jyang411

When I took off the license plate, it left screw holes in my bumper.. Austin519 told me about someone on this board getting a whole new bumper because of this.. Anyone have any input?

thanks.

rominl

umm, of course you could do it, but that's a BIG investment, too much i would say. i'd probably go back to the dealer and talk to them. since there are actually mounting holes UNDER where your licence plate sits now, the dealer should have gotten those special frame so they would never drill holes on the bumper. ask them to see if they have those licence plate hole covers from integra. some members talked to their dealers and got those covers.

rominl

but with your car color, it's not a good sign coz' i don't think the color exists for integra?

jyang411

I should clarify,.. someone got acura to replace the bumper for free b/c of these holes in the bumper..

Any of you all know how to go about getting this kind of claim?

thanks.

ymckoon

I think you're confused.

I think it was Nate or someone who was trying to get his bumper replaced and he wrote a letter to BBB and Acura Corporate, etc...

He's still in the process I believe. I don't remember ever reading about someone that already had their bumper replaced due to screw holes.

You'd be the first if you're lucky enough. Good luck.

rominl

i don't recall any neither. couple of people did went back to dealer and argued with them but with no luck. and i know someone (most likely Nate?) wrote to Acura.

Austin519

"I think you're confused.

I think it was Nate or someone who was trying to get his bumper replaced and he wrote a letter to BBB and Acura Corporate, etc...

He's still in the process I believe. I don't remember ever reading about someone that already had their bumper replaced due to screw holes.

You'd be the first if you're lucky enough. Good luck."

Actually he isn't confused...I was the one that told him that. And although Nate may be doing it too...he wasn't the one who I saw the post about this. They should have used the bracket with the screws under the bumper...and they should replace it...especially when you tell them the fact that in Tejas they don't require two plates, and this would devalue your car etc etc etc

Austin519

ymckoon

Okay, now I'm confused.

We're not talking about what the dealership should or should not do about the front plate, whether or not it devalues the car or not by putting holes in the bumper.

I'm saying I never saw anyone post that they got their bumper replaced for free because the dealership put screw holes in the bumper for their front plate.

So....did or didn't someone actually get a free bumper from Acura? Back to the original question, how?

tea elle

I think I can shed some light on this subject.

My '01 TL had the holes drilled by the dealer (I traded that puppy in for my Type S three months ago). I wrote a letter to Acura Customer Service, the General Manager of my dealership and the Service Manager of my dealership.

1. Acura would do nothing for me. They apologized and offered to send me some coupons for service.

2. The General Manager couldn't care less about satisfying me at first. Even though this was my fourth Acura and my third from his dealership. I wanted the bumper replaced, and he would not spring for it.

3. The service manager and I negotiated an agreement. They would pay to have the entire front bumper repaired and painted by the body shop of their choice.

I never took them up on the offer because I didn't feel confident that they would properly match the silver metallic paint. It is very hard to get it perfect. I ended up buying a couple of small round plugs at Pep Boys (of all places!) and painted them with my touch up paint. They actually looked pretty good, so I lived with it until I traded the car in.

If you want a copy of the letter I wrote to Acura, email me and I'll send it to you. I'm pretty proud of it, and it covered all the justifications for them replacing the bumper.

I hope this helps. I'm a pretty good negotiator, so if you can achieve better success than I did, you have my utmost respect.

Good Luck!

jyang411

Thanks for the help.. i guess i'll have to check pep boys later today.

and..where did you get the matching touch-up paint?

1999TL

hey Austin, we only need one plate in Texas?

Austin519

Yeah I thought there was someone else here that got it replaced for them...not sure who...but I know someone did...I may search it later if it drives me crazy enough.

I have a friend with old plates...and it's the rule: "however many they give you, that's how many you put on". And they only gave him one. I have Alabama plates, and they only gave me one....

Austin519

walker29

I bought a 2001 Honda Passport for my wife last year (mistake btw) and just like you, I took off the front plate and found screw holes. Of course I went back to the dealership and asked why this was done when clearly the bracket was supposed to be attached from the bottom. After weeks of being a pain in their ass and writing letters, they replaced the bumper with a new one. Keep after them.

tea elle

I bought the silver touch up paint from my acura dealer. Oh, by the way.......

I GOT A $25 TICKET TODAY FOR NOT HAVING A FRONT LICENSE PLATE.

Austin519

"I bought the silver touch up paint from my acura dealer. Oh, by the way.......

I GOT A $25 TICKET TODAY FOR NOT HAVING A FRONT LICENSE PLATE."

That's why you don't do that in CA

Austin519

rominl

oh man, that sux. the cop just deliberately stopped you for THAT matter? wtf? i feel your pain, coz' i really wanna take off my front plate too.....

tea elle

No, the cop did not stop me. He was giving me a parking ticket on a really lousy violation and he added insult to injury by giving me both tickets.

$65 total.

ymckoon

yeah, my bro lives in LA and he put his front plate back on cuz they're real hard a$$es about that there.

So far I have not run across anyone in the bay area that got that ticket with a parking ticket.

Damn photo enforcement.

tea elle

Even if I get five tickets for not having a front plate, its still a hell of a lot cheaper that getting popped by that camera in the intersection. Thats a $280 ticket, plus traffic school and fees, or a point on your record and higher insurance.

Whatever, it all sucks. The wrong people get tickets sometimes while the a@@holes continue to run red lights and tailgate and speed without being noticed.

tea elle

Sorry Austin...it was a lousy day. I found out that someone forged a check on my checking account and got away with $7500 of my money. I'll get it back from my bank, but it was a $hitty day.

I still don't like Texas, and it did seem like you were rubbing it in a little about the ticket. And as far as the painted door handles go...all I can say is there are some very picky Acura owners on here and sometimes they really amaze me.

Austin519

"Sorry Austin...it was a lousy day. I found out that someone forged a check on my checking account and got away with $7500 of my money. I'll get it back from my bank, but it was a $hitty day.

I still don't like Texas, and it did seem like you were rubbing it in a little about the ticket. And as far as the painted door handles go...all I can say is there are some very picky Acura owners on here and sometimes they really amaze me."

Yeah I know how those go...like you I found out a few hours ago someone got my credit card number and went on a shopping spree...now I'm having to sign about a million affadavits etc.

Eh I don't really care if you don't like Texas, there are some things that are great about it and some things (like the weather) that suck. Texas isn't my hometown so I don't really care anyway.

And as for picky Acura owners...you're talking to one for $30k I should hope everybody here is...

Austin519

Mr Hyde

rominl

umm, anyone has any info on how tight the cops are in the bay area? i am in san jose and somehow i hardly see a cop around.