New Honda Car - Major Problem - Advice Needed

BombJack

Hi folks,
I have a friend who purchased a brand new Honda car approx 5 months ago.
From day one the car has shown to have incredibly heavy steering even though the car is meant to have power steering. The phrase "driving a tank" has been used to describe the nature of the car.

As a result of this issue (given that it is a brand new car) the car has been returned to Honda for repair, and so that checks can be run, and also so that investigation could be made to ensure that all the cars in the batch produced at that time aren't all affected. The upshot is that Honda have held on to the car for this interim period, and a hire car supplied by Honda, has been used by friend.

Here's the problem.
Honda have had the car for 5 months, and in this period of time, my friend has phoned countless times for updates etc. The customer service rep dealing with her case has on countless occasions either not been available or hasn't returned calls - generally from this perspective they've been disgraceful. She has tried to get hold of someone else in a more senior position but has been rebuffed each time so that she has to continue dialogue with this same rep, and as a result things have taken a long time to get moving.

During this 5 months however, Honda had more or less told my friend that she would be given a new car, and a more superior model to the one ordered given the problems she's had, and the time involved. To ensure that she was given a new car, she said she wanted a different colour for her replacement car to the one she had originally ordered. This was to ensure that she wasn't just given her old car, passed off as being new.

Anyway, on a particular day when she was trying to get some anwers she phoned up, only to find her assigned customer service rep was off and that someone else would be speaking to her. As far as I know, this rep investigated her case, only to end up telling her that she wouldn't be given a replacement car as the fault with the power steering is a "charactersitic" of her car.

Supposedly, legislation is in place that anyone who buys a brand new car can return it within 28 days for a full refund. However, in this case, because Honda have been dragging their heels so much, my friends purchase is now outwith this 28 day period.

My question therefore is, what steps should my friend make to try and get this situation resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible? She is admant that there is an issue with the steering, and has doubts as to whether Honda have even checked her car out, given the way the steering was functioning. She is an experienced driver and has driven many cars, so her opinion about the car is most likely valid. she is also coming up on retirement, so she can't afford to have an expensive, but faulty car sitting in her driveway that she can't use.

Any help is greatfully recieved, and I thank you on my friends behalf.

maninthestreet

Honda seem to have taken a long time to determine that the 'fault' isnt a fault, but something 'characteristic' to the model. This is often used by car manufacturers to try to explain away faults, particularly design faults they cannot rectify. If a particular make/model of the car had a propensity to catch fire, would that be described a fault or characteristic of the model?
Your friend's contract is with the supplying Honda dealer, not Honda themselves. Your friend needs to reject the car and ask the dealer for a refund, stating they have been unable to rectify the fault.
Also, your friend might like to drop a line to 'What Car?' magazine describing the problems trying to get this problem investigated by Honda - they cover issues such as this in their magazine each month.

By the way, what particulat model was it? We need to know so we can all avoid buying one.

BombJack

Ah troo. the model is a Honda Jazz...

Idiophreak

what was the Jazz she test drove like?
The same?

BombJack

I really don't know tbh. I'm not even sure if she took a test drive as it was ordered online. I will need to get back to you on that one...

maninthestreet

Searched Google for 'Honda', 'jazz' and 'steering', and most of the comments I
can find state the steering is very light.

BombJack

That's interesting maninthestreet. All sounds a bit fishy to me...

Here's some additional info from my friend.

She has already contacted Consumer Advice who told here that she doesn't have 28 days to get her money back as this rule doesn't apply to vehicles. they said if she gets her money back, it will be a goodwill gesture as this fault cannot be deemed to be major.

Also, I was wrong about the car being bought on line, but I can confirm she didn't take a test drive.

Also, she was told "off the record" by an employee who no longer works at Honda that this is a common fault and that she should get an upgraded model...


Any fault with the steering of a car sounds like a major fault to me.
given that it's a power steering car, she shouldn't be experiencing any kind of difficulty with the steering. Are Consumer Advice correct in this case?

BombJack

Bumpity bump...

(sorry mods)

BombJack

And again...

Just trying to get some exposure for my friends problem.
Is this the right board to have this thread in mods?

Katmoo

I bought a 3 year old honda jazz just before CHristmas and the steering is unbelievably light.
The jazz should not be heavy steering.

I would advise that given the time taken for honda not getting their !!!!!! in gear, a full refund is in order.

Contact the dealer asap, it will then be up to them to sort the finances out with the honda directly.

I hope nothing goes wrong with mine!
I have noticed that it steams up a lot.

Thanks Katmoo

Fifer

Bypass the dealer and contact Honda UK direct. Mention Watchdog.