Tom wrote: "Also, the biggest customer quality complaints were issues like squeaky brakes. Does this mean that the Toyota & Nissan customers were more tolerant of these issues than GM & Dodge customers were?"
I can say from experience that one reason Hondas have such a following is that the most Honda owners Do all of the suggested maintenance. It always amazed me when I was at the dealership, when a nice 5 year old Accord would pull in and say, I need the 30,000 (or 60 or 90,000) mile service and the service writer would tell them - "okay that package is $700 (or $1200 or more) and the owner would say, Ok whatever it needs. One of the attorneys in my office has a newer Nissan Altima. He had 60,000 miles on his car. So, he brought it up to the Dealer. They showed a list of maintenance items that needed to be done - total cost - over $1000. He brought me the sheet and said, I guess I have to get this done, Its on the maintenance schedule. They had told him these were the items that Nissan REQUIRED the owner to do. So, I went online and printed the ACTUAL maintenance schedule from the company website. They have three "schedules" Schedule 1 is lots of highway driving and little city, no towing, no dusty roads etc. Schedule 2 is severe duty. City driving, duty roads, short trips etc. Then Schedule 3 was Nissan Premiere Service. In very small letters, it said these items are not required and not mandatory. They represent Nissan's recommendations for premiere service. These services will prolong the life of your Nissan and represent the best maintenance program for your car. Of course, it was horseshit. The severe duty schedule said 100,000 miles for transmission service, 150,000 miles for coolant flush, and all sorts of other things. The dealer had taken the "recommended premiere service" and was calling it the required service. I called up and talked to the service manager and he apologized and offered to do ONLY the severe duty service. AND HE DID it for free - only charge $35 for oil change and rotate and balance tires. Donald H. Snook _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
