jspagna1

So I washed my wifes new TL (2 months old) and I noticed that the front beak had a bubble in it. Yes a bubble. Like it's wrapped with tin foil. First I thaught it was a rock chip, but no chip. It's roughly a 1/4" oblong bubble that's developed on the passenger side lower coner of the beak.

So I stopped buy the dealer this moring and I had the salesman see it and one of the Service Dept guys said come back on Monday and Joe the Service Manager will look at it and order you a new beak.

Ok well I really want to get the beak painted white like the car. So here are my questions:
1. Should I have them paint the beak they order now or wait till Spring?
2. Should I ask if they can just give me the replacement beak and I can replace it myself in the spring and I can keep the deffective one so I have an extra. One painted & one not?
(I think the answer will be no because they probably have to send it back to prove the defect)
3. Should I just have them replace it and call it a day and I'll have the new one painted in the Spring?

Any thought and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.

Pete2010

Why wait? Just have them order it and paint it when they have it. Then when you go in they can just swap it and be done with it. The bonus there is that you'll have it done with and don't need to take it back later to have done.

If it was me, i'd have them order it, paint it, then i'll go and get it installed.

Good luck

jspagna1

Ok so all I will have them do is paint it and install it. I wonder what they are going to charge me? They should just charge me for the paint and the clear bra? I don't trust dealers!

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I'm sure they'll tack on a nice hefty labor charge too.

George Knighton

It's not hard, but if you do it the right way it will take some time. You don't want them doing a quick job with something that you're going to be looking at every time you walk up to the car.

I was surprised how long it took them to install my OEM lip, which was a part of the deal for my car.

However, on looking at it after I got the car home, I realised that it was not done with sticky tape, and that it was put together solidly enough that the time it took was understandable.

feisty

have them order the new one and install it, then ask for the "bad" one to be placed in your trunk so you can paint it or have it painted later on.

keep in mind that you are always entitled to keep the parts that come off your car.

sr4dt

IIRC, if you receive a free replacement under warranty, then the service department has to send the defective part to Acura QC folks, so they can review and identify production flaws if any.

jspagna1

I'm gong to try and stop by the dealer tommorrow sometime and talk to the Service Manager. I am going to ask if I can have the old grill? Will see what he says. I think I'm just going to ask if they can order the new beak and have them paint it and clear bra it and then when it's ready I will have them insatll it.
It's probably as good a time to do it rather than wait till spring.
You guys agree?

Pete2010

Sounds like a plan, not sure if they'll give you the old one, as mentioned in the above posts... But why wait till spring? You seem hesitant on doing this now. But since they're replacing it anyway you're saving the money by doing it now... if you wait and have them replace it with an unpainted on, then have them paint it later, you're going to have to pay additional labor charges...

Do it now, and post some pics afterwords!

jspagna1

Saw the Service Manager today and showed him the defect in the grill. He took a bunch of pictures and I told him I wanted the new/replacement grill painted white & clear bra'd. He did say he could'nt give me the old grill, but he mentioned that if they paint & clear bra the original grill, it may cost me very little or nothing at all. I told him I would appreciate whatever he could do for me.
So he said he would call me in a day or two and let me know.
It would be great if it does'nt cost me anything to get it done, but I wonder how he's going to pull it off. What do you guys think he's going to do?

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Since your TL is 2 months old, hopefully you won't pay anything.

jspagna1

Ok just heard from the Service Manager today. He told me that he spoke to his Honda Rep and here are my options...

1.He does not want to paint the original beak because he is worried about the bubble coming back after it's painted and it becomes a warranty nightmare.

2.He said he offered to upgrade the grill to the Midnight Chrome grill, but he would split the cost. It's like $350 so I would have to pay half of that and I don't get the tail pc to go withit.
(I just think the Chrome one makes the beak more obvious.)

3.He would order the replacement beak and have it painted and it would cost me $150+ tax. He said he would look into clear bra for it, but couldn't guerantee that? I want the beak clear bra'd for sure.

I went for option#3. He is going to call me back.
I hate dealing with dealers! What do you guys think?

007Acura

if they don't want to clear bra the grill just go to a shop that does it and have them do the whole front end including the grill... since the car is still new

you will also avoid the dealership up-charges

dwest1023

Not sure if the guy want to pay upwards to 700 for a clearbra job. It will cost around 75 for just the beak.

jspagna1

I called the Service Manager back and I told him to just paint the beak for me and they will install it next Wed. $150
Then I got a freind of mine who had something clear bra'd on his car and I called them and they are going to apply the clear bra on it for me next Fri. around $125
Man, I should have gone into the body work.

jspagna1

Just got back from the dealer this moring to have him install the new painted beak. Came out great. Service Manager had quoted me $150+ tax. Well the Body Shop manager said just give me $150 cash. I didn;t have a $10 so I gave him $160 and he gave me $20 back. So it ended up costing me $140. Not bad. Pretty much looks like the picture below.

Now my question is they probably painted it yesterday (Tuesday) and had it installed today (Wednesday). I have an appointment this Friday 8 A.M. to get it clear bra'd. The body guy said I should wait a week or two for the paint to cure and place I'm getting the clear bra says wait a day and that they have customers who have there cars clear bra'd after a couple of days from picking them up from the body shop after repairs?
Any expert opinions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your input.

Pete2010

Looks great! Nice work. I don't know about cure time on paint, hopefully someone else will chime in.

I8ABMR

you know if you want to replace it totally they have grilles that look like the CTS that you can get to improve the look if the "beak" is not to your liking

jspagna1

I've seen those and I just don't like them. Too blinging for me.
But back to my original question, should I wait a week or two before I get it clear bra'd or get it done this Friday and call it a day?
Worried about the paint curing....

Kingmeow

I say listen to the body shop guy and let it cure. He probably knows more about paint than the clear bra guy.

jspagna1

Ok got the new painted beak clear bra'd on Friday morning. Guy tried to talk me into getting the whole front of the car done, but after giving me a quote of $700 I said I'll have to think about that one.
If I were to do the front end, all I would want to do is the small area above the headlights and the front bumper cover. I hate the line that goes across the hood. JMO.
Well here is the finished product. I have to admit, you can't even see where the clear bra starts unless you feel the edge.
I also bought a second beak section on E-bay last week. I figured I would have an extra just in case I needed it. I wonder if I bought off of someone on this sight? Well, I got a great deal on it. I was the only bidder on it for $9.99 and $11.54 for shipping to it cost me $21.53. No way would I ever get one from the dealer for that price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=250579233672

mugen_kid

Looks great, I hate to say it but im a big fan of the OEM grille! Looks like everything turned out good on your half, good for you!

dwest1023

I let my beak cure for 30 days before I put my clear bra on. Looks good though

jspagna1

Thanks guy. Last night I ordered the Lamin-X Protective film for the front headlights,fog lights & turn signals. I got the clear just to protect those.
I really would just like to get the bumper cover done along with the 2 pcs above the head lights. The hood is pretty flat on these cars so I'm not that worried about thta area. I just don't like the look of the line going across the hood.
I am going to a different place around here who does mods on all kinds of cars and see what they quote me?

George Knighton

There's quite a few of us. We're just kind of quiet compared to the detractors. :-)

jspagna1

Got the extra beak on ordered on E-Bay today and it is in great shape,but now I know why car dealers are often referred to as Stealers.
Ya the beak is plastic and dealers should be shot for what they sell these things for. There's definitley a big profit margin for dealers on parts. The thing seems pretty easy to replace even though there is tight quaters behind the grill.
There's only 8 attachment points on the back of the grill.

dominik331

jspagna1

Yes it is. All cars now come with clear coat over the paint job. My Mustangs clear coat is awesome!
The clear bra is a clear plastic film (plastic) they put on a car to prevent chips to the paint. Actually you can have a clear bra put on any car if you want. It's an extra security blanket if you ask me.

jspagna1

So I was shopping around for someone to clear bra the front of my TL. I mentioned in an earlier post that the place that did the beak only wanted $700.
I really just want to get the front bumper cover done and the 2 peices just above the headlights. I don't want the hood done because it pretty flat to begin with and I hate when you see the line across the hood.
So I e-mailed the Lamin-X Film place and they said they sould send me just those peices for $374. Well that still means I have to find someone to install it.
I went to a local shop XX Tuning that does customer modifications on cars and I told the guy what I wanted done and he quoted me $350 installed. Jackpot. So I brought him the car since my wife is out of town on business and we'll see how it comes out.

NJ SHAWD

That's a great idea with the beak. It makes it much more subtle, and I like mine. Well Done!

HiroY

I'm also in the 'quiet' group and like my OEM beak. That said, I do like the body colored aftermarket grilles also, especially on certain colors like the CBP. I've never seen one on MBM, but I don't think it would look right for some reason on my color...

DirtySouth_TL

I possible could post a really high res image of the front end for someone to PS a color matched beak in MBM. Just post the request and Ill post

Takehold66

I also like the OEM grille as well as the back of the car. The front and back are what actually sold me on the car. I was buying a G until I saw the TL up close and realized how sharp and unique the styling really is.

jspagna1

So picked up the car today and $350 later here is the finished product. I think it came out great. The clear bra follows the bumper cover perfectly and the 2 pcs above the headlights came out great.
You can't even tell there's a clear bra on the car.

jspagna1

Another shot of the finished product:
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JM2010 SH-AWD

Looks really great on the WDP, although on the later picture it's hard to tell if it's painted or stock. Whatever, the car looks terrific. Congrats.