Honda Car Forum

"Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9BD4DA60E8057tegger@208.90.168.18...
> "HLS" <nospam@nospam.nix> wrote in
> news:FvWwl.21714$c45.11003@nlpi065.nbdc.sbc.com:
>
>>
>> "krp" <krp34@verizon.net> wrote in message
>> news:2%Vwl.1460$SU3.863@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
>>
>>> I'd find a different Honda dealer. There are two within a few
>>> minutes
>>> drive of me. Both offer excellent service. What year Honda do you
>>> have?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The point is that an independent shop can, and normally does, do a
>> better job at a better price than the Honda stealership.
>>
>> For every shitty job I have had at an independent shop, I have had
>> much worse at a dealership.
>
>
>
>
> My experience has been somewhat more nuanced.
>
> I have suffered equally badly from ineptitude by both a Toyota dealership
> and an "import-specialist" independent.
>
> Oddly, that same independent both rescued me from the dealership's
> ineptitude and committed their own episode of ineptitude soon afterwards
> (same car, different episode). Needless to say, I now patronize neither of
> them.
>
>
>
>>
>> Do what you want, but the recommendation to go to a dealer, as if it
>> were a cure all, is simply BS.
>>
>>
>
>
> Unfortunately, 'tis true. Idiots populate all manner of auto repair
> outlets. Automaker/government certification is no guarantee of competence.

We all are in the pickle of "you pays yer money and you takes yer
chances." I never said Dealers were perfect. The issue for me is that IF
the dealer screws up the car - I have the manufacturer by the balls. If I go
to "Smitty's Garage" and SMITTY or his Mechanic GOMER screws up my car, what
am I left with? Smitty may or may not be ABLE to fix what they screwed up.
The car manufacturer will likely VOID the warranty. Smitty may also tell me
to POUND SAND.

I had a mechanic at a Pontiac garage leave a wrench inside the engine.
The engine lunched when THEY tried to start it. Pontiac gave me a new
engine. (Longblock) (1972) The original problem had them remove the intake
manifold and valley cover. It was a LONG story. But I had the fallback with
Pontiac. BTW, for another fact, Pontiac had the car towed to a different
dealership who found the wrench.
Dealer # 1 tried to blame me. Dealer #2 showed the Pontiac rep, who got the
engine and billed dealer # 1. The car was out of service for 30 days.
Pontiac also have me a loaner. A "zone car."

"Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9BD4DA60E8057tegger@208.90.168.18...
After numerous
> very bad experiences elsewhere, what else can I do? Besides DIY, that
> is...

> Tegger
>
I usually do it myself. We have, in this small town, at least one mechanic
who should
be in a mechanic's hall of fame somewhere. He is an independent. ( Yes,
David, Im
talking about you:>)

We have a pretty good situation at the local Buick dealership, only because
the service
manager is bright and conscientious.

Some of the other dealership mechanics and shops are to be afraid of.

"krp" <krp34@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:KQ2xl.1534$SU3.1035@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...

> Do you think that on new model Honda the computer that tracks oil life
> exists in a vacuum?
>

What are you trying to say, KRP?

On 3/20/09 6:52 PM, in article 2%Vwl.1460$SU3.863@nwrddc02.gnilink.net,
"krp" <krp34@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>> Why do I have the Honda dealer do it? First to make sure the right
>>> amount is put in and secondly to PROPERLY reset the computer. Well
>>> meaning
>>> mechanics not real familiar with the Honda computer have been known to
>>> FRY
>>> the complete system.
>
>> Sorry. That's just silly. The instructions on resetting the oil change
>> warning are in your owner's manual. Do it yourself before you take it in
>> &
>> tell them not to mess with it.
>
> Arrrggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! So you ASS/U/ME that the
> mechanics will read the book? It has been a very long time since I screwed
> with my own cars mechanicaly. When I was in my 20's and racing I'd spend
> load of time under a car. Today I pay somebody else, who has the facilities
> to dump the oil in an environmentally proper way.
>

Who said anything about the mechanic reading the book? Did you actually
read my comment? Its not a highly technical mechanical task to turn the key
and push a button on the dash. Sounds to me like you haven't bothered to
read your owners manual either.

>> Of all the places I've had do oil changes in the past few years, the local
>> Honda dealer has been the sloppiest and least competent. The (new) car
>> came
>> with three free oil changes. They didn't reset the maintenance monitor
>> two
>> of the three times and the car dripped oil on my garage floor for a week
>> after every time. When I looked, the lower control arm was covered with
>> oil
>> from the filter change that they obviously didn't bother to wipe off.
>> Unless its free, I always do it myself & guess what - no oil on the floor
>> and no problems with the maintenance monitor.
>
>
> I'd find a different Honda dealer. There are two within a few minutes
> drive of me. Both offer excellent service. What year Honda do you have?
>
>
>

Currently, its an '06 CR-V. I feel absolutely no desire to find another
dealer. Its not that hard to unscrew one bolt, let the oil out & refill it
with the specific amount listed in the owner's manual. My point is that
they can be just as incompetent as the Jiffy Lube places. Do you actually
think the highly trained ASE certified mechanic at the dealership is the one
doing oil changes? Dream on...

"HLS" <nospam@nospam.nix> wrote in message
news:Kc5xl.22666$Ws1.6449@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
> "krp" <krp34@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:KQ2xl.1534$SU3.1035@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
>
>> Do you think that on new model Honda the computer that tracks oil life
>> exists in a vacuum?
>>
>
> What are you trying to say, KRP?

How many computers are in a Honda? Do they talk to each other?

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:56:09 GMT, "E. Meyer" <epmeyer50@msn.com>
wrote:

> Do you actually
>think the highly trained ASE certified mechanic at the dealership is the one
>doing oil changes? Dream on...

Haven't been to a Jiffy Lube in a while, but a few years ago I went
into one in Florida to get a change while on a long driving trip.
The guy in the pit was yelling out his every action, like "Draining!"
"Plug In!" "Plug tight!" Somebody else was yelling "Check!"
Stuff like that. Made me feel they were paying attention.
Hope it wasn't a recording.
I always pull over after somebody does a change for me anyway, and
check the level and look at the plug and filter for leaks.
Not ideal, since I'm not dressed to crawl under. But the worse
problem I've had is the kid didn't put the hood rod in the retainer
when he closed the hood and the hood wasn't straight.
Fixed that in the parking lot when I pulled out.
My kid, who's a pro with all the ASE certs does our oil changes now.
In my garage.
About a year ago he did some work on his car, and an oil change as the
last thing. He uses Mobil 1.
About half hour after he leaves to go home he calls me to bring him a
new plug and oil. The plug had come out. He heard/spotted it right
after it dropped out, but the oil was gone. He hadn't tightened the
plug.
Fatigue. Anybody can make a mistake. The good ones don't do it
twice. Temps were about zero and he damn near froze before I got to
him with the stuff.
For me the bottom line is the quick change places don't scare me at
all. And anybody who is susceptible to being sold a pair of
windshield wipers they don't need can be sold a valve job they don't
need by a local crook with ASE certs plastered all over his wall.
Jiffy-Lube catches flak because they do so many oil changes.
Shit happens everywhere.

--Vic