Anyone p'd off at Honda? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone p'd off at Honda?

ap4000

ap4000

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When I bought my bike I was extremely happy with the sales and service at Snow City since I also deal with them for my seadoo parts and service.

Suddenly Honda decided to change their sales and service strategy and pulled the dealerships away from their dealers to open their own sales and service centers. I wasn't happy but didn't mind since they opened one not too far from my house. A year after that they decided to close that location and now the closest Honda dealer is I believe Ajax. For a city as big as Toronto for Honda to do this is absolutely appalling. It shows you Honda's arrogance and lack of customer focus being one of the top MC sellers.

I know I will not make a dent in Hondas sales but this will be my last Honda, car,Bike, lawn mower or anything. I hope that what they have done will make other Honda owners feel the same way and make Honda wake up and smell the competition.

All of you Torontonians that own Hondas. What are your thoughts?
 
May I ask why you'd want to go back to the stealership after buying a bike there? I understand that there is warranty and stuff, but IMHO I'd rather work on my bike on my own than give it to those people.
 
Honda seems to be shooting themselves in the foot every chance they get. After owning 5 Honda cars, I took my business elsewhere because NONE of their cars matched my criteria (RWD Sports Coupe with a roof).
 
ViperZ said:
May I ask why you'd want to go back to the stealership after buying a bike there? I understand that there is warranty and stuff, but IMHO I'd rather work on my bike on my own than give it to those people.
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Part of it is getting the parts. Also, I am not too handy. I can do small things like brake jobs but most things I am not comfortable doing. For example I am taking the bike to snow city for valve check which they can still do but they had to tell me how, since they are not the dealer anymore, it may take them days to get the valve shims which of course they cannot pre-order so the bike will be sitting in parts for days waiting for the stupid shims.
 
croco said:
Honda seems to be shooting themselves in the foot every chance they get. After owning 5 Honda cars, I took my business elsewhere because NONE of their cars matched my criteria (RWD Sports Coupe with a roof).
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come again? Other than the NSX when did Honda have a RWD sports coupe with a roof? (if you want to split hairs, the NSX was technically an Acura)

so you're ****** off at a company because they dont make a car, or EVER made a car that met your criteria? Its not like they axed a car and you're ****** off at that.
 
S2k is a great car, get a roof for it. I love my RR and I'll travel 50mins if I have to go to a dealership.... Oh no, I have to ride my bike more.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
come again? Other than the NSX when did Honda have a RWD sports coupe with a roof? (if you want to split hairs, the NSX was technically an Acura)

so you're ****** off at a company because they dont make a car, or EVER made a car that met your criteria? Its not like they axed a car and you're ****** off at that.
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Well, my last car was a Prelude. But once you own a Prelude, which was a very sporty, well ballanced car (if a bit down on power), where do you go? The Accord V6 6MT which is much heavier and has waaaay too much power for FWD? The Civic Si that feels like a matchbox on wheels and is still down on power? So yes, they did axe the car that I was driving and replaced it with either toy cars of land yachts.

Oh, I wouldn't touch the S2k. Nothing wrong with the car itself, but compared to the options that are out there and with my requirements, it's just not worth it. I want a sporty coupe that is also functional. I went camping in my Prelude, and I am going camping in my Genesis Coupe. If I want a completely impractical but fun vehicle, I'll stick with my motorcycle, no need to have the same in a car I drive.
 
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croco said:
Well, my last car was a Prelude. But once you own a Prelude, which was a very sporty, well ballanced car (if a bit down on power), where do you go? The Accord V6 6MT which is much heavier and has waaaay too much power for FWD? The Civic Si that feels like a matchbox on wheels and is still down on power? So yes, they did axe the car that I was driving and replaced it with either toy cars of land yachts.

Oh, I wouldn't touch the S2k. Nothing wrong with the car itself, but compared to the options that are out there and with my requirements, it's just not worth it. I want a sporty coupe that is also functional. I went camping in my Prelude, and I am going camping in my Genesis Coupe. If I want a completely impractical but fun vehicle, I'll stick with my motorcycle, no need to have the same in a car I drive.
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The TSX would be a good successor to your Prelude. So it has 4 doors. Is it that big of a deal? You're all grown up now, aren't you? :)

Otherwise, my money would be on a 6spd TL w SH AWD. Forget rwd. :)


.
 
well getting back to the original question...... I just wouldn't buy a Honda now, good customer service includes convenience.
I am in oshawa, the local dealer just closed, Snow City as mentioned is no longer a Honda dealer, so where would i go, the west end, markham? I work in Scarborough so i would want a dealer at least on my commute route.

I think Honda has to realize multy brand dealers are what the customer wants, and stand alone dealers just don't work.

Gerry
 
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gerry said:
well getting back to the original question...... I just wouldn't buy a Honda now, good customer service includes convenience.
I am in oshawa, the local dealer just closed, Snow City as mentioned is no longer a Honda dealer, so where would i go, the west end, markham? I work in Scarborough so i would want a dealer at least on my commute route.

I think Honda has to realize multy brand dealers are what the customer wants, and stand alone dealers just don't work.

Gerry
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Clarington honda.
 
I'm confused. The Prelude wasn't RWD as far as I know, either.

I'd never buy a Honda car anyway. The Japenese cars have no character IMO. Euro guy here.

All dealerships suck for service as far as I can tell so I stay away from all of them. I'll probably never step foot in one of any kind from now on since I will never buy another new vehicle (my bike was the first and only new vehicle I bought).
 
SunnY S said:
The TSX would be a good successor to your Prelude. So it has 4 doors. Is it that big of a deal? You're all grown up now, aren't you? :)

Otherwise, my money would be on a 6spd TL w SH AWD. Forget rwd. :)

.
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Comparing apples to apples, I am only looking at models with manual transmissions. Every car I've owned had a manual transmission, and it will be a cold day in hell when I buy a car with an automatic transmission. However I may be willing to compromise on the number of doors or on which wheels get the power. :p

First, the TSX is NOT the successor to the Prelude, because the Prelude had a 200hp 160lbft engine and weighed just under 3000lbs, while the TSX has a 200hp 172lbft engine and weighs 3400lbs. I am aware the TSX has a V6 option, but not with a manual transmission.

Second, the TL has a single option for a manual transmission, the TL SH-AWD Tech for $47k. Now I don't know about you, but when I get past $45k, I start looking at BMW or Audi, NOT Acura. Or I try to stay under $35k, which is close to what my Genesis Coupe V6 3.8 6spd manual transmission cost (it was actually $33k, same price as my old Prelude).

So why would I go out of my way to give Honda my money when they do not build the cars I want? There are plenty of manufacturers that DO build the cars I want for the price I can afford. Brand loyalty means nothing when the company does not listen to its own customers. I've spoken to some higher level Honda employees, and they are not happy with the headquarters decisions either. They assumed that once their core buyers "grew up" they would give up on their fun to drive Civics, Integras or Preludes and would switch to sedans. That hasn't proven to be the case.

unL33T said:
I'm confused. The Prelude wasn't RWD as far as I know, either.

I'd never buy a Honda car anyway. The Japenese cars have no character IMO. Euro guy here.

All dealerships suck for service as far as I can tell so I stay away from all of them. I'll probably never step foot in one of any kind from now on since I will never buy another new vehicle (my bike was the first and only new vehicle I bought).
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The Prelude wasn't RWD, but what, I'm not allowed to change my mind at all? :D

Anyway, bringing this thread back on track, I agree with the OP. If the closest dealer was too far away from where I live, then I'll start looking elsewhere. It's not as if Honda makes the only good bikes on the road.
 
ap4000 said:
A year after that they decided to close that location and now the closest Honda dealer is I believe Ajax.
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Ajax?

There was one in Whitby - but that's been closed down for several months now...

Clarington Honda has been trying to get out of the powerhouse model for some time, and just sell cars, but Honda won't let them out of their contract - as I am told.
 
Classic Honda (previously a Powerhouse dealer) is in the process of being amalgamated with Suzuki of Brampton and the combined dealer is also taking on Yamaha, and the new combined dealer is called Brampton Powersports.

The significance of *this*, is it appears to be the first time a Powerhouse dealer is going away, to be replaced with the good old-fashioned multi-line dealer.

I hope it's an indication of Honda giving up on Powerhouse, but the problem with some of those dealers is that if the Powerhouse dealer closes, then Honda would have no dealers at all in certain areas (notably, it's already like that in Toronto). If Clarington Honda doesn't want to play ball, GP Bikes and Royal Distributing are just down the road ...
 
Personally I think the OP is right. Honda alienated their customer base while truly dislodging their distribution network that wasn't broken at the time. Honda's president was adamant that they become full service dealers and didn't care if he ruffled feathers doing it. The model failed and now they have to deal with the perception that it created. Everyone is entitled to an opinion on the matter and the short strokes make Honda hard to trust. Sure, I love riding my bike too but if the dealer was 50+ km away and I had to tow a broken machine or pick up parts for a machine that isn't working I wouldn't be pleased either.

Lack of representation is a very important element when servicing any market. Honda failed in the GTA and Honda customers have every right to be ****** off.
 
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You've ever contacted Honda customer service?
I visited HONDA factory and what I can suggest is, don't give up on HONDA before you contact customer service and talk to the manager.

Just my 2 cents

Cheers
 
What adds salt to the wound is that apparently Honda tried the powerhouse model in Europe and it didn't work so they are back to the multi dealer model.

I too feel that Japanese cars have no character. Saying this in front of most people is almost like talking about politics or religion since so many people LOVE their Japanese reliability and practicality. I really think Japanese cars lack passion and have become very overpriced for what they are.

My policy of buying cars has been if you want value go USA if you want flash go European.

For now and until I can afford to trade in my ST1300 with a BMW I have to live with owning a Honda. Admittedly, the ST is wonderful machine.
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