Interesting comment made by Honda salesman

[ProfPS]

I stopped by the local Honda dealer to look at the '08 Civic. During the salesman's pitch about the extended 100K mi maintenance and tune-up items, he said that the timing chain didn't have to replaced until 100k miles. "In the 'ol days," timing chains were not a maintenance item. Are the latest engines, that formerly used timing belts and now chains, using lower quality timing chain components that require scheduled replacement?

 

[racer12306]

That is an interesting comment. But it was just a salesman. He may not know what he is talking about. It could have a belt or there may not be an interval for the chain.

 

[ProfPS]

I asked him if it was a timing chain engine and I even looked to see if it had the distinctive timing belt cover; he said that it was and there was no t.b. cover.

 

[JTK]

If it is a chain, it is intended to last the life of the vehicle, not 100Kmi. Chains on chain driven OHC engines are not normal maintenance items and are super expensive to r/r.

Joel

 

[Quest]

lol! define " lower quality timing chain" for me plse.

My last point of da day is, would you trust that salesman in servicing your car, would you?? I personally wouldn't no matter how competent he sounds, for he is just a salesman who wants your money...sometimes really, really bad.

Q.

 

[globey]

Then again, this is an import and nothing ever needs replaced on those.

 

[mrsilv04]

I don't believe a *thing* that any salesman tells me. I'm the one buying the car for me, so it is my job to know as much as I can about that vehicle.

I see their lips moving, but all I hear is "blah, blah, blah...

 

[Propflux01]

Prolly just made a mistake about it when talking. Didnt realise what he was thinking -or- just didn't plain know and was trying his best to sell to you.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Well even though the chain should technically last forever, the tensioner doesn't always last forever. So I could still see the point in having that checked out at least.

 

[Schmoe]

Whatever you do, DON'T BUY from that idiot, or maybe even from that dealership. If they can't train the sales folks better than that, you service department won't be much better either.

 

[GMBoy]

Most car salesmen make me sick. I remember one telling my buddy that he couldn't get a split seat on an S10 truck with the V6, but only on the 4cyl....which he just happened to have on the lot! Or the time I took a female friend to the dealer for a new car and he came back saying that her credit wasn't great and he could only offer her the higher interest rate and only with mu co-sign. I got mad at her for not letting me know her situation and we walked out. The next day she went to another dealer, got the 0% and was out the door with the same car for $300 less. The 1st dealer lied about her credit and almost hurt our friendship. The second dealer was truthful and even gave her a copy of her report. So, like all professions, there are some good ones out there- just gotta find them.

 

[GMBoy]

Oh one more thing! Even though dealerships are independently owned (atleast GM dealers are) the customer usually does not know this and however they are treated is directly reflected on the manufacturer. So, this poor Honda saleman is making Honda look bad.

 

[Jim 5]

Quote:

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Whatever you do, DON'T BUY from that idiot, or maybe even from that dealership. If they can't train the sales folks better than that, you service department won't be much better either.

---

I have NEVER gone in to buy a car and had the car salesman know more than I knew about the car. Most of them have the attitude that they could sell snow to an eskimo, and you can listen to them telling you what they think you want to hear. You can often tell that last week the guy was selling real-estate. Many of them aren't even car guys.

Even the knowledgeable ones will lie rather than saying "I don't know, but I know how to find out. I will get back to you."

 

[ProfPS]

I never said that I rely on a car salesman's product knowledge. I know it was sales talk and he was trying to impress me.

In my younger days, a friend and I would stop by dealerships to see the new cars and ask questions that we thought they should know (ie engine hp, rear end axle ratio options, other options that were listed in the brochures, etc) - a bizarre concept: expecting a salesperson to know the product they are selling. 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't know the answer or B.S. us.

That's why I stated "In the 'ol days,..." in the post.

However, I wouldn't put it past manufacturers to use timing chain parts that wear out faster (~100k mi) to fill the $1,000 service void that the service departments will lose by not having the timing belt replacement business.

 

[mechtech2]

I thought that there were some new Hondas that DID have a timing chain now.

 

[Schmoe]

The newer 4 bangers from Honda have chains. The V6's still do not. Also, arm yourself to the teeth. An salesmans worse enemy is a well informed customer. There is just too much information in the internet to go there "naked".

 

[blueiedgod]

ask this salesman to eplain in details how VTEC works and what is the difference between VTEC, iVTEC. Ask him to tell you to explain why the same engine K@4 makes 160 hp in the Accord (07) and 190 hp in Accord (08) and 200 HP in the TSX.

It should be amusing.

Meanwhile, print this out and ask him for explanation.

 

[ProfPS]

The salesman will probably say that the increase in hp is because it comes with a sunroof and a 6 speaker stereo.

hp = hamster power

 

[ThirdeYe]

They spelled "illegally" and "equipped" incorrectly.

 

[Drew99GT]

I had a sales turd at a Nissan dealer tell me the A/C condenser on a Sentra I was looking at with the hood up, was an "extra radiator" that would come into affect when it's really hot out to keep the engine cool. My friend and I almost fell on the ground laughing and the turd ran with tail tucked after a brief A/C lesson.