Ok, so I've only had my '06 NBP for a couple months now but I have noticed a rattle coming from the passenger front door. So I took it to Camco here in Ottawa.

20 minutes after I left my acura @ the dealership, I realized that they were gonna give me a complimentary "wash" with the service. So I called them immediately and asked for them not to wash my car. The guy I spoke to tried to assure me that his guys would do a great job with washing my TL.

Sure enough, I declined and he accepted.

10 minutes later, I get a phone call from the dealer saying "Sir, can we please wash your TL before you pick it up, our guys are standing around with nothing to do"?

Then I proceeded to explain why I do not wish for them to "wash" my Tl and the guy responded "I can guarantee that there will be no scratches on your TL".

Because this was my first visit and this guy was giving me a guarantee......I stupidly accepted.

When I went later on that same day to pick up my TL, not only was it dirtier than when I dropped it off....BUT IT HAS 3 DIFFERENT SCRATCHES!!!! WTF??!!

it was like 5pm so there was no manager to be found. So I was left dealing with the mechanics guys that were all between the ages of 17-22.

To make a long story short, they guys played point the finger and didn't apologize for the scratches and I left to come back another day when the OPS Manager was around.

To add insult to injury....the rattle was not fixed and the power door locks are now not working for the passenger door. WOW...what service that was. To be continued........

 

Yeah, Acura services is going to the $hits quick, at least you didn't have to deal with mechanics that acts like thugs.

 

The mechanics were all between the ages of 17-22 ????????? A 17 year old mechanic at an Acura Dealership ???? I don't think so.... I've gone to dealerships for years with all the cars I have purchased and I don't remember EVER seeing a 17 year old mechanic. If this is true and the Service Manager was not there when his mechanics were still there....I would find another dealership PRONTO. By the way, a Service Manager would be quite a bit older than 17-22 I would think. And most Service Manager's or the Assistant Service Manager's will be there while mechanics are still on duty.

 

That's pretty representative of Honda/Acura dealers I've seen in general. I personally know over 5 current/ex Honda mechanics and ALL of them have said that Honda pays much lower than the typical shop.

Just about all of them "use" Honda to obtain certification to move on to higher paying garages. Of course, the "using" is mutual. Honda keeps costs down, mechanics start their careers and move on. Simple.

The downside is the lack of experience and the quality of workmanship experienced by us customers. I'm a lot like you -- I almost never allow the stealer to scratch -- I mean wash -- my car. My past experiences with stealers is that they simply use a pressurized soft water rinse and wipe the car down. While the practice is fine if the procedure is done on a DAILY basis, it's terrible for an even slightly-dirty car. It's the equivalent of sandpaper.

 

yep......like I said ages 17-22......,maybe one of them was 25 but that was the oldest looking one.

Plus, ur right about if there is not a service manager there when his mechanics are......find another place to service ur TL.

So update on things. I went in to the shop and the operations manager was not there again....this time bright and early....GO FIGURE.

Ended up speaking to the sales manager, and he ended up giving me his personal TL with the 18" rims to take for the day while he fixed all the problems.

Granted he did his best to fix the scratches but 2 of them...u can still see it if u get close.

HE SAYS "I CAN PAINT THE WHOLE DOOR IF U LIKE" ...BUT i WAS LIKE "NO THANKS"!


Anyway, the scratches are better now but the initial problem (rattle) was not fixed....second time in the shop for same fix in 3 days. WOW

I'm headed there later on tomorrow to take the sales manager, mechanic, and ops manager for a ride to show them the rattle....

to be continued.......

 

Never, EVER let the dealer wash your car. I don't care if he says he'll have to fire a guy because there's not enough work.

On the up side, it sounds like your dealer is responsive to your issues and is willing to do whatever it takes to find a solution. And seeing how they care so much, you might want to toss out there that the service managers should be there from shop open to shop close.

Good luck with it all.

 

Well I can tell you that it takes many years to get ASE certified and HONDA requires ASE mechanics to be on duty. The people YOU THINK are mechanics are not. Probably porters (they all dress the same). Porters wash cars and clean them for customers. They also do small things like oil changes and tire rotations.

But they are not mechanics. I also know a friend who works at a Acura dealership in CA, and he gets paid very well. He said HONDA/ACURA pays very well, better than Nissan.

 

Hey...if they are willing to paint the door to match to remove the scratches, I suggest you take them up on that. That's a pretty expensive fix but is the best way to make the door look exactly like it should. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, if they are willing to fix the door like that.....go for it !

 

If you're refering to my comment, they are MECHANICS and have verified this from seeing their certicates they hang on the walls of their shop.

A little background: A friend of mine who happens to be a former Honda mechanic opened a shop of his own with his father. He ended up hiring many of his ex-coworkers and all of them hang their certificates on the walls of the waiting room. I've had many conversations regarding this subject and he told me that working at a Honda dealership is usually best suited for youngsters starting their careers. He isn't the only source. Another friend is currently a Honda mechanic and is only 22 yrs old, He is already looking for another mechanic job due to Honda's inability to pay competatively. A third friend who previously worked at Cerritos Norm Reeves was unemployed at one point but refused to go back.

That's over 3 direct sources who were indeed mechanics.

 

That is funny stuff man! He called you and practically begged you to allow them to wash your car? lol

 

This question probably belongs in a different forum, but what would be the best way to wash/dry your car so that I can avoid the 'sandpaper effect'?

 

What about Acura mechanics? Does the preimum dealership pay better than Honda. Toyota mechanics pay vs. Lexus mechanics pay. Honda vs Acura pay?

 

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

There is a how-to at the site listed above. Great site and great folks to order your car care products.

 

You can get ASE certified at a young age...you pass the test and have two years experience you get the cert. All the honda/acura dealers I know techs at are fairly young (my age) and have been doing it a long time.

 

Yeah man, I thought that was funny too. Like, why would they be standing around with nothing to do. Even if they do wash my car...that would take them like 5-maybe 10 min. ... then what???
lol

 

So u think I should go for the re-paint?? won't that look different from the other door?? I mean, I can only see that scratch when I bend down to take a look. Plus the scratches are on both doors ..driver and passenger..plus the passenger side view mirror.

Is it worth it to repaint and take the risk of have one door looker newer than the other???

Any feed back would be appreciated guys...thanks in advance.

 

The paint should match as your car is only a couple of months old. However, if you're concerned, just have them blend it.

 

thanks chill_dog...I will definitley think about it..coz the sales manager was like, "tell me what u wanna do and i'll do it...no hassle". So I thought that was kinda cool.

 

do u really want them messing with your car any more?
u let them "fix" the scratches- okay, but they obviously didn't do that good of a job so they will have to do more work over a larger area.
Do u think they will do a great job because they have to?
when you were a paying customer you got bad service. Now it's a return job due to a complaint.
the same guys that were pointing fingers may be doing the wet sanding. i would only do it if the body shop was @ a different location.

c'mon, they couldn't even wash the car without screwing up

 

I don't know about letting them repainting it, even if they did do a good job. Repainting is going to screw Mo_man in the end. If he ever tries to trade it in or sell it, the fact that there was paint work done would hurt the value.

I hate those "complimentary" washes. Dealerships think it's a favor, but they end up f*ckin your car up because they scratch the hell out of it. The people who do the washes could give two sh*ts about peoples' cars, they just rush through the job, not caring if they drop the towels on the ground; when they drop it, it goes right back on your car without a though of rinsing it off or using a new towel. My philosophy is if you want your car washed properly, wash it yourself.

I've always told the acura dealer not to wash my car, and one time they "forgot" and washed it anyway, and this was after I had to come back because some guy didn't put my lug nuts on one of my wheels on good and the wheel could have fallen off while I was driving. I brought it back and the service manager took care of it, and unknowingly he told them to wash it. Luckily it came back scratch free. But had it been the Acura Carland near my home, I am sure it would have been scratched to hell, because I've seen the guys at Carland wash cars and its not a pretty site.

 

Yeah I don't think I'm gonna let them paint both my front doors at all.

I am thinking about taking my car to another dealer about 25 minutes away from this one.

The nearest one is Casino Acura in Hull.

It is out of my way but I guess I have no choice in the matter.

Does anyone in Ottawa have any prior dealing with Casino Acura???

Thanks again guys.

Mo Man

 

Here in L.A., most dealers use body shops to do body repairs and repairs of minor transit damage. Those dealerships have a deal with a specific body shop, while a few huge dealerships started their own in-house body shop.
If the dealer that scratched your car does not have an in-house body shop, find out which shop they send their cars to, then cut a deal for the dealer to pay for repair.
Otherwise, tell the dealer that you are going to make an insurance claim on its general liability/property damage policy if if it doesn't want to take care of your problems.
Last option: make a claim with your insurance company to send your car to a decent body shop (it's likely that the dealer's shop is acceptable to the insurance company), pay the deductible if there is any hassle, and let your insurance company recover the deductible for you through subrogation. Either the dealer will admit the mistake and you will not pay a deductible, or your insurer will mail the deductible back to you in a few months once it finishes claim against dealer; either way you are not charged for the claim.
Don't spend much more time or your money trying to fix dealer's mistake.
Hope it works out!

 

I have too many bad run ins with dealerships and will not take it to them unless it is a major warranty repair!
If the scratches are not deep, maybe they can be buffed out?

 

Thanks alot fellas for all the advice. I have a clear idea as to where I stand with the dealership.

the scratches are not deep except for the side view mirror which they offered to replace.

they also buffed out what they could but one scratch still remains visible.

I think it is not that big but again, it is the principle.

I just don't wanna repaint the whole door on a brand new car. By the way, I am going to ask them to replace the side view mirror and use some sort of touch up paint on that little scratch they couldn't buf out.

Does Buffing usually leave small marks??? coz I see those and am not liking the way they buff.

thx again guys.

Mo Man

 

I would paint the door only as a last result. Try any and all less invasive things, like rubbing out, etc, prior to painting. It will simply never match in the long run. Sooner or later you will see evidence there is a difference. Usually the first time you park the car under a sodium vapor lamp (like in most parking lots). What may look fine in daylight will often be noticeable under other light sources. Depending on your future with the car this can cost you more when you go to sell or trade since nobody will believe that the car was not hit when they notice the paint job.

Also, may dealer will not argue with me at all about my not having them wash the car. He simply says "OK" and leaves it at that. I guess he realizes that doing as I ask is best for him in the long run.

 

I work for a Honda dealer. I do not agree with mechanics you speak of. They either worked in small dealership or worked in a area where mechanics were not in demand. Where I work on the other hand mechanics are like gold and get paid an ass load of money and I know because I pay them. Our highest paid techs are making $30.00/hour and the lowest paid certified tech is $15.00/hour, (33 techs total)I would say thats pretty damn good if your turning 200 hours a month and thats also average for my shop. Another thing is most technicians want to work for import dealers because of the higher pay. Ford, GM, and so on dont pay jack and its alot of bullshit to go through to turn an hour. Just my

 

When they prep the car for delivery they look great. Why is it any different when they wash it after service?

 

When we prep cars for delivery they are done exactly the same way. All of our washes are done by hand without a machine and I would say they do an exceptional job for the amount of vehicles they wash. But when your vehicle is dirty any scratches you may have can be camoflauged by dirt so when we wash and they magically appear, guess what its our fault. Does that sound right?