On 08/19/2010 07:14 AM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> Some of you know about my 2002 Odyssey with 73K miles and its failed
> transmission, and American Honda's "generous" offer to pay 50% toward
> the cost of replacing it.
>
> And, of course, you know my feelings on the subject.
>
> Anyway, I dropped the van off yesterday. In talking with the service
> writer, he indicated that as of about six months ago, if you need to
> replace the transmission in your 02 or 03 V6 Honda, and you come in to
> ask that the dealership do this, American Honda will not sell you a
> replacement unit of any kind under any circumstances.
>
> Please allow me to repeat this: American Honda will not sell you a
> working transmission to replace the self-destructing one they sold you 8
> or 9 years ago when you bought the car new.
>
> The ONLY way to get an American Honda transmission, he said, is if you
> are under some sort of warranty or goodwill accommodation with American
> Honda.
>
> ????
>
> So the natural question is, how do you handle customers who for whatever
> reason are not under such an arrangement?
>
> This particular dealership has an arrangement with a junkyard to get
> units from them. The junkyard "warrants" them for life (or, as we all
> know, just keeps throwing units at the customer as the old ones die--but
> no doubt the customer ends up paying labor, right?).
>
> I didn't pursue this with the service writer. I'll talk with the
> service manager this week to clarify. I mean, this sounds low rent
> sleazy.
>
> Interesting side note: The transmission I'm getting as part of my
> goodwill arrangement is sufficiently different from the grenaded factory
> unit that it needs a different control program. Since my control module
> can't be flashed, Honda requires that I get a new computer with this new
> transmission--hence the high cost of the overall job. Honda's TSBs
> flesh this out; this is so important to Honda that years ago, after they
> had already replaced a bunch of transmissions and later discovered the
> need for the new control program, they went back and GAVE the
> already-repaired customers brand new computers for free.
>
> Of course, now I have to PAY for the computer...
>
> Anyway, this puts the idea of taking it to AAMCO into a whole new light.
> I don't know the TRUE importance of the new control program; would a
> third-party-rebuilt unit similarly self-destruct a few years down the
> road because neither the inherent design nor the control computer was
> taken care of?
>
> Inquiring minds and all that.
>
> For reference, Honda's 50% accommodation leaves me holding the bag for
> $2218 plus tax.
>
> In my mind, that's just retroactively raising the price of the van
> $2218. And to think that when I bought it, it was the most expensive
> car this dealership had ever sold. Apparently, that wasn't good enough.

at this stage elmo, this might be a local decision rather than
corporate. i know i will dump problem customers once they reach a
certain "pita" point. and you're almost certainly pressing their
buttons big time.

moving forward, i think your best bet is corporate - have you called
honda usa's customer care?

on the subject of dumped pita customers, one of my exes bullied lexus
corporate so hard and so long, they gave him a full refund on a vehicle
he'd had "problems" with [basically, he just decided he didn't like it].
that was three years of free driving for the price of a bunch of
emails and hollow threats he couldn't possibly execute.

--
nomina rutrum rutrum