AutoBeef -- Honda has 4 of top 6 worst cars

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: JakeR22
Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
I hate my '01 Honda civic. At 205k miles, it's on its second set of brake pads, and it's second battery! I've got a fortune in parts!


That car must have hellacious tires. I've never had tires even make it to 100k.

Anything else you failed to mention?


Why mention tires? What does vehicle make have to do with how long tires last? Gee, you think driving 200k+ miles may take a few sets of tires? Heck, I had to fill that gas tank a few times too, can you believe it????

Okay, yeah, I replaced the timing belt twice, once at 100k, then at 200k. Cost about $150 in parts.

No suspension parts replaced! Replaced the rotors at about 175k miles. Haven't even looked at the rear drums.

It's bleeding me in replacement parts!



And it cost $50 in parts for a Dorman IMG set. And you shouldn't have to replace it again. A person can spin anything anyway they want. Plenty of GM vehicles can go that many highway miles without needing much repairs too.

 

[JakeR22]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
Why mention tires? What does vehicle make have to do with how long tires last? Gee, you think driving 200k+ miles may take a few sets of tires? Heck, I had to fill that gas tank a few times too, can you believe it????

Okay, yeah, I replaced the timing belt twice, once at 100k, then at 200k. Cost about $150 in parts.

No suspension parts replaced! Replaced the rotors at about 175k miles. Haven't even looked at the rear drums.

It's bleeding me in replacement parts!

And it cost $50 in parts for a Dorman IMG set. And you shouldn't have to replace it again. A person can spin anything anyway they want. Plenty of GM vehicles can go that many highway miles without needing much repairs too.

And when did I mention any GM products?

What's a Dorman IMG set?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Got good GM news here. They just fixed my 05 Silverado speedo and it was WAY out of warranty.

No cost at all.

Love my GM products.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
...

Love my GM products.

Same here. My local Chevy dealer is a gem. I've taken my Malibu in for PM and have actually been undersold service -- in other words, the service advisor very politely informed me that what I wanted to do was overkill and would have been a waste of money.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I drive a Honda and a GM, so either I know it all or know nothing.

I know how you feel!

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
To each his own. I think a lot of these issues must also be blamed on the consumer. Like the Accord brake issues...typical from the factory stuff. They put in soft brakes from the factory to keep them quiet and stop very well. Honda also uses about 55% rear breaking. So naturally, the pads are going to wear out quicker. Once you change them out and put some good pads on them, the problem goes away. Now, they've had their problems. The 02 lost the tranny at 135K, but Honda put in a brand new one for me for free. I mean, come on, how many manufacturers would do that, especially past 100K? Seek, and ye shall find......


Premature rear brake wear is certainly not a deal killer, just like warped rotors are not deal killers. What would be a deal killer?

How about an automatic transmission that fails prematurely and there is no way to replace it with a reliable unit. That was my experience with a Civic. When the auto trans failed at 60,000 miles (even though it was serviced per manual) I couldn't purchase a new trans, but had to buy a "remanufactured" unit from Honda. That reman trans failed 20,000 miles later. So, I took it to a transmission shop who said they could rebuild it right. It failed 3 more times before the 1 yr warranty ran out. I put it up for sale after the last time the shop "rebuilt" it and it failed during a customer test drive.

Moral of story? Bought the car for $12,000 -- drove it 4 yrs and 60,000 miles -- sold it for $1000 scrap value after spending $4,000 on transmission repairs. It was flawless cosmetically, but couldn't get the trans to last. So, after 4 yrs I spent $15,000 to drive 60,000 miles (excluding all other costs)

Was this a good value? It's a no brainer. This is not an isolated incident -- I have talked to many people with the same story, but they don't like to admit it because they were told how "great" and "reliable" Hondas are.

I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado -- 4 yrs old, 60,000 miles, paid $18,000 and it runs flawlessly and has never even been to the shop. I was offered $12,000 to sell it a while back and turned it down. Cost of ownership for 60,000 miles? $6,000. Much better than the Honda (excluding the gas costs)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....


You're lucky on the Silverado. I love mine and I wouldn't get rid of it now because all the kinks are worked out.

However, I've had the entire rack & pinion replaced and the intermediate steering shaft replaced - twice. Had a CEL come on for the EVAP that required another trip and the drop of the gas tank. I had the climate control unit replaced (failed lights), stereo head unit (failed lights), and both tail lights replaced due to them cracking (they use metal screws and plastic housings). I had to replace both rotors at 13K and I went to powerslot rotors (no more problems there). I had a "clunking" noise that they had to hook up some ears to and keep my truck for 2-3 days (they foot the bill for the rental car).

Needless to say, all the problems are fixed and I haven't had much go wrong in over a year. I think the truck drives smooth as glass and hardly makes a noise. No problems ever with the engine or AT. Nothing out of pocket either (all warranty work).

My point is, I realize the point you're making and I think the things that happened to you with your Civic is a raw deal. I personally think that no matter what I buy I'll have some problems with it.

I once knew a guy that never bought a vehicle under 100k miles. He always said that all the problems have been either resolved or are apparent at purchase. Maybe he's on to something.

 

[ZGRider]

Originally Posted By: bigmike

I once knew a guy that never bought a vehicle under 100k miles. He always said that all the problems have been either resolved or are apparent at purchase. Maybe he's on to something.


Sounds like a smart guy..... Lot of wisdom in that comment.

 

[saberz]

Bill is correct, I myself have said it in the past and will say it again.

Regardless of WHO makes a vehicle, there will always be a problem of some sort. You may not experience issues with a car, someone else will. Those that are affected will have a negative outlook on that manufacturer.

Some people are sold lemons, others with that same car think they have a diamond. It the roll of the dice, lady luck.

 

[saberz]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I knew nothing about Honda cars, since I never owned one. I went into auto sales with no prior auto sales experience. I learned very fast, money is a great teacher and motivator. I learned of Honda problems while working for Honda. Overall they make a good car, their trannys stunk. So if someone asked I'd suggest an extended warranty. Most Honda shoppers came in buying Honda Quality, and though they were the greatest cars on 4 wheels. It was all about price, Hondas sold themselves.

Does any good salesman tell a customer anything negative about a product they're trying to sell? Sometimes if you are trying to upsell someone from a Civic to an Accord, but never ever bash the parent company. Typical upsell would be for a few more $$ you can have bigger more comfortable Accord, that was only if they were on the fence. Think about it. If you worked for Honda would you steer people across the street to Ford?

The two times I bought a NEW car, my salesmen were hand picked by me by their character.

My sales guy at the Toyota dealership in 2007/08 told me which vehicles to stay away from, where the deals were at, worked with me 100% in trying to get the best deal possible. This guy was what all sales people should be, he didn't try to upsell me and actually recommended for me to stay with my original option to keep me at a comfortable payment plan. The other guys at that dealer tried to push my wife into a car she didn't want.

The same Toyota sales guy would give me his discount price on performance parts, push for price matching against competitive dealerships(TRDSParks) etc. Was a good guy, had a lot of business from my recommendations but is no longer at the dealership, otherwise I may have gone back. I actually miss the guy, used to hang out with him at the dealership when I was getting service and would talk about everything. Other sales people treated me or my friends like a number, once they got what they wanted, they didn't care for you anymore.

 

[ottotheclown]

Repeating or taking serious what you find in a website, is like taking something you heard on the Howard Stern show as the truth. This also true of some t.v stations but that is off topic. Always consider the source, that way you will be in some form of control,

mind wise.

 

[ottotheclown]

We never hear them from the media because they cannot confim them as being accurate???? Autobeef, a household name in fish wrap,is very close to the NY Post.

 

[ottotheclown]

What do you ride in NW Ark

.??

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: Anies
Bill is correct, I myself have said it in the past and will say it again.

Regardless of WHO makes a vehicle, there will always be a problem of some sort. You may not experience issues with a car, someone else will. Those that are affected will have a negative outlook on that manufacturer.

Some people are sold lemons, others with that same car think they have a diamond. It the roll of the dice, lady luck.


I agree with this.

 

[fdcg27]

We've had six Hondas, the newest my '99 Accord, bought new, and have had great reliability and durability out of them all, starting with our first, a '76 Civic.
The only automatic Honda we have had was also the lowest mileage one we have disposed of, a '96 Ody, totalled at ~120K by a son.
Now, we also had very good results with the four old Benzes we have owned, and our '97 Aerostar, bought new, remains as reliable as a hammer at 163K.
Have some folks had bad Hondas?
No doubt, but we have always had good experience with the cars, and based upon that, we will likely buy another, maybe this fall.
I want to add that one should be very careful in evaluating what he reads. There are people on BITOG who admit to having been compensated for their posts.
Is some unknown complaint site any different?
What agenda are the posters promoting?
If this is attack marketing, it is nothing new.
Finally, bash threads are always entertaining, if not particularly informative.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I don't think anyone necessarily hates Asian or foreign cars. It's the people ridiculously hyping foreign cars and disparaging domestics, the UAW, and American owned and made products that turns people away from foreign autos.


Oh ok so is that some kind of super reverse psychology? I don't like GM cars so you will buy them to spite me even though you don't know me or have never met me? Please explain how this works? Please explain who likes the UAW except the UAW and certain political groups?

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
We never hear them from the media because they cannot confim them as being accurate???? Autobeef, a household name in fish wrap,is very close to the NY Post.

Exactly...

 

[MCompact]

You'd have to beat me with a stick to own ANY of the cars on that list.
Bleh!

 

[Audi Junkie]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I drive a Honda and a GM, so either I know it all or know nothing.


What happened to the Audi?


I was driving a ton of miles and lived far from the dealer, or anything else. No garage meant outside repairs and such. The 1999 A4 Avant I was driving was at the end of it's cycle anyway. ftr- it had zero warranty repairs (3yr/50k). Dumped it at 130k with some work done and a few pending issues and got the 2006 RSX. That car was [censored], the windshield was falling out at delivery, had a bad fix that included a scratch on my week old car, so many little things failed and broke. 45k on that, lucky I got a trade that kept costs at $.10c a mile, which is a nice target for any decent car.

The Accord is much better, a happy median. Not a heavy pig like the newer Audis, but still comfortable and efficient. 45k now and minimal issues other than dealer-inflicted grief. Honda failed to correct the dealer after a huge____-up with a warranty paint, and I had to drag them to court, which concluded heavily in my favour. Still, apita and I would hate to deal with Honda on an important issue. Well, my starter fails often and my battery has a black eye and Honda makes me pay for their analysis and rejection of my claim.

Despite liking my current car very much, my next car will not be a Honda. There are too many other good cars out there, the Saturn has showed me that WELL. I dunno if I will pony up for an Audi, although I drive much less now and I can almost see the dealership from my new home. imo, VW is now an easy pick again. I don't want to overspend on a car, and want NEW. Mom may need a car soon, same for her. She may want another VW or just a Cobalt 4-dr/Cruze.

-thanks for asking anyway.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Well, looks like Honda is next in line for quality problems after Toyota.

I wonder why I never hear about these issues from the media?

http://www.carcomplaints.com/recent_trends.shtml


Not a single Toyota on that list, you outright genius. Your brilliance is something that is awe inspiring and something to behold all at once. I am amazed that you have not yet been nominated for the nobel prize.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
I am amazed that you have not yet been nominated for the nobel prize.

Considering recent history, very recent. What difference would/should that make in your assessment?