OK, tell me if you think this is wrong:

I used a pitman arm puller to remove my ball joints, I still ended up mushrooming the stud on the lower (only happened to one).

I called Ann Arbor Acura for a price and part #. The guy gave me a price, like $36, but he refused to give me a part #!? What is that? "We don't encourage shopping around," he says. I explain to him that it was just an expected courtesy to release this what I believe is public information, and that he is 2 hours away and I just need the part # so I could go to my local Honda dealer to get it. (No Acura dealer near me). I told him even if I was going to buy it, if I had a list of part #'s and just wanted to confirm them, that I would expect he would do that for me.

Anyways, I spoke with their dealership manager (I think) just to tell them that I didn't think HOA or Acura would approve of such policies.

All in all, my honda dealer was $10 and 30% cheaper for the same part $35 vs $25. I called 3 Acura dealerships and they all had this "inflated" price, even Naples.

 

all you gotta know is what honda part to ask for, that way no #s necessary.

 

That's what I was trying to obtain. Honda can't look up parts for Acura vehicles. At least in my experience....


That's not really the point, I don't think they should withold that information.


[Modified by sackdz, 6:32 PM 4/10/2002]

 

lets face it, dealers do a lot of things we think they shouldnt do.

Thats why its a good idea to know what interchanges with what.

 

Peep this thread...
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=155841

Sigh...

 

that is why i say deal with mike k...unless you might need it that day like it appears you did

 

isnt mike at naples

 

some dealers go by a price matrix for parts and service.

back in va, one reputable acura dealer cost me $300 more for 90k service than
another acura dealer 15 mins away. guess where i went for the 90k service

 

I am a parts guru myself and hate giving out free info...I am getting paid by my dealership to sell parts for my dealership. It even has an effect on my pay cheque. We are not in this together with other dealerships. Why should I waste my time serving someone who is going to go buy it from our competition? Screw it, ask them to look it up themselves. Do you run a business? How would you like it if you spent your time with a customer and give him all the info, then he goes and buys it elsewhere. If you knew what you were looking for, you wouldn't need the part number anyways. Just stay loyal (and in this case: local) to one dealership and everyone will be happy.

[Modified by JohnnyBoy, 5:01 PM 4/10/2002]


[Modified by JohnnyBoy, 5:02 PM 4/10/2002]

 

But when I find my local dealership isn't being loyal to me, and is overcharging me by an *** load, then it's time to find a new dealer who will sell me parts at a reasonable price. I WILL NOT pay more money than what a part is worth. HOA has put down a recommended price for a reason. This just upsets me....

Reefer_Bob.

 

Hmmmm most BMW dealers are pretty close in prices. Maybe Honda is different. We don't jack up prices at all from what BMW tells us to sell it at.


[Modified by JohnnyBoy, 5:25 PM 4/10/2002]

 

Well I'm not very inclined to go to that dealer for my last warranty work now. That's something a retailer has to deal with. Why should I buy something if they won't tell me exactly what I'm getting? That makes no sense.

 

case in point:

I go to an acura to get 1 nut for my F. strut tower bar. also, 2 10mm nuts for the valvecover (the 8 of them holding down grommets). total: 10 bucks!!!!!

went to honda w/ the same part numbers....4 dollars. the honda guy goes, "they actually ask this much for this ****? LOL!!"

i always go to the honda dealership...the employees are nicer too

 

I'd be broke if I followed your advice. Sorry bro, but I go where there are lower prices.

 

Thats really gay Ed, if your talking about Go Acura they have always gave me part numbers when I asked, maybe they have caught on by now.. Either way after seeing that they forgot to put the bolts back onto your motor mounts, I wouldnt bother going there again for service work.

 

Oh come on now guys, you haven't seen the Genuine ACURA Motor Oil... I came in one day to get a hose... they had the nerve to tell me it had a greater viscosity than Honda MO, thus protecting my "luxury" engine longer.

What I would've done with a monkey wrench right then!!!

 

No actually it was Ann Arbor Acura. I thought I'd give them a call and see what they were about, possibly going in to cash in rite before my warranty ends oon all the little stuff. Well, screw them, screw, GO, and I will goto South Bend.

 

hey man, does your pitman arm puller have a point on it where it pushes on the ball joint stud? If so, grind that stud down flat, while turning, that point tends to "drill" a hole into the stud causing it to mushroom.

 

I think JohnnyBoy has a legitimate point.

Ed, if you normally buy parts from your Honda dealer, maybe you could ask them to get a hold of a parts book (or fiche) for your ITR, so that they can look up numbers when they're getting parts for you. That way you're giving your business to the place whose people are spending their time on you. And if Acura gives your dealer a hard time about it, they can explain that they do your service because you're 50+ miles from the nearest Acura dealer.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 12:24 AM 4/11/2002]