There are some service departments who are good at solving customer problems, and there are others who are not. The service department at Preston Honda in New Castle is concerning in the way they process problems.
I made an appointment and brought my 2023 Ridgeline into the service department for its first oil change. I told the service writer M___ that when I made the appointment for the oil change, I asked if they could just throw my Ridgeline on an alignment machine, to please check the front end alignment, and was told that they could do that..my Ridgeline had been slightly pulling to the right since we bought it.
I also said, I'm aware that the crown or slight slope on most highways can slightly pull a vehicle to the right...
He ran my Ridgeline through the automatic alignment checker in the service entrance but said it didn't register. I said okay, as long as you have someone check the alignment before I leave.
His next comment was not appreciated; "Honda doesn't pay us to check vehicle alignments." This was the beginning of a concerning dialog. I told him that if it needed an alignment, I would pay for an alignment, the cost according to M____ was $119.
I could not make the service writer understand that I was not only there for my first oil change, but also wanted to get to the bottom of the possible alignment problem. It had a slight pull since the day it was delivered to me. I asked if they could just run a check on the front end, and if it was not an alignment issue,
I could possibly turn my attention to maybe a tire causing the pulling. But I guess they don't do anything here without making sure there's a charge for it.
The next thing I noticed.?? I saw my Ridgeline leaving the dealership. I was shocked, that my being there for an oil change, and asking to check an alignment warrants means taking a customers vehicle down the road to take it on a test drive to check the alignment.?? And wouldn't it make perfect sense if that's how this dealership is going to determine a vehicle is needing an alignment, that they would take the owner along on the check ride? Really.??
Poor communication here.
When my Ridgeline came back into the dealership, I went back and talked with M____. He then said he was trying to get my alignment covered under warranty.??
But I didn't ask for that..we never did find out if it really needed an alignment...??
After 20 minutes of this confusion, I asked to have my Ridgeline brought back to me, and all service cancelled at Preston Honda. I won't be bringing my 2023 Ridgeline back there for anything. I also noticed most of the good reviews of this dealership, were 4, 5, and 6 years ago...?? read more