Honda of El Cerrito

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

UPDATE(3/18/2017) Ive been coming to Honda of El Cerrito for over six years to buy parts and get service done on my car but recently their commitment to quality and customer service has completely fallen off a cliff. In the past six months Ive had three incidents at the service center and parts department that have really made me question whats going on at Honda of El Cerrito. Last August before a road trip down south I brought my car in for a scheduled oil change, tire rotation, and multi point inspection as part of the 6 pack that I prepaid for. The next day on our road trip my car kept stalling on the local roads and in traffic on the freeway. This was extremely dangerous for me and my family so I had to get the car looked at at a local mechanic. They found that a hose was knocked loose during the oil change. I came back to talk to the service manager after the trip and he gave a brief apology and said I could get a free carwash if I wanted. In October I ordered a part for my trunk that I was told would come by the next day. I came back the next day, and then the next week but the part was continually delayed. I wanted to cancel my order for the item but was told I would be charged a 20% restocking fee for a part that had not even arrived yet. After a lengthy discussion finally they agreed to drop the restocking fee. Two weeks ago I ordered two simple bolts for my rear brakes. I had taken the day off this week to install them and given the problems I had with my last order I figured two weeks would be more than enough time to get the parts. When I went to pick up the parts one of the bags was empty! The bolt had fallen out somewhere and they couldnt find it. I needed the parts that day so I went to another location that luckily had them in stock and bought them. When I came back the next day to return the one bolt I received and the other that I never received I was told there would be a restocking fee again. This time they would not budge even though it was only a couple of dollars. Essentially Honda of El Cerrito is willing to lose a customer over a couple dollars even if it was their mistake in the first place. This is extremely concerning and basically proved to me that this dealership no longer that customer focus that I enjoyed in the past. Ill be taking my business elsewhere and no longer recommending them to friends and family. Old Review - Ive been happy every time Ive come here. Usually even though the employees are very busy they are still polite try to get to you as fast as possible. I have had no problems with the service and everything is always very straightforward and easy. This last time was the only time Ive had a slight problem with the carwash that is given. I think my car was hit by a glob on oil on the left side that I noticed after I got home. No big deal though, I just cleaned it off myself after I got home.

RO

Rob Momono

I have been a Honda of El Cerrito customer for close to 30 years. Unfortunately, my latest experiences at Honda of El Cerrito makes me question whether I should continue to do business there. The problems started when I used the service appointment scheduling via the Honda of El Cerrito website. I booked an appointment for, 11/25/16, the day after Thanksgiving. I showed up at Honda of El Cerrito for the appointment, but found out the Service department was closed. Obviously, a pretty big mistake to allow customers to book appointments for days when the Service department is not open. So, I wasted my time and money to drive out for the appointment, but I did not want to make a big deal about it. I used the Honda of El Cerrito website again to schedule another service appointment (including a request for shuttle service). I received a confirmation email and a reminder email about the appointment. Through all of those processes and communications, I was never notified that the shuttle service might include any kind of charge. After arriving for the appointment, I was told that a new policy was in place that included charges for the shuttle service for customers that requested a ride beyond five miles. I live 8.3 miles away from Honda of El Cerrito, so I would be charged for whatever shuttle rides I needed beyond five miles. This put me in an awkward position because I was already at the dealership for the appointment, so it was too late to make other ride arrangements. I am disappointed with the lack of quality control in the online scheduling system and the new policy to charge customers for what used to be a "courtesy" shuttle. Even more disappointing was getting charged for this new shuttle policy without prior notification. I could have been notified about the charge for the shuttle on three different occasions : while I was booking the appointment, on the email confirmation, or on the email reminder. Being told about the shuttle charge at the time of the appointment is too late. Charging customers for the shuttle service in the first place is a whole different subject. I was told it was to reduce the wait times for the shuttle and to make things more efficient for the customer. The reality is it is a way to pass the cost of the shuttle on to the customer if they live outside the free shuttle coverage area. Just a case of customer service being sacrificed for the sake of the bottom line. Maybe more a sign of the times than anything else. It is a shame when a long time business relationship is soured by a lack of understanding on the value of customer service and what the customer experience should be.

MO

Monica Stolte

BEWARE when buying anything from this place, even windshield wipers. I live and work in El Cerrito so naturally, Id use Honda of El Cerrito for my go-to dealership needs. Unfortunately, they are grade A scam artists! I pride myself in being a conscious consumer and not allowing a salesperson sell me items I dont need. However, It seems as though El Cerrito tries to be one step ahead of you! Parts sold me wiper replacement insert blades for my 2007 Honda Civic Sedan (difficult to find wiper blades) for a mere $14 and sent me out to the garage to have them put on. As soon the service advisor ---Tsee--- touches my wipers and claims they are aftermarket (after he found out I bought the car 3 years ago) and sent me back inside to Ron to purchase the whole $70 wiper refill combo. At this point, I assumed he was being transparent because that would be the scam of a lifetime. Now having spent over 30 mins and tons of extra money for a simple fix I finally get Tsee changing my wipers. Being a curious customer (and slightly suspicious) I asked him what brand the aftermarket ones were... he told me Michelin. At this point I am skeptical as hell so I check the inside of my old blade myself and it read "Mitsuba" I take a mental note and I head home. After some digging on the internet and come up with nothing official so I call Honda of Oakland asking the brand of OEM wipers for my specific model... low and behold... MITSUBA IS THEIR OFFICIAL MANUFACTURER FOR WIPER BLADES. I call them and they tell me to come in and get it resolved. I go back today to settle this and I get the good ol heres your refund, be on your way crap. Im irritated so I push further, asking for names and eventually speak to the Wayne the service manager who gives me some ridiculous excuse about no one benefitting of up-selling me, shakes my hand and gets on with his day -- off to make some more money on unsuspecting customers. My mom has worked at Toyota parts and service and has warned me about dealerships and their lack of transparency and some of the tactics they used to rip the customer off. I should have known -- Honda of El Cerrito has always been full of crap. I dont know why I thought I could trust them this time.