Honda Hi-Jinks

I bought my first brand new car in October of 2010.  I spent months looking for just the right car, test driving, doing research, etc.  Finally, I decided on the Honda Accord Coupe!  Here's my story...

 

Sophia (my 2002 Toyota Solara) was getting older, LA wasn't getting any cleaner, and I knew it would be soon enough when I wouldn't be able to drive her around anymore, or have her pass a Smog Test, so I had to drive her back to Wisconsin where she would be appreciated.  I started looking at cars and decided to go with a Honda, Hyundai, or Nissan.

 

The first car I test drove was the Honda Accord Coupe (this was also the first car I ever test drove in my entire life, so I was pretty nervous) and I was completely uncomfortable.  I was scared and nervous and just didn't feel right in the car even though it was beautiful and drove well.  All the cars I was looking at were going to be fully loaded because I wanted the Navigation so they came with leather interior and all the perks (darn upgrades) like a sun roof, heated seats, power everything.  After leaving Honda I was on my way to Nissan to drive a Nissan Altima Coupe.  I'd driven my old roommate's car a couple of times, and my friend, Tony, had one as well that I had driven.  Both of them loved their Nissan's and the second I got into the car I loved it too!  It drove really well, I felt comfortable and like it was a great fit for me.  The Nissan was a little more than the Accord but I was ok with that.  My last stop was the Hyundai dealership where I drove the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.  I loved the power behind the car, it was this cute little thing, and I really felt great in that one as well until I sat in the backseat.  I had to crouch to fit into it, and I'm only 5"4; what's a normal person going to do back there, not to mention the trunk space was basically non-existent.  Unfortunately, those things alone took that car out of the running even though it was the most affordable, had all these great reviews, and I was really happy driving it.  I decided to give the Accord another chance because it was the first car I drove so I went back there and drove it again.  This time, I felt more comfortable, they told all these great things about the car where if you're in an accident or slamming on your brakes, the car will basically take over for you to help avoid any bad situations.  Pretty darn cool.

 

The next step was finding the exact car I wanted.  Because I was shopping for a 2010 when the 2011's were already available, finding one with the Navigation in Silver or Slate was very difficult, for both Honda and Nissan since I hadn't decided yet. By then it was October and there were no Silver Honda's left, anywhere in the US (after hearing so many positive things about Honda's, how great the gas mileage was, how well they hold up, their re-sale value, I decided on the Accord).  There was a Slate one in Virginia, and I even called dealerships in Arizona to try to find my car but nothing.  I figured I would have to go with the Nissan and took a week to think about.  I then drove up to the Van Nuys Honda and spoke to someone up there because the Santa Monica one couldn't find a Silver Accord, and the Culver City one was giving me the run around and trying to sell me a V6 (trust me, if I'm going to be getting only 22 MPG in the City, I'm not losing anymore gas mileage with the V6).  Btw, Sophia was getting between 24-26 MPG in Los Angeles, after being totaled twice, and driven across the country from Wisconsin to LA.  Luckily, after I figured getting my 2010 Accord was a lost cause and I had given up hope and figured I'd wait another year, Van Nuys called and said, there was an Unlisted Silver Accord in Torrance, and they'd give it to me for the price I wanted.  I said yes, I want it, I will be there tomorrow signing the papers.

 

I bought the car on October 16, 2010 for almost $31,000 (after taxes) put a down-payment on it and set up a 4 year loan that I was going to try to pay off in 3 years.  Because I didn't drive Sophia back to Wisconsin until November, the car sat in a garage for almost a month before I took it over.  Initially, driving the car home and around, I had that uncomfortable feeling, and I can say now, it's still not gone away.  I've never felt like the car was mine, even though it's nearly paid off now.  I still feel awkward in it, the blind spots are everywhere, and clearly there's a reason I haven't given it a name; something is just off.  The car is beautiful, it's silver with black leather interior looks sporty and fun; I take great care of it and it still smells like new car when you get in it.  I haven't even put 10,000 miles on it, in the 21 months I've had it!

 

Fast forward to recently...still getting 19 MPG.  I figured it would take 3,000 miles to start getting decent gas mileage, then 6,000, and now almost 10,000 and I'm still getting 19-21 combined City & Highway driving.  The listed estimates were 22 City, 26 Combined, and 33 Highway.  I'm not even getting close to the Combined because I'm not even getting the City!!

I decided to take it into the Miller Honda Dealership of Culver City to check if there was something wrong with the computer, if the fuel consumption wasn't right, etc.  When I get there, Javier is my Advisor, and he says, I don't mean to blow you off, but I don't think there's anything wrong with your car, you're just getting 19 MPG and that's not that far off from the estimate.  I say, 'I'm driving City and Highway, that number is far off from the Combined!'  He says they'll look at it and let me know when it's ready.

Meanwhile, my friend, Khad and I go to Santa Monica to grab lunch before drops me off at Honda to pick up my car.  Unfortunately, his motorcycle died, and we had to wait for AAA to pick us up.  In the mean time, I have spent nearly an hour calling and leaving messages for Miller Honda to shuttle me from Santa Monica to Culver City (because they do that, and that's how I got home earlier) to no avail.  I finally speak to a woman who says she dropped the message on Javier's desk, because my Advisor has to set up the shuttle.  After she hangs up I call back, 'Get me any Advisor, I don't care who it is, to set up the shuttle, why do I need to speak to mine to get a ride, I just need a ride from Santa Monica to Culver City; how difficult can this be?'  She puts me on hold for 10 minutes then comes back saying, hang up immediately, someone is calling you back.  At this point, AAA has arrived, secured Khad's motorcycle to the truck, and we're riding over to his Dealership to drop off his bike to have them take us to Khad's house so he can take his car to drop me at Honda.  We're almost to his Dealership when Javier calls, so flippantly, 'what can I do for you?'  'Please have my car ready as soon as I get there, thank you.'

When I get to Honda Javier isn't in his office, but there are 3 gentlemen Advisor's just sitting around talking (must be why no one could set up a shuttle, they were too busy chatting about their day).  One of them has me sit in Javier's office and I wait for him and when he comes in he says there's nothing wrong with my car and doesn't even apologize for not returning my calls.  He asks me to sign the paperwork and I ask for his Manager.  The attitude he was giving was not a good look for him.  

I end up talking to the Manager who says that since nothing is wrong with my car, I can bring it back on nearly a full tank of gas, we'll fill it up, he'll drive 50 miles with me in the car, then fill it up again to see what the mileage is.  Now, I don't see how that's helping.  You're always going to get better gas mileage at the beginning of a tank of gas, and what happens when I get 21 MPG for the first 50 miles?  My problem is that I'm driving on Highway and City and getting between 19-21 when I should be getting 26.  I understand I live in LA, driving conditions are different here, but then Honda needs to advertise the actual MPG versus the ideal conditions, which the Service Manager explained Honda does.  In fine print it says, they drive the car under specific conditions, therefore getting 33 on Highway, 26 Combined, and 22 City.  So what's the normal person supposed to do when they have actual life and traffic to deal with and aren't on a closed road in the middle of nowhere?  That's false advertising!!  Honda I am so disappointed in you.  The Service Manager at Miller Honda of Culver City is disappointed with the gas mileage on his car.  I asked him how he could sell Honda's when he was disappointed with them and he said he didn't sell them, he was the Service Manager, so my next question was, how can you service cars knowing people aren't getting what they expected to?  I thought I was going to be getting better mileage, if I had known the TRUTH I would never have bought that car.  Who's to say the Nissan would be any better or worse, but what I do know, is that this situation with Honda has made me re-think the whole process and working with a Dealership.

The whole car buying process was supposed to be exciting, paying off a car should feel great, having a brand new beautiful car should make me happy, but I'm disappointed with my car, with the mileage, with the process, and the fact that I threw $31,000 down the drain on something I'm indifferent about.  Honda...you failed on this one.