Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
DOES HONDA REALLY LIVE UP TO IT'S NAME?
accoupe147
Member Posts: 1
Hello,
I am a 1998 V6, EX Honda Accord owner. This was
my first Honda purchase. I have always heard
positive things about Honda, so I didn't think
twice before the purchase. To my surprise, Honda
is not living up to its name. I know things go
wrong, but with less than 30,000 miles on my
vehicle, the engine mounts have cracked, the ball
joints needed to be replaced, and I now need a new
transmission. Yes, can you believe it. Aside from
those major items, the cd player was replaced, the
actuator in the door panel was replaced, the
rubber moldings on the passenger door was replaced,
the air conditioner had to be serviced, the trunk
release on the remote needed to be fixed, there
were problem with the brakes and the drivers side
window seems to be coming off the track. All under
30,000 miles. Honda will not do anything to help me
get out of the vehicle and into another one. I'm
stuck with a 5 year finance contract for that
defective vehicle. The only thing Honda will offer
me is an extension of my current warranty as a
courtesy. They don't believe anything is wrong
with the vehicle they sold me. They state the car
will live up to it's name. So now I'm stuck with
it. If by chance this is just an isolate incident,
then Honda should be willing to do more to address
the problems.
My advise to everyone is, the next time you make a
purchase of a new vehicle, don't assume your
necessarily getting a better car just because of a
name. Especially Honda. Problems with vehicles
are not often reported and recalls are not often
publicized.
I am a 1998 V6, EX Honda Accord owner. This was
my first Honda purchase. I have always heard
positive things about Honda, so I didn't think
twice before the purchase. To my surprise, Honda
is not living up to its name. I know things go
wrong, but with less than 30,000 miles on my
vehicle, the engine mounts have cracked, the ball
joints needed to be replaced, and I now need a new
transmission. Yes, can you believe it. Aside from
those major items, the cd player was replaced, the
actuator in the door panel was replaced, the
rubber moldings on the passenger door was replaced,
the air conditioner had to be serviced, the trunk
release on the remote needed to be fixed, there
were problem with the brakes and the drivers side
window seems to be coming off the track. All under
30,000 miles. Honda will not do anything to help me
get out of the vehicle and into another one. I'm
stuck with a 5 year finance contract for that
defective vehicle. The only thing Honda will offer
me is an extension of my current warranty as a
courtesy. They don't believe anything is wrong
with the vehicle they sold me. They state the car
will live up to it's name. So now I'm stuck with
it. If by chance this is just an isolate incident,
then Honda should be willing to do more to address
the problems.
My advise to everyone is, the next time you make a
purchase of a new vehicle, don't assume your
necessarily getting a better car just because of a
name. Especially Honda. Problems with vehicles
are not often reported and recalls are not often
publicized.
Tagged:
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Don't think the rest of the running gear is much different that most [non-permissible content removed] vehicles
Hold their face to the fire and don't give up. And I hope someone from Honda reads these posts. Public perception does affect sales. Honda spent a lot of money and effort to gain a good name. And now some cheap [non-permissible content removed] middle managers are about to wreak that good reputation just to save a few immediate bucks. If Honda wants repeat sales, they will have to make good on their promises.
I think a major factor is that everyone else has become so much better that Honda is no longer head and shoulders above the rest. When it comes to their bread and butter models, the styling is bland and the cars just don’t seem to be put together as well (again, just a subjective opinion.)
I have also found that there is some arrogance in the sales and service staff that also effects Toyota. A bit of the “...We’re so good that we can treat you like crap...” attitude. (no not you isell :-)) I have encountered this personally and it is more then an isolated incedent. I have found that some sales staff play the reliability card so hard that they forget how to sell the other attributes of the product, also, putting down EVERY other car on the market was rampant when I was shopping. Another thing that Honda is very guilty of is overinflating their projected lease-end values, this gives the buyer an overinflated sense of their cars actual worth, but with a nice low monthly payment. At the end of my Civic lease, the difference between the KBB value of my immaculate car and the lease buyout value was nearly $2000.00. If I had wanted to buy my car out, I could have bought an identical car off the dealer's used lot for less then the buyout of my own car. Nissan does this a lot too.
I wound up getting a 99 VW Passat. I got this car because of it's interior and exterior styling, it's handling and performance, it's 10/100k powertrain warranty and it's overall value for my dollar. When I was cross-shopping this with an Accord EX, 2 different Honda salesman tried their darndest to convince me that the VW would blow up the minute I drove it off the lot. This kind of hard sell is a bit slimy in my opinion and also illustrated how poorly informed some salesman are about the competition.
In my first 12,000+ miles, I have had ZERO problems, which is better then my brand new 96 Civic when I got it. This was the best choice for me, and everyone needs to find the best auto for their needs and budget.
Not a slam on Honda, IMO, they are good cars, just my opinion and experience.
Sporin,
I completely understand your point about people believing that most non-Japanese cars will die on the way home from the dealership. In the last year I've had my '93 Sable I haven't been stranded anywhere. I have spent $250 on maintenance (much below the ~$600 national average for a year's worth of maintenance.) Some people have been paying too much attention to propaganda from slimy Honda, Toyota, and Nissan dealers (not all are slimy though so don't be offended isellhondas.)
I loved the Passat's handling and will not dis it. I found the salespeople in VW and the second Honda dealership I visited (Paragon in NY) to be both professional and knowledgeable. No one every tried to con me. Well, I came well prepared and even carried fact sheets and a notebook. I picked the Accord due to price and reliability. And I think I was correct!
If you don't agree, just go to: www.hamsterdance.com.
Have a Happy!
I would disagree that the "Passat has real quality problems." I have seen no REAL data to back that up. People who post in these forums are a VERY small sampling of the Passat owners of the world and complaining is a huge part of what this site is for.
I had heard so many people talking about VW's electrical problems, and their tranny problems, etc, but when I started really digging into enthusiast's sites and talking to people on the street, the responses were quite good. I took a "chance" and have had 12k+ 100% trouble free miles to show for it.
It was the right decision for ME, but it might not be for others and I strongly support everyone's right to choose the best vehicle FOR THEM. You are "correct" for YOU, so I agree FOR YOU. I am happy you like your Accord, I almost bought one myself.
Great hamsters :-)
Everybody in the business, myself included had developed certain dislikes based on their experiences.
On our used car lot, there are a few makes I try to steer people around. These are the makes that have given me headaches or caused me embarrasment in the past.
Seriously though, I had nothing but problems with my Honda for nine years. It left me stranded close to a hundred times, and they just kept replacing batteries (5 in 6 years). I was towed from a car wash, from the middle of a freeway in rush hour, and stranded in an intersection in 110 degree heat with two small children. I had about the same number of other problems that you had with all the other "non-essential" parts of the car (trunk leak, trunk latch, air conditioner 2 times, heater two times, vents 4 times, moldings, door panel, visors, seat belt, etc), as well as the transmission, engine mounts (2 sets in 80,000 miles), CV joints (also two sets), brakes (master cylinder, leaking rear cylinders), etc and last but not least, the faulty main fuel relay that had left me stranded all those times. Yep, only took them 8 years to find the problem and then charge me full price to repair it. I cannot remember one time since I drove it off the lot that everything was working or not broken. My friends use to joke that they felt like they owned a Honda because of the number of times they had to pick me up there. From the beginning, Honda refused to stand behind the product. Ultimately, the Honda dealer just refused to service me.
So do everything you can do to get out of that Lemon. I kept thinking things would get better -- WRONG, WRONG,WRONG. Apparently a lemon is a lemon and you just need to ditch it. Otherwise it will consume you. Just imagine sitting in 110 degree heat never knowing if your car will start or and having everyone just assume that if you are late to an appointment, it is because the car won't start. The jokes at work about this car have been incredible. Probably because of my own experience, you will not find another Honda in the parking lot where I work with about 100 other people. There are at least 12 new 1999 and 2000 cars out there, ranging all the way from a Suzuki Swift and Ford Focus to a Buick Park Avenue and a Ford Tahoe. Nope not a Honda in the bunch. There are three new Isuzu Rodeos (identical to the Honda Passport), though, and each of those owners might have considered Honda except for the Lemon in the parking lot.
Toyota's is good and Mitsubishi is nice but they still don't reach the same level, as for the others:
My buddy is a Mercedes mechanic, and owners get down on their knees and teary eye when he tells them he MIGHT be able to SCHEDULE them in the coming months, since the dealers can't. My brother has a BMW and they want a small fortune
just to look at it much less actually fix it, its
still sitting out on his front lawn, while his new Honda takes him to work and play.
Mitsubishi Montero Sports seem to have transmission problems but the
dealers are mainly new or just starting up so it's
hard to tell how good their service will be. As
for the Nissan Pathfinder/& or XTerra look out for
transmission or head gasket nightmares down the
road, and I got thrown off a Nissan lot just for ASKING about the service to my vehicle (yes I actually owned a few). Toyota's are " bullet proof", they never die. I've got rid of a few when they got past 100,000 miles because I was use to GM vehicles, imagine when I saw them later with a tuneup and with a fresh coat of paint driving just like new.
When you buy a vehicle, the dealer/service come
with it and at least down here in FLA, TOYOTA &
HONDA give the best service and then there's
the rest.
If you had SO many problems why did you keep it 9 years. I know I would have gotten out of the car as soon as it was paid for or when I knew that I would not be upside down in my new car.
There are always two sided to every story!
Guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
I am the current and only owner of a 92 Toyota Corolla and am considering replacing it with an Accord or Camry. The Corolla's only maintenance problem has been that its red paint began oxidizing pretty badly when it was about 3 years old. Toyota would do nothing about it. Due to a wreck my wife was in when the car was 6 months old, the front end has a local body shop's paint on it. That paint still looks like new after 8 years - wish Toyota would get their formula.
as for other makes of cars, my family has had two ford explorers, both for short periods of time - 20000 max each. my dad likes them and they never had a problem, although i noticed the 99 he got was less equipped in the same trim level as the previous one. other cars in the family are a 94 cadillac de ville (seldom driven by my grandparents...no problems - 60000), an early 90's bmw 5 series (awesome car, worth very penny - 50000 no problems except no cup holder in front), and a 99 mercedes C300 or something (under 10000 miles, drives like a dream, buttons on dash can be confusing at first until you realize the car can do anything with the push of a button, and you want to learn how to use it all - doesn't have the sporty ride of the beemer though).
i thought this info might help some of you. common sense goes along way these days. find a 98 maxima for $8000? it's probably full of problems. buying a hyundai because you want a car to drive two hundred thousand miles? good luck! buy a car new if you can, that way you know the history of it from day one and can get rid of it if need be. don't buy a car that's been wrecked or had a front end collision. these accidents are a breeding ground for problems that "hide" from you and mechanics...until the transmission drops at 80 on the highway.
items like brakes, transmissions, pumps, etc on cars run all the time/are under extreme pressure or force...in other words, expect these things to go bad at some point. later than you expect? good piece of equipment. breaks earlier than it should? think about repairs versus getting rid of the car before more problems arise. buying/selling/trading-in a car is easier than most people think. i'm only 24 and i got a new one with my own money and credit and trade-in. one thing i've learned is that you are never "stuck" with a car unless you want to be.
sorry that was so long.
You must not have looked very hard. For
example, I am looking at JD Powers 1998
vehicle dependability study, based on problems
per 100 vehicles. Lexus tops the list
with 167 problems, Honda is #12 on that
list with 341 problems. Hardly the leader.
And, yes, a few domestics (Lincoln and Oldsmobile)
beat it too.
If you do not believe me, here is the URL:
http://www.jdpower.com/releases/80401car.html
The one number that did not make sense to me was the Oldsmobile number. I have driven no less than 6 Oldmobiles Aleros and Intrigues for the last year and a half (monthly rentals that had less than 5,000 miles -- some with less than 500 miles) and every single one had a problem. They were fun cars to drive and comfortable (great for a rental car that you can beat up), but their finish and overall quality could not be compared to the Honda. The Alero costs around the same as an Accord, and the Intrigue is more expensive. Perhaps these numbers are based mainly on the Aurora which is a much more expensive car. In fact, I believe the Alero and Intrigues did not come out until 1998 or 1999.
Do you really think that 3 power window regulators going bad constitutes calling Isuzu "shady?" My dad's '91 Accord wagon had the power antenna brake several times and the heat control broke several times too. He actually had to pay several hundred dollars for these problems. I don't think that constitutes the Accord a bad car. It just has a few problem areas. It sounds like the Rodeo/Passport is the same way.
are the most reliable, period. This is not
supported by the JDP study I quoted.
Having spent several years in market research for a major consumer products company, let me tell you, research studies can be designed to get about whatever result you want. Just follow the money - whomever pays gets what they want. This same caution applies to "research" and particularly car of the year selections done by various publications. Follow the money.
Whenever I see such "research" used to sell something, I grin and wonder how many people make purchase decisions based on that information. It must work-these people continue to churn out the numbers.
better than nothing. What do you use
when you want to find the reliability of
an automobile?
Specifically, JDP says they rate the actual level of problems experienced to what the respondents expected. In other words, if your Oldsmobile POS didn't have as many problems as you expected it would have, then it's dependability rating goes up! Talk about skewed results.
Honda scored below Olds because people
expected a trouble free vehicle(believing in
the propaganda) and they were disappointed
when it turned out to be a POS.
Also interesting to note is that the top
three midsize vehicles in dependability
belonged to Buick and Olds brands.
face value.
Someone posted that he could not find a single
survey where Honda was not the leader in dependability. That is why I chose to cite it.
I drive an Accord and have never owned an Oldsmobile. Probably that is a good thing,as
I am not prejudiced and do not go around
trying to discredit surveys if Honda does not
come out on the top.
Enough said.
You do realize that many people expect no problems with their new car regardless of what company made it, don't you?
I will agree with you that Mercurys tend to be more reliable than their Ford counterparts (eg. Sable/Taurus) although they shouldn't be since they are both built on the same assembly line. I think it has a lot to do with the way they are taken care of (average buyer of Sable - 50 yrs old.) (average buyer of Taurus -30 yrs old.)
About the Cougar, too bad you didn't wait a little longer. Ford gave the ok to build the Cougar S. It will be very powerful. I like the Cougar, but it is a bit small for my taste (I loved the last generation Thunderbird.)
Fact is, this car had every single scheduled maintenance (and then some)for 81,000 miles. I could have lived with any of the many problems, had the car simple started every time I got in, but it didn't, leaving me stranded in all kinds of wierd spots. The car was at the dealer over 30 times (sometimes because parts had to be ordered first), and that does not include oil changes every 2500-3000 miles done by an independent.
Just as the Passport owner above felt lucky to have a model with few problems, I felt very unlucky to have an Accord with so many problems. Facts are facts, and I am just advising anyone with a lemon of any make to exercise his/her rights. Until you have the experience of a real problem vehicle, you will most likely not understand. The dealers were indeed very smooth and polite to me until I really began to complain, at which time they simply refused to service me.