bronco II from PB Ford ( may their souls rot ) and have had nothing but problems. In 15,000 miles the transfer case cracked, the clutch went out, the water pump went, and now it looks like the steering pump is going. The dealership has been more trouble than they are worth, with the usual "what did you do to it" comments and two month long repair times while they wait for parts from Ford. It will be around the time hell freezes over before I buy another Ford. -- Michael Lodman Advanced Development NCR Corporation E&M San Diego mike.lodman@SanDiego.NCR.COM {sdcsvax,cbatt,dcdwest,nosc.ARPA,ihnp4}!ncr-sd!lodman