Got Insight Back from body shop need advice from mechanics and mechanically inclined.

[firsthonda]

As the title says got my car back from the shop. The body work looks really good from the outside but from under the hood a mechanically inclined person can tell it's been in a wreck. I can see where its been welded and 2 of the fender screws aren't painted. (among other things)


There was additional damage added to the original estimate which brought the damage to around $10,300. He let me slide on the $250 deductible but I'd rather pay it and have a better job done.

I'll list what I've noticed so far.

1) Although the ride is nice and smooth, the CVT fluid is low on the dipstick.
They had to remove the radiator to replace the radiator rail and of course that involved removing the CVT coolant lines etc. I asked the owner before I left if they used the correct Honda CVT and not trans fluid; to top off what was lost etc. He said of course. I checked when I got home and the level is below what registered on the dip stick.
I called and complained and he said his mechanics must of "forgot" to top off the fluid and for me to bring it back in a day or so to add it when he gets "more". He said, " don't worry, you can run it with a quart low" and "it won't hurt anything". Although I'm no mechanic, I don't think he's right with a CVT.

2) This one pissed me off, A LOT! I was REPEATEDLY PROMISED that only Genuine Honda Parts were to be used. In the printout I got, it listed the AC Condenser as being, AFTERMARKET. Although every other part was a Honda part. I'm concerned that an aftermarket condenser will not last as long. Do I have any reason to be concerned?

3) One of my HID Ballast was not secured and left dangling by the wires. Although I can correct this in 2 minutes, it shows sloppy work.

4) Drivers side front door sticks when opening it.

5) The car was run a little but not driven much in about 30 days. The battery did not get above 60% for the first 10 miles. I got it up to 80%(full) capacity by running it at 3 grand for about 3 minutes in park. During the initial miles it was recalling more than usual but was providing assist as well.
I'm hoping all is good.

6) For the front plate cover, they added an extra screw by drilling a HOLE in the bumper, that wasn't needed! I removed mine for aerodynamics and because in PA we only have a rear plate. Now if I want to remove it, I have a hole in the bumper. Nice.

This is what I've noticed so far. Tomorrow I'm going to crawl underneath and inspect more in the daylight.

[Cobb]

Sounds like you went to the same shop I did.

FYI, the cvt only holds 3 qts and that fluid is ten bucks a qt. Ita rather clear looking like mineral oil, regular atf is red.

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[Rick-Dallas]

First, let me say that I hate to see this amount of damage actually repaired. It probably wasn't too far from being totaled. Sounds like the body shop guy that did the repair either was in a big hurry or he was just sloppy or both. Although the welds were necessary, caulk is your friend. The factory uses it and so do all reputable body shops. You weld it, caulk it and paint it and if done correctly, looks like factory.

They guy is probably right in that being 1 qt low on ATF won't hurt anything in the near term but it shouldn't have left the body shop low on fluid. Honda ATF is fairly pricey in this part of the woods so unlikely he used genuine Honda fluid given the state of the rest of the car.

EDIT: Based on Cobbs comments the tranny just holds 3 qts of fluid, I would NOT drive this car 1 qt low on fluid!

Regarding the condenser, if the guy told you consistently he would be using genuine Honda parts, he should have used a Honda condenser too. Maybe they were on back order or something that would have caused a delay in getting the car back to you but if that was the case, you should have been contacted and it should have been your choice. If it is a good, name brand condenser, you're probably ok. But if is a cheap imitation, I would definitively get a Honda one.

The HID Ballast DOES indicate sloppy work. If they didn't mount that back like they should have, what else was not completely done correctly?

Regarding the drivers side door, do you mean when you go to open the door, it sticks when you first pull on the handle? If so, that should be able to be adjusted. If you don't get that resolved, you'll probably end up replacing the door handle quicker than normal. Regardless, that is a no brainer. Never should have left the shop like that. For sure. After they repair it, make sure you take it immediately to a drive through car wash. Make sure the window is all the way up and while you are inside the car, look for any drops of water. You're probably OK but better to find out now than 6 months from now.

If the hole in the bumper was not there from the factory, they need to fix that for you as well unless you asked them to drill the hole. They can replace just the bumper cover and not the entire bumper. The bumper will still have a hole in it but you won't be able to see it and it won't cause any damage. They can also do a repair on the bumper cover to fill in that hole but if the bumper cover is new, the repair should not be visible. They can do it but hopefully it won't be attempted by the same guy.

Crawling underneath is fine but if you can get it up on a lift, look at everything, shake things, try to move things, look for missing fasteners, etc. Then put together a good list describing what you see and what your expectations are when they are finished with the repair. Ask to see the alignment specs after they did an alignment (assuming the front of the car was damaged).

Make sure all areas that should be painted actually ARE painted.

Cars that have been wrecked can be fixed properly but almost all body shop people are on commission and you probably know what that means.

If you develop rattles or noises you didn't hear before, don't hesitate to take it back. Obviously, you want to do all this as soon as you reasonably can and get it back to them quickly. Their job is to get the car fixed and put back together as it was before the accident and again, this can be done but unfortunately the problems you are describing, are not uncommon.

Best of luck!

[Cobb]

Its been my experience that its easy to spot a car that has been wrecked and repaired. All the repair jobs I have seen have a flaw here or there. It use to be the case they used a lot of body filler and you could only spot that with a keen eye or a magentic tool.

Its my experience aftermarket parts are generally better and cheaper than oem. The only exception is body panels as they don't fit right. I do not believe there is much of a market for body panels for the insight.



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[firsthonda]

I'm editing my post. They used a different bracket than came with my Insight. They did install it rightside up but still didn't need to drill a third hole. That being said, although the overall work doesn't sem bad; I'm less than thrilled with the results. Maybe, It's me? Perhaps, I'm expecting too much?

[firsthonda]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Sounds like you went to the same shop I did.

FYI, the cvt only holds 3 qts and that fluid is ten bucks a qt. Ita rather clear looking like mineral oil, regular atf is red.

They couldn't have lost that much fluid just disconnecting the coolant lines? IIRC in the CVT fluid threads, only a few ounces is lost when changing the CVT Inline Filter.

[firsthonda]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Its my experience aftermarket parts are generally better and cheaper than oem. The only exception is body panels as they don't fit right. I do not believe there is much of a market for body panels for the insight.

According to the Paperwork, the sole aftermarket part used is listed as

Quai Replacement Parts Condenser $230.77

[firsthonda]

Originally Posted by Rick-Dallas

caulk is your friend. The factory uses it and so do all reputable body shops. You weld it, caulk it and paint it and if done correctly, looks like factory.

Regarding the drivers side door, do you mean when you go to open the door, it sticks when you first pull on the handle? If so, that should be able to be adjusted. If you don't get that resolved, you'll probably end up replacing the door handle quicker than normal. Regardless, that is a no brainer. Never should have left the shop like that. For sure. After they repair it, make sure you take it immediately to a drive through car wash. Make sure the window is all the way up and while you are inside the car, look for any drops of water. You're probably OK but better to find out now than 6 months from now.

First of all I want to thank you kindly for taking the time to give such a lenthly reply. I really do appreciate it.

The welds DO NOT look like factory.

The door itself sticks when opening it. I suspect the door frame area is a millimeter or two out of whack. The drivers side fender was replaced and so was the drivers side frame rail.

I will post pics tomorrow.

I also will get a copy of the alignment specs. He showed them to me and said they were good but I don't know too much about front end specs. I'll post those too if it's any help determining whether it's good. Like I said, as far as I can tell it rides like before and doesn't drift or pull but I know there's more to it.

[Rush]

Hi,

I have the Upper Body Dims
http://www.insightcentral.net/forums...1&d=1327984827
from a Honda Manual if you want to check them.

I made this jpg from a pdf, so if it isn't very clear PM me with your email and I'll send it to you, pdf is only 190 KB

[firsthonda]

Rush. I do appreciate you trying to help but is that for a first or second gen Insight?