This Honda Fit is a piece of E36 M3!

Surely hope you don't have to pay an attorney before this is made right.

Ugh. The saga continues. I've had the phone on me all day. Had to run upstairs for 5 minutes and missed the call from the case manager. Just called back and left her a voicemail explaining what I'd been told by the service manager. Calling the GM again before I leave the shop to let him know the details of my conversation with the Service Manager. We'll see if he gives enough of a E36 M3 to call me back. He still hasn't returned my call from 2 days ago.

Voicemail left with GM.

Let us know if you want to let this pig out of the bag. I know a few insiders at Mazda that would LOVE to use this against the enemy. Especially when you're talking about makin' momma happy with an mz5.

mndsm wrote: Especially when you're talking about makin' momma happy with an mz5.

I like the sound of this!

mndsm wrote: Let us know if you want to let this pig out of the bag. I know a few insiders at Mazda that would LOVE to use this against the enemy. Especially when you're talking about makin' momma happy with an mz5.

Shoot me a PM, por favor.

What Bobzilla is saying matches 100% with what I've been told by various Honda dealers, as well as the corporate folks who administer the HondaCare warranties.

My thought is that Poopshovel should keep pushing for a new transmission, as that seems to be the only way to maintain the factory warranty that would be good at all Honda dealers. Good luck!

It disappoints me when dealers are penny-wise and pound-foolish. The right way for them to handle it would be to say "We screwed up, and we're making it right by giving you a new transmission." Then you'd be shouting their praises to anyone you came in contact with. However, now, they'll probably end up having to do the same thing, but by dragging it out and giving you a hard time, they've left a sour taste in your mouth.

We had an issue with the intermediate steering shaft on our RAV4. It was making noise, but it was almost impossible to duplicate. I took it in right before the warranty expired, and the Service Manager at the dealer said I'm going to document your complaint. He said to wait until it got worse, bring it in, and then they'd take care of it. Sure enough, 5k out of warranty, it became obvious what was going on, and by that time there was a TSB out on it. They replaced the part under warranty (at no charge to us) and have a customer for as long as I own a vehicle of that make. They've been fantastic in many other ways (reasonable prices, don't push unnecessary services, offer great discounts, don't require appointments, give loaners easily, turn repairs/services around quickly, treat my wife with respect, etc.), but that's the one thing that's really stuck with me. In general, I don't like dealers and shops, but I love this one - Greentree Toyota in Danbury, CT. They've easily gotten more business from me than they (or Toyota) lost on the steering shaft replacement, which in the long run, was a good business decision.

To reiterate: Thank you guys, SINCERELY for all the help and input. It really means a lot. The fact that the words "Well, the guys on grassroots said...." is gospel in this house should hopefully reflect how much I think of yee dudes. I really appreciate all your help, and hope, with my limited knowledge, I can return the favor at some point.

Spoke with the GM again this morning at length. He's a solid dude, but he flat out said that regardless of what Honda says, they're not doing a new transmission. Used with a 100k warranty in writing. He volunteered: "I know that you're not happy with that solution, and I truly hate it that you've lost confidence in the car and in us. I want you to keep buying Hondas and I really hope you'll buy them from us. If, at any point, you want to trade the car in, talk to me directly. I'll give you top dollar for the trade +$500, and sell it to you at employee price. I won't lose money, but I won't make any either." ...Which I know is an overstatement, but we'll see. Proof is in the pudding.

I told him we might have that conversation sooner than later.

I'm not happy. I'll tell the woman from Honda I'm not happy. But I want to be freaking done with the thing. The longer the car sits there, the more nervous I get. I explained in no uncertain terms that if I'm unhappy with how the car drives, sounds, etc., for any reason, it's staying there until it's fixed. GM said to be sure and let me know when I'm coming down so we can talk face-to-face.

Ugh.

Thanks again, sincerely, for all you guys' help. I hope yee who've helped me push for a new trans don't feel like you've wasted a bunch of time & effort.

Wow.... they won't pony up $400 for a new one? What shysters. I called LKQ this morning. They quoted me $900 plus shipping for a 21k mile Fit manual trans. Shipping is $125. That's pretty E36 M3ty.

Wait, the guy is putting in writing a warranty for 100k? For Honda nationwide? How?

In reply to poopshovel:

So he's willing to essentially give you an additional $500 on a trade-in but not $400 on a transmission. As someone who's been running his own business a few times during his life that doesn't make sense to me. Sorry to hear that.

I think it's great that he's offering a written warranty on the used transmission, at least that way you'll have some extra toilet paper if the dealer goes out of business .

In your shoes, I'd probably be talking to the local purveyor of Zoom Zoom...

I think I'd have him run some numbers for me on a new one, at employee pricing, as he suggested. I realize it was suggested earlier in this thread and you weren't enthused, but, if you could end up with a brand new Fit for a couple grand, that sounds like a great solution to me.

The $500 "off" is smoke and mirrors---- it's his way of placating you, while not taking a hit financially. The way I see it, you have a few choices:

1) take his offer of the 100K warranty--- but make sure it is written that this warranty is good at ANY Honda dealer in the U.S. (they fix it--- your dealer picks up the bill) Basically make sure it is giving you nearly the same benefits that a Honda factory warranty would.

2) Lowball the Hell out of him on a new Fit. Have him take $500 off of the invoice price and tell him he can suck up the dealer prep charges too. Even so.....I'm not sure you want to deal with these jokers ever again.

3) Have a lawyer send the GM a letter explaining why a new Honda trans is the only acceptable outcome. The GM may be a little more reasonable if he knows this will turn into a crap storm. Contact local papers and radio outlets. Make a big stink and spread the word far and wide that this dealer not only practices in fraud, but won't make things right when caught.

Good luck Poop---- sorry about the frustration.

Joe Gearin wrote: The $500 "off" is smoke and mirrors---- it's his way of placating you, while not taking a hit financially. The way I see it, you have a few choices: 1) take his offer of the 100K warranty--- but make sure it is written that this warranty is good at ANY Honda dealer in the U.S. (they fix it--- your dealer picks up the bill) Basically make sure it is giving you nearly the same benefits that a Honda factory warranty would. 2) Lowball the Hell out of him on a new Fit. Have him take $500 off of the invoice price and tell him he can suck up the dealer prep charges too. Even so.....I'm not sure you want to deal with these jokers ever again. 3) Have a lawyer send the GM a letter explaining why a new Honda trans is the only acceptable outcome. The GM may be a little more reasonable if he knows this will turn into a crap storm. Contact local papers and radio outlets. Make a big stink and spread the word far and wide that this dealer not only practices in fraud, but won't make things right when caught. Good luck Poop---- sorry about the frustration.

I hate option 3, but Joe nailed it with #1 and #2. To the letter.

So...this thread smells like Honda has become the new GM......

Joe Gearin wrote: The GM may be a little more reasonable if he knows this will turn into a crap storm. Contact local papers and radio outlets. Make a big stink and spread the word far and wide that this dealer not only practices in fraud, but won't make things right when caught. Good luck Poop---- sorry about the frustration.

THIS, times eleventy five

Another opinion here, because I feel you don't have enough people giving you ideas, lol.

I would go the new car route. I would push them, to the point that you don't feel like you are loosing out on the deal. I would have him have all the numbers on paper emailed to you, he knows what your car looks like so he should be able to give you a trade in number. Ask him for the color car, spec, VIN to be listed if possible.

Tell him to put it down on paper to the point that all you have to do is bring the check already made out. No extra fees or nothing, should be simple for him. Then either have them finance you (this sucks) or go to your local credit union or penfed.org and have them write you the check ... Or better yet, pay cash if thats a possibility.

emodspitfire wrote: So...this thread smells like Honda has become the new GM......

Nah, GM would have replaced the trans but charged for a clutch.

Call your Honda corporate person and have a real good talk about your warranty. Will the dealer's used trans warranty, for example, void the warranty on your clutch? CV axles?

It's time to bring the hammer down poopy.

Wow they're really berkeleying you, might be time to start berkeleying them.

Personally I would have lost my nerve by now, in my limited experience, when you start disagreeing with a loud BULLE36 M3 in public places customer service people start doing pretty much whatever you want.

At this point I'd most likely take his used transmission and warrantee, sell the Fit, and walk to the nearest Mazda dealer. If you can't get help from Honda NA, accepting his used transmission is really the only option you have. I bet the resale on a 2011 Fit with 36k miles is pretty good.

If you trade the car in to these guys, you're essentially giving the dealer repeat business.

emodspitfire wrote: So...this thread smells like Honda has become the new GM......

Two of our last three new cars were GM...nothing but good things from our dealer. This is a dealer issue not a manufacturer issue.

In reply to Cotton:

Same here.

So much BS in this thread it's ridiculous.

They screwed up a used trans, you get a used trans. No big deal. Your ONLY concern is the warranty, so if you can back it up with Honda, and get it in writing, you're golden. Honda auto trans are the worst in the biz, but the manuals are fine. In all likelihood you will never have a problem. If you do, you've verified that the warranty is valid.

IT'S ONLY A TRANSMISSION.

Remove your emotions, and deal with it sensibly.

Unless it's a 6-spd manual. THose are garbage too.