New Owner: Warranty/General Questions

Sanguine · 09-10-2006, 05:59 PM

Hey everyone,

I recently purchased a 2005 S2000 from a private seller and I have a couple questions I hope you guys can help me out with.

I took my car to a local Honda dealership for them to checkout what looks like a dent/misalignment of the bumper. They told me that I would have to take it to a body shop and get it fixed. By looking at the bumper, it doesn't look like anything is wrong with the bumper but it is slightly misaligned causing it to be not as flush as it could be with the rest of the body. Should I take my car to the original dealer where it was bought from? This is what the previous owner told me but I wanted to get some feedback before going out of my way of getting this issue resolved.

I am approaching the 15,000 mile schedule maintenance, do you prefer taking it to the dealership and about how much are these maintenances?

Also are there any recommendations of what brands are good for a car alarm?

Thanks in advance for any feedback. As soon as I bought the car, I've browsed through this forum for recommendations of detailing the car and I have been very pleased with all the products. I absolutely love the car and have no buyers remorse!

Here are some pictures of the ride and a couple regarding the dent/misalignment I was referring to earlier:

Java Junky · 09-10-2006, 07:07 PM

Nice ride Sang, but I think that I see the problem: it's parked.
Be well.

MattG · 09-10-2006, 10:15 PM

I believe many owner of new S2000's have reported the same mis-alignment of the rear bumper even before taking delivery of the car. This only seems to be on 05+ models.

Try taking it to the original dealership & complain a bit louder.
Also while you are there, check out the other S2000's in the showroom. You may be able to find brand new ones with the same problem.

Halo · 09-11-2006, 05:25 PM

Bumper misalignment was a problem in AP2s. Run a search on S2ki.com for it, I believe there is even a TSB for it.

I like to do all my own service, but it depends on what you are comfortable with. The dealer tries to steal every dollar from you that they can (and then they don't know WTF they're doing with the S2000 because it's not an Accord or Civic). Oil changes really aren't that tough on this car, plus you get to learn where stuff is

Congrats on the car BTW.

S2KsRGR8 · 09-12-2006, 08:51 AM

Hi Halo and congrats on your purchase. Car looks great.
I agree w/ Mattg, cry, cry, and cry more to the dealer about warranty coverage. If there is a TSB they should fix it w/o ?'s.
Keep us posted. You can check out my S2K here:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...to/S2000_3.jpg

Halo · 09-12-2006, 12:34 PM

Here is the link to the bumper alignment issues on AP2s. Worst case scenario, you print out the whole thread and take it with you to the dealer.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=311610

If you think we have problems getting the dealer to do good work on S2000s, you should check the NSX boards on how clueless Acura dealers are about their car. To some extent, I can understand the problem. I mean if you work on Odysseys and Accords all day (basically the same chassis) and once a week you have to do an alignment on an S2000, you might forget that it has adjustable camber in addition to toe, or that the LSD takes a different kind of fluid than the standard diffs on the FWD grocery-getters.

wowowox · 09-13-2006, 12:17 AM

if it wasn't caused by anyone , ofocurse u can take it to any dealer and have them fixed for u, unless u hit something. dealer should fix it at no cost !!! this is what the warranty is for !!

Sanguine · 09-13-2006, 03:44 PM

Well I took it to my local Honda dealership and they didn't have a bodyshop and they just told me to get it fixed there. Then I called up the original dealership where the car was purchased from and they agreed that this is a common problem with the S2000. They said that they could not fix it under warranty because Honda has not put out a recall for that particular incident. They also stated that one of their coworkers has the S2000 with the same problem. They agreed that this is unacceptable but they could not do much about it. The dealership suggested that I contact other dealerships that are willing to do the service! This is BS because I've checked out the forums w/ this problems and I know there are dealerships that fix this! I guess I will have to escalate this up with Honda corporate headquarters to get this issue resolved. If anyone knows of a dealership that will fix it in the SoCal area please let me know! What a bunch of crap!

Sanguine · 09-13-2006, 06:51 PM

Well I just got off the phone with Honda America and that was a bunch of crap. They were giving me the same speech that if the dealership says it isn't covered under the warranty there is nothing else they can do about it. They also said that if I escalate this through Honda America and they say they won't fix it, then no dealership is obligated to fix the problem. Since there are no recalls and TSBs there is nothing they can do! So I told them that if that was the case, they will get a call from my lawyer about the warranty not covering the manufacturers defect. Then they told me since I did not take the car in for an official diagnostic they can't do anything about it. This is crap since I've read about everyone being able to get this repair fixed yet I get this BS from corporate and the dealership. I am not going to lay this down and I'll stick it to them if I have to. Has anyone had similar experience or any recommendations of how to get this resolve. It is bothering me that they know this is a common issue but refuse to do a TSB or recall or just plain fix the car. I don't mind taking it to a body shop and have them cover the cost. I shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. Bogus.

wowowox · 09-13-2006, 11:36 PM

i have to agree with you, honda north america is not very good in both the customer service and the quality. i have been fixing my transmission for the 5th time i think. and i am going in tomorrow, wish me good luck!

Halo · 09-15-2006, 03:27 PM

Honda is very good in the 'quality' I mean, c'mon... we're complaining about a bumper misalignment on their limited production roadster. If it was a GM or Ford product, a little bumper misalignment would be the least of your problems.

However, I'm not trying to minimize the importance of this problem, I fully support going as far as you can to get the dealer to fix this. Try posting up in the SoCal forums at s2ki to see which, if any, dealer in the area was willing to fix it. Since there is no TSB, the dealers that have done this 'under warranty' did it as a goodwill gesture. Not sure how they bumped the bill up to American Honda to get them to pay.

wowowox · 09-16-2006, 01:04 AM

sorry i kind of mis-used the words. i mean service quality !! the car itself is in excellent quality! but the service (mechanical wise) at the dealer is not very good.

Sanguine · 10-04-2006, 07:22 PM

Hey thanks for everyones help. I did get my bumper realigned but it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

As I posted previously I ran into lots of shannigans with Honda to do the service. Lots of run around from multiple dealership. The dealerships took me more seriously when I told them I opened up a case with Honda USA. The deal I got with the dealership was to get it inspected by the body shop. If the bodyshop says it has been in a collision then I would have to pay for it, otherwise they would cover it. They also said that misalignments are only covered for the first year or 12,000 miles.

They didn't really care to look at what I found on the internet and of course they stated that they never seen this problem before on the S2000 even though one dealership called me and said it was a common problem and could not be resolved.

So if you guys run into this problem, just be persistent about it and take a stand. They feed you the BS to intimidate and scare you from getting them to do the work. Don't be scared to fight back, question their ethics and use legal jargon for them to move forward.

Stuart Rudolph · 10-07-2006, 04:12 AM

I'm very surprised to hear about and see the misalligned panels, coming straight out of Japan. I thought all Japanese automakers had extremely strict guidlines for quality control.

sinb · 10-07-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanguine

Hey thanks for everyones help. I did get my bumper realigned but it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

As I posted previously I ran into lots of shannigans with Honda to do the service. Lots of run around from multiple dealership. The dealerships took me more seriously when I told them I opened up a case with Honda USA. The deal I got with the dealership was to get it inspected by the body shop. If the bodyshop says it has been in a collision then I would have to pay for it, otherwise they would cover it. They also said that misalignments are only covered for the first year or 12,000 miles.

They didn't really care to look at what I found on the internet and of course they stated that they never seen this problem before on the S2000 even though one dealership called me and said it was a common problem and could not be resolved.

So if you guys run into this problem, just be persistent about it and take a stand. They feed you the BS to intimidate and scare you from getting them to do the work. Don't be scared to fight back, question their ethics and use legal jargon for them to move forward.

Sang, congrats on getting it fixed. I just bought my 2006 S2000 so I guess I better check to see if I have the same issue..!
BTW - lovely looking car..!

Sanguine · 10-11-2006, 12:46 PM

Well when I left the bodyshop the bumper was flush. A couple days later, I found it where it was originally! Then I took it for a spin and later that night it was flush again! I don't know if I should even take it in again or not. Unless they actually replace the clips that hold the bumper I don't see the reason. I have already gone this far but it is becoming such a hassle to deal w/ the dealership.

09-10-2006, 05:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sanguine Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5	New Owner: Warranty/General Questions Hey everyone, I recently purchased a 2005 S2000 from a private seller and I have a couple questions I hope you guys can help me out with. I took my car to a local Honda dealership for them to checkout what looks like a dent/misalignment of the bumper. They told me that I would have to take it to a body shop and get it fixed. By looking at the bumper, it doesn't look like anything is wrong with the bumper but it is slightly misaligned causing it to be not as flush as it could be with the rest of the body. Should I take my car to the original dealer where it was bought from? This is what the previous owner told me but I wanted to get some feedback before going out of my way of getting this issue resolved. I am approaching the 15,000 mile schedule maintenance, do you prefer taking it to the dealership and about how much are these maintenances? Also are there any recommendations of what brands are good for a car alarm? Thanks in advance for any feedback. As soon as I bought the car, I've browsed through this forum for recommendations of detailing the car and I have been very pleased with all the products. I absolutely love the car and have no buyers remorse! Here are some pictures of the ride and a couple regarding the dent/misalignment I was referring to earlier:

09-10-2006, 07:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Java Junky Resident Curmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Joisey Posts: 5,432	Nice ride Sang, but I think that I see the problem: it's parked. Be well. __________________ In life-long pursuit of that most mythic of beasts: the ever-elusive perfect corner. Well . . . that, r' at least a whole lodda clear spin-out room.

10-07-2006, 04:12 AM	#14 (permalink)
Stuart Rudolph Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 11	Honda Quality Control I'm very surprised to hear about and see the misalligned panels, coming straight out of Japan. I thought all Japanese automakers had extremely strict guidlines for quality control.

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09-10-2006, 10:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
MattG Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 361	I believe many owner of new S2000's have reported the same mis-alignment of the rear bumper even before taking delivery of the car. This only seems to be on 05+ models. Try taking it to the original dealership & complain a bit louder. Also while you are there, check out the other S2000's in the showroom. You may be able to find brand new ones with the same problem.

09-11-2006, 05:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
Halo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 600	Bumper misalignment was a problem in AP2s. Run a search on S2ki.com for it, I believe there is even a TSB for it. I like to do all my own service, but it depends on what you are comfortable with. The dealer tries to steal every dollar from you that they can (and then they don't know WTF they're doing with the S2000 because it's not an Accord or Civic). Oil changes really aren't that tough on this car, plus you get to learn where stuff is Congrats on the car BTW.

09-12-2006, 08:51 AM	#5 (permalink)
S2KsRGR8 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 21	Hi Halo and congrats on your purchase. Car looks great. I agree w/ Mattg, cry, cry, and cry more to the dealer about warranty coverage. If there is a TSB they should fix it w/o ?'s. Keep us posted. You can check out my S2K here: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...to/S2000_3.jpg

09-12-2006, 12:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Halo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 600	Here is the link to the bumper alignment issues on AP2s. Worst case scenario, you print out the whole thread and take it with you to the dealer. http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=311610 If you think we have problems getting the dealer to do good work on S2000s, you should check the NSX boards on how clueless Acura dealers are about their car. To some extent, I can understand the problem. I mean if you work on Odysseys and Accords all day (basically the same chassis) and once a week you have to do an alignment on an S2000, you might forget that it has adjustable camber in addition to toe, or that the LSD takes a different kind of fluid than the standard diffs on the FWD grocery-getters.

09-13-2006, 12:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
wowowox Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 309	if it wasn't caused by anyone , ofocurse u can take it to any dealer and have them fixed for u, unless u hit something. dealer should fix it at no cost !!! this is what the warranty is for !!

09-13-2006, 03:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
Sanguine Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5	Well I took it to my local Honda dealership and they didn't have a bodyshop and they just told me to get it fixed there. Then I called up the original dealership where the car was purchased from and they agreed that this is a common problem with the S2000. They said that they could not fix it under warranty because Honda has not put out a recall for that particular incident. They also stated that one of their coworkers has the S2000 with the same problem. They agreed that this is unacceptable but they could not do much about it. The dealership suggested that I contact other dealerships that are willing to do the service! This is BS because I've checked out the forums w/ this problems and I know there are dealerships that fix this! I guess I will have to escalate this up with Honda corporate headquarters to get this issue resolved. If anyone knows of a dealership that will fix it in the SoCal area please let me know! What a bunch of crap!

09-13-2006, 06:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
Sanguine Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5	Well I just got off the phone with Honda America and that was a bunch of crap. They were giving me the same speech that if the dealership says it isn't covered under the warranty there is nothing else they can do about it. They also said that if I escalate this through Honda America and they say they won't fix it, then no dealership is obligated to fix the problem. Since there are no recalls and TSBs there is nothing they can do! So I told them that if that was the case, they will get a call from my lawyer about the warranty not covering the manufacturers defect. Then they told me since I did not take the car in for an official diagnostic they can't do anything about it. This is crap since I've read about everyone being able to get this repair fixed yet I get this BS from corporate and the dealership. I am not going to lay this down and I'll stick it to them if I have to. Has anyone had similar experience or any recommendations of how to get this resolve. It is bothering me that they know this is a common issue but refuse to do a TSB or recall or just plain fix the car. I don't mind taking it to a body shop and have them cover the cost. I shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. Bogus.

09-13-2006, 11:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
wowowox Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 309	i have to agree with you, honda north america is not very good in both the customer service and the quality. i have been fixing my transmission for the 5th time i think. and i am going in tomorrow, wish me good luck!

09-15-2006, 03:27 PM	#11 (permalink)
Halo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 600	Honda is very good in the 'quality' I mean, c'mon... we're complaining about a bumper misalignment on their limited production roadster. If it was a GM or Ford product, a little bumper misalignment would be the least of your problems. However, I'm not trying to minimize the importance of this problem, I fully support going as far as you can to get the dealer to fix this. Try posting up in the SoCal forums at s2ki to see which, if any, dealer in the area was willing to fix it. Since there is no TSB, the dealers that have done this 'under warranty' did it as a goodwill gesture. Not sure how they bumped the bill up to American Honda to get them to pay.

09-16-2006, 01:04 AM	#12 (permalink)
wowowox Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 309	sorry i kind of mis-used the words. i mean service quality !! the car itself is in excellent quality! but the service (mechanical wise) at the dealer is not very good.

10-04-2006, 07:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
Sanguine Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5	Hey thanks for everyones help. I did get my bumper realigned but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. As I posted previously I ran into lots of shannigans with Honda to do the service. Lots of run around from multiple dealership. The dealerships took me more seriously when I told them I opened up a case with Honda USA. The deal I got with the dealership was to get it inspected by the body shop. If the bodyshop says it has been in a collision then I would have to pay for it, otherwise they would cover it. They also said that misalignments are only covered for the first year or 12,000 miles. They didn't really care to look at what I found on the internet and of course they stated that they never seen this problem before on the S2000 even though one dealership called me and said it was a common problem and could not be resolved. So if you guys run into this problem, just be persistent about it and take a stand. They feed you the BS to intimidate and scare you from getting them to do the work. Don't be scared to fight back, question their ethics and use legal jargon for them to move forward.

10-11-2006, 12:46 PM	#16 (permalink)
Sanguine Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5	Well when I left the bodyshop the bumper was flush. A couple days later, I found it where it was originally! Then I took it for a spin and later that night it was flush again! I don't know if I should even take it in again or not. Unless they actually replace the clips that hold the bumper I don't see the reason. I have already gone this far but it is becoming such a hassle to deal w/ the dealership.