Local Honda Dealer

[stevej37]

Just wanted to post how happy I am with my local Honda dealership.

My Prelude (at 120K) was 40K miles over on the timing belt replacement.
Unknown why...I received a coupon for $100 off on service for any 100K+ mileage cars. The car has never been in the place for service.
My 1998 Prelude qualifies! So, I scheduled an appointment.

Brought it in yesterday for timing belt fix. They gave me a free loaner (2020 HR-V) for the service.
Today it was finished. Drove it 30 miles home...perfect..no drips or leaks.

The best part is...the total cost was only $880 with tax!
Included...timing belt, tensioning belt, auto adjuster, water pump, coolant, and $350 of labor.
Gave me new faith in the Dealership.

[LWJ]

Great looking ride!

[vash]

Dang nice one! The interior as good as the exterior?

[berettafan]

Beautiful car, beautiful color.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Beautiful car, beautiful color.

+1

Maybe I should partake of your Honda dealer, too. Mine (at least the parts and service dept--it's on a campus separate from the sales showroom) was closed during the pandemic. That was annoyingly inconvenient because I actually needed parts for my car. So now I go to a dealership 45 miles away, because I pass by it once a week for work anyway, they're cheaper, and they were open when I needed them.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by vash

Dang nice one! The interior as good as the exterior?

Yes..the interior is as new. Honda included a premium interior in the Prelude.
It's all there. I'll try to add some int pics tomorrow.
I'm the original owner.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Noah930

+1

Maybe I should partake of your Honda dealer, too. Mine (at least the parts and service dept--it's on a campus separate from the sales showroom) was closed during the pandemic. That was annoyingly inconvenient because I actually needed parts for my car. So now I go to a dealership 45 miles away, because I pass by it once a week for work anyway, they're cheaper, and they were open when I needed them.

I was surprised today by how empty the showroom was. One Civic and one CR-V. That's it! Not sure why.

[stevej37]

Shows how important a 10% off coupon can be. I doubt I would have brought it in otherwise.
I'm also sure they made-up the diff from the coupon on the pricing. All is good...I'll be back.

[Scott Douglas]

As a fellow Honda owner, I'm almost surprised they'd work on a car that old. Not sure the dealers around me would do that.

Just as a comparison, I took my '11 Accord V-6 to a local indy shop to get an est on doing the timing belts on it.
They do the usual 'while you're in there stuff' too, which I'd opt for, but they want $2200 for it.

[stevej37]

^^^ They were very happy to get it into the shop. They offered the loaner without me asking.
When I picked it up...I had a sales rep and service manager both ask me about possibly selling...to them. They both had owned Preludes in their past.

[Steve Carlton]

Sweet little Honda!

[Bill Douglas]

Nice car. See yer back in another 100k Honda dealer.

[john70t]

Our local dealership changed ownership but the service department seemed pretty down to earth and respected me working on my car. It still took several days, an hour and a half waiting in an echo chamber, and a few hundred buck to just get some keys made. I got a decent vibe from the place though. Only one surly tech who seemed a little wound up while getting water but they all seemed on ball.

The former owner:
https://www.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/howard-cooper.126326
When he sold Howard Cooper Import Center in 2012, to Ohio-based Germain Motor Company, he turned down higher bidders in favor of making employee retention a part of the deal. Then he assembled his 89 employees and handed envelopes to each one with $1,000 per year of service. He had many long-term employees.

[ZOO]

I remember when Honda made cars I was interested in owning. That Prelude is gorgeous.

[KNS]

^^ Agree.

I owned two Preludes, the only Japanese cars I've owned. I used to love what Honda had to offer. Not anymore.

[john70t]

The Civic, the Accord, the Insight, and the Clarity all appear to be the same car.
The same with the CR-V, HR-V, and Passport.
The Fit hatchback got bigger...and more similar to the Civic/Accord hatches.
All of this is brand redundancy.

The Insight used to be a high mpg gas saver. Now it's an Accord. What happened?

Changing something doesn't always make it better.
I wish we could get a RHD Acty truck or those great Japanese vehicles which are purpose-built.
It would expand their exported used engine and parts market as well. Less new tooling and overhead.

[jhynesrockmtn]

What condition was the belt in? My father bought a 98 Camry new. He did the belt at 80k. I bought it from him for my daughter and had to do it again when it broke at like 130k. She drove that car for years though. I would have thought age and mileage both play into the condition. Gorgeous car. My first official new car was an 85 civic. I also had a 2004 MDX that I drove to 160k with just wear items replaced.

[stevej37]

[QUOTE=jhynesrockmtn;10984014]What condition was the belt in?


I stopped in there yesterday before it was done and they let me go back and talk to the mechanic. I asked about the belt and he fished it out of the trash can....It looked brand new. He showed me minor scuffing marks on the edge and said "even though it looks new...I've seen them break in the same condition"

It doesn't matter to me...just good to not have that hanging over my head.

[stevej37]

Took a few pics this am.
The interior and parked alongside it's little bro.

[nota]

belt on my 245 volvo broke

non-interference motor no damage $13 and about an hour to replace by myself

vs $880

water pump was $23 when it started to leak