by offthahook » Thu May 17, 2007 8:32 pm
There's an Acura dealer right around the corner from the crib. They've done some goofy jobs for me on my old Honda stuff for very reasonable prices. They even let me bring in aftermarket parts like an AC compressor, receiver/dryer, etc. They have some techs. who are just straight up geniuses on ALL cars. These guys started at Honda in the early 70's and just stuck with it.
So, I'm in the write up area and the writer goes to get the head tech/foreman to look at it. Dude hasn't written anything up yet. The tech. looks at my Toyota exploded view pages from the 2001 Solara service manual. I told them the BS at Toyota and, well, what could they say? They do the upsell stuff, but not as hard as Toy. The tech. grabs a voltmeter and in under 2 minutes tells me the fuse and the column switch are good. How did he test the switch? And quick! He said it probably is the bulbs and asks me if I have a set with me. I told him in the glovebox ($35 at Wal Mart). Mind you, I just pulled in to get an estimate on the job of figuring it all out. He went and got some more tools (we're still in the write up area) and he tries to get at the screws while lying down on his back. I told him it looked tricky and he might have to put it on a lift. My Solara (not the one in my sig) is lowered and kitted, so it's even harder to get at the foglights and bulbs. HE APOLOGIZES that he is working on 2 cars (one is a waiter) and can't do it right now in his bays and we will have to write it up. I asked if there were any other techs. he thought could handle it without messing something up. He says "I got 2 techs. just standing around and they can handle it no sweat." I asked him an estimate on labor; I figure .5 or 1.0 at this point. Hell, he's got 20 minutes in it already trying to do it without writing it up; ie free. He said that it would be tricky to predict but not more than 1.0. He told the tech "Dude, he has the views from Toyota on paper. It should be quick..." The service writer writes up a ticket for me.
I BS with the salesguys about the rumored V8, V10 Acura coupe and Hondas in general. I figure I'm at their mercy cuz it's not cool to just bail at that point. I'm really just wanting a ballpark figure and maybe a diagnosis. About 30 minutes later, the writer comes up and tells me it's done. He says they're washing it and it'll be done soon. I was thinking they can charge me $50-80 for the diagnosis and install of my bulbs and it would be legit. They're laid back and cool, so I was hoping it would be a little cheaper-- maybe $40 or 50. Grand total for the car wash, the diagnosis, and installation of the Sylvania Silverstars was $25 at an Acura dealer. I'm sure you will tell me to do it myself or that I got raped, but this dealer has been good to me and I wasn't going to say "Never mind" after he pulled out the voltmeter and tools in the welcome area. Thank goodness for the exploded paper view because I think that helped them cut down on time. Most guys would just think they knew it all, but this place is so easy to work with and they appreciate people who take care of their cars.
So yeah, there's a good dealer story and I am happy with the lights and the install (no scratches).
