As a first-time buyer from a family who has purchased over 8 cars from the Valdosta's Honda location over the past two decades, I thought I could put my trust and faith into this dealership, but unfortunately have been proven wrong.
In August 2023, I bought a new Honda Civic EX. My reasoning for upgrading to a new model was based on me relocating four hours away in October 2023. I knew that I would acquire many miles from traveling back and forth to visit home.
Approximately 5 months after I purchased this vehicle, I began to notice my car's steering progressively becoming hard to manage. It took a good amount of force and handling for me to make even the slightest turn. I made an appointment and took my car in March 2024. My service advisor was Scott Barlow, whom I explained my car's steering issue to the best of my ability.
Turns out I had a faulty rack n pinion and a new one was special ordered. I was told that I would receive a call when the part came in, because they have been on back order for months, also mentioning that a previous customer had been waiting since November 2023. I expressed my concern of my safety to continue driving the vehicle, and I was assured it would be fine.
Months went by and I never heard anything from the dealership. My concerned father called for an update in July 2024, and he was told that the part was ready, and I could come in to get my car fixed. My service team failed to call and inform me that my "specially ordered" part was ready.
On 8/16/24, I dropped my car off to get my maintenance and steering issue fixed. I received a call from Scott stating that the service team rotated my tires and performed an oil and filter change, however they were unable to fix my steering issue due to the fact that they now have a "service kit" that allegedly "should fix the issue", instead of replacing the whole rack and pinion, as of a few weeks ago. Scott stated the kit "would be ordered" and available around a week from that date. I explained to Scott that I have been told that this issue would be fixed on this date, and I do not live in Valdosta and could not be back in that timeframe, as I had already made a pointless trip for this service.
I explained again my concern and fear for my safety and requested a rental or loaner vehicle until my vehicle was fixed. I was told that they did not have any loaner vehicles available. I was at loss for words and completely let down about the situation. Extremely poor communication on the dealership, as I should have been told this information before scheduling an appointment, let alone dropping my car off for the promised service. Not only was I lied to, but I felt belittled voicing my concern over my safety as it was well over five months since we initiated a plan to resolve the steering issue which progressively got worse, causing me to reduce the frequency of driving.
My fiancé overheard my phone conversation and decided to call Scott back to discuss what could be done, considering I was uncomfortable taking my car back. No luck. My fiancé asked to speak with Scott's manager, Chuck Higgins, explaining my circumstances. Chuck told my fiancé that he would look into it and give him a call back shortly. Sure enough, Chuck called him back stating that he could indeed get the kit sent out overnight and my car would be fixed the next day by noon! Chuck also issued us a loaner vehicle that I picked up shortly after getting off the phone with him that day to drive until my car would be fixed on 8/17/24. Turns out Scott lied to me about his inability of getting this kit special ordered; I was also misinformed that a loaner vehicle was indeed available.
On 8/17/24, I was contacted by Scott and informed that my car was fixed and ready to be picked up. I asked Scott if this kit was utilized in fixing my steering issue, and he assured me that "it was fixed, and my car was ready to go". I am hoping that I will not have to deal with any more steering trouble. Specifically, I hope to NEVER deal with Scott or Langdale Honda again, let alone Honda as a company read more