after a conversation with my love-hate dealer metro honda that went something like this:
dealer: what kind of car again?
me: it’s the hybrid insight.
dealer: oh, wait, you say it’s a hybrid?
me: yes, the insight *hybrid.*
dealer: you mean the civic hybrid?
me: [eyes rolling, veins popping] um, no, there’s another hybrid: the INSIGHT HYBRID.
I decided to give another dealer a shot. Today I went to garden state honda for my 15,000 maintenance (can you believe I’m at 15,000 miles already? I feel like I just got the car!). It was a lot better than metro honda in two respects: they knew what a hybrid was (when I asked if they had any insights in regular service they said maybe one other, but 10-20 hybrids total – compared to metro honda’s answer of “oh, yeah, we got some”) and also, they actually LISTENED to me. like, the guy brought the honda standard torque wrench out to show me and reassure me that metro honda couldn’t have messed up the very expensive magnesium alloy oil pan by over-torquing. So, that’s in their favor.
not in their favor is how they realized after finishing the oil change that they didn’t have the correct air filter so they THEN drove out to get one, making my visit in the very comfortably appointed waiting room last from 7:30 AM to 11AM. at least there were freshly baked cookies, and also, the internets for email checking. the experience was slightly mitigated by a slight discount on the bill and also their extreme embarassment. well! I guess that’s that.
I hope they start to send me coupons, because I’m for sure getting my engine work done there from now on. they’re closer, they open 30 minutes earlier in the morning, and they don’t treat me like a girl who doesn’t know anything about her car. and cookies. and internets. did I mention?
