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SUVs Honda Pilot Honda Pilot Maintenance and Repair
3186 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 7:30 PM
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Replying to: johndorrf (Jan 08, 2003 1:28 pm) I can I do most of the work myself? THE DEALERS WILL NEVER CHANGE, THEY ARE FRAUDULENT PEOPLE.!!!!
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Replying to: jcancel53 (Jul 31, 2008 9:53 pm) Are you talking about the extended warranty? Unless you purchased something out of the ordinary, warranties fix stuff that goes wrong or is wrong with the vehicle. Such as parts that break, or are defective, or leaks, or misalignment of parts, wiring problems, parts that loosen or fall off, paint, and such. Normal wear items, such as wiper blades, tires, brake pads, batteries are not covered except for rare circumstances. Tires and batteries have their own warranties. But even with the tires, the owner has responsibilities. If a tire wears prematurely and the pressure is wrong or the front end alignment was the cause, good luck. Routine "Maintenance" (to maintain) is the responsibility of the owner. This includes changing of engine oil, transmission service, filters, and so forth. If the vehicle is maintained properly, the warranty stays in effect for it's intended life. A lot of the stuff they do at 30K is simply to head off potential problems or help some wear items to last longer, such as rotating the tires and aligning the front end. . And a lot of that is simply looking at, checking, or measuring different things. Such as measuring thickness of remaining brake pads and tire tread, belt condition, covers on the CV joints. Other things are "Need to be done" items, such as changing the engine oil, servicing the trany and rear end (4WD) and, changing filters so forth. We can do those things ourselves or pay someone to do them for us to keep the warranty in effect and keep the vehicle running longer and at it's best. If the Honda dealer takes care of the maintenance, the details are in their computer and they are a lot more likely to take care of "Warranty" problems. If you don't do them or don't have proof they were done, or non "Honda Approved" parts are used, you may have problems. FWIW: If I were doing the maintenance myself, I would use "Honda" filters and parts. There may be better stuff available, and there is definitely worse stuff available. But if "Honda" is written on the part, they have less of an argument. Especially if I purchased them from their parts counter. I stop by the dealer for routine oil changes. Their "Express" service gets me in and out in a timely manner. They change the (semi-synthetic blend) oil and the filter, and top off the wiper fluids, coolant, and break fluids if needed. They also check and correct the tire pressure. Filters, oil and fluids are the Honda recommended stuff. They even run it through a car wash. Well worth the $35 to me. And sometimes I have a promotional coupon that reduces the cost $5. Sure I could use Jiffy Lube or equivalent places and save a few bucks. But the NO NAME or "Fram" filter and high school kid doing the work bother me. But that is just me, your mileage may vary!  Kip
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Replying to: kipk (Aug 01, 2008 3:05 am) Thanks, jcancel53 |
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Replying to: jcancel53 (Jul 31, 2008 9:53 pm) |
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Replying to: jcancel53 (Aug 01, 2008 8:10 am) I've bought 60+ cars in my life and have come to the conclusion that everyone at a dealership will take as much money from you as they possibly can. Commissions= money in their pocket. When a new/used car is sold, the salesman makes more or less money depending on the profit they made. The new/used car manager gets a piece of the action as well as the general manager and of course the owner. That is money on the "Front End". So the more they can make, the more each earns. Period! The finance manager makes his money by "Selling" your loan to a bank or finance company. For instance: He runs your credit and find that you are an excellent credit risk. He then gets on line or calls the finance institution they like to do business with. In this case, say Honda Finance. So he is told they will loan the money at 6%. He tells you 10%. Any difference in the two is how his commission is figured. Example: At 6% the life of the loan might involve you paying say $3000 in finance charges. And that is what the finance company expects to make. But at a higher rate the finance charge might be $5000. Since the finance company will be receiving your payment, they give the finance man or dealer the $2000 difference. I don't know how or when they get the money to him. Lump sum? Monthly? Other? "This is called the Back End". He also makes a commission on Extended warranties. The 7/70 extended Honda Care warranty in 03 on our new Pilot was around $1600. We ended up paying closer to $900. Finance man wasn't real happy about that. Service writer will often times try to sell you stuff you don't really need as they get a salary + a small commission on the business they write. Just about every one at a dealership will twist the truth a bit to make more profit. I visit a dealership with this in mind: If their lips are moving they probably are not telling the whole truth.  Last time I "nearly" traded cars, I knew it was worth $17,500 trade. I told the salesman that was what I expected from the start. They offered $13,500 for my 03 Pilot about a year ago. My car had 27K miles, no door dings or scratches and the leather interior is perfect. I stood up, thanked him for his time, and asked for my keys. He looked shocked that I could pass up such a deal. I told him again that I wanted my keys. The keys were on the managers desk. The salesman went into the office, said something to the manager and the manager followed him back to me. After several times of his going back and forth to "THE DESK" they made the final offer of $16,500. I gave them that deer in the head lights look and went to his desk and got my keys myself. By the time I was at the front door the General manager got involved. She got it up to $17,200. This was within $300 of what I wanted. I said, "Show it to me on paper", which she did. I couldn't help but notice that the car I was trading for was nearly $900 more than originally quoted. She said it was because it had some stuff on it that had not been added to the invoice. She got annoyed when I asked what the stuff was. I thanked them for their time and left in my Pilot. Which I still happily own!  This was an internet sale. The price of their car was set. The only thing we had to do was figure my trade. At the time, Kelly Blue Book showed my Pilot at $17,500 trade, $19,500 Person to Person , and $21,500 dealer retail. If they had given me the $17,500 for my car and sold it for the $21,500 average they would have made $3000 and had 2 happy customers. But their greed of trying to make that additional profit off of me will keep me away from their door in the future. If they had gotten my car for the $13,500 and sold it for the "Average" dealer retail of $21,500, they would have made $8000 profit. BEWARE! If their lips are moving they are probably lying. Kip
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Replying to: kipk (Aug 20, 2008 12:50 pm) ~ Claude Rains |
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Replying to: kipk (Aug 20, 2008 12:50 pm) These guys are big crooks. My honda pilot buying experience which I have explained in detail in the dealer review for DCH Brunswick Honda in NJ was completely a pleasant surprise. I wasn't trading in any car and was paying cash. They gave me a quote and held the price. The only extra thing I saw when I went to the dealership over the price quote was about 200 for window etching of the VIN number which I asked them to remove. They did that without a fuss. The finance manager tried to sell me th extended warranty which I declined and bought online. All in all the experience was too good to be true and I was kept up my guard the whole time waiting for the strike that never happened. But this was my only pleasant car buying experience. For the most part, these guys are a bunch of liars. When I was looking for a RAV4, the sales lady at Toyota of Manhattan made me trudge all they way to upper west side after promising me that they had the model I was looking for and then had the cheek to tell me "We have the Sport version? why do you want the Limited ? I'ts as good". I told them that I would take the sport version if they could install the side curtain airbags while we did the paper work !!. Overall, I find these car dealers are a bunch of crooks and they probably get enough suckers.
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Replying to: mercara (Aug 20, 2008 3:54 pm) |
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My mechanic told me today that front and rear brakes on my 2004 Pilot have 20% remaining. Is this a time to replace them? He told me that I should seriously consider replacing them sooner rather than later. I've not used this mechanic much... but he quoted about $450-$500 to replace them. With 53K miles, it seems early to replace brakes. Thanks for any input.
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Replying to: brm98072 (Sep 24, 2008 9:03 am) $450-$500 seems a bit much at 50K miles. What does Honda Dealer charge ? Brake pads themselves are not expensive. The whole set (4) can be replaced in less than an hour, with the correct tools. (Tires can be rotated at the same time. at no charge) One of the national muffler or brake shops is advertising $99 to replace the pads. . Rebuilding the calipers, turning the disc, replacing the brake fluid can be time consuming and fairly costly for parts. But I would doubt that all needs to be done at 50K miles. I would definitely get prices from other sources. Kip
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