I am extremely disappointed with my experience at - whitneylauren07
I am extremely disappointed with my experience at Saratoga Honda.
I traded in my 2024 Kia Telluride with approximately 20,000 miles for a Honda Certified Pre-Owned 2023 Honda Pilot with approximately 29,000 miles because I needed the seating configuration to accommodate my six children. My vehicle had no issues and was in perfect mechanical and physical condition. On the way home after purchasing the new vehicle, I noticed an engine ticking noise. The vehicle was brought back to get a multi point inspection and I was informed that the engine had catastrophic internal damage where all 6 cylinders had excessive scoring and required a complete engine replacement.
While the dealership ultimately replaced the engine under warranty, what disappointed me most was how I was treated throughout the process. When I expressed concerns about purchasing a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle that required a complete engine replacement immediately after delivery, I was repeatedly told that the dealership had no obligation to do anything beyond replacing the engine. There was little acknowledgment of the inconvenience, stress, and loss of confidence this situation caused.
As a single mother, I rely on my vehicle every day. After initially being told the repair would take several weeks, I was contacted several days later and told I needed to pick up the vehicle immediately or risk being charged $80 per day for the loaner vehicle. I couldn’t just drop everything and run over there and pick it up and they wouldn’t give me time to try to figure that out. The lack of communication, empathy, and flexibility was frustrating and felt dismissive of my time, stress, loss of confidence, responsibilities and schedule. I was told that this was not an inconvenience for me at all and that it didn’t matter that they sold it to me that way, they were only obligated to replace the engine and that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Engine failure is a big deal. Just because the car turned on and drove doesn’t mean it was fine and that they didn’t have to make it right.
This review is not about the warranty repair itself. The engine was replaced and I was given a loaner until it was finished. They are required to do this under the lemon law. It is about customer service. A dealership has the opportunity to make a difficult situation right, even when a repair is covered under warranty. They offered me NOTHING!!! Unfortunately, I left feeling like I was treated as an inconvenience rather than a valued customer.
I hope management takes customer concerns more seriously in the future, especially when a customer purchases a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle and experiences a pre existing major mechanical failure immediately after leaving the lot. The only reason they got one star is because at least one star is required.
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