Neorick

Stay Away from SERRAMONTE ACURA....

They charged me $120.00 for an A1 service...!@#$!!!


Mike Harvey only charged me $69.00....

RSA_Secure

The only place I have been is Stevens Creek Acura. I must say that the service managers are very helpful and courteous. But I feel that their technicians/mechanics aint very good.

wolftag

I'm going in for my first A1 service at Marin Acura tomorrow. I'm at 6400 miles.

So far, I'm nervous. They first quoted me $139 for the A1. They wanted to charge me for a "minor service". I said I just wanted an oil change and tire rotation as indicated by the MID. They tried arguing with me, saying that the Bay area is considered heavy duty usage.

So anyways, they gave me a much more reasonable quote but said "We'll check to see if the tires need rotating or not. We usually do that at the 10,000 mile service".

What a bunch of crap. I will not be coming back in at 10,000. I'll come back in when the car tells me to, which won't be till around 14,000 or so.

Anyone else having trouble like this? The MID is one reason (of many) I went with the TL -- the idea of it grouping service visits which saves me money and huge amounts of time.

I'll guess I'll have to put my foot down and tell them, "Do what the car says. I trust it more than you" :-)

I had a really great sales experience at Marin Acura. Patient, low pressure, and I got a decent deal.

Lore

By all means , put your foot down. You're the consumer, they're the merchant. You are the one paying the bill, so make sure you get what you want. I would tell them you only want the oil change and tire rotation (which I would definitely do at 6,400 miles). Shouldn't be more than $40-50 since the car's going to be up on the racks anyway. While the tech is waiting for your oil to drain he can rotate the tires.

Yet another reason why I perform my own basic service... less hassle and I know I do it right!

mrskstone76

I like Stevens Creek Acura, they are very nice and get the job done if not I'd get a loaner.

subinf

All bay area driving is considered heavy on the wear and tear aspect of the car. I bought my car at Marin Acura and only return for warranty stuff (broken cd player). While not everyone is mechaniclly inclined or does not have access to everything needed to do your own work, I would rec. finding an independent shop to perform all service needs. While the hourly labor rate is a bit steep in marin (probably all of bay area), that is what I rec. 140 does seem a bit high for you a1 service...I dont know what it calls for but that seems high for any service with only 6900 miles.

yoda

Ok..long time acura owner here...A couple of stories here...

My '91 Integra LS was making a "ticking" noise, so I brought it to Mike Harvey acura to get it worked on (this is back in '91 or '92). Keep in mind, that only the GS model had ABS, none of the other integras at the time had ABS. The service manager said that the noise was coming from my ABS pump, and that it was normal. I then proceeded to tell him my car does NOT have ABS. We argued back and forth about this, he insisted it did, and I said it doesn't. So finally he tells me to pop the hood. And low and behold, there was no ABS pump in the "normal" location. The guy then proceeds to "look around" my engine bay, like I had MOVED the pump or something!!! Man, I couldn't believe it. Then he made it sound like I REMOVED it!!!! Makes you kind of think how "well" trained they are.

Ok, also back in '91 when I was looking for my Integra we were at Serramonte Acura. The salesperson said "what do you expect for a chinamen shitbox" to both my dad and I. Well we weren't too happy. We wrote a letter to the dealer, and the salesperson was gone 1 week later. I don't know if he was fired or what. We ended up getting the car from Oakland Acura.

So now we have an '03 TL-S. I've been getting it serviced at Pleasentan Acura. They're so-so. They try to be helpful, but there is a lot of ignorance. I usually only get results when I'm able to talk to a mechanic themselves. Anyhow, this last time I went, I told them the window gasket on the driver's side was popping out. I pointed it out the the Service Advisor as well. She saw it, and confirmed it. The stupid dealer didn't replace it! Instead they changed my "trim" around the door/window frame! WTF!!! How stupid can you be!? They "fixed" something that was prefectly fine and left what was visually broken!!! UGH!

Another time, I brought the car TL-S in for some rattles. The INFAMOUS sunroof rattle and seatbelt squeak! I told the advisor. All they had to do was take a 2min test drive with to confirm this. Instead, they just wrote it down. Mechanic said "could not duplicate" and didn't fix anything!! WTF! The next time, I went in there and complained about it again. This time, the service manager thought I was just wasting time, so he made a mechanic go out with me. As soon as I describe to him the problem, he ALREADY KNEW what I was talking about. Took a quick spin and confirmed it. Sheesh.

The thing is, if these dealers actually spent "some time" with you and the mechanic w/ the service advisor, things would get fixed the first time correctly. Instead in their efforts to 'speed' thru things, they just write things down without confirming it. Stuff doesn't get fixed correctly the first time, you end up having to go back, just a big waste of everyone's time.

I even spoke to the mechanic and told him, "look, I'm no dummy, I know exactly what's wrong and what needs to be fixed. I just dont' want to say it, because I don't want to be a smart ass and tell the advisor how to do his/her job. My family is in the same type of business, so I know what's going on." The guy laughed and said "yeah, I don't blame you. I'm a mechanic, and when I bring my car to the honda dealer for warranty work, I have to deal with the same things.)

Ok, off of my soapbox now. STUPID DEALERS! My car is out of warranty now, so I'll be bringing the car back to my "regular" mechanic.

yoda

Off Topic here. I once made the general manager at Lexus Serramonte run with his tail tucked between his legs. The idiot was arguing with me. So we went out to the car and he asked a mechanic to confirm what he had told me. Mechanic said the same thing I said! HAHAHAHAHHAHA! Right after that I looked him straight in the face, didn't say a word, no facial expressions, to see what he would do. He turned around and walked (quickly) back in! hahahahaha I guess if I wanted to be a bigger dick, I could have said something to rub it in!

I hate DEALERS!

wolftag

It may be heavier but it certainly does not qualify for the alternate maintanance schedule.

I just don't think you can say that all bay area driving is heavy wear and tear. Almost all of my driving is from SF to Redwood City. Flat highway, near the ramps on both ends, and I commute off-peak so its pretty much 65 the whole time, not a lot of stop and go.

wolftag

OK, got my '04 5AT A1 done at Marin Acura, 6,300 miles. Oil change and tire rotation -- $74. Yes, I know this is absurd.

They did do an excellent job washing the car, though. They have a touchless wash system, but still made it a point to get my permission first.

The waiting room is posh, with starbucks coffee, some breakfast pastries, big comfy chairs and wireless internet access! I was able to work on my laptop in comfort for the 1 hour it took for the service.

They fixed a rattle that has been driving me nuts (the plug for the shift interlock release on the gear selector bezel).

I pointed out my horrid looking leather seats and the service manager didn't even hesitate to offer new seat covers. He even mention that he has seen this problem, including the Motorweek long term test drive review that recently aired in which the cracked leather was one of the few complaints.

Even though it was expensive, I don't mind -- made me feel like I own a near luxury car

I'll be going back. For one thing, its an excuse to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, which I don't normally do.

Lore

Did the mgr offer 05 seats or 04 seats?

wolftag

I didn't ask -- I told him I was going to wait to see if Acura was going to address the issue. I see not point in replacing the covers with the same thing.

Hopefully the '05 owners will let us know if they have the same problem with their covers.

I'm not worried about butt prints, which i have. That's minor compared to what I'm seeing. I have the cracking problem and it looks like there is some type of coating coming off in some areas.

Lore

What color car do you have? I think some of the lighter leather colors are prone to this "paint" or something coming off. Did you see the photos of that car that was completely totalled? It was a Desert Mist color with parchment interior, and you could see the paint or dye coming off the front driver seat.