I get your point, but after all this is a Honda, not a BMW. Last I looked, Honda's profit margins are about 3-5% of sales, while BMW's are about 6-8%. You pay for more "accommodation" with higher end vehicles.Well, let's see... my 2012 BMW M3 was recalled and I was given a new M5 to drive while waiting.
..........
i asked the same thing to honda canada. They said that offering a discount on a new honda was not an option. Why, i said. It does not make logical sense. He told me he cannot tell me why it was not an option. I said, its because you need invoices to show the air bag manufacturer your cost for the lawsuit. He was silent.Quick question - WHO is making decisions about how the defective airbag situation is being resolved? We recieved notification that we've been driving around in a vehicle that has a part that has killed 10 people and that I am to contact my local dealer to have the issue resolved. Comment: Companies often face difficult issues and problems.. .this is a given. But one would think that a little bit of time and effort would go into developing a solution which would include a strategy to NOT alienate loyal Brand Customers.. right? Simple basic business rule number one. The letter we received stated that I am to contact my local dealer to have the issue resolved. I call, and they ask me to bring the vehicle. No problem. I go to the dealer and am told that there could be as much as a TWO MONTH wait for this part. Ok... if I am The Honda corporate person responsible for deciding how to deal with "me"... what would I do? Honda's solution is to offer a rental vehicle for the duration of the wait and have me sign an agreement to not drive my Ridgeline. Ok... so far so good. I take my truck and go get the rental car: A 4 cylinder Ford Fusion. So now I have a $33k SUV/Truck sitting in my garage which I bought for task specific features and I'm asked to drive a pile of _____ until my parts are ready? What about my vacation plans that include the requirements of an AWD, truck bed storage, equipped vehicle, etc.? What about my daily vehicle requirement that include the same? I call the dealer and rental car agency and they agree to upgrade us to a truck. To be specific, a Dodge 1500 truck. (Their choice, not mine). Wow... how cool is this? (Are you listening Honda?) Your 1st solution was to put me in a competitive brand sub standard vehicle that's not even close to what I purchased in good faith from you. Strike One. Strike Two: You put me in a competitive brand comparable vehicle that is newer, has more power, more features, and is a much better vehicle than the one that is now sitting in my garage. Natural progression of my family's thought process? Hey.. this new rental is GREAT... let's trade in the Honda on a new Dodge! I'm really curious about this... the cost of thousands of rental vehicles for 2 months vs what it would have cost Honda to put us all in NEW Pilots and New HONDA vehicles... which could easily be sold after the fact as "executive lease" vehicles. Not only would this not have cost Honda a dime, once the loaner vehicle sold, they would have A. Made a PROFIT, and B. Retained brand specific customers. And, how about, along this path of putting us in NEW HONDA vehicles, you throw a few crumbs to your dealers and offer an incentive for those of us with defective vehicles to TRADE UP TO A NEW HONDA! OH... and gee wiz Honda owners, as a way of saying we're sorry for letting you drive a defective vehicle that could have killed you for 4 years without notifying you or doing anything about, AND for you having to take you valuable time to have to deal with OUR problem, we're going to offer you an even better incentive by deeply discounting a new vehicle for you to trade up to. What the heck are you thinking... and how many people have you now alienated and pushed away from your brand? One for sure.
pretty much exactly what i've been saying
(i didn't get a truck though, i think i'm the only one who didn't lol)
if they had thrown me in a new accord coupe, i would have bought the thing, plus they would have made more money on the deal because honda would have given them 40 a day, and they would have sold the car.
i wonder how many other people would have done the same
If it was me I'd call another dealer or contact Honda Corporate direct the contact info is available at Honda Airbag Info RecallWell, at least your dealers provided something. My dealer said "Don't call us, we'll call you when we get the parts.":surprise:
So in a wake of unforeseen demand, you want them to give up their inventory of new vehicles (that were already forecasted for a fixed number of new car buyers), and then resell them at a future date as used vehicles?
This suggestion is completely ridiculous.
