[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by lalitk25

oh thats really bad.
apart from a definite hole in your pocket your 20% no claim is also gone...... Most important it really hurts on your new vehicle..... It is good that both you and that biker are safe, it could have hurt you as well.....

20%, well its more like 65% NCB that I will lose.
Agree, no one was hurt especially the rider. But thats how it goes.

This is first crash/accident I've had in my motoring life and first time I am claiming insurance.

I am so thankful of Solitaire Honda's Mr Khan for instilling confidence in the work that will be done on my car. He gave me a guided tour of the workshop, the tools and machines they have, paint booth and the color matching process. They will use ICI Autocolor for the paintjob.

[ImmortalZ]

I haven't done any third party underbody coating. The factory coating is still mostly intact. Why bother in that case...

[manim]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Hey the 3M detailing is very reasonable. Here in Bombay I was quoted 10.6K for underbody and around 2K each for interior and exterior detailing.
Have you/anyone done the underbody treatment of your car?

I paid only Rs.2,813/- for the under-body rust prevention by 3M in April 2009.
Rs.1,462 for the interior treatment.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

I haven't done any third party underbody coating. The factory coating is still mostly intact. Why bother in that case...

IIRC your car is only 2 years old, so that makes sense. Mine is almost 4 and I'm sure the rains here in Bombay would have played havoc with the metal.

Originally Posted by manim

I paid only Rs.2,813/- for the under-body rust prevention by 3M in April 2009.
Rs.1,462 for the interior treatment.

Was this done at a Honda service station? Anyways they are known to markup the prices quite a lot. Manged to get hold of an independent 3M agency and they have quoted 3.2K for the underbody rust protection.

Will check them out after I've got my car back from Honda.

[mkc15]

After 9 months of exhilarating ownership experience, it was time for the first paid service (after 3 free services! yes, far too early compared to other cars) when ODO showed 10595. Having had bitter experiences with Magnum Honda during the last 2 services, wanted to try Whitefield Honda. Took an appointment for mid-week and went to drop the car. A new SA came and took ODO readings etc... and asked me for complaints. He wrote all the niggles I mentioned and then asked me if I want to get my car washed. I said 'What?' He then asked me if I want them to do an overall check-up. I said 'Who is your manager?' The manager Mr.Srinivas was on the phone all the time and didnt even bother to acknowledge when I waved at him. I was told he is busy and I need to wait. I waited for about 10 min. and told him I'll go back and get it serviced by another dealer; then he suggested we go for a test drive with the mechanic himself to understand the problems. I said yes and went for a TD with the mechanic and tried to explain him the issues. Main issue was the cut-cut noise while turning right when the car is on a slope. To my horror the mechaninc says its normal and is due to suspension doing its work! One moment I thought I'm at the wrong hands totally. But he was very confident about the cause for LHS rattling issue. He also said he will check the front suspension/mechanicals. I thought, let me have him try.

When I came back from TD, Mr.Srinivas came out and saw my car from a distance and read the"www.team-bhp.com" sticker and then started talking to me nicely. He said 'we get lot of information from this site':-). I told him not to hurry up, but take his time to identify the issues and deliver the next day. He seemed a bit relieved.

Delivery:
Though he said he would call me when the car is ready, nobody did! When I called him, he says the car is ready. I went and checked the car from head to heel; all OK but wasn't clean; LHS door trim and seat seemsed a bit soiled. I said I want to go for a TD with the mechanic to which he initially said the mechanic is busy etc. But when I insisted the mechanic came with me. We went for a short TD and it seemed better with the rattling issue partially fixed. I didnt have much time, so I took the delivery but mentioned in the voucher about the partial fix of rattling issue and the cut-cut noise not being tested.

Post-delivery:
Withing 20kms of driving, all problems reappeared along with a new one; the growl from the engine sounded different at around 2K rpm. Service feedback call came after 2 days and I mentioned my dissatisfaction. She said Mr.Srinivas will call me. Waited for 1 week, no call. Filed an online complaint with Whitefield Honda with scanned copy of the voucher and mentioned that this event will be reported to Honda Siel. Then also no response or call. Sent a reminder after 2 days. Next day I get a call from Srinivas to visit them on Monday. Let me see!

The car:
ODO shows 11600+ and its an absolute delight to drive/own. I take her to redline atleast 3-4 times in a week. Even though the roads wont allow me to hold her high for long, few seconds at redline is still a lot of fun.

Some dislikes,
> Dealerships need a lot of enforcement from Honda Siel on the quality of service. Honda can't claim ignorance on such issues and wait for customers to report such incidents. IMO, the mechanics need more(rigorous) hands-on training and SA's need some theory; then they can make a good pair. Honda needs to carry out periodic assessment of mechanics/SA's if they are really serious about improving service quality.

> Stock HU needs some DSP. Highs get too high(harsh) for some tracks. Mids and Lows are really nice for a stock HU. Especially the lows are well controlled not to sound boomy. Door trims vibrating with low base is not acceptable for a car at this price. My 6 year old Ikon does better for same tracks. I'm not a hiphop guy, I mostly play stuff like the ones on GrooveSalad-somafm.com.

> Fit and finish of exterior and interior are excellent, but things like thickness of some exterior panels/interior plastic parts need step-up.

> Octagonal tail-lights look better than old circular ones when OFF and vice vera when ON. When ON, the octagonals do not suit the shape at all, though the jewel effect is awesome.

> Headlights are grossly under-engineered by Honda. Its not so bad but not sufficient for sure.

> Underchassis coating is done only around joints. Not sure if this is from day 1 or since facelift. Me planning to get the under-chassis coating done during next service.

> Inner roof lining could have been a different material (like the ones in Accord or Jazz)

Issues with my car:
> Cut-cut noise while tuning right when the car is on a slope

> Rattling noise from LHS

> Inconsistent door locks. Some feel tight. This is after they fixed something for rattling during 1st service

[manim]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Was this done at a Honda service station?

Yes, it was in an authorized Honda + 3M, Madurai TVS.

[hiren.mistry]

I misunderstood what the SA told about 3M treatment.
Its approx 2K for Interior, 2K for exterior and 6K for underbody treatment.

So the total is around 10.6K.

[lalitk25]

Today morning while driving to office I experienced suddenly my horn stopped working. After some time it started working, then while coming back same thing happened this time I did nothing and then suddenly it started working automatically.
Around 15 days back I had changed my cars battery, could it be because of that or it is a case of Loose fuse in the fuse box?
Does anyone know which particular fuse is for horn?
Is it mentioned in manual?

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by lalitk25

Today morning while driving to office I experienced suddenly my horn stopped working. After some time it started working, then while coming back same thing happened this time I did nothing and then suddenly it started working automatically.
Around 15 days back I had changed my cars battery, could it be because of that or it is a case of Loose fuse in the fuse box?
Does anyone know which particular fuse is for horn?
Is it mentioned in manual?

It could possibly be a loose fuse. Is your car parked in the open and has it been raining a lot?
It could also be due to moisture playing havoc with the contact points.

I have seen that in my cars audio controls.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

They will use ICI Autocolor for the paintjob.

Thats strange. I had been to Olympia Honda last week for a minor job and was told that they use Dupont for paintjobs as per Honda's norms.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

Thats strange. I had been to Olympia Honda last week for a minor job and was told that they use Dupont for paintjobs as per Honda's norms.

Even I was surprised to see ICI Autocolor paints being used. A few pages up someone mentioned that Honda uses Asian paints.
As long as the color codes match, I will be more than happy. Will be picking up the car tomorrow, so here's hoping.

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by mkc15

After 9 months of exhilarating ownership experience, it was time for the first paid service (after 3 free services! yes, far too early compared to other cars) when ODO showed 10595. Having had bitter experiences with Magnum Honda during the last 2 services, wanted to try Whitefield Honda. Took an appointment for mid-week and went to drop the car. A new SA came and took ODO readings etc... and asked me for complaints. He wrote all the niggles I mentioned and then asked me if I want to get my car washed. I said 'What?' He then asked me if I want them to do an overall check-up. I said 'Who is your manager?' The manager Mr.Srinivas was on the phone all the time and didnt even bother to acknowledge when I waved at him. I was told he is busy and I need to wait. I waited for about 10 min. and told him I'll go back and get it serviced by another dealer; then he suggested we go for a test drive with the mechanic himself to understand the problems. I said yes and went for a TD with the mechanic and tried to explain him the issues. Main issue was the cut-cut noise while turning right when the car is on a slope. To my horror the mechaninc says its normal and is due to suspension doing its work! One moment I thought I'm at the wrong hands totally. But he was very confident about the cause for LHS rattling issue. He also said he will check the front suspension/mechanicals. I thought, let me have him try.

When I came back from TD, Mr.Srinivas came out and saw my car from a distance and read the"www.team-bhp.com" sticker and then started talking to me nicely. He said 'we get lot of information from this site':-). I told him not to hurry up, but take his time to identify the issues and deliver the next day. He seemed a bit relieved.

...........

I would suggest you to try Dakshin Honda, if you have not yet. My experience with them for an accident repair has been satisfactory, specifically the paint job and dent work. I had some other issues though. Free services seem to be just that, "free". Nothing much is done other than "dusting the car" and applying polish on the wheels. Though I cannot compare them with the likes of Trident Hyundai I find the service advisors there fairly knowledgeable.

[ImmortalZ]

And Peninsular Honda uses Nippon Paints.

[sgiitk]

@mkc15: In a large city you have the luxury of multiple dealerships. In a small (population only >30L!) there is precisely one dealership. Thank got so far they have been quite good.

[shuvc]

Switching on the AC after the car is parked for a few hours (say in the morning, or when returning from office in the evening), there's an initial foul odour which clears out in a couple of minutes. I normally keep the AC in recirculation mode. Of late I've been switching to external air for a while to try and clear the odour. Not sure yet if it's resolving the problem.

I'll be going for the 2nd service in a couple of days. Anything specific I should say to them?


Other issues I have are rattles. A bit in the dash, seems to be on the LHS. And some more from the seat belt anchor near my ear, on the driver side B pillar.