Another dealer story

2815 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Alexander Hales, Sep 3, 2005

IHonda2002

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2005

Well, another dealer story, although a minor one.

I've been going to the same dealer since I bought my Insight, and I've been generally pleased with them, but the tire inflation issue is starting to get to me. I went in for a routine oil change and checkup and when I got it back the little check list said the tires were set to 32 psi per factory specs. I questioned the service dude right away and asked if he's ever looked at the door jam where it says 38 and 35. He seemed a little surprised by that so I offered to point it out to him. I then ranted a bit about keeping the techs aware of what kind of a car they are working on, making sure my voice was raised enough so other service managers could hear. If something like that gets by them, something I can check easily, what things are getting by that I can't check so easily. He offered to pump them correctly, but I normally keep mine at 42 and 38 anyway so I said I'd just take care of it at home.

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rschaffrath

· #10 · Aug 2, 2005

Resist said:
I had to order one of those small under panel bolts from a dealership, so they do sell them. They had to special order it as none were in stock. It cost me $2 for one bolt. What a rip off!

Yes! Replacement hardware is terribly expensive on the Insight. I needed to get some of the plastic fasteners and they were on the order of $2.50 each. I nearly choked but I needed them.

Don't get me started on the cost of a replacement cabin air filter cover...

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rschaffrath

· #12 · Aug 2, 2005

Resist said:
cabin air filter cover?

Yes, the part is officially called a "DUCT COVER", p/n 79813-ST3-E01, and is the part you remove before pulling out the cabin air filter. It originally sold for around $6.50 back in 2002. Now it sells for approximately $72.

Back in 2002 I accidently broke one of the locking tabs off of mine and ordered a new one at my local dealership and prepaid for it. After nine months of visits to the parts department, my dealer was still trying to get it yet the computer system always said it was out of stock with Honda North America. They had me call the Honda consumer line to see if I could somehow get it shipped as Honda tends to be more responsive to customer complaints than dealer complaints. They were very helpful but nothing ever came of my calls.

Then one day at about 10 1/2 months, I stopped in for my monthly visit to the parts department to get a status update and the computer said the duct covers were available. I asked when mine would arrive and they checked my order. Bad news, someone at Honda North America had cancelled my long standing order and the new price for the part was now $66! Well the parts guy became rather angry and got on the phone with the Honda parts division and chewed them out for cancelling an open order. Net result was I had written proof that I had a prepaid order at the original price and he told them that they owed me a part at the price I paid. Three days later it arrived.

That was my first experience into the world of trying to get "exotic" Insight parts. It did not instill confidence in me...

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rschaffrath

· #18 · Aug 17, 2005

Re: Aggg...you all have me a bit worried

grnmachine said:
Should I NOT take my Green Machine into the local Honda Dealer for its 30k service? Won't this void the warranty if I don't do so? Do they do anything so extensive that a master tech would HAVE to get involved?

I'm due to bring it in asap so any help is very appreciated.

Thanks.

I have the extended warranty, I am currently at a little over 30K and have never had dealer "major service" performed though I honestly do not know if they would hold that against me if I had a claim.

I do have the service manual and, other than performing the required break line flush and break fluid replacement, I have performed all of the other required service items at their required interval including changing the engine coolant. (Note: the Y2K models required a coolant change at three years according to the manual. The 2001's and subsequent models say five years before a coolant change. I believe the five year interval is due to the use of Honda Type II coolant in the newer vehicles. I am now using Honda Type II and plan to change my coolant at the five year mark in 2009 as the coolant bottle recommends.). I did keep receipts for all of the consumables I have purchased to perform the various mainentance items.

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