jim beam wrote:
> 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.
>


The old saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease," sure rings true.

In EVERY circumstance where I had a beef and could not get a
satisfactory resolution, I did not hesitate to escalate.

One thing for sure, Elmo's situation is another nail in the coffin of me
ever upgrading to more modern transportation...

JT