Don’t even pretend that you’re interested in reading my long tirade about the service department at Mahwah Honda, my local Honda dealership, which managed turned a flat tire into an epic.
But if you do wanna get a peek into how balled-up and pissy I can get, feel free to check out the letter I wrote to the managers at the service department, under the title of “Worst car service I have ever received”.
On Tuesday, Nov. 28, I brought my Honda Element in to the service department at Mahwah Honda to have the rear left tire replaced. It had a slow leak, and was not repairable.
That day, I also had a 60,000 mile tune-up, and also received several other services: A/C leak repair, rear differential service, and wheel alignment. I was told by my service rep that the new tire had been put on and that my tires had been rotated, which would have put the new tire on the front left. The front left tire didn’t look new, but I’m no mechanic. Total bill $916.71.
By Sunday, Dec. 3, the front left tire was flat.
I was quite perturbed, as this made it look like the faulty, leaking tire had been put back on the the car, and simply rotated to the front left position.
Fortunately, when I brought my car back to Mahwah Honda’s service department on Monday, Dec. 4, I discovered that no such scam took place! The new tire had been put on, but it had not been rotated to the front left position. It was still on the rear left.
So what could explain the front left tire going flat? Why, the service it received at Mahwah Honda! Evidently, the service tech “attached the wheel balance too tightly” when he performed my car’s alignment on Nov. 28, which caused that tire to run flat.
Well, at least that could be easily fixed, I was told. I was charged nothing on Dec. 4, and only lost a lunch hour, which I spent waiting for Mahwah Honda to repair the damage it inflicted on my car’s front left tire.
By Thursday, Dec. 7, the front left tire was flat again.
Once again, you can imagine how perturbed I was when, after a 10-hour work day, I walked out into 20-degree temperatures and discovered that my car was barely driveable.
I brought the car in again this morning (Friday, Dec. 8) and was told that this flat tire was due to a nail, not due to any problems caused by the previous mis-handled repair! All I would need to do is spend another $100 on a new tire. Alignment (which led to one flat tire already) would be free. And, since the car would now have two new tires (the rear left had been replaced on Nov. 28, remember), they could finally rotate the tires completely, putting both new tires in the front.
I received the call today around 1:40 that the new tire was on and that they had been rotated in the configuration I just mentioned.
I drove my loaner down to Mahwah Honda to pick up my car. I discovered that, while the new tire had been added to the front left, no rotation had been performed. I now have two new tires on the left side of my car, and two old ones on the right.
The representative who brought me to my car was quite embarrassed by this discovery. He wanted to know if I wanted the tires rotated right now. I told him that I wanted the tires rotated before I came to pick up the car, not after. He then informed me that my next service at Mahwah Honda would be free. Given how slipshod the service was when I was actually paying for the work, I can’t imagine what shape my car will be in after a free session.
And, of course, this offer carried the implication that I would be willing to bring my car to Mahwah Honda under any circumstances in the future.
I can assure you that that’s not going to happen. I’m astonished by the poor service I received at Mahwah Honda, and will not hesitate to let the parent company know when I receive my survey in the mail.
Thanks for listening,
Gil Roth
[customer #xxxxx]