Car & Bike Honda City 1.5S MT Damaged by Linkway Honda Service Centre (Update: Car comes back)

Shripad

Shripad

ex-Mod
Hey guys.

Gave my Honda City (1.5S MT 2009) for its regular servicing this morning to Linkway Honda. Got a while back from them informing that there has been a accedent while their employees were moving the car in garage and has caused serious damage. Entire back bumper needs replacing, left wheel rim and tyre and boot lid need works along with paintjob and light replacement.

Seems like major damage.

Now I know these things can happen specially knowing how madly those guys handle cars in garage.

The problem is those guys are asking for my insurance papers and they are saying this damage will be covered and claimed from my insurance.

Now there goes my no claim bonus and to add to that possible premium increase and permanent entry on the record. I talked to their supervisor who is saying they will cover the no claim bonus, but not giving me anything in writing and still insisting that the repair needs to be done from my insurance alone.

I know my insurance will cover it but shouldnt it be their responsibility to fix the car at their expense as it was damaged by them?

Anyways just wanted to know how I should go about it. Going there to take pics of my car and see the damage first hand now :mad: :mad: :mad:

UPDATE: 17th FEB 2010



OK guys here is an update.

And before I go on, just to inform you guys that car was dropped off at their service station personally. it wasnt a pickup. I never arrange pickups for this exact same reason.

The car has no structural damage. basically 2 cars were involved in accidents (both honda cities ). The person who called thought other car was ours which was in absolutely pieces at rear end.

Mine is bumped up pretty badly, boot cover, bumper, lights, side panel, bumper beam all need replacement. But I took mechanic with me to the shop today. He inspected chassis and its not damaged.

They were still not ready to give spare car until this is repaired, neither were they ready to bear the entire cost of damage and were insisting that I use my insurance and its the only way.

I had taken printout of the TBHP thread with me today when I went to talk to them. and showed it to them that they did do entire thing free of cost in past.

Still they were not ready to budge. Finally had to raise my voice a bit (firm but politely). Even their terms and conditions say they they are not liable for damage in case of natural disaster, fire, damaged which is out of their hand ".

Now this was not out of their hand, it was claraly their mistake. And when we threatened to take it up with Honda, media and if required legal action politely, they finally budged.

Finally got a written letter from them that they will fix the car. Took pics of photos and took signature of the service head on the same confirming the damage.

Car should be ready in 6-7 days. Going there again today evening to make sure they have ordered parts from Honda (were not in stock, they said they will place the order by today evening which I am definitely making sure they did as I want all new replacement parts ).

Here are the pics.

free image host

Here is the written confirmation I got from them.



I am still forwarding this entire material to Honda India.

Will keep updating you guys.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

That's unfortunate

Since Its not YOUR fault. so why should you suffer? moreover, even after repairs car won't be brand new. because no damage(big ones) are not 100% repairable. same problems do come again after some time.

I would suggest you demand a extra compensation apart from repair costs on grounds of carelessness,damage to property,mental agony you have suffered.

Compensation could be inform of extended warranty or monetary. whatever you do, don't let these buggers let off easily:mad:
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Don't let them claim insurance. Ask them to repair it at their own cost. I repeat Do NOT let them claim it from your insurance at any cost

Be very firm and go over asap and document the damages and make sure everything is fixed. If possible get an independant mechanic to come along and check that there isnt any structural damage. and take photos as well.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Only thing to consider is the no-claim bonus..Take it in cash and before signing the insurance papers..

Another way would be to register an FIR..And threaten them of consequences and bad publicity, if they are remotely concerned abt their reputation, they wont even mention your insurance..If people hear abt such shit happening they wont trust these people with their cars..atleast i wont..

Also dont sign any papers from their side..secondly, dont loose any of the service papers and records..

This is one shitty situation, i can understand ur plight..
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

a far fetched thought but holds light:

service center ppl damage the car by purpose and then ask the customer to let them claim insurance. This profits them in multiple ways; they get paid for they service and parts that they put which means more business.

2. they will jack up the prices and claim much more than the actual price and pocket the extra amount.

If u let them claim insurance then it will become thier habit.

DO NOT let them claim insurance
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Do not ever accept to the claim the cost from your insurance. This will be permanently available as a part of your vehicle history and it would hamper the resale value of the car.

Threaten them, write to the HO of the dealer if they have any or write to Honda Head office, for sure they will respond.

When our Hero Honda bike HO was able to respond for my demand a few years before why not Honda car company can respond... Do not budge for the demands of the dealers. Secondly ask for compensation for the damage i.e claim for a spare car until your car is repaired if they say they could not provide it, ask for some money.

There are a lot of ways to threaten and this would overall impact the dealership relation with Honda itself.

Never accept for any tinkering stuff, take a picture, if there is a dent on your boot lid, do not accept anything less than replacement of the lid.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

I would agree with everyone here. This surely is not your fault. Why should YOU claim Insurance from YOUR money. Don,t ever let them do it. Take photographs. FIR will only complicate things. I would suggest FIR As last resort. Being a member of team-bhp.com, I would also suggest that you get in touch with some guys there. They should help you. They will know people in the ASC or other members around or people in HONDA higher-up the ladder whom you can contact.

Worse comes to worse, write a strong worded letter to HONDA about this. They should get back to you as their reputation is at stake!!
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

First thing what you have to do it go there and take snaps ASAP .They will try to cover up if you don't do it .Also record the conversation if possible .

Ask them in writing about the things happened. Threaten them that you will escalate this to HONDA if they don't give it in writing .Once you have the evidence and wirting you can threaten them to fix it at their cost. The key thing here is you should collect evidence and data ASAP .
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Oh man this is very unfortunate. How dare they ask for your insurance? :mad: As others mentioned, do not let them claim your insurance at any cost. You can sue them for the damage done, this is really serious issue as Gaurish mentioned, if the damage is huge, it cannot be repaired permanently.

I don't know why Indian customers get treated like this, as if this would have happened elsewhere, Honda would even have to provide you with a brand new car to compensate for the mistake.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Well I guess, one of the best thing to do would be to have a proof that they have damaged the car. because once matter gets heated without sufficient proof from your side then they might simply refuse or won't provide service on your terms.

EDIT: nfsnfs has already explained it :)
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

What if u dont give them papers?

Of course stuff is they will get in their mouth

Send a mail to their higher authority for time being and give details of what happened and how in order to save their A$$ they troubling u

When theyll get firing from top i guess u might be expecting a lot of freebies

Note::they keep records when the car enters leaves how much km travel and all..Of course to be on their safe side when they charge royally why are they asking for insurance papers
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

My Ford Fiesta was involved in such a mess,but the service people completely changed the rear bumper(It was a minor chip off the back of car).
You need to consider few thing before you ever decide on anything or rather take delivery of car.
1)Immediately threaten them(Like what i did )with report and case in Police and Consumer court.
2)Buddy I serisouly think you shouldn't take back this car because any car damaged to that of your extent,no matter how well job done,seriously losses it resale value.Infact as much as 40%.Its difficult selling an accident car.
3)The Service center wants to somehow dispose of this car from their garage,so dont ..i repeat dont even give them an idea that you are okey with the cost being taken from your insurance.Dont spoil your insurance for no fault of your.Next time your car is in accident forget you ever claiming insurance.Your past history will be presented by the insurance company in court against you.
4)Dont take delivery,call press,police and Most important send your lawyer to talk to them.Call HONDA Siel India head office informing malpractices taking place at this service center.
Best luck!! keep us posted.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Honda have a policy if you dont know. On their service papers it is clearly mentioned that:

If you have asked them to pickup your car and then drop it at your place then its solely AT THE CAR OWNERS RISK. no matter what.

Better service your Honda at ARYA Honda. They are very nice and professionals as compared to hallmark, linkway, pilot etc Honda service centers.

I'm myself servicing my OHC from Arya since yr 2006 and no complaints whatsoever. + they have very attractive AMC offers and some freebies too.

And believe me, you will find maximum Honda cars--city, crv, accords, civics etc serviced by Arya as compared to any others.

BTW they have 2 service centers-- at lalbaug and at sewri.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

freshseasons1 said:
My Ford Fiesta was involved in such a mess,but the service people completely changed the rear bumper(It was a minor chip off the back of car).
You need to consider few thing before you ever decide on anything or rather take delivery of car.
1)Immediately threaten them(Like what i did )with report and case in Police and Consumer court.
2)Buddy I seriously think you shouldn't take back this car because any car damaged to that of your extent,no matter how well job done,seriously losses it resale value.Infact as much as 40%.Its difficult selling an accident car.
3)The Service center wants to somehow dispose of this car from their garage,so dont ..i repeat dont even give them an idea that you are okey with the cost being taken from your insurance.Dont spoil your insurance for no fault of your.Next time your car is in accident forget you ever claiming insurance.Your past history will be presented by the insurance company in court against you.
4)Dont take delivery,call press,police and Most important send your lawyer to talk to them.Call HONDA Siel India head office informing malpractices taking place at this service center.
Best luck!! keep us posted.
Click to expand...
+ this comment about the post

btw i was working at dsc hyundai service center as computer administrator supervison i notice some staff are not behavour well cause they are play the car on the road upto 30-40 speed is not safe due to worst accident
i have seen many staff will repair or refused due to tried-less

if the supervison refused to help them and tried to talk smart thing about your and report the lawyer court

also i have seen many staff has been cheat the service center for poor service due to lack of car repair cost and part due to economic problem
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Hope you have a copy of the job card prepared when it was given for service which should mention any physical damage at the time and serve as a proof for you. Get the incident in writing from them. Never ever sign any paper they produce nor take delivery. As others suggested, take snaps, recordings etc. and immediately contact Honda higher ups. If necessary threaten them about filing FIR, calling press etc.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

report it to magazines like autocar india, overdrive..., ask for their guidance.

who knows, they might take case right to Honda execs :D

read things like that in Autocar India.

brands such as Audi were involved (some problem in car since purchase) & the owner got new car. :p
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

As others have already mentioned, do not claim insurance. It is the responsibility of the service centre to fix this.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

Sorry to hear about it, such a lovely car.

As mentioned, go there, collect as much information as possible. Dont let them get away with it. Ive seen how they drive in the garage (honda service, chandigarh), and they should surely be punished for this.

TE has got some contacts up HONDA, i say this from the ad banner im looking at right now. So maybe im just being optimistic, but ask admins, maybe they know someone from other Honda dealerships who are ready to speak to you just for the sake of competition! :) <- This can happen only in India, where personal profits are higher priority than company's reputation.
 
Re: Car damaged by Service centre.

@sato, the ads are served by google.

+1 to what everybody said. The loss is more than the repair cost in the form of low future re-sale value. If you claim the repair cost through insurance, then your car's resale value will come down in a big way. If you don't involve your insurance, then there is still a chance that the damages to car will not be on paper and you will still get a comparitively good resale value.

I suggest you should demand a brand new car, especially if you have all the evidence on this.
 
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