[wickster]

I wasnt even going to post anything about it, but I need to vent. On 6/22 I took my car into Boyland Honda in Greenfield, WI for a left driver door rattle when the window is not in the full closed position. They took the door panel off and found that the window regulator was faulty. Said they didnt have the part in stock and wouldnt have it until tomorrow. They put my car back together and off i went.

When i got home i noticed that the front of the door panel near the hinge area had white stress marks and a scratch. After looking further i noticed that the clip behind the panel was not in the hole causing the door panel to be elevated and rub against the bolts on the side of the dash (pics below).

I called the service advisor and he said he would look at it tomorrow when i was in for the window regulator. When I went back in I showed him the damage and they agreed to repair it. They even wrote on the service ticket that they would repair it (ive learned that you need to get stuff in writing).

So they take my car back to install the window regulator and 30 min later they're done. I think great, that was really fast. So I get home and go to get out of my car when I notice even more damage. The access cover below the pull handle was missing and the door panel was cracked and broken.

I called and talked to the service advisor and emailed him the pictures (below). He called me back that afternoon and said that they will order a new door panel, but the tech said that damage was already there and that the door panel had obviously been removed by someone else previously. I fricken SNAPPED! To make a long storty short, they are now refusing to do anything in regard to tall this damage they caused. Honda and BBB were able to accomplish nothing for me. The service manager at Boyland Honda is a complete and utter moron. They check the car over everytime you are there for damage and note any. None was noted, because there wasnt any!

Result is I am paying the $200 out of my own pocket to get the door panel replaced. It will cost more than the repairs, but I am going to file in small claims just out of principle. Because now I only trust the dealer i purchased the car from in Rockford, IL (90 miles away) to do the repair, i will sue for court costs, my time involved and travel expenses. I spoke with my companies attorney and was told i have a pretty open/shut case with all the documentation, emails, and pictures.

Screw Boyland Honda and their fricken hack techs. Also, screw American Honda Motors for not being able to take care of a customer. I am so pissed! A Honda tech should be able to take apart a door and leave no evidence he/she was ever there!

1st damage

2nd damage

they couldnt even put this piece back on correctly where it sits flush like the passenger side? WTF

 

[Bowzer]

1st...good on ya for having the documentation both in writing and in pics.
2nd...that place is an example everything wrong in follow up and thoroughness. Their obvious lack of concern for your experience and claim is an indicator of seriously bad management.
Re Honda's input: They may be writing this off a bit since it's not a manufacturing defect but damage caused by the shop. Still, you would think there would be interest in assuring a quality product was not being destroyed by the brand named service efforts...or lack there of.

Good luck with the pursuit of justice and please provide updates. This kind of dealership service experience is all too common unforunately and a hard lesson learned.

 

[wickster]

oh trust me i will update as i get new info on all this. The dealer that is going to replace the door panel already said they will put on their letter head their professional opinion of the damage. I bet the service manager at Boyland thinks that with $200 im not going to waste my time by filing. Boy is he in for a rude awakening when the dealership gets served court papers by the Milwaukee County Sherrifs Department.

Funny thing is, they have other complaints filed with the BBB for service issues that are unresolved. Here in Milwaukee we have news channel 4 that has a segment called "4 on your side". After the court stuff is done, i may just submit my story to the news channel and give Boyland Honda some free publicity.

Im just tired of companies pushing people around and getting away with it. I dont care how much is costs me above and beyond what i can recoup in legal fee's, they are NOT going to get away with this without a fight!

 

[marksbug]

every time my E goes to the dealer they dammage it, a foot long scratch in the door,then nicke on the door then a bunch of chips on the door. then a sharpie to fix it !!! what a deal. they have yet to fix any thing under warranty, they just tear up what ever they want. honda dealers are a scam stay away, go to toyota !!!

 

[NOSkweezePSI]

That really sucks especially since there are others who have incidents everytime they take their vehicle in for service. I guess I'm lucky that the only time my element was a the dealership was 6 years ago when I first drove off the lot brand new.

 

[wickster]

this particular dealer has done the service on my car since new. I have bought many accessories from them and have never had any issues. Then this happens and their true colors come out. I mean get real. A tech is going to make mistakes which im fine with; we're all human. The issue i have is not fessin up to it and trying to say that the door panel was previously removed.

then the douche bag said the door panel was removed when i had the front windows tinted. I said how do you know the panel was removed? He said thats how they tint the side windows. I said really, because i didnt touch the door panel when "I" tinted my windows. Then i took an upholstery tool out of my center console and showed him how you roll the window scraper upon itself to tint. He felt stupid as hell.

 

[AztecRol]

Why dont they cover this under the bumper to bumper warranty???

 

[wickster]

Why dont they cover this under the bumper to bumper warranty???

its not a warranty issue. its a civil issue with the dealership

 

[simpson]

Good luck with it...

I took my Element in for an oil change and they threw in a door ding for free.

-simpson

 

[steamloco76]

Good luck with your court case. At least it is obvious the damage was caused by ham fisted disassembly. I realize service techs are under the gun for speed, however customers $$$ vehicles shouldn't be damaged just because the tech is in a hurry.

My personal experience with service damage.

The local Honda & Subaru dealer has an old time service area with only one doorway in or out. This forces the techs to jokey cars and trucks through tight spaces to get to the service bays. Guess what?- Every time I've had either my Element or Forester in there, I get it back with a new door ding or scratched bumper. Tried to make them fix the door ding they whacked into my E, however, without an inch- by -inch photo documentation of its condition on the day I dropped it off for service- I have no proof the dent wasn't already there!
Needless to say-I do all routine service myself now and dread needing any dealership specific work.

 

[bigsmokes]

long story short....in 2002 i bought a brand new sonata,,4 months later with 2k miles on the clock,,i started getting a bad vibration in the front end..took it to the dealer..one of the front rotors where defective,,they where replacing the rotor under warrenty but wanted $300 from me for the new pads,,,they said the pads worn uneven cause of the bad rotor,,,the car had 2k miles on it,,i fought with every manager in that dealership for 4 hours,,,after 4 hours of fighting i agreed to pay half $150 for the new pads,,i just wanted my car back,,the next week i sold the car,i took a little loss,,,and since then i would never buy a new car again,,,,why?...i will never deal with another dealership again..