Woodson Honda

Review: My Honda Civic was purchased new in October of 2004 from [redacted] in [redacted] West Virginia. I’ve always taken care of my car and I have really enjoyed it. On March 18, 2013 I visited Rick Woodson Honda in Roanoke, VA because it was time to have my timing belt replaced. I had several other options, but I wanted to go to a Honda dealer because I knew this was a service that was pretty intensive and I thought using Honda parts and Honda personnel would be the best option. I had the timing belt replaced and paid $524.94 for the service. After my car was returned to me, I drove it home and noticed it seemed very rough and vibrated a great deal while idling, and it also had an incredibly loud squeal. I took my car back to Rick Woodson Honda FOUR times within a span of about 2 weeks because the vibrations and squealing continued. Each time I would call before bringing my car in and one of the Service Advisors would take my name and they would usually tell me to bring my car right over, or they would call me back after speaking to a mechanic and then they would tell me to bring my car over. During each visit to Rick Woodson Honda, I was mostly told that the mechanic tightened the belt some more and the squealing did lessen after several trips but the vibrations still continued heavily. After the fourth visit, I was told that the mechanic had looked over everything in my car and that all the belts were installed correctly, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with my vehicle and there was nothing else they could do for me and that I just needed to drive it. The vibrations continued. On December 26, 2013, I took my car to a reputable mechanic for a routine state inspection. The mechanic told me that I had something wrong with my engine because he could feel the major vibrations when he started the vehicle. I explained to him that it had been that way ever since I had my timing belt replaced. He asked me a series of questions and inspected the vehicle. He determined that the timing belt was off one tooth. He told me to take my car back to Rick Woodson Honda and tell the mechanic that my timing belt was off one tooth. I knew there was something wrong with my vehicle. It had not run the same since I had the timing belt changed and the vibrations were so jarring, my hand would vibrate noticeably if it was on the steering wheel and the trunk rattled loudly if it was open. However, I had taken my car back to Rick Woodson Honda multiple times and at my last visit, they had assured me that nothing was wrong with my vehicle, and that I needed to drive it. On Monday, December 30, 2013 I dropped off my car to Rick Woodson Honda and told a Service Advisor that I had another mechanic look at my car. I told the Service Advisor that during the inspection, the mechanic noticed the timing belt was off one tooth and I needed Rick Woodson Honda to fix it since they were the ones who installed it. On Tuesday morning, December 31, 2013 I received a call from Service Advisor [redacted] stating that the mechanic had looked over my car and the timing belt had no issues and was properly installed. She then told me that the mechanic found three broken motor mounts and stated that was the cause of the vibrations I felt and it would be $670 to fix them. I told them not to touch my car and that I would be down to talk to the mechanic and manager in person. My fiancé and I immediately went to Rick Woodson Honda and one of the Service Advisors got the mechanic for me. His name is [redacted] and I believe his last name is [redacted]. He came out to speak with me and reiterated that the timing belt was fine but that I had three broken motor mounts. He said two motor mounts were broken through and one was cracked and that all three needed replaced. I questioned him why my car had suddenly begun running horribly immediately AFTER I had let Rick Woodson Honda change my timing belt. I kept trying to explain that it had run perfectly fine BEFORE I took it to Rick Woodson Honda to have the timing belt replaced, and then once I got it back, it had major issues. I asked the mechanic if he broke the motor mounts while trying to change the timing belt. He said he didn’t touch the motor mounts. He was getting loud and was very unprofessional and I asked to speak to his manager The Assistant Service Manager, Mr. [redacted], came out to speak with me along with the mechanic [redacted]. I explained the situation that I brought in a well running vehicle to have the timing belt changed and that I received a vehicle running poorly in return. I took the vehicle back to Rick Woodson Honda FOUR times and yet on my fourth visit, I was told there was absolutely nothing wrong with my vehicle. Then when I received a second opinion when I had my car inspected, another mechanic told me the timing belt was off one tooth and that’s why I brought the car back again a fifth time after the initial timing belt replacement. I explained to Mr. [redacted] that the mechanic was now telling me that I have three broken motor mounts and that I needed to pay $670 to repair them. The Assistant Manager insisted that the broken motor mounts would cause the vibrations I had been feeling. Mr. [redacted] went out to the car, started the ignition and sat in it for a few seconds and determined that broken motor mounts were definitely to blame for any vibrations. He then took the car inside to look at the timing belt himself. After a few minutes, he came back in and insisted nothing was wrong with my timing belt, but that I had three broken motor mounts. Again I asked Mr. [redacted] to explain what had happened when I brought a well running vehicle to Rick Woodson Honda for preventative maintenance but then received a vehicle running poorly in return. He couldn’t explain why that had happened and I asked him to get his manager and that I also wanted the name and number of the District or Regional Honda Manager. Mr. [redacted] proceeded to LAUGH AT ME and smiled as he said “Oh, there isn’t any District Manager.” Mr. [redacted] left and brought Service Manager [redacted] back with him. They said there was no issue with the timing belt and that the motor mounts were broken. I asked again if the mechanics broke the motor mounts while changing the timing belt. They all said no. I asked again why there was a sudden change in the way my vehicle ran when I had the timing belt changed. Neither the Service Manager, Assistant Service Manager, nor the mechanic could answer my question. In fact, the Service Manager told me “coincidences happen.” The Assistant Manager asked why I was just now reporting the issue. I said I had been back FOUR times immediately following the timing belt replacement for the vibration issues and squealing issues. He said he had no record of that and asked why I had not brought him in on the issue earlier if that was the case. I couldn’t believe it. I had given my name every time I called and every time I had entered the garage and I had seen the Service Advisors type at their computers when I gave them my name. I questioned Mr. [redacted] about it. I told him to ask his employees about seeing me here multiple times. In fact [redacted] the mechanic made a snide comment during one of my four return visits. I had pulled up and stepped out of the car and the service advisor asked if I needed help. He didn’t think I saw him, but [redacted] the mechanic was standing right near the front desk as I pulled up and he rolled his eyes and then stated very snidely “Oh, she’s been here SEVERAL times. I’ll take her car back.” Once I told Mr. [redacted] to ask his employees about me being there multiple times, the mechanic [redacted] finally admitted that I had been there at least twice AFTER the timing belt replacement for issues with my car. He then stated that I never told him the car was vibrating so badly. He said I only reported the squealing, which is a lie. Since the Rick Woodson employees have admitted I was there, but have no record of it in their files, I assume they have extremely poor record-keeping abilities. I don’t trust them to remember what I told them based on memory alone. The Manager, Mr. [redacted], in addition to the other two gentlemen, got very loud with me and I am absolutely shocked at the unprofessionalism exhibited by this dealer. These three grown men even got so close and began to lean into me so much while speaking loudly at me that my fiancé had to put out his hand out in front of them and ask them to please step back. No one could answer my questions about why my car ran so poorly immediately following the timing belt replacement. They couldn’t tell me why they told me to run the vehicle with the severe vibrations, and why THREE motor mounts would break at one time. The Service Manager stated that if he had a washing machine repaired and his dryer stops working the next day, he doesn’t blame the repairman. That analogy made no sense to me since they are two completely different machines. As these three men jumped all over me and blamed me for their mistakes, I realized I had never seen such neglectful, unethical and unprofessional behavior before. I finally left because no one would do anything to help me and none of them could answer any of my questions. I said I would file a complaint with the Revdex.com and the Service Manager replied “good.” It tells me a great deal about this organization that Mr. [redacted], the Service Manager, thinks it’s a joke to have an unsatisfied customer ready to report a major complaint to the Revdex.com. I left and drove my car to a trusted reputable mechanic where I set up an appointment to have him look my car over on Friday, January 3, 2013. However, as I drove to the mechanic, I noticed the vibration had stopped. My car no longer sounds horrible and it no longer vibrates. I believe the Rick Woodson Honda mechanic DID put the timing belt on incorrectly. He didn’t have enough knowledge or was too lazy to find the mistake during the four times I visited Rick Woodson Honda immediately following the timing belt replacement. Then, in order to get me out of his hair, he just told me to drive the vehicle. Meanwhile, I believed the horrible vibrations from the timing belt being off caused my motor mounts to break. When I took my car back to Rick Woodson Honda this fifth time following the replacement of the timing belt and told them another mechanic looked at my vehicle and said the timing belt was off, the Rick Woodson Honda mechanic finally realized the mistake with the timing belt and put it on properly, therefore eliminating the vibrations. Instead of just admitting the mistake and making the appropriate repair, [redacted] lied about it and then proceeded to tell me that I had three broken motor mounts and wanted even more money to repair them. On Friday, January 3, 2013, I took my car to the reputable mechanic to have my car looked over. I specifically asked this mechanic to inspect the motor mounts. The mechanic noted “INSPECTED ENGINE MOUNTS—ALL HAVE NORMAL WEAR FOR THE AGE OF THE CAR—NONE ARE VISIBLY BROKEN, NO VIBRATION IS FOUND IN THE VEHICLE AT THIS TIME.” So now Rick Woodson Honda has lied about my motor mounts being broken and needing replaced as well. In summary, Rick Woodson Honda has not only lied to me repeatedly, but the mechanic [redacted], Assistant Service Manager Mr. [redacted], and Service Manager [redacted] have laughed at me, yelled at me and have displayed completely unethical, negligent, incompetent and unprofessional behavior. I will never return to this dealer and I am completely unsatisfied with their performance to say the least. I have already filed a complaint with the American Honda Corporate Office.Desired Settlement: I would like a complete refund. I certainly don't mind paying for a service when the service is performed appropriately and without incident. I wouldn't have minded paying for the service if the mechanic had admitted to his mistake, apologized and corrected the mistake. However, I do not believe I should have to pay for a service rendered with such gross negligence and unethical behavior. I am absolutely appalled at the way I was treated and I deserve a complete refund.

Business

Response:

Good evening, I apologize for the delay in responding to this complaint. It took some extensive interviewing of many staff members to come to my conclusion. Invoice # 260581 September 08, 2008 40,980 miles. complaint ,car shut off cause, oil was too full complaint, rt front window hard to roll up and down cause, channel run needs replacing work Declined on channel run Invoice # 261201 September 22, 2008 41,249 miles Front window hard to roll up and down. quote provided for new channel run, Work declined on channel run Invoice #340076 March 18, 2013 91,116 miles Replace timing belt and water pump Invoice # 356574 December 30, 2013 102,076 miles complaint, vehicle has an occasional squeal since timing belt was performed. Cause checked and found side and lower transmission motor mounts need replacing. The bold underlined are the repair orders in question. I just wanted to provide all of the Repair orders for this vehicle that we have on file. It is our position that we did the timing belt and water pump service correctly. The customer drove the car for 10,960 miles before complaining that there was a noise. The vehicle was diagnosed as having two broken motor mounts with two others being weak. The resolution Woodson Honda has is for the customer to take the vehicle to a FRANCHISED HONDA dealer to have the motor mounts checked. If at that time another HONDA dealer says there is nothing wrong with the motor mounts on her vehicle (in writing on a repair order) Woodson Honda will refund every dollar she has ever spend with Woodson Honda Service. (repair orders attached) Thank You, Greg Shortridge

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. First, I’d like to start off by addressing the fact that Mr. Shortridge’s statement that “The customer drove the car for 10,960 miles before complaining that there was a noise” is absolutely false. As I have stated previously, I returned to Woodson Honda FOUR TIMES within a span of about two weeks following the March 18 timing belt replacement complaining about the vibrations and squealing in my car. It is absolutely not my fault that Woodson Honda does not keep accurate records. As I have also stated previously, Woodson Honda’s OWN MECHANIC ADMITTED in front of myself, my fiancé, the Assistant Service Manager [redacted] and the Service Manager [redacted] that I had in fact returned to the Woodson Honda shop AT LEAST TWICE immediately following the replacement of the timing belt on March 18, 2013 because the mechanic himself ([redacted]) had looked my car over during those follow-up visits. In fact, I did return to the Woodson Honda shop FOUR TIMES complaining of the vibrations and squealing. So once again, the statement that indicates I drove the car for over 10,000 miles before complaining about a noise is a downright lie and falsity. I’m also appalled that the way I was treated by the staff of Woodson Honda has never once been addressed. Instead of addressing the actual issues at hand, Mr. Shortridge would rather discuss information that has no bearing on my current complaint against Woodson Honda. So rather than apologizing or at the very least acknowledging that I have been extremely mistreated by the staff at Woodson Honda, Mr. Shortridge would rather spend time typing out my past history with Woodson Honda, which again has nothing to do with the current situation. Perhaps Mr. Shortridge thinks it is nothing to worry about when his staff behaves in such an egregious manner towards a customer, but I think such behavior is undeniably unacceptable. It is inappropriate for any business to laugh at, demean, yell at or lie to their customers. I take offense to the fact that I was treated so poorly and although it does not surprise me, I take offense to the fact that NOT ONE person at Woodson Honda has addressed this issue in the slightest. I also find it curious that Mr. Shortridge found it necessary to include in this correspondence, some of my history with Woodson Honda that is not at all important to the issue at hand, but then failed to include some of the most important information that does bear relevance to this issue. Mr. Shortridge wrote “Invoice # 356574 December 30, 2013 102,076 miles complaint, vehicle has an occasional squeal since timing belt was performed. Cause checked and found side and lower transmission motor mounts need replacing.” Yet he completely ignored the rest of the complaint on the invoice. The complaint in its entirety states: “A CUSTOMER STATES VEHICLE STILL HAS AN OCCASIONAL SQUEAL SINCE TIMING BELT WAS PERFORMED AND RUNS REAL ROUGH AT IDLE - WAS TOLD BY ANOTHER SHOP THAT VEHICLE IS OUT OF TIME.” This is just another example of Woodson Honda not telling the full story. Now, I want answers. Why did I bring in a well running car to Woodson Honda on March 18, 2013 and receive a poor running car in return? Why then on my fourth follow-up visit to Woodson Honda after the timing belt was replaced was I told that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my vehicle (although the car had horrible vibrations) and that it was absolutely fine to drive it? Why then on my fifth follow-up visit to Woodson Honda on December 30, 2013 when I told the Woodson Honda Service Advisor, [redacted], that my timing belt was off one tooth and I needed Woodson Honda to properly adjust the timing belt, did the vibrations in my car cease when I picked up my car the day after I dropped it off at Woodson Honda? Let’s re-examine the events of the FIFTH follow-up visit to Woodson Honda: a.) I bring my car in to Woodson Honda at noon on December 30, 2013 and tell the Service Advisor to tell the mechanic that the timing belt was off one tooth. b.) The following day, December 31, 2013, shortly before noon I receive a call from Woodson Honda’s Service Advisor stating that the mechanic found absolutely nothing wrong with my timing belt but also stating that I had 3 broken motor mounts and it would be $670 to fix them. I tell the Service Advisor that I don’t want the mechanics touching my car and that I will be there immediately to speak with the manager. c.) When I pick up my car from Woodson Honda, the vibrations that have existed since I had my timing belt replaced are no longer present. d.) In summary, I find it incredibly strange that the horrible vibrations that have plagued my car since my timing belt was replaced suddenly no longer exist when I tell Woodson Honda that my timing belt was off one tooth and leave my car with the mechanic overnight. I also find it strange that the mechanic comes back to tell me that nothing was wrong with my timing belt but that I now have not one, not two, but THREE broken motor mounts that need replaced for an additional fee. I am now told by Mr. Shortridge that there are issues with FOUR of my motor mounts. It’s strange how every time I get another communication from Woodson Honda, they claim there is suddenly something new that is wrong with my car. What happened to my car? Why did I have horrible vibrations after I dropped my car off to Woodson Honda to have the timing belt replaced? Why did the vibrations go away after the FIFTH follow-up visit to Woodson Honda when I told the mechanic the timing belt was off one tooth and left the car with the Woodson Honda mechanic overnight? (I will NOT accept “Coincidences happen” as a valid response.) Why does Woodson Honda not keep accurate records of clients returning for follow-up visits after Woodson Honda has performed a service for that client? (When the mechanic, [redacted] admitted that I had indeed returned to Woodson Honda multiple times right after the timing belt service was replaced, the Service Manager, Mr. [redacted], admitted that Woodson Honda keeps no record of follow-up visits from clients.) Why was I treated so poorly and with so much disrespect by the Woodson Honda staff? This is an extremely important issue for me and I want this addressed.Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Answers to customers questions numbered as they were requested. 1. There is no evidence that the customer received a poor running car in return. 2. There is no record of a fourth follow up visit. 3. There was nothing wrong with the timing belt replacement that took place nearly 11,000 miles previously. There are bad motor mounts on the customers vehicle. As in my previous response please have them checked by another Honda dealer. If another dealer says they are fine I will refund money and admit my service department was unethical. At this time I am hearing nothing but unsubstantiated rants. 4. This is an opinion. No work was performed on your vehicle. 5. A repair order is generated each time work is performed on a vehicle. No repair order means there was no diagnosis or work performed on your vehicle. 6. I apologize that you feel you were treated poorly. You must understand that my staff is stating that you screamed at them. You were out of hand.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.1. There is evidence that I received a poor running car after my timing belt was replaced, because I brought my car back multiple times after the timing belt replacement and Woodson Honda's own mechanic admits it.2. Woodson Honda does not keep accurate records and Service Manager [redacted] admitted that Woodson Honda keeps no records of follow up visits. Or was he lying to me when he stated that? This is an extremely poor business practice. However, it does benefit Woodson Honda in cases like mine to be able to say "we have no record of follow-up visits" even though they know it is an absolute lie and that Woodson Honda's OWN EMPLOYEES admit I had returned multiple times right after the timing belt was replaced.3. Again, no one has ever explained why I received a poor running car when my timing belt was replaced and then I received a car with no vibrations during my fifth follow-up visit to Woodson Honda when I told the mechanic exactly how to fix the vibration issue of my car.4. This is not an opinion. A certified mechanic inspected my vehicle and identified the issue with my vehicle correctly. Once I told the Woodson Honda mechanic what the issue was and took my car in to have the timing belt looked at for the FIFTH time, I received the car back with no vibrations.5. This is yet another lie. Woodson Honda's own mechanic admitted that I returned multiple times after the timing belt replacement. I received no paperwork for these follow-up visits, so was your mechanic lying to me when I brought my vehicle in and he said he tightened up a belt? Or are you lying now by saying that a repair order is generated each and every time work is performed on the vehicle? Which is it? There is apparently no "record" of any of my return visits even though you know I did return multiple times because your own staff admits it. So I can only conclude that a repair order is in fact NOT generated every time work is performed on a vehicle because I never received them. Why did Service Manager [redacted] admit that Woodson Honda keeps no records of follow up visits? Was he lying to me as well? 6. I did raise my voice at your staff but only after your staff got confrontational and raised their voices at me. I NEVER screamed at your staff. I was NOT out of hand. This is just another lie from the Woodson Honda team. I expect nothing less at this point. I would suggest that your staff not raise their voices and confront clients in a very unprofessional manner in front of other clients if they do not want a similar response in return.I expect to be reimbursed by Woodson Honda for all travel expenses and inspection costs when I have another Honda Dealer inspect my motor mounts. I have shared my experience with Woodson Honda to others and in return I have heard many similar stories of the negligence and unethical behavior of Woodson Honda. Whether you want to admit it or not, there IS a problem with your mechanic and your team.Regards,[redacted]

Review: I recently purchased a car that I found using your site. When my wife and I were driving the car home the check engine light came on. Brought it to [redacted] up by us and it's a $900 repair. In addition to the cost we will not be able to register the vehicle with a check engine light on.

The Dealer was Woodson Honda in Virginia.

General Manager

Woodson Honda

Sales person was [redacted]

###-###-####

We paid almost $35,000 for the vehicle. It concerns me that we purchased the vehicle and not 3 hours later a check engine light came on.

I emailed and called the dealership and salesperson. I still have yet to get this resolved.Desired Settlement: Refund price of repair 930

Business

Response:

Attached are the Buyers Guide required by federal law that discloses the vehicles warranty. As disclosed the vehicle was warrantied for 3 months or 3,000 miles whichever comes first (ENGINE INTERNAL LUBRICATED PARTS ONLY), TRANSMISSION (INTERNAL LUBRICATED PARTS ONLY). The back of the BUYERS GUIDE advises consumers of potential problems in used vehicles. This Buyers Guide is signed by Mr [redacted]. Also attached is the signed declination for where Mr [redacted] did not want the extended service agreement.We offer extended service agreements to all of our customers. No one can guarantee that a used car will not have a problem. Thank You,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

A $930 repair on the day the vehicle is purchased is a little suspect. You would think that a dealership would accurately represent the vehicles they sell and stand behind their product. We're not talking about months or weeks before an issue. It was the same day. I know the car records the cel history for the car. Maybe the check engine light was just cleared by your "service department" instead of being fixed. I purchased the car sight unseen relying on the online reviews of a company. Looks like your trying to pull a fast one on a customer out of state.Shame on you guys.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Mr [redacted] over a period of three weeks worked with [redacted] the sales consultant. During this time period [redacted] send Mr [redacted] detailed pictures. Mr [redacted] requested that we fix damage on the front bumper. We had the frontbumper repaired. Repair order attached. Mr. [redacted] was drove from his home to Woodson Honda to inspect and pick up the 2011 Audi Q7. Mr [redacted] spent approximately 50 minutes on a test drive of the vehicle. [redacted] told Mr [redacted]that the AUDI dealership was a block down the road and he may take it there to have it checked out if he so wished. Mr [redacted] declined. The 2011 Audi Q7 was serviced and inspected by our dealership prior to sale. The repair order totaled $1182.20. Repair order attached. We do not "reset" check engine lights and then sell the car to public to avoid repairing the vehicle. So Mr [redacted]s claim of purchasing the vehicle "sight unseen" is clearly false. This vehicle was purchased in early May as my personal company vehicle. I personally drove this vehicle nearly 3,000 miles. I changed to a Land Rover when Mr [redacted] decided to buy the 2011 Audi Q7.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.It just seems very suspect to me that missing floor mats and the cracked rear cargo bin were not mentioned in the listing or pictures. When I mentioned it to [redacted] his response was what are you going to do not buy it... Obviously having driven 10 hours to your dealership I put a lot of faith in the only information I had (pictures and written description). It's just a shame that Woodson Honda Does not stand behind its products. Don't you think it's suspicious that a couple of hours after driving off the lot the check engine light came on? I have never owned an Audi or Land Rover before but I would think when you sell a car it should be without problems. But I'm not the expert here.Is it because you know I live out of state and probably won't buy from you again? Or do you treat all your customers this way. We paid almost $35,000 for this vehicle I would expect it could be registered without having to drop another $1,000!

Regards,

Review: I wish to file a formal complaint towards Woodson Honda on [redacted] in Roanoke. Most specifically, this complaint is more about a problem with an employee and not so much the business itself. Due to the employee that this complaint involves is the general manager, I ask that this complaint be submitted to the next higher manager for response. In order to lay the foundation of my complaint, I feel that I must try to explain the events that led up to my submitting this complaint.

My son had been looking to purchase a used Dodge Charger and had been searching for the right car for the right price for approximately a year. During this search he had been saving as much money as he could in order to make this purchase. Also, during his search, I had asked my brother-in-law to keep an eye out for a car that may fit what my son was looking for. He of course said that he would, and that he would arrange for the car, once we found one, to be brought to Woodson Honda for him. This is where my brother–in-law was working at the time as a sales associate. At some point just prior to July 22, 2014, my son found a car that fit what he had been looking for. This car was on the used car lot at [redacted] on [redacted]. After speaking with my brother-in-law about the car, it was decided that he would look into getting the car to Woodson Honda. He called me back a short time later to inform me that his boss did agree to make it happen. On Tuesday, July 22, 2014, my son took possession of the 2008 Dodge Charger AWD. For the record, I am a co-signer on the car and therefore do have ownership rights and that is why I am filing this complaint, and not my son. As part of the sales agreement, we were given a 3 month, 3,000 mile powertrain warranty on the car. We were offered optional extended warranty coverage for the car, but we did refuse such coverage. Life at this time was good. My son was finally in a car that he had been saving for and researching for well over a year and my brother-in-law was able to sell another car.

About 3 weeks went by without any problems. My son even made a trip to Maryland with the car and was fully satisfied. Then it started! Sometime shortly before August 18, 2014, the check engine light came on. This car is equipped with a check engine code directory. The code was for a misfire in cylinder #2. We took the car to the service department at Woodson Honda to have it looked at. They immediately said that it appears to be a maintenance issue and that it was not a warranty item. Basically speaking, they said that it needed a tune up. Here it is, a car that we have had less than a month and it is in need of a tune up. They quoted a price for the tune up. My son and I decided to take it take another mechanic that we have used in times past and fully trust to perform the tune up. After the tune up was completed we were given 2 of the 6 spark plugs from the car. Both had visible damage to them with one of the electrodes being bent. It had the appearance to me as if one, or both, had been struck by the engine piston. The 2 plugs were from the #2 and #5 cylinders. At this point, there have not been any compression tests done on the engine. The tune was done on August 18, 2014 at a total cost of $123.94. The very next day after the tune up was done, the check engine light came on again with the very same #2 misfire code. Again, we took the car to Woodson service center. The basically said that the same problem exists and that it was not a warranty issue. We had our mechanic that performed the tune up look over the car and he concluded that it was in need of at least one coil and maybe more. Fortunately, he happened to have a full set of working, used coils. He was able to replace the coil for us at no additional charge. Later that very same day, the check engine light came on yet again and with the very same code, #2 misfire.

Frustrated, and not very happy, my son and I took the car back to Woodson service center on August 28, 2014 and demanded that something be done with the car. They initially proceeded to tell us that there would be a diagnostic fee of over $100.00 just to look at the car. That was not acceptable to either myself or my son. It was finally agreed that they would take the car and look into the problem. A short time later I received a phone call from my brother-in-law informing me that the car had in fact dropped a cylinder and that there was no, or very little, compression in cylinder #2. It was their opinion that it would need the bottom end of the engine to be replaced. On August 29, 2014, Woodson had sent the car to [redacted] in Salem for the proper repairs.

This is where things went from bad to worse. I will spare you of the specifics as it relates to [redacted], but I will just say that their service and customer service has very much to be desired. However, this complaint is not about [redacted] as it is all about the general manger at Woodson. It took [redacted] over 4 weeks to perform the necessary service on this car. Something that I am told by several different mechanics that should only take a few days. Keeping in mind that they have other customers, I feel that 2 weeks would have been more than fair to expect the repairs to be made. You can imagine what kind of frustrations had been built over the 4 plus weeks though. After numerous phones calls and personal visits to both Woodson and [redacted], we finally got the car back on September 29, 20014. This is where the interaction with the general manager at Woodson comes into play.

After being so frustrated and not getting any answers form anybody, I felt that it was time that I moved up the ladder of management with Woodson. Therefore, sometime during the final week I contacted the general manager in hopes to get some help. During my initial phone conversation with him, he seemed truly concerned about this problem and he said that he would make some calls and get back to me. A little later that day he did return my call, but I was not available to talk at that time. His voicemail stated that he was still looking into the matter and that he would call me back before the end of the day. This was on Friday, September 19, 2014. I never got that call. I then called him back on the following Monday. At that time, I was told that we would have the car back Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. During this telephone conversation is when things started to get unprofessional in my opinion. The general manager proceeded to apologize to me about the problem and that he will never use that, “[redacted] ever again!” He went on to say that this is all the fault of the worthless sales associate that should have never sold this car in the first place because “we don’t buy used cars form other dealers just to turn around and sell.” He then went on to tell me that “All we did was put a sticker on the car and trusted in [redacted] in their inspection of the car.” He even bashed [redacted], but I just don’t remember exactly what he said. Basically speaking, here is a general manager of a multi-million dollar a year car dealership that is using profanity and just degrading everyone he can think of directly to a customer and thinking that it is ok! It is not! It is totally unprofessional and inappropriate. He was basically blaming everyone he can think of without accepting the accountability that a general manger of such a business should do. The thing is, it didn’t stop here!

The promise date of Thursday for the return of the car had came and went without so much as a phone call of explanation. On that Thursday, I tried to call Woodson’s service manager twice, and my son tried to call once. I also tried to call [redacted] and got absolutely no answers or returned phone calls. So I called the general manager yet again on Friday the 26 seeking answers. Yet again I was on the receiving end of frustrated expletives. He then proceeded to offer to just buy the car back fully and pay off the loan. He proceeded to again slam the “worthless sales associate” and went on to say that he just wants the problem gone and cut his losses. Frankly, my son loves this car and wants this car in proper working order as expected when it was purchased. We don’t want all of the unprofessional talk and activity. We just want the car back fixed! However, I just told him that I will have to discuss it with my son. Until then, I told him that I would be making a personal visit to [redacted]. After visiting [redacted] with no success, my son and I stopped in the talk to the general manger at Woodson in person. While in his office, he again slammed his former sales associate and placed all blame with this problem on him! After some discussion, I informed him that we do not accept the offer to buy the car back and that we are requesting that he provide a 12 month/12,000 mile powertrain warranty. He said that he would have to think on that. All the while he continues to rant and rave as to how he is losing so much money on this “d**n car” and that he has to pay for the repairs himself because his “worthless sales associate did the warranty papers wrong!” Frankly, I don’t care about any of his internal woes. Frankly, I don’t like how he is blaming and slamming a former employee of his that can’t effectively defend himself. During this meeting, he did ultimately and reluctantly agree to provide the warranty as requested. But he just continued on slamming his former sales associate. Now this whole bashing of a former employee thing has offended me in 2 different ways, professionally and personally. As a professional you simply do not use foul language and you don’t try to push responsibility off on someone that is not available to defend him or herself. You should accept responsibility and move forward to find a resolution. Save the internal issues or problems for internal resolution. On the personal level, I do not think that the general manager put it together as to who the former sales associate is to me. I would hope that he would have acted differently if he would have made that connection. You simply just don’t know who you are speaking to when these kind of matters are discussed so you just don’t make it personal like he did many times over. I have several friends that work there and I have heard on more than one occasion that he is going around and talking about this matter openly. Frankly, I don’t appreciate my personal business being spoken about with people that have absolutely no business knowing about this or what is going on.

I am sorry that this ended up being so long, but I feel that a full understanding of the events that led up to the time I had a problem with the general manger are very important. I am requesting the following in an effort to resolve this problem:

1. The general manger should not be the one to directly respond to this complaint since the complaint is specifically meant to be towards him. I respectfully request that one of his superiors be the respondent.

2. If Woodson would have listened to our concerns about the problem in the beginning, I don’t feel that my son would have had to spend the extra money for the tune up. Therefore, I am requesting the expense for the tune up be reimbursed to my son.

3. I ask that the general manager provide a written apology to myself and my son for the unprofessional manner in which he held himself in our presence. This apology should also address the inappropriate attacks on my brother-in-law.Desired Settlement: Please see the text of my complaint above

Business

Response:

Mr [redacted] repairs were made to his vehcle at no cost to him. Mr [redacted] was provided with a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty at no charge to him as compenstation for his troubles.

Mr [redacted] was also provided a loaner car for the full duration of his repair.

As to Mr [redacted] opinion of the General Manger that has nothing to do with his repair of his vehicle. I have spoken to [redacted] my direct supervisor and dealer and I will not be issuing a letter of appologies.

Thank You,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The general manager's response doesn't even come close to being acceptable. While it is true that the repairs were in fact made on the vehicle and they were made at not cost to me or my son. This would be fully expected as per the warranty agreement that was given at the time of the purchase of the vehicle. Not to mention is the sole responsibility as the selling dealer of this car. Of course, taking over 4 weeks is not really at that reasonable. Yes, the request for an extension of the initial warranty of 3 months/3,000 miles was ultimately honored and extended to 12 months/ 12,000 miles. This does help to have a piece of mind that the repairs weren't simply done enough to get past the 3 month or 3,000 mile range. Yes, a loaner car was provided by the sales associate an it was returned well before the repairs were even close to being completed on the car. Interestingly enough, none of those issues were directly stated as a complaint by me. Then he responds to my "opinion" of the general manager. Well, it is much more than opinion. It is a fact that the general manager did slander one of his former employees. It is a fact that he did use profanity numerous times while speaking with me, both on the telephone and in person. There is no opinion there. The fact remains that both my son and I were insulted and offended by these comments stated directly by the general manager. If in fact his direct supervisor was spoken to about this, I find it very hard to beleive that he would allow one of his customer to be insulted and offended with such a short and non-addressing response as the general manager has given. In my initial complaint I had 3 very basic requests and not a single one of those requests were even attempted to be addressed. My 3 requests remain unchanged. They are: 1) The general manger should not be the one to

directly respond to this complaint since the complaint is specifically meant to

be towards him. I respectfully request

that one of his superiors be the respondent. 2) If Woodson would have listened to our concerns about

the problem in the beginning, I don’t feel that my son would have had to spend

the extra money for the tune up.

Therefore, I am requesting the expense for the tune up be reimbursed to

my son. 3) I ask that the general manager provide a written

apology to myself and my son for the unprofessional manner in which he held

himself in our presence. This apology

should also address the inappropriate attacks on my brother-in-law. I do not feel that any one of these requests for resolution are anywhere close to being unreasonable considering all that has transpired over the last 4 plus weeks.

Regards,

Business

Response:

As the General Manager of Woodson Honda, I am the final decision maker. Therefore, I respond to complaints.

First, we regret that our customer was not satisfied with his experience at Woodson. In the interest of customer satisfaction and to rectify the situation, we have offered to buy the car back from the customer; the offer was declined. A loaner car was provided while the vehicle was being repaired (under warranty) and we have provided a 12 month, 12,000 mile limited powertrain warranty per the customer’s request. We do not believe reimbursement for the tune-up is warranted. No apology will be given because the customer’s statement of our discussion differs greatly from mine and Woodson employees that heard the conversation.

Thank you,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

As the VP, General Manager of [redacted], I

too am the final decision maker.

Therefore, I too respond to any consumer complaint that may come into

our office. However, I do answer to a

higher boss, just as the General Manager of Woodson Honda does. Should a consumer complaint come into my

office that is directed specifically towards me then I would defer the proper

response to my higher boss. Just as a

judge will step away from a case that he or she may have a personal interest or

knowledge of, I am asking that Woodson’s General Manager do the same here.

The General Manager states, “In the interest of customer

satisfaction and to rectify the situation, we have offered to buy the car back

from the customer; the offer was declined.”

Not once was it even insinuated that my son or I wanted to return the

car to have it bought back. This “offer”

was not in the interest of customer satisfaction, it was solely in the General

Manager’s interest. The general manager

specifically stated, “I just want this problem to go away so I will offer to

buy the car back.” If he was trying to

look out for his customer then he would have known that we wanted the car back

and he would have worked towards that goal and not try to sweep the whole thing

under the rug. Even when I informed him

that I would be making a personal visit to [redacted] in an effort to get the car

back, I invited the general manager along.

I thought that would maybe get some action going with [redacted] when they

have both the general manger of Woodson Honda and the car owner glaring at

him. However, the general manager

declined to make that visit stating, “I am too busy!” Nonetheless, we are getting away from the

core of my original complaint. If you

remember correctly, the core of the complaint ultimately was not related to the

length of time it took to get the repairs done.

Nor did it have anything to do with whether they gave us a loaner car or

not. The total core of the complaint is

all about the inappropriate, insulting and slanderous comments that he made

about one of his former employees and the foul language that was used by the

general manager in numerous occasions.

The general manager states, “No apology will be given because the

customer’s statement of our discussion differs greatly from mine and Woodson

employees that heard the conversation.”

I find this statement very odd because the fact of the matter is that

the personal conversation took place in his office, with the door closed, and

only the general manager, my son and myself were present. So unless he was secretly recording the

conversation without my knowledge, how would anyone else even know what was

said behind closed doors? Is it that

maybe he has been talking to these other Woodson employees as I stated in my

previous writing? Which, by the way, I

know that this has happened on at least 2 separate occasions. As for the rental car and powertrain warranty

subject, I don’t feel they need to be discussed any further. I acknowledged them both in my last

writing. Not to mention, they have no

bearing on the core of my complaint. As

for the request for the reimbursement of the tune up cost, I will just withdrawal

that request at this point. Even though

this cost would have been part of the ultimate repairs if Woodson’s service

department listened to their customer in the first place. Either way, this isn’t about the money in any

way. I don’t want this whole thing to be

muddied up over money. Simply put, my complaint

has nothing to do about money and everything to do about terrible customer

service that borders slander! I still

request a formal written apology on behalf of Woodson Honda for the totally

inappropriate actions and comments by their general manager. As well as, I request that this complaint be

handled by someone of higher authority than the general manger.

In closing, I am fully aware as to the complaint process

here. Basically speaking, if the

complaint cannot be effectively resolved after a certain number of responses by

both parties, then it will be the complaint will be closed. Should my 2 basic requests here go

unanswered, then I will proceed with the next level of complaint process with

Honda Motors corporate offices. I only

say this because I believe in what I say in this entire complaint. I have been offended and insulted! That is not a matter of opinion. The slanderous and false comments about their

former employee and the foul language used in my direct presence are the cause

of my being offended and insulted.

Regards,