Reason for Visit: Service
I recommend this dealer: Yes
Employee(s) Dealt With: Asif Premji,
Duane Soondarsingh
My Review of Okotoks Honda:
My 2009 Honda Pilot Touring broke down on December 3rd, 2011. Warning lights started flashing, the radio turned off, the GPS turned off, and I started to lose power. I pulled into a school parking lot and tried to back into a parking stall in case I needed a tow. Reverse didn't work at all. I couldn't see any issues under the hood, but I'm no mechanic. I called AMA and got the Pilot towed to Okotoks Honda, just south of Calgary. I fired off a quick e-mail to Duane, the Service Manager at Okotoks Honda, telling him what was going on and giving him the heads-up that the Pilot was on its way. Duane didn't know me; I got his e-mail address off the Okotoks Honda web site. He e-mailed me back right away and told me they would look at it as soon as it arrived. And this was a Saturday, no less! Later that afternoon, I got a call from Duane and he told me that there had been a small engine fire in the area between the ignition coil and first spark plug. He said that he had to report it to Honda Canada, and would let me know what was going to happen on Monday. I should note that the Pilot has 65,000km on it and is 35 months old. Just out of warranty, of course!
During the week of December 5-9, I was in contact with Duane regularly. He arranged a courtesy car for me, a Honda Civic. In the meantime, the service technicians took photos, sent diagnostic reports to Honda Canada, and explained the situation to them. Time dragged on and the following week, December 12-16, was more of the same. Honda Canada was taking a long time to investigate the situation and ensure that this wasn't a problem that could affect other Pilots. Duane did warn me that if Honda Canada did a full scale investigation and if the parts weren't readily available, I could be without my Pilot for a couple of months.
Ultimately, Honda Canada came to the conclusion that the engine fire was NOT caused by anything internal, and there must have been an external factor that caused the fire. I was disappointed with the decision given the absence of proof either way. Honda Canada had no evidence of any external cause, but they decided that since they couldn't specifically identify an internal cause, it must have been caused by external factors. So I ended up calling my auto insurance company, who agreed to cover the damage as a comprehensive claim. They even waived my deductible. As an added bonus, when I picked up my Pilot, I barely recognized the inside of it, as Duane had it detailed for me no charge!
Okotoks Honda, and specifically Asif Premji and Duane Soondarsingh, were fantastic through this whole ordeal. Anytime you are dealing with an unusual event (especially involving a fire!) it can be disconcerting. They held my hand (figuratively) and made me feel better about the situation. Duane and Asif genuinely care about their customers, and it shows. As Asif told me, when you have customers like me who have bought vehicles from Okotoks Honda, referred friends who have purchased new vehicles from Okotoks Honda, and have my service done at Okotoks Honda, you HAVE to work to keep these customers satisfied. Although I still have reservations with Honda Canada's treatment of my situation, these reservations do not extend to Okotoks Honda.
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