Dealerships not prepping new cars properly after the sale

[ricky_vato]

Been dealing with a dealership for 8 years. 2 Fits, 2 9th gen Civics, and now an SI. In every case, the car was not washed, waxed, detailed, filled with gas as advertised, or inspected for imperfections. Each time, I took the cars back to be done right. The only reason I keep going to them is because they are a superstore and can sell for less than the average dealership. So I buy an SI a few days ago, and today after days of no sunlight discover several scratches in the clearcoat. Rather than take it back, I polished them out cursing my stupidity for buying the car at night.

I spoke to several people who recently bought new cars and they say the same thing. Dirty wheels, spots on the dash from poorly sprayed protectant, water spots on the paint, too much armorall on the tires splashing on the lower body panels. It goes on. They complain and the salesperson just shruggs, says sorry, and 1 - 2 hours later your car just had a simple car wash and maybe a cheap spray wax.

Just curious how many have had the same issue and your resolution other than posting a poor review on Yelp, etc.

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[callmehandsum]

Sounds like you're describing long beach honda. Haha. They severely over-dressed the tires and the faux air vents on my baby. They also left holograms on the paint. I cleaned the dressing off immediately but haven't polished the holograms out yet. Oh and I'm pretty sure they filled it up with 87 octane instead of 91. This is the first time I've experienced this though.

 

[3925blue]

Buying from a "Superstore" probably exacerbates these PDI issues. I also believe that mainstream economy cars get less attention than higher-margin "luxury" vehicles. You don't see as many of those problems at Lexus or BMW dealerships.

 

[ricky_vato]

Actually, it was Norm Reeves Honda in Cerritos. I only went there because of the low prices I would get and I have a sign and drive 0% (with a 592 score) through Honda Financial after 8 years of on time payments . My next purchase will be more cautious and with another dealership.

 

[ChinStrap]

It’s personal opinion, really. I would rather do the listed myself. My dealer had to send a truck to get my SI as I wanted a different color then they had available. I still ended up using CG Citrus Wash to strip & start fresh. The only thing I went after was my tank of gas

 

[ElementalHonda]

I wasn't going to post this....but I agree. I purchased my car and the dealer rushed me through the paperwork and the sale. The next day I drive the car to work, and back home. Pull in the garage and there's a puddle of oil on my garage floor. Not just a little oil either....like a lot. So I pop the hood and guess what? No oil cap! Huh...that oil cap was apparently there when they checked fluids during PDI as it says so on the paperwork in the glovebox.

They tried to tell me to drive the car like that back to the dealership an hour away when I called the guy who sold me the car. ha. I was back and forth to the dealer 4 times about that issue. When I finally complained to the salesman I bought the car from he tried to blame it on Honda and that the car was delivered without an oil cap from the factory.

Yeah sure whatever buddy.

I then explained their service department literally signed a form in my glovebox saying they popped the hood during PDI and checked the oil so if it wasn't there they would've known before giving the car to me. He still insisted the car came without the cap from the factory and would not admit their service dept. f***ed up and make it right.

So when my friend bought his Si two weeks later, I sent him to a different dealership and different salesman. Their loss.

 

[Civics4Ever]

I wasn't going to post this....but I agree. I purchased my car and the dealer rushed me through the paperwork and the sale. The next day I drive the car to work, and back home. Pull in the garage and there's a puddle of oil on my garage floor. Not just a little oil either....like a lot. So I pop the hood and guess what? No oil cap! Huh...that oil cap was apparently there when they checked fluids during PDI as it says so on the paperwork in the glovebox.

They tried to tell me to drive the car like that back to the dealership an hour away when I called the guy who sold me the car. ha. I was back and forth to the dealer 4 times about that issue. When I finally complained to the salesman I bought the car from he tried to blame it on Honda and that the car was delivered without an oil cap from the factory.

Yeah sure whatever buddy.

I then explained their service department literally signed a form in my glovebox saying they popped the hood during PDI and checked the oil so if it wasn't there they would've known before giving the car to me. He still insisted the car came without the cap from the factory and would not admit their service dept. f***ed up and make it right.

So when my friend bought his Si two weeks later, I sent him to a different dealership and different salesman. Their loss.

Man some dealership really suck ass. Totally unacceptable. How much oil was lost? I would be bitching about engine damage. Tell them the oil light came on while you were driving home.

 

[ElementalHonda]

Man some dealership really suck ass. Totally unacceptable. How much oil was lost? I would be bitching about engine damage. Tell them the oil light came on while you were driving home.

I did complain about engine damage. The service department tried to explain the car had "plenty of oil" and no damage was done even though it wasn't showing on the dipstick when I checked it. They refused to make it right other then refilling the oil, adding a cap, and replacing the felt under the hood. I got a "It's not our fault it came without an oil cap from the factory".

Felt like saying, who the hell cares if it came with or without the cap. I had to put 1k miles on my car rather a couple hundred, plus the issue of not being oil in the car putting unnecessary stress on my new engine. Either way its their fault.
They didn't even try to make it right. No offer of add ons for the car or free oil change or anything. Then when I said I was going to review the dealership badly on my Honda Survey, they said I was an asshole and that I was hurting them for no reason.

I absolutely hate dealerships, and its why my I do all my own service on my car. Next time i'll make sure my car comes off the truck, with the plastic and stuff still on it. Not touched.

 

[ricky_vato]

ElementalHonda, I feel for you because we trusted we would be treated right with some form of competence. Yeah, we know salespeople can be dogs, etc., but we hope the backend of the deal is done right. Used to be that way. I have learned that by sharing stories good or bad on sites like this, car companies do take notice. They tell the dealerships. I found out, when you do a Honda survey, anything less than 10 is brought to the attention of the owner or general manager of the dealership. Too many negatives and it hits the bottom line on customer satisfaction bonuses.

 

[ChinStrap]

ElementalHonda, I feel for you because we trusted we would be treated right with some form of competence. Yeah, we know salespeople can be dogs, etc., but we hope the backend of the deal is done right. Used to be that way. I have learned that by sharing stories good or bad on sites like this, car companies do take notice. They tell the dealerships. I found out, when you do a Honda survey, anything less than 10 is brought to the attention of the owner or general manager of the dealership. Too many negatives and it hits the bottom line on customer satisfaction bonuses.

My salesperson told me this also. He said he wanted 10s'; He did what I requested.

 

[Civics4Ever]

I did complain about engine damage. The service department tried to explain the car had "plenty of oil" and no damage was done even though it wasn't showing on the dipstick when I checked it. They refused to make it right other then refilling the oil, adding a cap, and replacing the felt under the hood. I got a "It's not our fault it came without an oil cap from the factory".

Felt like saying, who the hell cares if it came with or without the cap. I had to put 1k miles on my car rather a couple hundred, plus the issue of not being oil in the car putting unnecessary stress on my new engine. Either way its their fault.
They didn't even try to make it right. No offer of add ons for the car or free oil change or anything. Then when I said I was going to review the dealership badly on my Honda Survey, they said I was an asshole and that I was hurting them for no reason.

I absolutely hate dealerships, and its why my I do all my own service on my car. Next time i'll make sure my car comes off the truck, with the plastic and stuff still on it. Not touched.

Honda corporate would be your next step.

 

[mis3]

I picked up my SI back in mid-November. The car was definitely not prepared at all. From what I could tell, tire dressing and washing were the only things they did for my car. It was dusty in the interior, there were scuff marks on the door panels and water spots everywhere.

I complained and the general manager called me. He said they did prepare the car and tried to convince me that new cars should not be waxed. I argued that while it's true that new paint should not be wax (60-90 days cure time), this does not apply to factory paint where the paint was baked. I also talked about the 40PSI in each tire. He said some people liked to ride on higher pressure and I said they did not bother to check becaiuse 40PSI was the shipping tire pressure of Honda.

In the end, he agreed to do a full detailing on my car which took place in mid-December.

My concern is they charged a lot for the PDI but did not even bother to do the minimum.

 

[ChampwhiteFK8]

Dang, sucks to hear all these horror stories. But thanks for the info fellas. Will be hopefully picking up a new car soon and you guys just gave me some pointers to look out for. Looks like I will be special requesting they don't wash the cars and just leave on the plastics.

 

[KK88]

Bought my CBP from the dealership, noticed some holograms/clear coat issues on the back hatch. They also left on the glue that affixes the shipping wrap stuff and the guys who normally clean the cars for the them tried to fix the holograms and remove the glue, but screwed up the clear even more. So now I have a loaner and they sent it to their body shop to be fixed correctly. 3 weeks later and I still haven't filled out the Honda survey or received my tank of gas yet.

 

[nuowner]

Sounds like they DO detail and prep... just don't do a

I did complain about engine damage. The service department tried to explain the car had "plenty of oil" and no damage was done even though it wasn't showing on the dipstick when I checked it. They refused to make it right other then refilling the oil, adding a cap, and replacing the felt under the hood. I got a "It's not our fault it came without an oil cap from the factory".

Felt like saying, who the hell cares if it came with or without the cap. I had to put 1k miles on my car rather a couple hundred, plus the issue of not being oil in the car putting unnecessary stress on my new engine. Either way its their fault.
They didn't even try to make it right. No offer of add ons for the car or free oil change or anything. Then when I said I was going to review the dealership badly on my Honda Survey, they said I was an asshole and that I was hurting them for no reason.

I absolutely hate dealerships, and its why my I do all my own service on my car. Next time i'll make sure my car comes off the truck, with the plastic and stuff still on it. Not touched.

It's hard to imagine service department personnel could say that with a straight face... and harder yet to imagine dealer management condoning it. And as a longtime (former) Ford loyalist, I've had some experience in absurdity.

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