Honda City ZX Vtec from Linkway, Mumbai. Review on Honda City ZX VTEC

This extract is to voice my grievances about my car purchased from Linkway Honda(Chandivali, Mumbai, India) showroom.

I had bought a Honda City ZX VTEC in May, 2007. Obviously, my car is not yet even a year old.

Below is a series of major problems I faced with my vehicle, all due to technical faults & snags.

All the problems started occurring just after the first servicing, other than normal three services in 9 months.

Here are the instances for which why I had to show my brand new vehicle the garage door ever so often(these are as reported as the reasons by the service center)

1.    1st Service

a.    loose bolt on the right side(Humming sound at the front right side wheel)

b.    fuel pump malfunctioning(engine stalls abruptly)

2.    2nd Service

a.    Snags in installation of security system, alarms went off haphazardly as it was not configured correctly(only after 3rd attempt in 3 weeks it was fixed)

b.    Clutch plate damage along with other interfacing parts, whole assembly was damaged/burnt. I had reported burning smell after the 1st service, but was told that there is no problem with the car.(I was also told that my driving style is not correct, NOTE I have been driving for past 6 years and my previous cars had no undue maintenance. And for last 3 years I have been driving on the same route to office and back home)

3.    3rd Service

a.    Could not install the blue tooth accessories, as no experience and skills available to fix the same.

b.    Loose wiring resulting in no ignition current and battery drainage. Reason cited: wiring damaged by rats.

4.    Bad servicing efforts: unclean dashboards, mirrors, glasses. Finger marks and stains abound the interiors of my car which I personally keep painstakingly clean. Some interesting drawings were spotted around the dashboard too, which were cleaned only after bringing it to the notice of the service advisor.

The above extract might surprise you as much as I had a rude shock with my purchase decision. As a result, my confidence in the brand named "HONDA" has gone down to zilch. More so, with the dealer "LinkWay Honda" based in Chandivali, Mumbai.

I also have specific concerns with the sales staff at this particular dealer.

Their so-called "most efficient" sales person happens to be completely ignorant about the technical specs about Honda's vehicle models. At the same time, she is totally insensitive to the customer needs and called me at various instances urging me to "compromise' on my specifications regarding color, model, desired vehicle number etc. For personal reasons, I had certain preferences on these factors, and I had made it clear at the very onset that I am inclined to make a purchase only if I get my preferences satisfied. Not only did she go back on her commitment, but also wasted a lot of my time in useless negotiations and altercations.

I was certainly not expecting this from a sales person of an automobile brand who is known world-wide for their curt service and customer-friendly attitude. I had reported this earlier through the customer feedback process.

At the same time, I'd like to mention about another person, the service advisor, who by far has been the only one to keep my trust with Linkway going steady. I interact with him directly and have been able to get my vehicle back on road only thanks to his efforts and timely help at each instance.

All said, this just DOES NOT justify the fact that I need to show my brand new vehicle the garage door every so often. This is something I find totally unacceptable to come the way of the most popular C-segment car on road.

I am now in the plan of disposing off my car while it still stands on its(almost) last leg. Frankly, I am debating whether it was a blunder to consider the HONDA as an option at all, and if all of the features are only hype. But I am most certainly decided on not dealing with Linkway as a dealer at all. They seriously lack in technical efficiency, standardized sales process & satisfactory after sales services.

I am hoping that this extract receives maximum exposure on this portal from current and prospective car owners. I would urge you to reconsider before dealing with such dealers.

I am an ardent driver and frequently go on long drives. However, the above series of incidents has led me to completely mistrust Honda car and switch my loyalty back to FIAT which has provided me much superior satisfaction during the 4 years that I extensively used it. I have also used Maruti Esteem for 2 years as well.